Snow day

We're having a cold snap here in Bellingham, and it snowed last night. Nina and I were the only ones thrilled about it. I can't think of anything more entertaining than watching a dog play in the snow. She went outside and got a little confused look on her face, and started snapping at the snowflakes. Then it was as if she suddenly remembered what it was and shot like a spastic bullet all around the yard, running laps around the house and shoving her muzzle snorting and huffing into the snow to grab a mouthful and shake it from side to side. It's funny to watch her pee, too, because when she squats, she doesn't leave any room between herself and the snow, she just squats right down into the freezing snow and pees. Then look surprised at the yellow mark she left, and sniffs it to see what it is. And if you throw a snowball for her, she will catch it in her mouth, every time.

This morning there was about four inches of accumulation. Not anything to get too excited about, in my experience, but enough to have a little fun, and generate some work shoveling the path and clearing off the cars. Another surprise was frozen pipes. Guess we didn't think to leave the water running overnight. Our place has a pipe sticking up out of the ground with a spigot on top, and that connects to our house with a plastic hose (drinking water safe, of course). It's not hard to imagine why that would've frozen overnight in 20-degree weather. We took the hose off and brought it inside to thaw, then used a blow-dryer to warm up the spigot, which thankfully is now working again. So we have water--it's just not coming out of our faucets.

Don't tell T, but I have to confess that I secretly enjoy when things like this happen. It's a pain, sure, but somehow it's fun, too. I feel like we get to be creative and self-reliant, and work together as a team to solve the problem. When I was a kid, I loved it when the power would go out. We lived way out of town, so it was usually a long while before the electric company got to our neck of the woods to fix the power lines, so we'd spend the whole evening in the dark, using candles and flashlights. We had a woodstove, so the house stayed warm. We had to be careful of opening the fridge or using water, but it was nothing catastrophic. We would all go sit in the living room, drinking tea and playing board games. TV suddenly wasn't an option. It was always very, very quiet, with the electrical noises gone. I always felt like it was a kind of special, almost magical time--all sitting together in the candlelight.

So when things like this happen, it tends to remind me of those times, and I couldn't help but smile a little when I turned on the faucet this morning and nothing came out. And then I saw Nina's face glued to the window with big eyes. I could almost hear her say, "C'mon mom, let's go play in the snow!!"

Congratulations Mollie!

My mom called last night to tell me that my sister is now engaged! It's not like it's a huge shock--I think we all were pretty sure he was the one--but still, it's very exciting and I'm very happy for her. I wonder how soon they will get married? It will be nice to have a family reunion. There are a lot of relatives I have not seen since in almost 10 years.

Congratulations Mollie. I love you! And congratulations to Mike too--welcome to our crazy (but loveable) family!

Immigration interview, next month

We got an email from our lawyer next week, stating that they had recieved notice from USCIS that our interview has been scheduled for January 22nd at 11am.

It was a little shocking, because we had expected to be waiting a few more months before hearing anything. But it's good. Things are moving along, and hopefully before long we will no longer have all this uncertainty hanging over our heads. We will actually be able to make long-term plans. Of course, I know that unexpected things happen all the time to ruin plans, and that shouldn't stop you from planning anything, but it's different when you are fully aware of something that could likely happen that would change all of your plans for the future. So I will be thankful when it's just back to the normal, "life is full of surprises" deal.

I feel like our prospects are good, and I'm very thankful that our lawyer will be with us during the interview--although it will cost us an arm and a leg because she charges $300/hour. Now, I'm sure part of that probably goes to her firm and everything, but even if 2/3rds of it goes to the firm, that's still $100/hour! I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. We have already spent over $6000 on her services since moving to WA, as she prepared T's application. Anyway, it's worth it, even though it means a little debt and no savings for us, because the alternative would be to greatly increase the odds that T will be permanently expelled from the United States.

After the interview, we will wait for a decision. Some people get granted their green cards right there at the interview, but it's highly unlikely that that will happen to us, because the case is complex. Last time, when we interviewed at the Anchorage office, it took about four months for them to mail us a decision. And their letter wasn't pretty. It said Teela had been denied his permanent residency and "must depart the United States." Later they sent a letter retracting that order, because they realized that he still had a valid work visa that had not yet expired. But not before we thoroughly freaked out, and started a mass letter-writing campaign.

I hope it's a little better this time, although there is more at stake now, because his work visa has expired, and he is not allowed any more extensions. This is the last chance. If the green card is denied, we go through court proceedings to contest the decision. If it comes to that, the judges decision is final, and there is no way to make a further appeal.

But, as I said before, I think our prospects our good. And if worse comes to worse, we will try for Canada. I think I would actually be pretty happy in BC. Whatever the decision will be, we will probably know by spring! Mostly I'm just tired of not knowing. Either way, it will be nice to have a decision, and move on with life.

have you given up on this blog yet?

I won't blame anyone who was. But you haven't, so thank you!

Lately I have been involved in some really fun activities. First, I got back into ballroom dancing after 5 years. Took a 6-week salsa class and remembered how much I love it. T's younger sister has been living with us while she attends Skagit Community College, and she took the class with me. We've also gone out a couple of times to dance. We are tonight actually. They have "salsa night" at a bar called Hot Shots every Wednesday night. There are some college guys who come and are really good dancers, which makes it really fun.

Also, on Monday I started Marimba lessons. It's Zimbabwe style marimbas and I really enjoyed my first session. I was first introduced to it when my mom took me to a rehearsal of the group she is a part of, and I fell in love with the sound. It's kind of like a giant xylophone. There are like 6 or 7 different types (bass, baritone, soprano, etc.) and when they are all played together it sounds really awsome. The lessons are a bit pricey, but my mom (thank you!) paid for them as an early Christmas gift. I LOVE being involved in a musical group again. I think it's something I really need in my life. And these marimbas are just great, friendly instruments. They aren't intimidating like a violin or guitar. Mostly you just have to be able to learn by ear and have a good sense of rhythm.

I'll write more later.

girls road trip

Back in early August, Tiff and I took a road trip to the Oregon Coast. The four of us drove to Portland together, then went our separate ways. Chris went camping with his dad & brothers, T stayed with Mike & Vicki, and Tiff and I headed West. We stayed at the Seaside International Hostel, and took day trips to Canon Beach and Astoria.

It was a great trip. It was fun to have a little break and do things our way--we got to do things our husbands never would've gone for, like watching a super girly movie at the theater, watching cute boys play volyball, and fulfilling one of my forgotten childhood dreams:

I made the picture very small so it's less embarrassing. But it was really fun. When I was little, there was an "old time" photo studio on the Homer spit, and I always wanted to do it, but my parents thought it was silly and expensive (which it is...). So a couple of months ago I finally got to do it.

We also did some great exploring and sightseeing. I was thrilled to be traveling with someone who is as enthusiastic about self portraits as I am. We must've looked a little pitiful taking them, because many passersby offered to take a picture for us. Sometimes we accepted, sometimes we didn't.

You might wonder why I would post such an awful picture of myself, but I just had to because it cracks me up everytime I look at it. What makes it so funny is that I was NOT making a face on purpose! This was a test shot to see if we'd be able to get haystack rock in the background (and turned out to be the only shot that did). That's just my 'the-sky-is-brigh-and-I'm-concentrating' face. I wonder how many times per day I make that face without realizing it!

Here's a few *slightly* better shots:

the hybrid

our backyard