in a homey way

I'm in Tucson, sitting next to my dog in a room I called "home" only three months ago. So far, my reunion with this place and this energy has been truly replenishing. I was welcomed most warmly by Yoshi and Toby, and then met several girlfriends for a bachelorette party (dinner and cocktails) where I caught up with some great ladies I haven't seen in years.

This apartment is beautiful, too. Everything here is clean, with successful bachelor written all over it, and Toby has taken great lengths to incorporate his Japanese artwork with modern elements like clean lines and right angles. His color scheme fits the space and his personality so well, and it's very attractive together. I'm so proud of him, and I even get to continue it by hanging some more pieces!

I went out in my former backyard/garden, and although many things expired due to the season, it is still a lovely garden and those "evergreen" plants that can withstand the summer heat and dry/wet/dry-ness are doing splendidly. In just under three months, the vines have gone crazy and expanded in every direction. All the Texas rangers are tall and happy, and my little prickly pear cactus are so much bigger! The yard was clearly watered lovingly and regularly this summer. It's fantastic here.

My pup seems to have disconnected from me significantly, which I cannot be surprised by, just slightly disappointed. He slept with me last night, and I finally got to fall asleep petting my dog, so I slept better than I have in months. It's just really nice to be in a place that feels like home.

In other FANTASTIC news, nearly a month ago I applied for a position doing an annual census of the northerly-migrating Monarch butterflies in Cape May, NJ. It looked perfect and amazing and I totally thought I'd be perfect for it...it's even PAID and we all know I'm dying to have a bit of income, especially doing something in my field. I was so pumped up about this application I sent in that I couldn't wait to check my email at every possible opportunity, but I never got any response. The application cutoff is August 1, so I thought perhaps I wouldn't hear until afterwards.

But today I got an email response requesting an interview on the 15th! So there we go, I've only been back two days, and things are starting to come up Millhouse. Finally!