2010 Talkeetna Bachelor Auction & Wilderness Woman Contest

For 4 years, on the first weekend of December, a group of friends and I travel the two and a half hours north to a small town called Talkeetna.  There, we participate in a weekend full of fun and festivities called the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction and Wilderness Woman Contest.

Day 1

We generally get to Talkeetna around 6 or 7pm.  We settle into our accommodations (we usually rent 3 places) and meet at the West Rib Pub for Burgers and Brew. From there, we head to the Fairview Inn for some beers, music and dancing.  Around 2am, we head to our cabins and go to bed.

Day 2

I am an early riser whereas my friends will sleep until 2pm if I let them.  I usually round up the gang around 10am for our favorite breakfast at the Roadhouse.  We all usually get the 1/2 standard which is scrambled eggs, potatoes, and reindeer sausage or bacon. It also comes with a hot drink and a cold drink.. (coffee, tea, juices) From there, we head out to sign up for the Talkeetna Wilderness Woman Contest.  Now let me explain the contest:

First round is running two empty 5 gallon buckets about half a block down the street. You pick up two water filled buckets and run (walk slowly) back to the start. You get 3 seconds taken off your time for every inch of water you spill.

Next round.... you have to run to a table, make a sandwich (mayo, cheese and meat), open a beer and run it to a bachelor who is sitting in an easy chair on the street..  from there you have to go saw a log, put it in a sled on the back of a snow machine (filled with other wood) and drive the snow machine around a track, stop, unload the wood and round 2 is done.

Round 3, you have a fishing pole with a tennis ball on the end of the line. The ball is covered with Velcro.  On the street there are "Velcro fish" lying around.  You have to snag a fish, run it over to a backpack, put it in a backpack, put on snowshoes and run over to a tree (about 100 ft away).  On the tree are balloons.. you pick up a BB gun and have to shoot a balloon until it pops.  Finished!

None of our group made it past the first round but we sure enjoy watching! I didn't participate thbecause I had pulled my hamstring muscle a week prior and it was quite sore.  I've participated in years past though.. and those buckets of water are heavy!!

Bachelor Auction

The Bachelor auction had 42 bachelors in it this year.  The earnings go to an abused women non-profit... Some women are there to win a bachelor and some of us are there for the fun of it.  Some of these Bachelors know how to put on a show!!  The auction lasts a couple of hours and it is a great time!  From there, we go back to the Fairview for another night of dancing, drinking and music!

Oh... I should mention that throughout this weekend, there is another competition.. The Bachelor Society puts out a booklet of Bachelors with bios of each bachelor.  The contest is to see who can get the most bachelor signatures.  (this is hard because you never know which guy is a bachelor!)..  Our friend Amy Lee LOVES doing this contest every year and this year she took home the grand prize: A rabbit fur can coozie.  It was soft and pretty but it sure made your hands stink after awhile!

(below is Taylor holding the rabbit coozie)

Overall it was a great weekend and everyone had a great time.  Can't wait for Bachelor Weekend 2011!!! For more pictures, click HERE!

This was pretty Amoosing....

I work in the heart of midtown Anchorage where busy roads lead to numerous businesses and developments.  My office backs up to Cuddy Park which is a busy place for ice skating in the winter and kite flying in the summer.  Surrounding the park is our city library, Lowes and Home Depot.  One day I looked out my window to the park to see 4 HUGE bull moose making their way through the trees.  Every now and then one would butt another one and they'd lock horns.  They slowly made their way from tree to tree not paying any attention to the people on the ice rink or the busy parking lot in front of them.  Regardless of how many times I see moose, I am still in awe of their enormousness...  beautiful creatures those moose.

p.s. you don't ever see bull moose in packs like this..very unusual

Last trip of 2010!!

When I first got this job and found out that traveling was part of it I was thrilled. What better way to see the state when it's your job that pays for it, right? Then, after almost 10 trips and 10 hotel rooms, my mindset changed a bit.  My new mindset is that there is no place like home-- seriously! 

With that said, I went to Homer this month.  It's a 4 hour drive south and not the prettiest drive you can do in this state and the furthest south you can go. The bluffs overlook the ocean and you almost get the sense you are on Cape Cod. (or so I've seen from pictures)  Wonderful houses and beautiful views made the drive go a bit slower with my camera constantly snapping shots.  (none of which turned out because I screwed up the settings..oops).  From there I made my way to Homer which has a little saying that goes:         "Homer - A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem."   

I didn't partake in either thing (well I may have had a few beers). 

It is absolutely beautiful there.. I mean, really beautiful.  Homer overlooks Kachemak Bay and the spit.. the spit is a strip of land that stretches out into the bay and is their main harbor location.  I did my work and then had the time to spend with my old friend Nova and her family. Good times in a great location. I love this state. Enjoy the pictures!

 A beautiful Sunrise

 Kachemak Bay

The Homer Spit

Home Sweet Home

I posted a couple of pictures of the outside of my house and so I thought it time to post some of the inside so you can see how small and quaint it is!  I ♥ my house.

 Follow this link: My Little Cabin  to view updated pictures of the inside of my house. 

Just like Old Times

Good friends, good times and lots of laughs.  It was great to hang out with my old roommates Stefanie and Genell while in Minneapolis last week.  I'm not sure why, but we always end up giggling and cracking ourselves up when we get together.  It's nice to know that after all these years we are still pretty darn funny!

Back from Prince of Wales

It was a loooong week of traveling and it's good to be home!

The week was filled with float planes, long walks, beautiful forests, great people and to top it off: an underground mine. (been in one, you've been in them all)..

Check out my photos--there are MANY..click on the photo album link below.

Thorne Bay Photo Album

That's Ms.Klein to you!

I had a cool thing happen today. 

I signed on to the University of Alaska website that allows me to view the classes that I am registered for this semester.

There is a whole list of current and previous courses I've taken and at the top I see this:

Courses you are teaching:

201002_ED_A580_403_53333

80046_ED_S593_J27

How cool is that?!!  Oh, how I love my job.

Anyway, this is going to be a crazy couple of months.. Why you ask? Well...

Next week I travel to Thorne Bay on Prince of Wales Island (see the map at the bottom of the blog.. the island is down on the bottom right).  I will be teaching 24 teachers.  This is how crazy this trip is:

Anchorage to Juneau

Juneau to Sitka

Sitka to Ketchikan

stay one night

Ketchikan to Thorne Bay

stay three nights

Thorne Bay to Ketchikan

stay one night

Ketchikan to Niblack (a copper/zinc project)

stay one night

Repeat the process but in reverse order..  whew!

Following that trip I will be heading on vacation to see my old friends for 10 days.

**(Please God let there be sun)**

Following that trip, I get home and head right back out to go to Soldotna (on the Kenai Peninsula) to teach some more teachers.. will be there for 4 days.

Toss in an 8 hour a week practicum at the Pioneer Home (ol' folks home), 2 classes and work at the office-- I am going to be BUSY!! 

Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul. ~The Koran

Despite the dreary, rainy summer, my flowers are doing considerably well. They have come a long way and I just love them! Every day I walk outside and smell the fragrance of 20 different types of flowers and you can’t help but smile.

I did have an Oops moment with the flowers. I took the lazy way out after planting the bed on one side of my house. I bought a “roll of wildflower” seeds. Now, they are starting to pop up here and there but they are definitely taking their sweet time.

Either way, the planting, tilling, fertilizing, weed pulling and bees is all worth the joy of seeing one new little flower pop up.

Who would have thought flowers could be so great!!?

People are Indeed Crazy

Have you ever said to yourself, "Self, I think I am going to run up a mountain today and risk serious injury and/or death for the sake of just doing it?". If you answered Yes, then you are indeed crazy. If you answered No, you are in the higher percentile of normal people. Here is why I ask:

The Mountain Marathon is held every 4th of July in the small town of Seward, Alaska. It isn't an actual marathon being that the complete up/down distance is only 3 miles (only I say.. haha as if I could do a fraction of that).. Men generally finish in 40 minutes, women in 50 and Juniors about 30 -- those darn kids!! They come down the mountain bloody, sweaty, dirty, and that is a deterrent altogether. Let’s not mention that it is straight uphill-and subsequently downhill- with cliffs, snow, waterfalls and falling rocks to add to the fun!

Anyway, this isn’t in our normal book of annual trips but we decided to go for the fun of it. There are literally thousands of people that flock to this small town for this event (and the 4th of July) and the town is filled with tents, campers, dogs, people, drunks, people dealing with drunks and much, much more. The bars close at 2pm except the Pit Bar (http://www.pitbarak.com/ ) that stays open until 5am so that is where the fun begins for some and ends for most.. ahh what a great time.

(click on the image to enlarge it)

Now imagine RUNNING that?!!  ---I-N-S-A-N-E---

Give the Dog a Bone!

My good friend Taylor and her husband got a labradoodle that they named Stella.  Now Stella is a goofy looking dog with an even goofier personality- yet something about her makes her extremely lovable and cute.

Meet Stella:

in socks....

Today is Stella's 1 year birthday and what better reason to have a party!  So Taylor and Travis are throwing a "birthday" party for Stella which is just an excuse to have everyone else over too.  So in honor of her birthday, I created her a little present or two.

Homemade doggy treats and a bandana (Stella loves to wear them).

I haven't tested the treats out on a dog yet so hopefully she'll like them!

Super easy to make for all you dog owners out there!

Nothing like a little delay of game!

I have played softball now for over 4 years and absolutely love it.  Now, from time to time we've had delays in games because of players not showing up on time, rain, injuries.  Nothing beat Mondays game delay though...

A little ol' black bear wandered onto the field to eat some grass.  He really could have cared a less about us playing, he was much more interested in what he was chomping on.  So, after about 15 minutes, we decided to just keep on playing.  Granted, he was on the outside of the fence so we felt pretty secure.

Still pretty cool though.

Memorial Day Weekend Fun, Food, Fire, Friends and Flowers!

This Memorial Day weekend was one for the record books- literally!  Anchorage set a record high of 75 degrees and we were sure feeling the heat on our weekend camping trip!

We camped out at the Eagle River Nature Center (http://www.ernc.org/) yurt.  This is the 3rd year we've done it and we absolutely love it out there.  We saw lots of bear scat but no bears unfortunately.

Here are just a few random photos I took of this glorious weekend!!

After a successful camping trip I came home and spent two days planting flowers around my house. Whew what a lot of work!!  Pulling weeds, taking out rocks and tree roots, tilling, planting.. my back is killing me but it looks so nice!!~

The green rows are flower carpets.. they are basically hundreds of different wildflower seeds. We'll see if they come up!

Zoe spent the day snoozing in the dandelions (that have tripled in the course of two days)

First sewing project of the year...

My boss loves dragonflies and as her birthday approached I decided to make her a wall hanging. I looked around for patterns but decided to go my own route: fly by the seat of my pants! I've never been one to use a pattern or recipe or even read directions for that matter.. I started the project two weeks ago (kinda forgot her birthday was fast approaching) and finished it last night (her birthday is today). I've never done beading before and I loved it! I made some cat tails out of beads and could have gone a bit overboard so I stopped myself while ahead.

I wound up at Michaels last night buying a few more things and the lady at the counter offered to buy my wall hanging for $75! I almost took her up on it--- As I pointed out all the oopses and mistakes of the piece she shook her head and said, "People like you shouldn't do art projects because you are too critical of your own work. Nothing will ever be perfect, leave it at that! I wouldn't have ever noticed that the bead was crooked!".. So, I left it at that and gave it to my boss today... she cried (which of course makes me uncomfortable so I told her to come talk to me when she was done crying).. Here's the final project:

Beth in Bethel

I had the opportunity to travel to Bethel this week to teach at a youth camp. Bethel is a larger village about 340 miles west of Anchorage that is only accessible by boat or plane. There are approximately 6000 residents in Bethel but many more live in the 56 surrounding villages that lie along the banks of the Yukon-Kuskokwim River.

After waking up at 5am and having my flight delayed 3 hours (due to fog) I arrived in Bethel ready to teach 10 high school kids about rocks, minerals and mining. They students weren’t as excited to see me as I was to see them. The thing with the Native culture is this… they don’t speak, they don’t make eye contact and they sure as heck don’t want to wake up at 6am to listen to me blabber on about the importance of rocks and minerals in their lives. Regardless of this little setback, I brought them out of their shells and had them doing some fun activities. After about 3 hours, they had to get ready to leave for Donlin Creek Gold Mine where they were to spend the rest of the week learning about a gold mine and the careers associated with the mine. I said my farewells and wondered what the heck I was going to do with myself for 5 hours until my flight..

As I was pondering where I could possibly take a nap, Kurt (a man I met months ago who has since joined my product development committee) told me to pack my bags because I was going to Donlin too. He told me it was a 50 minute flight one way and I’d go up with the students and then come back with the pilot. I was assured I wouldn’t miss my flight to Anchorage so away I went.

I got in our little 9 seater plane and sat in the far back seat – later to be learned was a BIG mistake. For the first 30 minutes I was in awe of the beautiful landscape and river systems that wove their way through the tundra. I had my camera readily available and was just taking in the wonders of Alaska.. until… my stomach decided it needed to be sick.. yup, I got motion sickness. As I willed myself not to throw up I felt myself getting hot and cold, hot and cold and I knew the flight wasn’t going to end soon enough. The girl in front of me did not have as strong of will as I and ended up getting sick (luckily puke bags were available). That added to my misery and I continued to count to ten and praying that the flight would soon end.. it did, with no puke bag for me!

The dirt runway that made my butt pucker and my stomach do somersaults.

(Donlin Creek Gold Mine)- it’s in permitting phase now..

After about 20 minutes of being on the ground, the pilot informed me it was time to go. I informed him I wasn’t quite ready and it would be beneficial for him (and his plane) to give me a few more minutes. He laughed and told me he would fly higher on the way back to keep out of the wind. Thank God… So away we went and it was a nice and easy ride home.

Look at the river systems through the tundra.. absolutely amazing if you ask me!

And then there were 2.... wheels that is!

I have been talking about getting a bike for about a year and I've finally gone and done it.  It was not a fun experience. Why you ask? Well let me tell you.....

I wanted a sweet cruiser type bike but was talked out of it by a certain someone... so I settled for a regular ol' mountain bike... $cha ching$....

My car had a roof rack but not the lateral racks needed to hold the bike rack... $cha ching$...

Then I needed to buy locks for the rack so that someone wouldn't take the rack right off the top of my car... $cha ching$$

tack on a bike lock (for locking up at work, etc), water bottle holder, and I spent a whopping total of... none of your business!!  Luckily for me I had my REI dividend which took off a good chunk of the final bill.. 
Got the bike home and took it for a quick (3 mile) spin around the lake and it was a lot of fun.  Tough on the ol' knees but it will be a good mode of transportation to and from work now that school is out! The picture is looking up out of my sunroof... gotta love it!

Camping.... Take 2!

As recent posts may have indicated that I went camping weeks ago... that isn't the case.  I'm not entirely sure why we didn't go but in the end, we didn't. 

So, last week we decided to take a few days off midweek to go on our first excursion.  We got all ready with our packs (mine weighed 34lbs) and headed off to about mile 2 of the Eagle River trail system.  The first part of the trail was nice and dry but the second part was packed with hard (and sometimes soft) snow.  We got out to our destination to find patches of snow but a lot of bare ground.  Perfect for tents and perfect snow patches to keep our sodas cold!

I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to stay warm but I had high hopes for my new zero degree sleeping bag.  It did not let me down.  I was warm as can be in my little tent and sleeping bag- even in 30 degree weather.

It was a great first hiking/camping trip and hopefully the weather will allow for many, many more!

Greg on the trail

"Hurry up and take the picture! It's cold out here!"

Our bear bag up in the trees.  No bears will be eating our food!!

Better luck next time!

My eldest brother Ben,our good friend Matt and I decided to go on a little road trip this weekend.  The weather was nice, the roads were clear and I had a new car I needed to break-in.  I decided we should go to Denali National Park because the boys had never been there before (or even close).  The drive itself is about 4 hours one way up a scenic road (the only highway in Alaska) through forests and mountains.

The reasons for my desire to go to Denali are simple:

A) The boys had never been there

B) It is beautiful

C) Normally you can only drive in 15 miles but

before tourist season (mid-May) you can drive in 30 miles.

1st Unfortunate Occurance

It wasn't pretty out! We are still in breakup time so the

 ground was muddy and the trees are still dead. Nothing pretty about it.

2nd Unfortunate Occurance

Riding in a car for 8 hours where all 3 people have entirely different tastes in music. 

 Thank God for headphones!

3rd Unfortunate Occurance

We can see ominous clouds in the distance.

We see a bit of rain.

We get to the park opening .....

the rain is gone.... but

IT IS SNOWING!

We drive to Savage River which is the

normal "turn around point" 15 miles in.

Past that is a large ROAD CLOSED sign.

The extended road is closed. I could cry.

It is snowing so hard we don't even get out of the car.

We drive home.  :(

And Then...

On the way home...

We get to see this:

Denali aka: Mt.McKinley

You rarely see it out in full force like this because it is generally covered by clouds.

It was pretty spectacular... and no matter how many times you see it, it's still simply amazing.

I knew I was born to be a Star! :)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Seward we go!

Seward is one of my favorite places in Alaska. It's a small town nestled in the Resurrection Bay.  You are surrounded by mountains and water and it's amazingly beautiful (when it's nice out).  I got invited to road trip there (2.5 hour drive from Anchorage) with my friend Kristin and her friend Kathleen.  We are barely 20 minutes out of Anchorage, driving along Turnagain Arm when this is what we see on the cliffs above us:

The water heading towards Seward is the bluest of blues.  It is runoff from glaciers so the color is absolutely amazing.  My camera doesn't quite catch the aqua color of the blue but you get the idea:

Not only is the water beautiful, so is the wildlife.  We were excited to see sheep and just as excited to see this bald eagle perched in the tree.  They are kind of like moose.. no matter how many you see, there is still a sense of awe.

There is something about the bars in Seward. It might be that there are never any girls in there, it might be the different sort of folks you see in there (locals to fisherman to tourists).  There is only one thing wrong with the bars in Seward: you can smoke in them.  You are not allowed to smoke in Anchorage bars and one gets accustomed to clean bar air.. not the case in Seward.  After an hour, my eyes were on FIRE!  What helped that?  Running into two Norwegian guys who were a ton of fun to hang out with (and one was not too shabby to look at either)

We had a great time with these guys and they are heading up to Anchorage to join us for the remainder of their trip (I think they are camping in my yard)  :)

All in all, Seward was a great break to a busy week and I met a great new friend who I hope to visit in Boston one of these days!

p.s

You can click on the pictures to make them larger!

In a land far, far away....

There is a village called Kotzebue. . .

(Kotzebue in the summertime)

Kotzebue, a town/village of approximately 4000 people is the home of the Inupiat Eskimo people which translates to, "The real people".  
I went there for a mining conference and left there in awe.  So many questions/thoughts went through my head while I was there:
- How do people live like this?
-What do they do for fun?
-Why would someone (not from here) move here?!
-No wonder the suicide rate is so extremely high here.
-If I had to kill a walrus to survive would I be sad?- yes!

It was my first trip to a village-like town.  Kotzebue is considered a village hub which means they have a hospital and airstrip.  They are surrounded by much, much smaller villages.  Kotzebue is large by village standards-  They have an elementary and middle/high school.. a hospital, an "airport", a store, and two restaurants (Chinese) because for some reason, there is a large population of Chinese people there.  You can't really tell the 'good' parts of town from the bad because the houses all look the same.  Kotzebue is considered a "damp" village which means they can transport alcohol in but it can't be distributed or sold within the village.  You can get 18 bottles of liquor a month, two cases of beer, or 15 bottles of wine.. Some say that is far too much alcohol since Alaska Natives are historically known to abuse alcohol.

(The oldest house in Kotzebue)

As I ate lunch with the kids at the school I asked them if they liked living there. Suprisingly they all said Yes!  They said they liked that it was a small town and that they could walk wherever they wanted to go.  They liked being surrounded by the ocean and being able to do whatever they wanted because you didn't dare do something bad because everyone knew everyone and everyone knew everyone else's business.  They did say they sometimes wished they lived in Anchorage so they could eat McDonalds and go to movies.. They were also amazed at my iPhone-- they had never seen one before.  It sure puts things in perspective for a city-dweller like myself!

Front Street in Kotzebue runs parallel to the ocean.  The restaurants are on Front St and you can literally stand at the front door and toss a rock into the ocean (except for when it's winter and sheer ice).  If you look closely you can see little branches sticking out of the snow.  They travel quite a distance to get branches to make a path across the ocean.  This helps hunters and fisherman find their way back to town.  It's amazing to see how far these branch trails lead. It should be noted that they have to travel for branches because Kotzebue has no trees.  At one time they had one, "The Kotzebue Forest" (see below), but someone got drunk and cut it down to use as a Christmas Tree.

Uvluqatchiaq! 

(Have a nice day in Inupiaq)

Rain, Snow Or Shine--- It's Camping Time!!

It's technically Spring...even though the forecast is calling for snow this week.

We don't care. We are ready to camp!

I recently purchased a sleeping bag that I was told would ensure me a nice cozy sleep in weather 0 degrees and below. Of course having said that, I don't plan to test it to quite that extreme… Thirty degree temperatures will do it I'm sure.

Having said all of this, I will get to my point: Greg and I are doing our inaugural 2010 camping trip this weekend. We will be heading out to the Eagle River Nature Center (www.ernc.org) where we are far enough away that it seems like real camping but close enough to the warm car if need be. Luckily for us, bears are still in hibernation- at least I think they are... note to self: check on that.

Wish us luck because I think we'll need it!

Pictures of our adventure to follow.

*Note: The picture above is not of my tent or anyone's tent that I know.

I ♥ Google

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Something Old: Zoe Louise

Zoe will be 10 years old this year!  She and I have been together since she was a kitten back in Minneapolis. She has travelled with me state to state, city to city and  house to house.  She is cuddly, loving and sheds more than any animal on this planet.  Her personality mimics that of a woman going through, "the change".. One minute she is fine, cuddling up next to me as I pet her gently, and the next minute, WHAM, she is attacking me like a wolverine!  She thinks it's a game because she will hide under things and then jump out and attack me as I walk by.  It's actually quite amusing.   She refuses to drink out of a pet dish and will drink out of the bathroom sink (this is a recent development) or, as the picture above shows, my glass of water.  I think Zoe thinks she is human-- but I love her to death!

Something New: Currently Un-Named

On April 9, 2010 I purchased this 2009 Subaru Forester.  I had been researching cars for about 6 months and came to the decision to buy a Forester but I didn't want a boring ol' base model.  I had the guy at Subaru keep and eye out for a Forester that fit what I wanted- anything BUT a base model.  So, at 3pm on Friday I got the call that they had just (as in  the day before) got a car in and he was holding it for me.  He assured me that this car, "Was the One for Me!"..  It was.

I left work and headed over and we chit chatted and bs'd for awhile until I couldn't stand it any longer... Let me see the car!  There she was, all pearly white and gleaming- I was a little disappointed by the color because White has never been my favorite car color but ...

BUT SHE HAS EVERYTHING!! 

She has leather, heated seats.. she has climate control... she has a sunroof that is almost the size of the whole roof... she has heated windshield wipers...she has reclining back seats.. a huge cargo area.. 6-disc CD player.. traction control... and so much more.  I am in Love.. and the old saying that, "Good things come to those who wait".. is quite true.  I could have settled for something months ago when all my friends were pressuring me to buy and I didn't.. so There!

Something Borrowed: My Little Cabin

You sometimes hear that everything happens for a reason and I have become a firm believer in that.  Here is why-

I moved to Alaska in August of 2006 and lived with my brother. I joined a group of Newbies to Alaska and met Julie who lived in an adorable little house in a great part of town.  She told me that her neighbor lived in a cabin (pictured above) next door and was moving out -- this was in 2006-- keep that in mind.

Three years later and three houses later I am living with my boyfriend and all is well (so I thought).  I lose my job in February of 2009 and 4 months later find out he has been cheating on me for the entirety of our relationship.  I needed to get out pronto!  Luckily for me, my parents had just returned to Anchorage and the NEXT day were moving into an apartment. They graciously got a two-bedroom so I could live there. Now, as a 29 year old woman, I did not want or ever think that I would live with my parents again but I was so thankful for them during this time.  Literally two months later, Julie tells me that her neighbor is moving out! I didn't believe her because she had been "Moving Out" for the past 3 years... A week later, she was out.. I called the landlord and it was the funniest thing ever. This is the conversation:

Landlord-  Hello?

Beth- Hi, I am friends with Julie that rents from you and she said the house next door had opened and I'd like to take a look.

Landlord- Ok, come in 10 minutes.

Beth- Ok.

Beth arrives--

Landlord- We are painting it for you so that will be done before you move in.

Beth- Oh ok, sounds good.

Landlord- Here is the lease, sign here.

Beth, a little confused as this woman (who is about 85) does not know her from Adam. She doesn't know her name, if she has a job, or if she is a serial killer even!

Beth signs the lease, a little bit shocked that she is renting the cutest little house with a HUGE yard for the ridiculously cheap rent of $650/month.  I hit the jackpot with this little gem.  Will post interior pictures soon.

Something Blue: Those Eyes ♥

Enough Said ♥♥