Weird RI/New England Traditions

These are some interesting behaviors I've observed while living here (excluding some of the more obvious ones) :

People say Wicked (supposedly only a RI phrase)
Celebrating holidays that don't exist else where (Columbus Day and Victory Day -> previously known as V-J Day)
Obsession with Duncan Doughnuts, particularly their coffee
They call grits, polenta - which I had always thought were similar but not the same thing
Multifamily houses
Dancing Crossing Guards

I can't believe how much has happened in the past month or so. President Obama, Josh's birthday, Thanksgiving, and the first snow. Well the first snow was today, but the rest was much earlier.

The election was very interesting. I did a dance when I found out that NC went blue. Yes I did find out in the middle of the office, but that's ok. The election was also Josh's 23rd Birthday. We had a house celebration for the election and Josh's birthday. I gave Josh slippers, its what he asked for. Our house was pretty cold then and sad to say has gotten colder.

We had our first snow today and its freaking cold. We haven't been able to seal our windows yet we still need to borrow a hairdryer.

Things have been pretty busy with work, but right now I can't really talk much about it. Nothing has been legally settled, but I will update as soon as it becomes public. One major thing is our Family Volunteer Day which took place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I organized the gifts for families and helped with the faith based organizations who participated. Sad to say I wasn't able to attend there were other events...

Josh's Godfather/Best Friend's father passed away just over a week before Thanksgiving. Josh and I both flew down to NC for the reception and service on the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving. The service was lovely with multiple friends and family speaking. I'm glad I was there and able to be supportive for Josh, his family, and our friend & his family who lost his father. Josh also got to spend some time with his folks. On my way to the airport on Sunday morning I got a call from my father saying my grandmother passed away. Honestly not that surprising, but still not what I expected to hear early on a Sunday morning.

I returned to Boone with Josh to prepare with my folks. My mother picked Andy up from NC State on Tuesday and on Wednesday we were off to Knoxville. I'm glad I was able to meet my father's first cousin Pat. She was very nice and such a fantastic help with all the traveling and work around my grandmother's services. We had an interesting visit with my Aunt Louanne and my cousins from Knoxville. Sad to say our dealings weren't always the most pleasant, but that's all I'm going to say about that. Now my poor father is in the midst of dealing with all the legal issues that occur after big life events like births, marriages, and deaths.

Glad to say I was able to have a lovely Thanksgiving with my parents and brother. It was much smaller than the one we expected to have with my mother's family in Conn. It was nice to see them. I look forward to hopefully spending more time with my brother over Christmas, even though my break will be relatively short.

One nice thing about my extended stay in NC, was my trip to Chapel Hill with Josh for his Med School interview. I was able to see my good friend Laura and her fiance Jordan. They were nice enough to let us stay with them before the interview. We're trying to organize seeing each other again around Christmas. In Chapel Hill I was lucky to see my friend Taiyyaba and have breakfast with her before she started her finals for her second year of Law School. I had a lovely, though short visit with Marion who has helped students with the UU group for years. Finally I had lunch and a beer with my friend Doug after one of his Med School exams. Sadly I didn't get to see everyone, but it was a very short visit and I'm relatively happy with who I did get to see. I don't think I"ll make it to Chapel Hill for Christmas, but we'll see.

Last piece of big news: I finished my graduate school applications!!! Hopefully I'll hear in the next month or so about my interviews! Josh has another interview on December 18th at East Carolina University. I'm sure he'll do wonderfully.

Hopefully I'll have the time to write more in the future, but until then...

Much love!

Weeks become months

I've been pretty busy. I've started working in the lab. Its been good. It has started cutting down on my sleep, but that will be ok. I get to do fun things like checking O2 stats, collecting spit to test cortisol levels (stress hormone), and general interaction.

Things have also been getting busy at work. We're planning for Family Volunteer Day. I'm working on getting more faith groups involved and encouraging people in faith groups to volunteer. I think I'm also closing in on being finished with my Faith Based Volunteer Kit, or at least the rough draft. Sadly I haven't been able to be as in contact with the local groups as I'd like. I have begun contact with the Baha'i community here. Its pretty small. I was really surprised that no one I work with had heard of Baha'i, so I'm spreading info about them. I was also just asked to be the secretary of the new steering committee of the InterFaith Coalition of Rhode Island. I'm really excited and kind of honored. I'm still a new and relatively young member of this community.

I have started submitting my applications for graduate school. I've finished my application for Catholic University of America, and am over half way through my UGA application. Its been kind of stressful but I feel like I'm getting close to being finished. I think I've finished my personal statement and just have to add the finishing touches for each school. I'm also going to be applying for this program called Faith Acts Fellows. It would be with the Interfaith Youth Core and the Tony Blaire Foundation. I would study in London and Africa for 2 months to learn about malaria. Then for 8 months I would return to the US and work toward eradicating malaria with in the faith communities. I think this would be a fantastic experience!

Last weekend Josh and I went to visit my Aunt Diana over in CT. It was very fun and relaxing. We went to a local cider mill and tasted different hard ciders and apple wines. We were also able to see a cider pressing. Supposedly my Great Uncle Bob's Cider press is 2 years older than the one we saw which was from 1870. Didi and Kim drove us around we saw some of the changing leaves and the beautiful countryside. Other than that we mostly spent time relaxing, doing laundry, and eating way too much of Didi's wonderful food. Sadly Josh and I haven't done too much exploring. I don't usually get home until 8 or so at night then go to sleep around 10 or 10:30. A couple weeks ago I was able to go raspberry picking with my friend Lindsay, over Columbus Day Weekend. It was beautiful! Warm, sunny, lots of little families pumpkin picking, and the ultimate decision that you can't pick berries without eating some.

Josh's birthday is coming up in just over a week, election day, but we won't celebrate until the next weekend. I'm already getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. For my NC friends, I will be in NC from December 21st through the 29th. Most of the time I'll be spending with my and Josh's families, but its still very important for me to see many of you! Know that I want to see all of you, but man I may not have enough time. Hopefully I'll be using most of my vacation time for grad school interviews.

Much love to all!

Ellie

the cold has begun...

So its cold here in Providence. I knew this coming in, but man with the heat off in October its definitely cold in the house. Yesterday it was cold. So cold that Eric was wearing a toboggan in the house while watching football, though it may have been an experiential thing too. I made Calezones, both spinach & cheese as well as a tomato sauce sausage with peppers & onions. I also finished freezing the end of the fresh corn for the winter. It will be great in soups and casseroles, much better than that canned stuff. It was very relaxing.

You wonder why I needed to relax? Well Josh's folks came to visit. Don't get me wrong I love them, but I had to clean house as well as be a helpful hostess. Luckily they didn't stay the any of the nights with us. We went down to Newport and walked part of the cliff hike. At Point Judith we ate yummy seafood. I was impressed Josh had a huge plate of Calamari in front of him and was unable to eat it all. Anyways the food was good. Then on Saturday Suzanne (aka Josh's Mom) and I wandered around Wickenden St. It gave Josh and John (aka Josh's Dad) the ability to hang out without the girls.

I have an announcement: I will be in NC from December 21st to the 29th. This time will be divided between my family, Josh's family, and friends with special allocations already for Joseph, Laura, and Christina. I know there will be the traditional Howrimore (Lawrimore & Howard) Christmas party. Sad to say I won't be able to make it to CH during this break unless something goes wrong with my grad school applications.

I suppose not much more exciting news. I'll have next Monday off for Columbus Day. For everyone not in New England, it is a celebration of when Columbus supposedly set foot in the New World (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_day). I just think New Englanders want a day off in October because in August they have off Victory Day (Formerly V-J Day), September - Labour Day, October-Columbus Day, November-Veterans Day & Thanksgiving, December-Christmas/Winter Holiday.

*Book Suggestion: Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel founder of the Interfaith Youth Core* Very inspirational, and makes me feel proud and not alone in the work that I am doing.

Now it is time for bed!

Much love!

Insanity and Busy-ness!

Last weekend I went to my Great Uncle's memorial service. It was really nice. I met ( or maybe remet) our friend of the family Tom Carroll and his son Peter. Tom, my Great Uncle Charlie, and my Grandpa Gordon all lived together in a house and were best friends. Later my Great Uncle Charlie married my Grandpa Gordon's sister Kay. Anyways enough of the family history, it was really nice to see my Mom even for a short visit. I stayed at my Aunt Sara's house with my Aunt Diana, Uncle Kim, and my Mom. I also got the chance to go to a tag sale and pick up some fun stuff for the apartment. I was also happily able to see my extended cousins Marty, Cora, Jay, and Melinda. I look forward to seeing Cora and Marty when I (maybe with Josh too) go to Boston. Overall it was nice to see family even for a short time.

I am working with the InterFaith Coalition of RI. I'm really enjoying it. I feel like I want my interfaith work to remain an important part of my life. Somehow in the last meeting they asked me to be a member of the steering committee. Its really exciting. I'll be working with some of the biggest religious leaders in the state.

This week my supervisor left. It was a shock to both Lindsay and I. I was meeting with her one morning and then an hour later she was gone. She has left to work more directly with the volunteer groups she is already involved with. Supposedly there were also some differences in vision and working style. Lindsay and I never knew about any of it. To be honest it was upsetting and totally threw off our work for the rest of the week.

On Thursday I went to the Ben Folds/Missy Higgins concert. It was pretty awesome! It was outside in an empty ice skating rink in Kennedy Plaza. Missy Higgins was great and I'm listening to her more. She's kind of folksy with a smattering of blues and a healthy helping of rock. She also gave a great show and was very personable. I was really excited about seeing Ben Folds! He was starting to look a bit old, but still gave a fantastic show. He play music from his all new album which comes out Tuesday. I want to listen to the new album more before I make a final decision. In his encore he played old favorites like Rocking the Suburbs and Not the Same. He mentioned growing up in Chapel Hill and of course I had to cheer. Over all it was a good time.

This weekend I've just tried to relax. Cooking, watching the debate, and just hanging out around the house. I did go to the RI Unitarian Universalist Social Justice retreat. Sad to say it was a mistake. You would think in a 5 hr long meeting we would get something accomplished, but no not really.

There are a couple exciting things happening this week. Aunt Diana is coming up tomorrow with maybe a desk and dresser for me. We're going to hang out with Caitlin some. Then later this week Josh's folks are coming up for a short visit. Surprisingly they are driving up for a couple of days. I know Josh is looking forward to seeing his folks. It should be a good visit!

Much love!

Wow its September!

I've been very busy! I've started working at the Sleep for Science Psychology lab at Butler Hospital through Brown University. I've just started my training at the lab. Its very different than the Peer Relations Lab with Mitch, but I like it. Everyone who works there is very nice and seems to be passionate about academia, which is important to me.

I am also working on my graduate school applications. I am applying to:

1. University of Vermont
2. Catholic University of America
3. University of Georgia
4. University of Nebraska at Lincoln
5. UNC Greensboro
6. Southern Illinois University
7. St Louis University
8. Suffolk University
9. University of Toledo

Its time consuming, but its definitely as stretch.

Workwise, I've been busy. I had a wonderful experience meeting with most of the major religious leaders at a poverty reduction conference. It was fantastic! I met both one of the past as well as the present Presidents of the Board of Rabbis of RI. I met a couple UU ministers, a woman who is connected to the whole social service arena of RI, more important jewish people than I can count, multiple Episcopal ministers, and people representing the United Church of Christ (UCC). This faith based reduction of poverty group's goal is to reduce poverty by 50% in 10 years, and I'm going to help! This is a nationwide effort! During the past week they have been sending letters to politicians requesting that they devote the first 100 days of their term to poverty reduction. Obviously few politicians will not sign this pledge, but they may not work towards this goal in the way that I and others would think is appropriate (e.g. trickle down economics). Although it wasn't in my program plan, at least officially, for me to work on interfaith collaboration, I am, and all of you know that I love it! When I found out about this meeting and following press conference, I was so excited especially when talking about it to my supervisor we got goose bumps!!!

I've also been to 2 college volunteer fairs, one at Brown and the other at Salve Regina in Newport, both with Lindsay. It was a blast. Brown reminded me of Carolina and how much I miss school and college life. Walking around made me feel rather old because I realized that freshmen look the same everywhere. Brown is very into volunteer; they actually began Campus Compact. Salve Regina was very different. My closest comparison was Duke or Wake Forest. Everything was very beautiful and quiet, not much of a campus life. Newport was wonderful, absolutely beautiful. I want to go back and visit again; hopefully to spend more time on the beach.

I'm starting to get close with this girl, Lindsay, who I work with. We hung out some yesterday and I think we will definitely continue to do so. She is from South Carolina and we just seem to mesh well on things, music, politics, religion, and just kind of hanging out! It makes me feel like Providence is home-ish. I don't know if I'll ever feel that Providence is home-home because I know I'll only be here for a year, but I am happy and comfortable. Life is good...

I'm excited about everything and have been very busy!

Much love to everyone!

Far Too Long

So its been a while since I've written in my blog. Mostly I've been getting used to my job. I'm picking up work that the previous VISTA worker left off. Honestly I thought she would have gotten more work done getting a toolkit together for Faith-Based Organizations (aka a major part of my job). I really want to do well and work hard but I'm just not exactly sure where to start.

I have had a couple meetings with people. I met with this guy from Seeds of Hope which teaches people to farm/garden and then takes the produce from the practice garden to local food banks and other similar organizations. Then I went to the Blessing Way which works on prisoner re-entry and assisting the families of prisoners. They also have a basic food pantry for the general community. I've also been working on an extensive contact list of all of the places of worship in the state. Which may seems like a big deal down in NC but RI is much smaller. That said there are over 500 and I've gotten through just over 1/5, so I still have a good deal of work ahead of me. Next week I am meeting with the Diocese and the Food Bank of RI. I'm really excited about the Diocese.

Other interesting news, I have applied for food stamps and have gone to the food bank. I haven't really needed them yet because both my supervisor and the guy from Seeds of Hope have give me fresh produce, but I know I'll need them as the winter begins and I have less money because of an expensive gas bill. Its interesting people in the neighborhood recognize me now. I'm that white girl who is under 30 and over 15 and wears nice clothes when she rides the bus early in the morning. Whatever I've never had any problems with people.

I've started to get to know the fellows up stairs who go to Johnson and Whales. They're very nice, but man they like to party and don't realize how loud they get (most drunk people don't). Poor Christie usually gets the worst of it because their living room is right over her bedroom. Anyways they were having a party which Josh and I were sleeping peacefully through until around 4:30 they set of the fire alarm. I woke up going "Oh my god, oh my god! What the hell is that noise?" Then I start shaking Josh and it takes about 10-15 seconds to realize that its the fire alarm. So we start rushing to get on clothes, shoes, and find our keys. Well we're both half dressed in normal clothes when it turns off. It turns out they were cooking hot dogs and they burn them. Seriously how burnt do these dogs have to be before they set off the fire alarm?

Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful. I want to go to the beach, about a 30-40 min drive, but we are going to Aunt Diana's on Monday in CT. It might be time to save the gas and just have a picnic at Roger Williams park.

Josh and I are doing well, I hope everyone else is too!

1st day at work!

Oh wait by now its the 3rd day. I work/volunteer at the Volunteer Center of RI (VCRI). Overall I really like the people I work with. Both of my supervisors are very passionate about the work we do, even after they have been doing it for almost a decade.
Here are the people I work with and the place I work: http://tinyurl.com/5fjwql or you can look at the general website. As you can see I am the faith-based outreach & training coordinator. I have a cubicle, though in a very small office, my own computer, and business cards, but I have almost complete freedom to take my position where I want it.

Mostly I've been doing orientation and getting used to the office. My supervisor has been awesome and scheduled in "getting used to Providence time," so if I want I can go wander around and just figure things out. The other really fantastic thing is on my first day they gave me a VCRI coffee mug, a lanyard, a travel pack of tissues, and chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but locally handmade truffles and a long stick pretzel covered with caramel, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. I strongly recommend them! So far my supervisor like to feed her VISTAs! Both of my supervisors check on my at least 2 or 3 times a day to see how I'm settling and to offer me help or advice.

Workwise it looks like I'll be working to make contacts within the community. Which means one of my favorite things... going to places of worship and hanging out with wonderful people there. Right now I'm working on getting important items discount like food stamps and general food which I can get from servenewengland.org which gives me highly discounted food because I do volunteer work in RI. The other important thing I'm working on getting cheaper is a bus pass. I ride the bus multiple times a day. I'm actually enjoying it except for how long my commute is to & from work (around 45 min). Its been good because I'm starting to get a handle on the city and learn where things are and how everything is connected. Although I do get funny looks getting on the bus in the morning in my business casual.

Other general interesting news: last night I made fried green tomatos my nothern roommates loved them, so it looks like I'll have to make them again. The other VISTA in my office is from SC and we get along really well. She wants me to come visit her in Riverside (aka near the beach) for thrift shop hopping, biking, and a clam bake! I'm excited! This weekend the Meshanticut Baptist Church (soon to be The Orchard Baptist Church) where Josh volunteers is having a cook out on a lake with swimming to which the two of us are invited!

My roommates are cool, I like my work and know I will more in the future, and the weather is nice so over all life is good!

Back from Philly

We got back from Philly yesterday evening around 5 pm. Philly was definitely fun! We mostly spent our time in the Historical District around our hotel. Luckily for us, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were like 3 or 4 blocks from the hotel. I went to Reading Terminal and ate yummy matzo ball soup and spinach knish. So for all of you who aren't exactly sure what I'm talking about, remember when you played Monopoly and there was Reading Railroad along with the other 3 railroads; well this is station where the railroad used to come in to Philly. Now Reading Terminal has become a market place where people sell fresh foods, small restaurants, and crafts. It was a lot of fun! Josh got his cheese steak there, and was very happy with it.

In our actual training we talked about poverty for most of the first full day. It was very interesting, not necessarily all that innovative or informative. Our trainer gave us pipe cleaners, play dough, markers & paper, and chocolate to help keep us interested. We made some interesting art including a basketball goal with matching ball, a bicycle with cart full of veggies, a bug and flower, and all sorts of random stuff. It was interesting to learn the formula to determine whether or not someone is considered below the poverty line. Sad to say this formula hasn't changed, except to reflect inflation, since the early 1960s. The best thing we had was a pseudo realistic relationship and partnering where we were randomly assigned to different volunteer organization with the assignment to get our goals accomplish. That was great because we had to argue our positions about why we should get money or why another group should partner with us.

The social part of the training was really the more important part for me. It was really nice to meet other Americorp people from Providence. We had some time to wander around in Philly and were definitely able to hang out and have a couple drinks. My roommate was in her mid 30s and was doing work with her church. She's nice and very interesting, but she snored like a train. So my lack of attention sometimes was due to the lack of sleep.

When we got back to the house, the final roommate had moved in. His name is Eric and his from New Jersey. He just graduated from a small college in Pennsylvania. He's really nice. He and Josh are getting along really well. I'm glad Josh has a guy to hang out with some, otherwise it would have been Josh and the girls.

I start my real job on Monday morning at 8:30 am. I won't start my volunteer work at the psychology lab until September. I think that will give me some good time (about 2 weeks) to get settled in my job. Hopefully I'll start working for AS 22 as well and be able to get some good time in the photo lab. Well I'm going to finished watching the Olympics and get to bed soon.

Busy Busy Always Busy

Well Josh and I made it to the island for a couple of days. It was pretty cool and rainy. I think everyday it rained at least some. As per usual I went for my daily dip at the morning beach. Josh wasn't very into swimming because the water was cold from the storms stirring up the water. We were able to have a nice time still building a fire, working on a puzzle, and reading. We were able to get out in the kayaks and sun on the dock for a couple hours one day. I wish there had been more nice weather, but I'm still glad we had fun. My mother's cousin Andy, his wife Cathy, and their kids were up visit at Old Camp. They were very nice and fed us dinner every night. Oh and I celebrated my 22 birthday on the island!

We left the island on Saturday and went to my Aunt Diana's for a folk concert to raise money for the scholarship fund in memory of their friend Steven Miles. It was very fun and chill. It was mostly potluck also with burgers and hot dogs. We all sat on blankets and quietly chatted during the music. I'm very glad it was a gorgeous day, particularly because of the threatening rain clouds. Josh really enjoyed the music, it was his first real introduction to folk music. Of course when my aunts get together there were multiple games of scrabble.

In about 20 minutes Josh, Christie, and I leave for Philadelphia for Preservice Orientation Training. I'm excited about the visit to Philly because I've never been there before. Josh and I are both really tired of traveling, Josh particularly. I'm not sure if I'll have internet so you probably won't hear from me for a couple of days. When I get back hopefully I'll have grand stories of Philly and ideas for starting my new job on Monday.

P.S. Weird New England Stuff
1. Sunday was Portugal's independence day, and there were flags, music, and a parade
2. Yesterday was VJ Day (Victory in Japan Day) and most people had the day off

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go...

Woo hoo! We're going to the island tomorrow! Now most of you know what that means because you known me long enough to hear about it, but for those of you who don't here is some quick background. It is half of a 5 acre island on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. This land has been in the family for generations. There is no electricity, no running water (except for a pump which we can't drink) and only 3 buildings on our side (not counting the outhouse). Anyways most of the time we spend swimming, boating, eating, and general up keep of the island.

I am very excited as this is Josh's first visit to the island. We are leaving as soon as he gets his car back from the mechanic tomorrow morning in which he had to replace the water pump. Nothing very exciting today. We mostly got the car to the mechanic and worked on our Americorp training info. We were able to meet the other house mate who is awesome, but is moving out this weekend.

She took us on errands with her to the pet shop and another Stop & Shop. The seem to be like Lowes food in the south, so not quite as ritzy as Harris Teeter but then not as cheap as Food Lion. We did grill out with our neighbors on the 3rd floor. They are really awesome and very very nice. We ended up playing scrabble with their 15 year old son and some of Christie's friends who were over visiting. I won (silent thank you to the Aunties). Poor Emily Jo (one of the 3rd floor neighbors) splashed boiling water on her face and is now at the ER. I'm sure she'll be fine, but it still sucks.

Man now I'm tired and so I'm going to go crash. Sorry this won't be updated for a while! Hope everyone is doing well, but in the mean time much love!

Plans Altered!

So last night the entire house went to sleep around 10 or 10:30. I was the latest person up, which to me is kind of surprising. Anyways we all totally conked out, we were exhausted.

This morning we mostly bummed around and worked on deciding utilities. Christie works with an autistic girl named Sarah and they came by today. Sarah was really nice and quirky, though a little difficult to understand sometimes because of a speech impediment. They went to the Roger Williams Zoo & Park, which hopefully I'll get to visit tomorrow.

Josh and I were originally planning to go to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire tomorrow, but his car is having issues. Something is happening which makes the engine over heat, either its the thermostat ($5 fix) or the water pump (much more expensive). We're hopefully going to figure that out tomorrow. This car issue came up when we were driving to find the Stop & Shop that was supposedly about a mile away. Well the Stop & Shop was gone and the car overheated so we hung out in a parking lot off of Elmwood. Nothing very eventful there we just waited until the car cooled. I did realize that some people hear follow the same strange practice of having stereo systems that are more expensive than their cars as with some young men in the South. When we got home there was very little food so we decided to go to the bodega just down the street. Walking around in this neighborhood is definitely different than Chapel Hill. Its a bit uncomfortable because we are the minorities and I am totally not used to it, but the people are all really nice. They are kind of surprised that we are from the South.

Luckily Christie was home after our exploration. She and Sarah took us to the Stop & Shop where we stocked up on tuna and other basics. Stop & Shop is organized rather differently than the grocery stores in the south. I'll get used to it, but its another thing to add to the list of differences. Its still hard because we don't know when/if we will be able to make it up to NH.

The interesting food thing of the day was stuffed squash blossoms. Christie who works for farm fresh, organizing local farmers markets, got them from one of the farmers. She stuffed them with ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic, some spices, and then rolled them in egg and bread crumbs. Then we pan fried them and holy shit! they were wonderful. She has asked me to make some southern regulars, so I'll definitely have to make some cheesy grits, okra maybe in some gumbo, and hopefully some good swiss chard. If anyone has any suggestions of traditionally southern (preferably veggie) dishes please let me know!

I guess overall I'm still realizing the differences and getting used to the neighborhood. I mean it is only my first full day here, but I think I'm really going to enjoy it. Please come visit if you get the chance.

With Love...

First Post

Hey everyone,

This is my first night in Providence. Josh and I moved in around 2:30 today. I really like our roommate Christie she seems pretty cool. Our first experience in Providence was interesting. We pulled off I-95 to see a car on fire and a cop arresting a guy in handcuffs. Honestly that was a shock, its really not something you expect to see in the south.

Last night we got to my Aunt's house in Connecticut around 1:10 am. We had a horrible drive through D.C. in which we got stuck in traffic for almost 5 hrs. Otherwise we had a relatively good drive. We stayed with my Aunt last night. She was wonderful. We got a good night's sleep and a good breakfast and lunch. She also showed me around Stonington near where she lives. We may stay with her when we go to the beach.

The house itself is pretty cool. Really beautiful hardwood floors and lots of windows. Josh and I have adjoining rooms. My room has an old dresser, a twin bed (with an air mattress), and a nightstand. I haven't gotten fully moved in yet. I'm not sure if I will before I go to the island. I'm really excited about going to Kinneho Island on Lake Winnipeasukee.

So far tonight I've only unpacked the car and some of my clothes. We made dinner together (Christie, Josh and I). It was really yummy. We sauteed onions, squash, eggplant, green beans, and some garlic (always garlic) with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a french batard with herbs and a bottle of white wine.