Life in the "Hometel"

It's not so bad.

I never have to make my bed, vacuum the floors, or wash the towels.

There's a prompt knock at 9 am for housekeeping.

Free coffee all day.

There are planned power outages every few weeks in the middle of the night.

Our keys don't fit on a keychain and we always need to have military IDs on us.

And, yes, technically speaking we live in one room.  One room with really thin walls.

But, that's life in the "hometel" (better known as the Navy Lodge) and we've been living here for over two months now.   

The room is your typical outdated hotel room.  We have two queen beds, a table, a bathroom, and small kitchen.  According to one of the maintenance guys (yes, I'm making friends with the staff here), the hotel is going to have a huge renovation in a couple of months.  I was happy to hear that since the carpeting and bedspreads are in need of a makeover and the lighting is a bit on the dim side.  

The bright green blanket in the photo is for the dogs.  They snuggle under there for most of the day - except when I pull out the camera.  Apparently they wanted to be involved in the photo shoot.  You'll also see our printer that we needed to buy soon after moving in.

This "kitchen" is next to the tv cabinet, near the window.  We have a small fridge (think: college fridge), a stovetop, a sink, and a microwave.  Our meals are usually simple - lots of pasta and rice dishes.

My day-to-day involves making sure I carry this around so that I can in and out.

Our room is a special "pet room" that allows animals.  Of course, this room costs more since it has to be specially cleaned after we leave.  But it's worth it....the IGs give me great company when I'm working or relaxing in the room.  And, no, this isn't our door, but you get the idea.

Although our towels and sheets are laundered and changed for us, we aren't off the hook for our own laundry.  Being here reminds me of the good ol'college days when a roll of quarters was a highly coveted gift.  The laundry facilities have quirks of their own, like how you have to make sure your start the washers 5 minutes apart, so that the hoses don't overflow.  We also have to make sure that we don't put in our laundry too late, because there are specific laundry room hours.

Speaking of quirks, this sign on the ice machine (second picture) always makes me smile.  Apparently there have been some interesting antics from past guests.

Look who I spotted looking out our window.  I think she was wondering what I was doing.

And that's a glimpse of our life in the hometel!  

Keep your fingers crossed that the house-buying process continues to go smoothly.  If so, we'll be moving out of the hometel in a few weeks!

More NH Trip Highlights

I'm back in western Washington but I still have some NH pics to post.  

I had the opportunity to have some great visits with some of my close friends.  I've been friends with Kristin since high school and she recently had a little baby boy!  It was great to catch up.

Isn't he cute??  I also got to see another Cristyn (yup, they spell their names very differently)in Massachusetts. We had a blast catching up and hanging out with her little cutie (who reminds me of Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas) with her curls.  Since it was a gorgeous day, we drove to a local orchard/farm.  I attempted to take some nice photos of Cristyn and her little one while we were there.  What do you think?

The weather was perfect.  This is one of my favorite pictures from that day.

Check out this pig, aptly named Big Boy, who weighs around 1000 pounds! 

Apparently, he'll eat anything.

This chicken cracked us up.  You can't help but smile when a chicken has feather feet.

We didn't pick apples, especially since there were numerous kindergarten groups (which left me feeling nostalgic) who were clamoring to get their own bag.

I couldn't remember when I had last been here (this orchard is located near my college) but Noa reminded me that we got pumpkins from here years ago when we were newlyweds.

I never get enough time with Cristyn, but it's always a happy, memorable visit when I do get to see her.

Back in NH, it got chilly, which means dad had to fire up the wood stove.  

Oh, and I haven't mentioned the Bragdons' favorite furry friend, Bailey.  I think he got annoyed with me and my bright camera flash.  But, even if he's a bit moody, he's a good looking cat and I can't visit without some photos of him.

You might be wondering what he's looking at out the window.  My guess is that he's looking for the wild turkeys that frequent the neighborhood.  Mom grabbed my camera one early morning when she spotted them outside in our yard.

A few brave ones even ventured onto the porch!

Hopefully, there will be another visit out east again soon.

Why I {Heart} New Hampshire

I'm spending a little time in NH to see family and friends.  Unfortunately, Noa had work commitments and couldn't make this trip, so I'm here solo.  Every time I come back to the east coast, I fall in love with this part of the country all over again.  New England is sometimes viewed as a rough part of the country with it's cold winters and strange accent, but I delight in the eccentricities of this area.  To me, it is a beautiful, vibrant place.

One thing that appeals to me is the fact that New England offers variety: ocean, city, mountains....they've got it all.  This time of year is the most spectacular in terms of scenery.  The hills just light up with color!

The colors of nature make it easy to celebrate fall and the harvest season around here.  I always enjoy stopping at local farm stands that are just bursting with pumpkins.

Spending time with family is always a priority when I visit.  So far, I've been able to do some fun things in just a short time here, like taking a ride with my dad on his Gold Wing.  We ventured up to Mount Uncanoonuc (which is a Native American word for "breast" given that there are two mountains side-by-side...ha ha).  It was a beautiful scenic drive through the back roads of NH.  At the top of Mt. Uncanoonuc, we could see Manchester and Boston through the reds and yellows of the leaves.  And we got to meet some nice folks from Massachusetts who had their two boxers with them.  It's always a good day in my book when you get to see foliage and dogs.

I just couldn't resist doing my robot imitation before leaving.  The padding inside the motorcycle jacket makes you feel like Iron Man or C3PO.

See ya!

That's Manchester, NH right behind us.

We had a family-style breakfast with Papa.  At 82, he's constantly cooking or baking up a storm at his house.  He brought over some tasty apple cake.  You gotta love a guy who knows his way around a kitchen!

The family hiked Pack Monadnock on Saturday and we had the most beautiful weather!  The trails were busy, but it didn't take away from the beauty of the hike and the four of us cracking jokes along the way.

Love this photo of mom and dad.

Did I mention that we cracked jokes? Yeah, Anoli and I had way too much fun acting like a bunch of nuts.  Ah, just like the good ol'days.

It was a bit windy at the top.  Pardon the crazy hair.

I try to fit in visits with close friends, even if those visits are short.  Scott and Kerry have known me since my awkward days as a preteen.  The fact that they still choose to visit with me after all those perms and middle school girl drama amazes me.

The Cummings family are pretty much an extension of our own family.  They've known us for so long, I don't remember life without them.  We had an early Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday since we have so much to be thankful for recently.  Aaron couldn't even look at the camera, he was so enamored by his little cutie.

So, there's a glimpse for you of just SOME of the reasons I love NH.  My visits are never long enough!  More to come!

Celebrating My Better Half

Yesterday I got to celebrate my better half for his birthday.  It was a regular working day for Noa, but I tried to sprinkle gifts throughout the day to make it special.  As you can see, the dogs were helpful in keeping it festive.

For a celebratory dinner, we headed north to a town called Poulsbo.  Poulsbo is a quaint little town that is considered "little Norway" as it has a strong Norwegian influence and history.  The downtown is simply adorable with it's small, street side shops and restaurants, flower pots and Norwegian flags.

It was a beautiful evening.  Perfect for a walk in the park along the water.

We had dinner at one of the downtown restaurants called Mor Mor.  We had been there once for lunch with our realtor and wanted to try it out for dinner. 

We were not disappointed.  For an appetizer, we started out with the tart flambee.  Basically, they take flatbread and toast it with creme fraiche, bacon, and caramelized onions on top.  Mmmm...delish!

For dinner, Noa had the salmon and I had the beef tenderloins.  Again....delicious!

For dessert we shared a piece of German chocolate cake (Noa's fav) at the "hometel" from a local bakery.  

Probably the best gift of the day (for both of us) was that a recent offer on a house in Poulsbo was accepted by the seller!  So, we've already started the official home buying process.  If all goes well, we should be closing in about a month!  Keep your fingers crossed for us!  I'm excited to finally settle down.

To Noa:  I love you more each an every day and am so thankful you are in my life.   I look forward to many more adventures together with you, my best friend.   Happy birthday!