Sunday was a pretty low-key day. I went to church with Kayla and Chris, then out to lunch with a huge group of church-friends. Serranos’ pollo perfecto + limitless chips and salsa = delicioso.
Then home for awhile. Watched more Top Gear (it’s British so, naturally, I am hooked), and Kayla and I made maple-glazed pumpkin cookies to bring to re-group. I had kind of been hoping to visit an Orthodox church here in Austin, but when it came down to it, I’m glad I spent the Sunday with Chris, Kayla and their new church family. It’s a really wonderful body of believers and I felt very encouraged by their love and their community.
Monday was similarly laidback. Kayla had to work, and I needed to do a little shopping (souvenir shopping so, no…I’m not telling you where I went). This is the first time I’ve really navigated around a strange city by myself, and New England, with its convoluted roadways, traffic circles, parallel parking, and whole neighborhoods full of one-way streets, has really soured me to city driving. But I have been pleasently surprised to find that Austin is not such a bad place to drive around.
I decided that I would make dinner Monday night, since both Kayla and Chris were working while I had free time in their apartment. Pan-seared steaks, braised potatoes, and roasted green beans. It was a fine meal, if I do say so myself. Add a little white wine and ice cream for desert, and you’ve got a recipe for a nice evening at home. Kayla and I had the night to ourselves, so it was a chick flick (with the aforementioned wine and ice cream) and an early night’s sleep.
Sort of.
As soon as I laid down to sleep on the couch, Oliver the kitten dropped a crumpled up ball of paper on my feet. Because apparently 10pm is the very best time for a game of fetch. And so we played, with me laying on the couch and throwing the paper, and the kitten racing across the room to catch it and bring it back to me. We spent nearly a half-hour like this, until Oliver finally stretched out across my legs and for the first time all week…slept straight through the night. Thank God for small miracles.
