Moving on, and moving

So as always happens in a military household, people get scattered.  D and Nugget are stashed safely away in Kansas.  And I got to visit them recently!  What a trip - dear Kansas, oh how I underestimated you.  I don't know if I'll ever get to live in Kansas myself, but I sure enjoyed the time I spent there.

On one morning, I took in a nice run about town.  I love to explore new places with a quick run, whether it's just an overnight in an airport-side hotel or part of a longer, luxurious vacation.  

I started downtown at Haymarket Square.  This Saturday morning, the Leavenworth Farmer's Market was in full force and well, what’s better than a pre-run cinnamon roll?  Nothing – I don’t know – I stopped asking myself that question when I got to “cinnamon roll” and thus fueled up with one of Mama Gina’s finest.  I don't think I've had tastier!  And I'm not even usually one for sweets.

Leavenworth Farmer's Market

 I was impressed by the wide variety of local organic fruits, veggies and pastured eggs, reminding me <sniffle> of the gals who are at overnight camp for a while.  The families and vendors at the market exuded pure friendliness and pride in their crafts and wares.  D and I enjoyed putting straight pins in a cleverly posted mid-market world map, to show where we were headed next.  I just wish we'd put in one pin instead of one each.  

I spent the rest of my allowance on some goat milk caramels, a mini honey bear, and a pint of organic strawberries.  I’m a big fan of local organic produce, especially when priced competitively with the grocery stores.  And I’m an occasional sucker for things of twee.  Will D do his weekly shopping there?  I don't know.  Does he even do weekly shopping?  Hmm.  Would I shop there?  Sure, I'd buy a nice bright bunch of spinach or head of lettuce.  Or some soft loaves of amaranth or millet bread.  It's only a few blocks, a Nugwalk away from "home" and with a low smug quotient to boot. 

From Haymarket Square, belly full of cinnamon and carbs, and maybe a drizzle of icing on my cheek, Nug and I ran down the Threemile Creek Trail.  

Three Mile Creeknug

I had the company of many other runners, maybe burning off their own cinnamon indulgences, too?  The path leads east through downtown to the Carousel Museum and community center – under some minor construction – but I persevered and continued on to the Esplanade, a row of grand Victorian homes, exquisitely painted and lovingly maintained.  The Esplanade faces an eastward bluff overlooking the Missouri River, with a backdrop of rolling Missouri farmland.  

Ugh pictures while running is stupid

Esplanug...not stupid

I turned north along the Esplanade and after about a quarter mile, rested near Riverfront Park, complete with shade, bathrooms, picnic tables, water fountains.  Perfect for stretching and enjoying the verdant landscape, accented with bright blue bridge and lots of sun.  Midwest springtime is brutal – I’d forgotten what humidity is all about!

I’m sad to admit that El Paso isn’t home for us anymore, but the “tri-pack” is still very much together despite our new geographic living arrangement.  Nugget and D have embarked (woof, woof) on our version of a teeny-tiny house project and are sharing less than 800 sq feet of living space on a near half-acre lot.  Nugget loves it since it fits her 20lb size and I think underneath the frustration of coordinating new paint, new carpet, packing, moving, unpacking, snaking drains and whatever else, D too loves the 100+ year old house we just purchased though stately Victorian manor, it is not.  

Nug certainly loves discovering the best new kitty-cat surveillance spots in her new Nugget-sized home.  Luckily, a neighboring house harbors a few porch kitties, and Nugget cannot be pulled away from our glass front door if ever she sees a tiny suggestive twitch in the neighbor's garden.  She doesn’t seem to mind my absence all that much since D is more generous in handing out doggy treats.  I’m the nervous nay-sayer who scolds, “She’ll get diabetes!  Go blind!  Then what?” and he’s like, "hey dog-bot, good job with the breathing, and the blinking, why don't you help yourself to a treat.  Or seven?"  Can you blame her for liking him?  I can't.  I sorta like him too.  Like, LIKE.

So I'm on the other side of the globe for now.  I'm happy to be here.  I'm running a lot.  It's hotter than the surface of the sun.  And who knows, after a few months and a hemisphere apart, maybe I'll get to move into the teeny tiny house, too - wouldn't that just be a swell thing?