First Days At Home

It was dusk in July on our second full day in our new town.  David spotted fireflies beneath the big tree in our new back yard, so he grabbed Amy to come out and see them.  Amy had never seen lightning bugs before.  The bugs flickered as they hovered beneath our tree. We enjoyed spotting them light up in one place, only to disappear and light up in another.

Nothing in Morgantown is flat.  Our generous backyard is mostly hill.

After going out to Target for several days straight, we still didn't have much.  The moment we brought chairs home elevated our living situation to a new level.  Chairs are important and often are taken for granted because they are usually present when you need one. 

David in the kitchen, absorbed in summer reading.

After a 90 minute drive to Pittsburgh's Ikea and Costco, we were somewhat stocked with basics with a short stack of bookshelves and other furniture to assemble. David's advisor also dropped off some hand-me-down log-cabin style furniture.  The rough-hewn futon sofa was fit for a mountain home, and quickly became our favorite place to sit.

Our first truly home cooked meal was Creole fish and rice, thanks to our new favorite "Manager's Specials" at the supermarket.

With a few basics in the pantry, shortbread was in order, with a few extras packed away for our new landlord.

 As was apple crisp.

 
We ate our share of fast food, too.  We were still dependent on McDonald's and chose from a few cafes for wi-fi.  A few weeks later, we discovered New Day Bakery, an artisan shop featuring fresh breads and brick-oven pizza made from local ingredients.  Having driven by it a few times, we were drawn to try it after reading some wonderful reviews online.  The bakery occupies the bottom floor of a beautiful old home about a half mile away.  We have yet to find a pizza there we don't like.

We are still working on our homegrown crushed chili pepper from Uncle Allen.

Our friend Genesis in Long Beach lovingly transcribed her favorite Indian recipes as a wedding present to us.  When we were finally able to cook up her vegetable curry, our new place was filled with the familiar smells of home.  We happily filled our bellies and thought of how much we missed everyone back home in California.

Not long after moving in, we read that Needles, CA has just had the hottest ever recorded rainfall on earth at 115-degrees.  It was good to be out of Needles!