It's alive!

So much has happened since my last post, I have no idea where to begin!

          Last month we moved from Portland down to Eugene, Oregon. I was a little apprehensive about the move, but I am so glad we did it. We have been in our new place for about 3 weeks, and it has been wonderful. We have unpacked almost everything and even put our plants in out back in our tiny yard. Before we left Portland, Ted and I started getting really into bonsai and yamadori, so we've started practicing on a few azalea's, pine, and spruce varieties that we found.

          We took a trip to visit my mom, sister, and family friends in Austin. It was AMAZING and recuperative. Seven days in heaven. We went swimming every day, except the days we were traveling. We went to Barton Springs and tried out the new food carts close-by, went to Jacob's Well with Joelene and her boo, and kayaked for hours in the Colorado River in South Austin with our little cousins. While T and I were in Austin, we also took my sweet mother on an afternoon of wine tasting and picnicking through the Hill Country. We went to Duchman Family Vineyards and Bell Springs Winery. I would highly recommend Duchman; the service was great and the setting was absolutely stunning. Usually am not into the pseudo-Tuscan style but it was a very comfortable, beautiful place. We may just have to make visiting the Dripping Springs/ Driftwood area a tradition...

http://www.duchmanwinery.com/winery-gallery/

          As usual, we ate tons of wonderful Burundian food at home and even found a new barbecue place that I can highly recommend. Even on one of the hottest summer days, their courtyard seemed to have a cross breeze.

FREEDMEN'S BAR

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          We went there our last night in town and after a while searching for a place where we could get the trifecta: bbq, music, and good drinks, we settled on Freedmen's out of curiousity even though they didn't have any music that night. Lo and behold, there happened to be a concert going on. (oh Austin, how you thrill me...) We gorged on great, tender barbecue and listen to While we were there, we got a neat history lesson on the building. It was built in 1869 by freedman George Franklin In 1876, Jacob Fontaine started one of the first black newspapers in Texas, the Gold Dollar, in that very building. Fontaine became a reverend, politician, and advocate for freedmen in Austin and the building became a church, a store, a printing press, and a community center for the people of Wheatville, Austin's freedmen settlement. We had a truly beautiful night there and it was really made richer by the bluesy, dark music and history of the place

          We also got a sweet deal and were able to go to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico. It was my first time in Mexico and I had such an amazing time. We were really lucky and got to stay in a private house in Barra de Potosi, far away from touristy stuff. We spent the week sipping on mescal, swimming, strolling on the beach to local enramadas (and generally gorging on fresh, delicious food), and checking out Playa La Ropa, a great weaver's store front studio in the commercial district of Zihua, and even a great archeological museum and ruins called La Chole. We were so lucky that day because while getting lost on the way there, we ran into the guy whose family discovered most of the artifacts in the museum. I'll do a separate post in a while about that day, it was so amazing to be surrounded by such an ancient and advanced civilization.

I've got a few new posts that I'm drafting, so I'll post again soon. Until then,
Laura