Change in Plans

Man, it's been totally crazy this month. For those of you who followed me over from my old blog, you may remember a post about how Matt was laid off last year. I talked about it this spring when we won a trip to Vermont as a result - the amazing Rabbit Hill Inn's Pink Slip Giveaway. God bless those folks. That weekend getaway in the spring was a godsend, mainly because they'd been through what we'd been through and came out on the other side just fine.

So the good news is that Matt got a job! After hundreds upon hundreds of applications, he got a job he didn't even apply for. Figures right? He got it by calling up an agency in the local area and saying he wanted to come in to talk to them. So our advice for all the unemployed is just to keep hacking away at it from every angle you can think of until something gives. That's all you can do. In the meantime, I'm well aware of how stressful it is to be out of work, but please try to spend a bit of that time doing something enjoyable, while you have the time. Playing hockey and spending time with our dog Kaia did a great deal of good for Matt. Life is short so make the best of it.

So anyhow, that chapter is behind us, thankfully, although there were some benefits. Mainly, Matt was home more. Which meant he covered a lot more of the weekly tasks and errands while I worked feverishly on my doctoral work. This fall, we've been extra busy adjusting to this new schedule for us. As he started this job, he also joined a band and started taking a class two nights a week! It's good though. Every season brings challenges and rewards.

I said at the end of the summer that I wanted to hike a mountain every weekend this fall. With everything going on in his life and mine, that didn't happen. But that bold wish did motivate me to get out a little more than I would have otherwise.

A couple Sundays ago, I corralled Matt and our dog Kaia into the car, after letting them sleep in. I think I'd declared on Facebook that I was going to hike Mt. Cardigan that day. Well, that didn't happen either. We made it as far as Bear Brook State Park. We'd been there a few years ago to mountain bike, and enjoyed it. It's not the White Mountains, but it is beautiful.

There was still a lot of yellow and green about, which made the reds and oranges just pop.

Our dog, Kaia, was so incredibly tweaked. Actually, she's tweaked most of the time lately, which is a big problem. She basically wanted to run this entire 2 hour hike like it was a cross country course.

Near the end, we arrived at this amazing stream. It was about 5pm. The light was absolutely perfect.

Kaia loves coming to streams on our hikes, so we usually linger there for awhile. We'd love to let her off leash, but she gets so excited about running and hunting, that we can't be sure when she'd come back. So I held her leash precariously as I crossed the stream and let her play in the water. Guess what happened next?

Soggy cold feet. Luckily we only had about 20 more minutes let, and somehow my feet warmed up along the way.

Did I mention the light was perfect? The colors, the water, the light. It was mesmerizing.

We made it home, somehow managed to eat dinner, and promptly fell asleep - satisfied and tired.

Hopefully I'll be back here soon with more fall photos. My dad is in town for a conference and I'm picking him up tomorrow to go hiking again in New Hampshire.

I won't reveal where we're going. But I will let you know once we return.