New Job Details & Other "Stuff"

Okay, okay, so I've been lax on details of life lately, which matters mostly to the parental/grandparental units of our lives, but perhaps the following will be of interest to other readers as well.

One of our house projects is to get rid of some of the excess color and odd Victorian style paint job on our distinctly old-farmhouse shaped abode. Once Todd had free days, he took down the scroll edging and the four-color shutters. Then, we discovered how much the sun had faded the paint on the house, as we could see the original yellow now that the shutters were gone. So, he went and bought new shutters (special ordered due to our non-standard windows), and put them up in place. Here's the finished project (along with the remaining scrolled edging that we'll need to get up on the VERY steep roof to get to):


The recently purchased car is a 2007 Nissan Sentra (it was clean and sparkly when we brought it home, but has since endured the onslaught of our neighborhood birds and a few rainstorms). I drove the 2009 model, and then Matt showed me this one, which hadn't gone through detail yet. It drove just as well, had a great interior and about 22,000 miles. It had a cheaper price and a nicer accessory package. We averaged over 30 mpg on our trip to Bloomington (see below), including all the town driving we did before leaving and while there.


Friday I took the day off, and after lunch we drove west to Bloomington and spent some time on campus. I had to turn in some paperwork that I had forgotten during benefits orientation, and it was nice to turn that into a family afternoon. I gave Todd and Emma a tour of campus, including what details I could remember of some of the history I had heard on my official tour during the interview. It's much hillier than C-U, and we had a good time walking (and running/skipping/jumping/twirling by Emma) around the small but lovely campus area.

One of the highlights is a lovely and relatively new library. Emma is sitting in what I believe will become my favorite spot for reading new journals. The ceiling is two floors high here, so it has a more open feel than other areas with a similar view. The chairs are comfortably worn and come with footstools.


Emma climbed high enough on the ladder in this special collection area to read the plaque that suggests you should not stand on that rung or any higher rung, as you might fall and injure yourself. As books are added, the upper shelves will be filled, too.


A fun day was had by all. Next time I go, I will officially be on contract. And, I hope, I will find out which office is mine and what it looks like inside :)