Well the big move is fast approaching. We've been slowly hauling things a few boxes at a time, but on Friday we begin loading up the official moving truck and transporting our big things plus eight hundred boxes of books to their new permanent residence. It's so odd that we have yet to move such big things, since this house already feels like my home.
I am continuously amazed at just how many books Marshall and I have. Those in the picture comprise of about a third of the ones we will end up transporting. I should have expected that, however, since it seems as though every time we buy another bookcase it's already full as soon as we set it in place. My father is convinced that the written word is obsolete, and that my generation has no need for books. Not that having so many proves him wrong, but I'm sure as heck not getting rid of them any time soon. Luckily Marshall is on the same page as I am when it comes to the awesomeness of having the books we need at hand. Believe it or not we turn to them quite often, despite the fact that wikipedia is a quicker method.
Our garden is getting more and more exciting. The squash leaves are bigger than Rocket, and we have several jalapeno peppers started, two squash, two tomatoes, and lots of banana peppers. Yesterday Marshall and I munched one right there in the garden. It was warm from the sun, crispy and spicy. Delicious. As far as home improvement is concerned, for the most part we're just focusing on getting the move out of the way, though there have been many discussions about upcoming major purchases, such as a new stove and a grown-up bed since I've been using Cody's futon for six years now. My back wants a mattress. We subscribed to
Consumer Reports which would make Grandpa Dix proud and will hopefully help us find some good deals on the big things.
Although I'm not sure it counts as a recipe, for a delicious and incredibly refreshing drink, simply slice up a cucumber very thin and plunk it in some water. Let it set for a bit and I'm telling you, better than lemon in water. I'm drinking some right now and it's totally quenching the mid afternoon Oklahoma swelter. Plus it's healthy! We made an entire pitcher from our one cucumber and it's kept for three days. Still as refreshing as the first.
I drove the twenty four foot long moving truck the whole way. This thing was massive, but I reminded Marshall that I've got some truckers in my family and that came in handy to say the least. Almost ran over a few SUVs, but it turned out alright and we made it back safely. Not going to lie, there was a rapid internal dialogue ranging from cursing the other drivers, to praying for a safe ride, to excitement that it turns out I am actually not bad at driving the huge beast.
The icing on the cake for the weekend was when Marshall's car broke down approximately ten miles north of our rental place. Being in a broken down car stinks. Being in a broken down car, in the middle of three digit heat, on the side of one of the busiest highway ramps in Oklahoma (where 44 turns into 35 south...if you live here you know) with a dog and two dying cell phones. The oil light came on. The car is dead. We hopped some cement barriers and passed Rocket over between us. Made it to a hotel and got a cab ride to town. Then we walked a mile to pick up our moving truck.
After that went down, our friends started coming out of the woodwork and were completely fabulous as they helped us with the rest of the weekend. Summer took us to get Marshall's car towed then stuck around the rest of the day lending a hand. Sarah, Arne, and Garrett all helped out with moving heavy things (and not so heavy things). Zach helped by finally getting rid of the car in our driveway, though I in no way blame him. That blame and annoyance goes out to a certain ex-roommate from all of us.
We all sweated together, hauled pianos together, filled boxes together. Our neighbors drove past and told us a better (i.e. the correct) way to use the loading ramp. We filled up the whole darn truck. I cannot believe how much stuff we have. (This past weekend we had to rent a trailer after we realized Bob's truck wasn't big enough to hold the last of our things.) When we got back to Tulsa my Mom and Dad met us at the house ten minutes later, and ten minutes after that Phillip showed up and the four of us had the truck unloaded in two hours. 
We're here. For good. Norman is done. We could probably have done it without the help, but it would have been one of the worst experiences of my entire life. We are so lucky to have surrounded ourselves with such wonderful people. Everyone helped out more than we deserved to be helped and we're both so grateful. I feel closer to Marshall after having gone through this though. Our last night sleeping in Norman at that house was bitter sweet (but mostly sweet because I wanted to get the heck to our new house).
