Bountiful Luck

I am madly in love with Humboldt County.   Arcata is  a wonderful town full of fantastic people, beautiful old victorians, bi-weekly farmer’s market’s, gorgeous views of the bay, open farmland and pastures in almost every neighborhood, and tons of mom and pop shops all within walking distance.   The whole county is a cluster of fantastic small towns, each with it’s own charms and offerings.

one of the awesome veggie stands at the plaza farmer’s market where Pat and I went to buy peaches, kale, eggs, tomatoes, and eggplant today. Mmmm…!

Since we’ve arrived this place has treated us to endless luck:

(1) As I mentioned in the last blog, Kari and Brent have been incredible hosts, excellent friends, and great resources.   We also managed to land a to-die-for apartment in an old victorian house for well under market value.

The Arcata marsh, a beautiful running/birdwatching/walking/relaxing spot almost in Brent and Kari’s backyard.

(2) Our first weekend here, we hit the garage sales for furniture.   We had nothing, save for Pat’s roll-top desk and a lazy boy recliner.   What do we need?   Anything.   Everything.   Tables, chairs, bed, couches, lamps, desk, plants, pots, pans, plates, cups, bookshelves… you name it.   Unexpected events turned our route around backwards, and we ended up at our first ever estate-sale just as it was starting.   We really clicked with the women hosting the sale, and for $105 we got an almost-new bed for two, floor lamp, dresser, full-length mirror, kitchen supplies, coffee table, five-foot-tall corn plant,  political maps of every continent, great posters, towels, linens, and gorgeous wine glasses.

The beach near a house out in one of the tiny country towns where we went to buy a bookshelf. This adorable retired couple gave us a tour of their entire place complete with barns, stables, indoor pond, and a century plant blooming for it’s first and only time in it’s life.

(3) What’s more: when we went to pick up the stuff days later, they also gave us a vacuum cleaner, a bag of cleaning supplies, and an old movie poster.   Off-hand, one of the women asked if we knew anyone interested in coaching children’s gymnastics.   Now, ten days and one interview  later, I am employed by the city of Arcata as a gymnastics instructor!   I’m so excited.   The kids are all under seven, and I get the idea it’s more obstacle courses than cartwheels.   I start on Wednesday. I can’t wait!

(4) We attended our first-ever auction, complete with chili-dogs, nachos, and yummy chocolate milk shakes.   The crowd was definitely the country-music blasting type, and Pat and I felt right at home.   Over a period of four hours, we managed to accumulate $100 worth of stuff (bidding is so exciting!).   We ended up with three stackable tables, an extremely comfortable couch and matching chair, a bookshelf, a desk for me ($5!!!), tiled coffee table, a box of books, and a desk chair for Pat.

(5) Finally, last weekend, I cracked the garage sales bright and early – we managed to get a matching oak table (with leaves) and gorgeous chairs for $80!   I can’t believe our luck.   We were also given a free case of wine and a wine rack.   Today, a woman sold us a beautiful set of dinner plates, tea plates, and bowls (9 each) from an old catering business for $8!

All in all, we’ve furnished our entire beautiful apartment with mostly high-quailty furniture for under $300.   I’m eternally grateful.

Other great news: we are starting a garden, and I am so excited.   It’s my second gardening experience, and the first time I’ll have my very own vegetables growing right outside my front door.   I’m thrilled to be able to grow things through the winter.   We’ve got our starts going indoors, and our project for the rest of the day is to get the garden soil prepped.   We are going to plant carrots, snow peas, snap peas, red onions, walla walla onions, chives (green onions), kohlrabi, cilantro, Italian kale, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and  dwarf blue kale.   We’ve also got some oregano and basil going on the window-sill.   Mmm, mmm, good!

Pat is taking 18 credits this term in the hopes that he can hammer out his last requirements as quickly as possible and be done with it.   Iraq and a change of major have set him back a little farther than we’d hoped.   On the brighter side, he’s got a job in the Veteran’s Affairs office on campus, and is applying to be a building supervisor for the city.   He’s got a pretty good shot at the latter, so we should be set between our jobs, savings, tuition assistance, and G.I. bill.   After our month of travelling at Christmas, I will get serious about getting a full-time job and/or researching Master’s programs.   I thought about getting my MBA, but the program here isn’t quite what I’m looking for.   I’m looking into grant writing, event planning, outdoor leadership positions, and nutritionist possibilities, among other things.   Who knows?!