I wrote this several days ago. I held off on publishing because I had intended to post photos with the verbiage. I still haven't had a chance to load the pictures to my computer, so I'll have to add them later...

Before my sister left, she reminded me that this house is a blessing. I had been feeling so overwhelmed and fearful that it was hard for me to see the positive in this situation. It was hard to focus past the broken sink, the useless shower in the master bath, etc. I was stuck thinking about the cost of the move, and the cost of establishing ourselves in this new place. It all lead me to feeling stuck - far from "home" - unable to leave.

Today as I stood in the kitchen, putting away our fresh produce from the CSA, and listening to Tristan and Dustin laughing in the back yard, I could appreciate where we are. Here are my lists; a work in progress, in no particular order:

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT BEND

1. Community Supported Agriculture "Agricultural Connections" - amazing strawberries, farm fresh eggs, pasteurized (not homogenized) milk, herbs de provence cheese, reasonable prices
2. People - super friendly & helpful & welcoming, almost without exception
3. Weather - warmer and sunnier than Oakland, at least for now. Hot isn't muggy. It's nice.
4. Desert - dishes & towels air dry. (Not always the case in the Bay Area.)
5. Renewable energy option - we have the option to pay 10% more for our electricity from a renewable source
6. Quiet - a dog barking might wake you up, but that's the only thing that will. There are no crazy ghetto fights or sirens to disturb the peace (this includes internal peace, who knew?)
7. The sky - it's gigantic here. Yesterday, as we drove home from dinner, I was completely transported back to Burning Man for a moment. The sun setting behind the mountains in the east, the moon rising, in the west, the clouds punctuating the great big open that is desert sky. It's just beautiful.
8. The stars - you can see them! There are no street lights on our street. If a house doesn't have the front lights on, it fades from view. At first, this was disconcerting. Now I appreciate this urban plan as a feature. It reduces the glow around Bend so you can be in civilization, while still enjoying the incredible night sky in all its glory.
9. The parks & recreation department - really? Yes! Not only are the parks here immaculate, (they were actually painting the bathroom building when Tristan and I were at Juniper Park yesterday), but they are immense and well appointed. Juniper Park boasts an Olympic sized pool, a modern gym, a class schedule for everything from toddler swimming with parents to cross country skiing/snowboarding fitness prep with weight vests, 5k training class where you run a specific 5k with your class at the end, master swim classes, pilates, etc., all subsidized by local property taxes. In addition to this great roster, they offer childcare for $2.50 - $3.50/hour, max 2 hours. (If you buy 10 sessions, it's cheaper than buying as-needed.)
10. The parks & recreation department again! - there are weekly community events that are family focused. This includes a phenomenal micro-brew tasting festival that is so popular that people travel from out-of-state to attend, movies in the park (in the summer), music festivals, etc. All these activities are either free or very low cost.
11. My skin is clearing up! - I don't know if it's that I'm drinking more water since we're living in a desert, if the air and water are less polluted here, if the dry air is helping, or what the combination of factors is, but my skin looks great. D's noticing his skin is looking better too. Woo-hoo! That's a nice bonus!
12. Food - CSA aside, there are a lot of restaurants here, many with great food. I'll give a report on these as we conduct our culinary tour.
13. Beer - I haven't been drinking much since we've been here, but beer has to be including when compiling a list of Bend's attributes. If you like beer, you'll like Bend.