House warming

What a fun weekend. Saturday we had a housewarming party, and it was both exhausting and exciting at the same time. It was so nice to see many of our friends, even if we couldn't really spend meaningful time with any one of them. It went really well though, and we got lots of compliments on the house. Kat worked really hard to make it look nice.

She got really stressed last week. I'm hoping now that this pressure is off, she'll be a little stressed, but I don't know. She's had a lot to deal with, and this was just the start. She's got several presentations and speeches to prepare, each of which is a pretty big deal on its own, but she's got them all at once. Plus, there's a lot of pressure to get some results in the lab, but all the other stuff is making it harder to spend time doing experiments. Anyway, hopefully now that the move is largely done, this will help alleviate some of that pressure.

Sunday, we took a drive out to the beach. It's about an hour each way, but for some reason, we didn't stay that long. Maybe an hour...two tops. I felt bad because I spent most of the time behind the camera. I think Kat got pretty annoyed after a while, but she was very patient with me. I should be more careful to set aside time for both the camera and just putting it down and letting a picture opportunity pass more often.

But it felt really great to take pictures again. I haven't gotten my nice camera out since we moved. I was a bit worried that this would become one of my hobbies where I spend lots of money getting the gear and such, and am intensely into it, but then I just lose interest and never do anything with it. But Sunday confirmed that I really enjoy this, at least for now. If I ever do lose interest, it will be just because it's becoming so common. It seems like everyone is doing it, and I get a bit jealous of other photographers, especially when they're better than me! But as long as that competitiveness doesn't overtake my creative urge, I think I'll always enjoy it.

Lichen liked the beach, though not as much as I expected. He really liked digging into the sand, but didn't care for the water. He almost entirely ignored the waves, unless one was rushing up the beach at him, and he'd run away as if it were a growling dog nipping at his heels. It was a beautiful beach making a large arc, and there were off-white cliffs reminiscient of the cliffs of Dover off to the North. But dogs weren't allowed on that part of the beach, and I couldn't get a good shot from a distance, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Groups of pelicans came along every couple of minutes and fished in packs, gliding inches from the surface of the water in front of the wave, and flying up whenever the surf would splash, then going back down for more. I thought they made interesting arcs following each other.

All in all, it was a nice day, and a valiant attempt to wear out the dog, who actually pooped out that evening, only to have his second wind right at bedtime. Oh well!