A New Year - A New Home

The new year brings me a new home. Byron flew in to Des Moines on January 2nd to meet my parents and help me move to Michigan. My mom, step-dad, grandparents and my niece, Autumn, met me at the airport to greet Byron. I was so excited to see him again! Autumn took to him like a magnet. After discovering that his luggage was in Atlanta, GA, we all went to dinner. My brother and his girlfriend, and my sister and brother-in-law and Jada met us at the restaurant which was a nice surprise.

The weekend was spent jockeying moving trailers and then finally loading the trailer. I couldn't have done it without Byron. Dad and Joyce hauled the trailer with the truck and Byron and I went in my car with Ernie, my parrot, the goldfish, and all of my houseplants - including a 6ft tall Schefflera tree. We all arrived safely and were surprised by the arrival of Byron's parents, Cindy and Peter. Everyone helped unload the trailer and we were sitting down at dinner by 8:30pm. We saw Dad and Joyce off the next morning from their hotel and we began unpacking and organizing.

The following weekend we went over to Grand Rapids to visit Byron's family and relax. Relaxing, it was! We shared another delicious dinner at Graydon's Crossing. After deboning a deer, we all made crab stuffed pork tenderloin which we ate with sweet potatoes and broccoli.

Byron and his mom snowshoed with Sadie along the river while I napped. When I woke, I happened to see them out the bedroom window and took a photo. I took a few moments to wake up then joined them for a walk.







Back in Lansing at my apartment, we continued unpacking and organizing. We slow roasted venison with root vegetables at a low temp. It turned out amazingly tender and delicious. One evening I made Pad Ka Prao Moo - a thai dish with pork, holy basil and chili paste - HOT! We ate this as a scramble for breakfast for a couple of mornings. We found a delicious sushi restaurant - we ate there once at lunch and once at dinner. I'll go back for lunch - you get more for your money.

One evening we drove over to Ann Arbor to visit Byron's friend Nick and his wife, Krystal. We ate a delicious dinner and shared stories. Good times...

This past Friday, we drove over to Grand Rapids again to surprise Byron's mom. We stopped and bought her a bouquet of tulips. We visited grandma for a bit and then headed to the house. Everyone was happy to see us. We went to dinner and then visited for awhile before heading back to Lansing.

Byron and I eased into the morning on Saturday. I gathered some snacks in baggies for his long journey home - cookies, corn chips with flax, clementines and a banana. I took him to the airport where we sat and waited until he had to leave. It was so hard to say good-bye. We don't know when we can see each other again because my schedule is to be determined.

Not many pictures to share...Sorry.

Ernie and me

Byron and me at the Lansing airport saying good-bye until next time

Saturday night I went to game night at my labmates house. I enjoyed myself and it took my mind off of missing Byron. Tomorrow I start work. It will be nice to be busy again.

Happy New Year!