More animals for the Street family!

If you don't know by now, you should. The Street family is crazy over animals. At one point and time, the Street household held four dogs! With us, more is better.

Although Yoda fulfilled our need to have a fuller household, we have been discussing the possibility of having another pet.

Street Mutt: Another dog?
One Way: Nah, I don't feel like a crazy dog person with only two.

One Way: Another cat?
Street Mutt: You don't like the cat we have!

Street Mutt: Another horse?
One Way: No way! Too expensive!

One Way: Another turtle?
Street Mutt: Yoda would be jealous!

Through my job, I encounter all sorts of interesting stories. One of my most recent stories was on the increase of urban and suburban households raising chickens for fresh eggs and companionship. All we would need is chickens, a coup, and a couple minutes a day to clean and feed. Sounds perfect, right?

Well, I was so head of heels for having two chickens in the yard, until One Way actually agreed with me! Then, I balked. Do we really need any more responsibilities?

One Way and I came up with an ingenious solution to our dilemma. Since our home butts up to some woods, we always see birds and hear them. So, our idea was to draw them into the yard with feed, green life and bird houses. We picked this up at Lowes.

The surprising thing? Watching birds in our backyard has become a mini-hobby for us! Right now, we are the favorite stomping ground for a few pairs of cardinals, mourning doves, black birds, common grackles, mocking birds, purple finches and (we think) an Eastern phoebe or a female rose-breasted gosbeak.

Here's a picture of our new "pets":

Breaking news: One Way has a second wife

Yes, it's true. One Way actively practices polygamy. After purchasing our home, One Way approached me to see if I was open to the idea ... and I agreed.

Now, we picked up Second Wife at Bed Bath & Beyond. She's a lot younger than me, a bit rounder, and a whole lot shorter. Really, having another wife around is great, especially since she loves to vacuum and I really don't.

We are now ready to share our strange triangle of love with the world. Judge us, if you must.

Here is a picture of Second Wife:

Enter my mouth you must

Here's a nice sequence of shots from Yoda's daily worm hunt. If you look closely, you can see him using the Force to bend the worm's will.

"Hmmmrr? A worm I see. Stalk worm I must."


"Hold still you must. Bite you I must."


"Slurp you down I must. Strong the hunger Force is."

More pictures and musings from last weekend

My family lends itself to a double post. They are characters -- and there is always something going on "crazy." For example, we may be the only family in America that will wake up at 6, go water skiing, make a huge breakfast, go fishing, play "horse" and "dragon" pool basketball, play/watch an 8-10 year old baseball game, play rounds of ping pong, discuss current politics and gossip, make a huge dinner, watch a movie, and about 50 other things.



This is Holly. She's a lab, but really her main function at the Danzell house seems to be dish washer.



Here's another pic from One Way and Danzell #5 fishing. They love each other so much. If I come home without One Way, Danzell #5 pouts. If I come home without One Way, One Way pouts.



And here's a nice action shot from the game of "horse" in the pool. One Way and Danzell #5 got really good at doing this jump-n-shoot shot.

Headed to the Head

We went to Hilton Head this weekend to visit with the Danzell family. We got in Friday night and will leave Sunday afternoon. It takes about 7 hours to get here from Hilton Head -- not too bad if you like long hours on the road.

We surpised Dad Danzell for Father's Day -- he had no clue we were coming, even though Mama Danzell and the 4 Danzell Siblings knew! It feels good to be back home and with family.

Here are some photos of our time so far:



If you have not had a pancake breakfast at the Danzells, you haven't lived. Dad Danzell is world renown (yes, world ... there are people in The Netherlands who know of his great skill, and that is not because he is married to a Dutch woman ...)
for his awesome breakfast skills. I love this photo because it is Dad in his element!



Remember when I said how great Ana is with children? Well she has been loving all over Baby Luke!



This morning, One Way and Danzell #5 went fishing. One Way hooked this large marlin, but #5 reeled it in! Way to go!



Then, we went into a refreshing dip in the pool. Go Baby Luke!!!

I'll take some more photos later on and post them after the trip. Have a great Father's Day everyone!!! I know Dad Danzell will!

Here in Newport

Well, I've been bad about keeping everyone updated (but that isn't all that surprising, is it?). Truth be told, I typically post these things from work during my lunch hour, but my new job has this site blocked so I can't post. I guess I should be doing work at work (gasp!).

The house

The house is mostly put together. We put two trees in our predominantly grassy backyard: a Laturrula fig and an American Persimmon. I found a wonderful nursery not too far from our house where I got them. The flower bed, which sits along the back side of the house and the side of the porch, is also finished and has vincas, a climbing fig, a climbing rose, Gerber daisies, hydrangeas, rosemary and a couple other flowers that I forget the name of. Our porch has four baskets of herbs: cilantro, basil, thyme, oregano and salvia.

We have a "new" chandelier in the kitchen which compliments our 100-year-old oak table and 1700s prints. It looks fantastic and is joined by china from Grandma Shirley, who passed this spring.

The living room is almost finish -- we just have to stain our TV stand and hall stand to match the fireplace, and get a marble slab for the front of the fire place.

We have been using our garage a lot. Love it. So nice to have your car out of the weather!

I have made some new art for our bedroom, which has a Costa Rica theme. I transferred a couple of photos that I took down there onto burlap and put them on a white canvas -- it looks great (especially with One Way's idea to back them with the white).

Mama Jenny came up a couple weekends ago and decorated our guest bathroom (THANK YOU!). It is gorgeous with a slight Mediterranean feel to it.

The jobs

One Way and I are enjoying our new responsibilities with our new jobs. They are very fulfilling.

The commute

My work is about 8.6 miles away and One Way's is about 16 miles away. In anticipation of our move, he and I bought road bikes to help us cut down on gasoline.

This past week, I started riding my bike to work. I drove in earlier in the week and kept my car parked at work since I have to go out on the clock for interviews. The commute is nice. A majority of my trip is on Highway 70 which has a large shoulder. Then, when I cross over onto Bridges Street, there is a nice bike path. It takes me less than 40 minutes one way.

Riding your bike helps you become more intimate with your surroundings. I'm noticing birds, plants, etc., that I would never have noticed in my car. I almost feel sorry for the people driving their cars. They get all stressed at the stop lights and arrive at work frazzled ... I get relaxed from riding my bike and arrive at work ready to take on the world. Although, I must say, roadkill is a thousand times more disgusting while you are riding your bike by.

One Way hasn't started riding his bike to work yet. But, his commute is considerably farther. He'll probably do it only a couple times a week.

Aside from the health benefits and lowered stress levels, I estimate that riding my bike to work is saving me around $50 a month. Which is not huge, but one small step. I'm also saving about 15 gallons or so a month from being wasted. That feels pretty good too.

The food

The seafood here is fantastic. The fresh produce is fantastic. Just last week, biking home, I picked up two pounds of shrimp and a pound of kale for about $8 and came home and cooked a fresh meal. One Way and I plan on using our areas resources a ton! That way we can eat very healthy and for not much more money than eating meat shipped 3,000 miles away.

The animals

All of the animals have adjusted to their new lives very well. Buttercup is still in training, probably through July 1. Yoda is getting bigger, Kit and Ana love the trails and the railroad tracks behind our house, and Missy Cat loves that she can go out into the backyard from time to time.

The community

People here are great. They are very honest and very open. I have met some wonderful people through my job, but most are in their 80s so I don't think I'll be going out to have drinks with them.

I met Bob Simpson who founded The Big Rock Blue Marlin Festival and was a freelance writer for 20 years before the Crystal Coast was "found." He has invited us to join the Carteret County Wildlife Club. We will be going to a cookout later today. Basically, we will help build and maintain trails for the Neusiok Trail. Awesome!!!

We have started going to the reform synagogue B'Nai Sholem in New Bern. The people are very unpretentious and very nice. Very welcoming! So, hopefully we will be doing more with them. They have already invited me to be on a committee or two, and if I have the time, I'll be happy to oblige.

We haven't made any real friends yet. But we haven't had a chance to interact with people our own age. One Way is having fun golfing, and I'm having fun running around the community and meeting people.



Anyway, I will get more pictures when I have a chance. I have some fantastic ones of One Way and his new ship, the Smilax (reminds me of Smile+Relax, haha). We miss everyone and can't wait for people to start visiting me, and for when we can get a chance to visit everyone!