IT'S OFFICIAL:

We're moving to Madison, Wisconsin in August.

I'll probably write more about this in the upcoming months. We'll be there for at least five years. Five prime years. Paul obtaining his Phd in Sociology and me, well, we'll see what happens. It'll be a bittersweet move. Of course, I don't want to move from Portland. I don't think I'll ever will. But it's a necessity, and I have to admit that I am excited to start over and establish ourselves in a new place and community. There's a lot to look forward to, and also to be nervous about.

One thing that we do know is that we're going to take advantage of this summer to stay in Oregon (which will be only my second full summer here in the past nine years) and explore the outdoors as much as possible. Once Paul is back from Outdoor School I will begin to work four-tens each week, alternating M-Th, Tues-F, so that every other week we'll have a four-day weekend. We'll be heading to the coast, the Cascades, glacial lakes, the high desert, caves, temporate rainforests, lava fields, circumnavigating mt. hood, to hot springs, and many other wonders. Backpacking a ton. Taking in new sights and old favorites (Smith Rock, Newberry Crater, Black Butte, Neah-kah-nie, the Gorge). Maybe a trip up to the Olympics or the San Juan Islands. Our time is already much too short.