The cardinals here are so red they make every other shade of red I've ever seen look pale. They're like a neon red. They light up the trees like little glowing winged fireballs. Outside our back window is a wall of pine trees, tall ones, the kind that inspire you to want to write again. The neon redbirds sit on the branches like visiting royalty. I say visiting because they never hang out for long. The squirrells do, though. The pine trees seem to be home to lots and lots of them. They run up & down the branches and chase each other. All this, right outside our back window.

Alabama is beautiful. I had no idea. Not only that, but our particular location is a delight. When we take our walks we're treated to huge old mossy oak trees lining the sidewalks, and really big old restored mansions going all the way to Downtown. We do alot of walking, and we love every minute of it. How can you not walk in a place like this? Just last night I said to him, ...remember 6-35? Aren't you glad we don't have to do THAT anymore?? Neither one of us want to live in Texas. Ever again. (Sorry Texas.)

I don't mean to sound like a tourist's brochure, but one more thing about my new home: the LIBRARY. The library is.... is..... AMAZING. It's this big old historic white building that looks like a courthouse, and when you go in it feels like a really modern bookstore with cool lighting and music section & barstools and tables to sit at, like a coffee shop, then you go further through it and find yourself inside this big open room with a marble floor and big STAIRCASES that go every which-way, and you pick one and go up it, and find yourself with all these different LEVELS filled with SO MANY BOOKS! And internet rooms! And private reading cubbyholes! I was like, what on earth?? They make libraries like this? I guess it has really special funding or something, like not by the government, but by wealthy old people. Because for this to be a public library is really something.

The library sits on the edge of Downtown, which is right on the bay. People do some fishing there off the docks and piers, but there's no beachy places there. For us to get to the beach is about an hour away. Downtown is chock-full of art galleries and cafe's and parks with tame squirrells and statues of important people. Old churches are everywhere and the sound of bells going off in the distance can be heard regularly. It's a simple place, and humble. But beautiful. And the people here are so friendly.

How we got here is so funny. We just decided in less than 5 minutes to come here. He did, actually. He just did. My man just said "pull up a map online" and I did. The rest is history. I could write a REALLY LONG DETAILED BLOG about how we got here and what these first 3 months have been like, and maybe I will. A supreme adventure, for sure. You never know where the hand of God will take you. I had no idea I'd be living here. And I had no idea how much I'd feel at home here. Right off the bat, I sensed that I was home. I never had that feeling in Florida.