As I've discussed before, living here tosses me around between the rocks of despair and the currents of "this is pretty cool, really". The not-quite-a-small-town size of this city can be so awesome. People introduce themselves on the street with a handshake and you WILL see them again, make no mistake. But not every day, so you're not afraid to leave your house. And good things do happen. My favourite people in Durham come into my library by chance and we get to chat. All three of my family met for beers after work yesterday and then we walked over to see a punk rock marching band play outside the craft store. This morning I went to the farmers market, the best coffee shop in town that also sells my favourite baby board book , got bike repair parts at my little bike shop that I will fix with the help of the free bike co-op down the road tomorrow (and at the bike store I kinda fell hard for the Trek Lime Lite with its Cruiser like abilities in lieu of the very expensive Euro bike I really want). We then went for a tour of the first brewery to open in Durham, just having celebrated its first year. One of the co-owners gave me fresh top-ups of my White beer (brewed with orange peel and coriander, yum) because he has a 7.5 month old and he said he knows it is a tough job. We came home with growlers of it to fill the fridge. All week we have eaten strictly from our CSA produce and the pantry which has resulted in some really delicious vegan meals. The tomatoes here are insane. This afternoon as the thunderheads gather we are fooling around with our bikes, gardening, making pizza including dough from scratch, watching movies from my library, painting, knitting and playing music. In the heat heat heat of summer. With cold beer. Life isn't always so bad here, nope. Or maybe it's the beer talking.