happy friday!

It's been awhile since I've written a happy friday post, but I was reading through some of my archives the other day and I remembered that there's value in these quick posts as well. This blog has taken the place of the journaling I used to do (although I started keeping a Line a Day journal this year and haven't missed a day yet), and I should do a better job of noting the mundane parts of life, because in the end, that's sometimes what matters most.

T and I came back from our trip to Xi'an, and have been staying in Melissa's apartment this week, while ours was painted. That was a whole ordeal itself, but it's done finally and we should be moving back in today. We just had it repainted white but it was worth it for a fresh start and our apartment looks so bright again. We're going to wait a while before we put anything back up on the walls, partly to let the paint fully dry, but also because I want to think a bit about what to put up. (You can see peeks of our home here.)

T and I had a few dates this week. We went for dinner at Great Leap #45, our first time, for pizza. It was good! I'm already planning another visit soon. We also had a couple of lunch dates. It's so nice to get out for lunch, a change in our usual routine.

I've connected with a few teachers who will be coming here to teach and I'm excited to get to know them more. Teaching at an international school is bittersweet; there are lots of goodbyes, but lots of hellos, too.

I made progress on my summer goals: the apartment was painted; I washed the curtains (and our couch cushions!); I got my pap test and saw a dermatologist (both with good results!). I didn't read the books on the list yet, but I did read 2 novels (look for my June book report next week).

I'm looking forward to getting our apartment back in order this weekend, hopefully sitting on a patio somewhere with good food and drinks, and one of my best friends is returning to Beijing for the summer!

Happy Friday! And to my fellow Canadians, happy Canada Day!