dining al fresco . . .

After a nice outdoor breakfast this morning (thank you to Jason and Deena for introducing us to the world of Bagels & Beans!), I had the wonderful realization that we have eaten outdoors for five out of our last seven meals. How awesome is that? The weather has been great, it's breezy, no humidity, and every restaurant has a patio. And even at the places where we've eaten indoors, we've sat next to an open door or window and been able to enjoy the scenery, the people, and the city.

This adds to my feelings of "vacation" (I don't know if that's good or bad), because we would consider ourselves lucky to eat outside twice in one week back home, let alone five times in half a week. And while I could convince myself it's just because we're staying in a hotel and having to eat out so much that we are exposed to outdoor dining, I'm also looking forward to it when we move into our new house. You see, we have two floors where doors and windows open on an entire wall to give us the fresh, beautiful air. Truth be told, and this may come as a shock to many, our house (and the majority of homes here) does not not have air conditioning. Everyone just opens windows to let in the crisp air. This may take some getting used to, but for now I am just enjoying the air as a reminder of one of God's many blessings. I read a quote this morning by Jostein Gaarder, who said, "How terribly sad is it that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living?" While the busyness of life no doubt takes over at many times, I hope I can continue to stop every once in a while and be reminded of this incredible life we're given.

~Jessi

Our breakfast at Bagels & Beans