Countdown to Hometurf: The Attic

Six more weeks of Scotland - of exams, of rain and sleet, and crazy lecturers.

And then, on June 12th, I'll land in Memphis.

Praise Jesus. No more people offering me haggis.

Each Wednesday for the next six weeks, I'll be blogging about something I'm looking forward to getting back to in Memphis.

This week? The Attic and Cousin-JP. (Included in this are my wonderful Aunt and Uncle who agreed to let me live with them for another summer, and the family dog, who actually likes me.)

It should perhaps first be stated that I've been living in a flat with five other women this semester. It's the equivalent of Rhodes' Gassel Castle. While they are lovely ladies, it regularly smells like someone (or multiple someones) is making a questionable decision.

(Pot. It smells like pot.)

Three summers ago, after high school graduation, I went to Open Rhodes, and then moved into the attic space in my Aunt and Uncle's home until classes started in August. The attic in the blue-gray Midtown bungalow is my favorite place I've lived in the last few years. Aside from trading in the pungent smell of freshman year life choices for the smell of good food and clean laundry, there are 20 million other reasons I love it.

It breathes stability, and as a 21-year-old undergraduate looking forward to seven-ish more years of school, of apartments, moving, and new cities, it is so sweet having a place to go in Memphis, where there are grownups with perspective who will still listen to my nonsense rambling about classes and meetings. It's also where I can chill with Cousin-JP and eat a bowl of queso, and where most of the adventure sagas that start with "So I was hanging out with JP the other day..." begin. And for those who you who have heard those stories, you know they are always excellent and hilarious.

With all of the craziness of summer research, and as I'll have to start thinking about grad school applications (read: moving to a new city, again), I love, love, love that I get to stay in The Attic with these wonderful people. Cousin-JP and I already have a working list of things to do this summer. Obviously, Mexican food and a How I Met Your Mother marathon are among the highlights.

On a Scotland-related note, here are some pictures from my Sunday afternoon walk through the Botanic Gardens. Things are really starting to bloom, though I waited too long to photograph the crocuses in the labyrinth...they didn't survive the sleet and wind last week. Still - a planted flower labyrinth is way cool.