I Feel Like A Spy

Sitting in the back of the van amongst the trees, darkness surrounds me...the cat walked on her harness and leash. She was so curious about all the animal scents...I can hear the tiniest of sounds and I feel like a spy, except a spy would know how to work this phone, and I don't...next stop, Santa Fe.

Nevada Rollercoaster

Hmmm, where did I leave off? Never mind, I wrote that post in my sleep anyway...so, I enjoyed the visit with Carin, Thayne, Leo and Suzanne immensely! Coco thought he was in Doggie Disneyland. Frodo (Carin's dog) was happy to shepard Coco around the dairy and introduce him to the cows and Coco was only too happy to pee on each and every blade of grass. He was ecstatic, and slept with a smile on his face all week. Fluffy got off to a rough start...Frodo, it turns out is trained to attack anything smaller than him (a doxie) which put Fluffy in the category of mouse. I'm sure you can sympathize with her regal cat horror, that is until...Thayne plowed the grounds around the farm disturbing the field mice (who decided that the garage complete with rabbit food was THE place to be. Fluffy had a mouse party, and frankly, I have never seen her happier.
I had intended to spend four or five days in Fallon, but the hospitality as well as the additional visits by Jennifer, Denise, her two girls (Lilly and Haley aka Cute and Cuter) and their roommate Colleen made a week go by in a blink.

I did get to visit Honey Lake which was certainly beautiful, but was eliminated as a potential residence due to road conditions. I got a little itchy to get back on the road, but Carin gave me a talking to and I must confess, she convinced me to slow down and enjoy the moments - which I certainly did! Laura called on Thursday and we planned to get together for her birthday tomorrow but, it was not to be. I'm still not sure why, but I wish her a very happy thirtieth and hope she enjoys herself however she chose to spend it.

After eating everything that didn't eat me first, also known as Lilly's fourth birthday party, I headed back to California to get my car smogged to complete it's registration. I am not going to explain why I left Ca. without doing this first, you just have to know me...Fluffy, who has become quite the traveler, has earned the privilege of entering and exiting her carrier at will. She enjoys climbing all over the van and visiting with Coco in the back seat. At about three in the morning, I was driving down 395 which had become a two lane highway. Fluffy climbed up the passenger seat back to survey her kingdom from the top of the neck rest. After some time of going up and down the windy hilly road, an eighteen wheeler with it's brights on was clearly visible for miles. Fluffy, so new to driving was certain that she was going to be cat scrap and let out a yowl that could be heard into the next county. I am not certain how she reached this particular pitch while jumping backwards to hide under the bench seat where she remained until I removed her this evening. My guess, Fluffy does not like roller coasters, so no Disneyland ticket for her.

Anyway, it turns out that there are NO smog stations off the 395 south so I headed east toward the Arizona border and found a smog station in beautiful downtown Barstow. If you are not familiar with Barstow, consider yourself lucky, all you need to know is that it is in the middle of the desert and people live there on purpose (though I am not sure why).

While the young man with the irregular Mohawk, more v than centered, put my car on the apparatus, he had the left wheel touching the metal plate that supports the car. As he accelerated to the necessary mph, patches of rubber flew off the tire with clouds of choking rubber smoke. "Stop" repeated loudly did nothing to alter his procedure until other words were added. I will not repeat these magic words for fear of confusing those of you who do not speak fluent French.

To make a long story short, the owner of the shop is replacing my tire and yes, it did have to be custom ordered, so I am writing you tonight from the Budget Inn-conveniently located right next to Denny's and twelve blocks from the tire store.

Tomorrow I am either going to Tuscon or San Diego, yes I realize that they are not even in the same state or direction but Gypsy Noonan is in from Alaska until the 15th and is staying in San Diego and I have already RSVP'd for a stay in Tuscon so you can see my dilemma? I'll have to let you know how it works out, in the meantime, believe it or not...drum roll please...AT&T actually managed to get my home phone calls forwarded to my cell phone (only one month late) but if you have deleted that number it's fine with me since it come directly to me without any AT&T fingerprints or charges...talk to you soon.

Remembering Memorial Day

Having spent a week in Nevada visiting my sister, Suzanne, her daughters and grandchildren - complete with the cutest little dogs you ever saw, I actually remembered it was Memorial Day this morning.

If I could, I would go to my father's grave this morning - though I am in the wrong state for that - nonetheless, I appreciate what he did to support our freedom and democracy. It is not that I think he is the only one who did so, thankfully many have and continue to do so, it is just that that is where I start. Remembering my father putting on his John Phillip Souza album and shouting "Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day!" at some ungodly hour...he really wanted us to appreciate our freedom and those who paid so dearly for it, and I do! It seems the older I get, the more I appreciate it...perhaps I am not so busy wondering if I will get a pimple today...be that as it may, I would like to thank all of the people that have spent some or all of their lives keeping us free! Happy Memorial Day!

I am sorry to report that I have not figured out how to post to my blog from my cell phone, but I do promise to be more diligent in finding a link or signal so as not to worry ya'll.

I did get to check out and eliminate Honey Lake from my list of destinations. It certainly was beautiful, but the mail is delivered to the mailboxes on Rt. 395 and the main roads heading in and out of the community are hard packed sand...both of which are deal breakers for me...so the journey continues...

All Ready, Except AT&T

Ah, so close...ready to go, just one box to integrate into the van. The district has invited me to join the board for retirement recognition on Thursday-and off I go...except for one little thing-my phone.

I have had the same phone number for over twenty years, so yeah, I want to keep the number. For a small fee, AT&T will forward all of the calls to that number to my cell phone. A virtual phone if you will. This was a tremendous relief to me until it actually failed to happen. Since Friday, my phone has been giving an out of service message, and I dare say that some people are really worried about me....thanks AT&T! Here I am embarking on the most adventurous move of my adult life and they need to trip people out? Aye yi yi...
yeah, I've spoken to them a half dozen times, and according to the robot it's all fixed except that it isn't and if it doesn't get fixed within a day or so, I guess they saved me the money because it won't be worth doing after all.

In the meantime, I am enjoying Lorraine and Jim's hospitality and tightening up the van inventory. I have found a small city that I really am interested in living in, northern California, so it's my next stop. I'll fill you in when I work out the details...this is going to be fun!

Fluffy, the Traveling Cat

Fluffy is my cat. She has become a traveling cat, though she did not get to vote. She likes her carrier, she just likes it to stay in one place. Now she is okay when the vehicle is moving but when it stops she complains loudly. Will this make me run red lights, no, but it might make a good excuse. "NO officer, I saw the light, but the cat told me not to stop." Would make for an interesting hospital visit, no? Anyway, Fluffy is acclimating to the adventure pretty well. Coco, on the other hand is in heaven. He's always loved traveling, but now he has his best friend with him.

As for me, I am getting the van in to shape for traveling. Deciding what you really need is a little complex. I'm staying with my friends, Jim and Lorraine, who are geographically close to my former home. However, this allows me to get in a few practice runs in with the setup and the animals, and I'm getting the kinks out. Next, I'll need to make an actually itinerary.

Another POD?

I am writing from my kitchen floor because all the furniture is in a POD. This POD system is amazing! They drop it off, you fill it, they take it away and store it. When you want it back, let them know and they bring it where ever you want them too. My new way to move.

Richard and Kevin worked until the POD was stuffed to the gills, and it will be picked up in the morning.However, the yard furniture didn't make it in, one of the kitchen chairs is still here and assorted pieces that I probably could live without, but that one kitchen chair? No, I think I need to get just one more pod, a small one-true, but in for a penny, in for a pound I guess. So the packing continues and I guess I get to keep the lawn furniture after all...

Throwing Away Broken Belief

What an amazing job my brothers did for me today! I knew I had a ton of stuff, but it turned out to be two tons. Oh mercy me, I am so blessed to have so much stuff - but please...anyway, during the course of this very long day, I actually threw away a broken belief...I'm hoping that's true in more ways than one. The way that it is definitely true is that one of my students gave me a beautiful Belief as a Christmas gift. I needed to throw it away.

Over the past year or so, a housekeeper accidentally broke it - so I glued it back together and it was fine. Today, it broke again and so...I threw away my broken belief. Considering the adventure I am embarking on, I do believe this to be a very wonderful thing, even if it is only symbolic...which I don't think it is. How cool is that?

Should Belief be thrown, unceremoniously, cast into the can? Or buried in a shoebox with a written broken belief? This is a cool idea...I think I'll sleep on this idea and throw it away tomorrow.

For tonight it is late, and I had a really big day. I surly earned a great night's sleep.

Thanks for checking in...how about letting me know that you did? I'd like that :D