Bathing In Time

Found the answering machine and my cookbooks. Can only find one old phone. I am longing for the cordless phones. Remember phones with cords? Ick. You would think the phones would be with the answering machine wouldn't you?

We are in town today to get dog supplies and for me to use the computer. Mollie finally comes home tomorrow. I am apprehensive about the whole deal. I am most worried about the cats. Rocket Socks loves me and follows me everywhere. I think it may break her heart to have to share me. Whomper Dinky I think will adapt. She hates people and fears nothing. I think she will take Mollie in her stride. If any of you have any advice about how to introduce a canine family member into an all feline household I would welcome your words of wisdom. I have never had a dog before. Can you believe it? I am a fifty year old woman and this will be my first dog. Will be an adventure.

When we first moved up here I wrote about it being like going back in time. The feeling is stronger since we have moved into our new old house. I grew up in a house with a coal furnace and fuses. The movie "Christmas Story" depicts our life. Coal dust, extension cords and continually blown fuses. Welcome to my present. The coal furnace is gone thank heaven and the fuses have been replaced by breakers, but the inconvenience is the same. Our whole house seems to be wired to two breakers. I cannot run the kitchen baseboard heaters on anything other than low and the water heater at the same time. Makes for one cold kitchen. I cannot use the microwave and the toaster at the same time. Makes for one slow breakfast. I cannot vacuum and run the humidifier at the same time. If Mark shaves with an electric razor the t.v. quits. If this sounds funny I am not telling it right. Mark, who grew up in the suburbs, thinks we bought a pig in a poke and are going to burn to death in a huge conflagration. I just unplug something, wait for the breaker to cool off, and go on about my business. It is like second nature. We did it all the time as kids. I can cope wtih this.

It is the bath thing that bothers me. We have two bathrooms. Mark's is in the 1999 addition. It is beautiful and new. At least compared to mine. I think my bathroom used to be a bedroom. I'd say it was updated in the 40's. I have both a shower and a tub, separate. The shower is in rough shape. We haven't yet fixed it. I have been using the tub. The last time I took a daily bath was in high school. Some things you don't forget. Like the fuses/breakers, taking a bath came naturally to me. But something has changed. I am fifty, not seventeen. I had forgotten how athletic bathing actually is. I automatically went into my well remembered ablution routine, and got stuck in the tub. How I slithered around in that high school tub is a mystery to me. I can't do it anymore. I used to get on my hands and knees and rinse my hair under the faucet.... That's how I got stuck. If this sounds funny I am not telling it right. After Mark assisted me to my feet we went out and bought a hand held shower deal. I am moving the shower project to the head of the list.

Okay time to quit. We are going to go home and set up dog stuff and then come back into town for the Christmas Parade. Yep, tractors and horses and floats and the high school band. All covered in Christmas lights and good cheer. And then we all have hot chocolate and cookies out in front of the bank. My seventeen year old self is excited and my fifty year old self is delighted. It is good to be home in "time" for the holidays.

Hope you all had many blessing for which to be thankful. We sure did. Take care of yourselves, Love Bea.

...and a dollar short.

Found my shoes. Still no internet. Mollie dog comes home this week. Walked on the treadmill for fifteeen minutes today. Took me two and a half hours to find the saftey key thing so the treadmill would actually run. (Found it in with the cat food.) I am sick of being protected for my own good. If I fall off the side I am too dumb to be walking on it.

Very tired this eve, as usual. Went with Mark today to south office. Long drive but at least I was able to get curtain rings so I can put up curtains in the bedroom. Towels draped over the rods are getting to be a pain in the neck. No books unpacked, but the cable guys showed up. I have t.v. again. Finally got all the stuff moved from the garage into the house. I still have way too much junk.

Eating is fair to awful. Bought bigger size jeans today. Too depressing for words.

Will be more upbeat next week. Plan to spend Thanksgiving sleeping. Hope you all have a safe wonderful Holiday.

Take care. Love Bea

Home Again

Markovian Theory: "There are worse things than moving but then the war is over and you are discharged."

I am in Mark's office on his computer. Ours will not be set up for another month. We are going wireless and it turns out to be a big darn deal to switch. I will be posting from here on Sundays. Did you miss me? I sure missed y'all.

I am only four pounds fatter. I know, all the stuff I have been through in the last couple of months and my main concern is my fat. I know you know.

Moving was a mitigated nightmare. Only one horse trailer showed up to help, but, the weather was glorious and I got to see lawyers moving furniture. Took six of them to take down the clothesline. All chiefs and no laymen. Ver ver funny. All possessions arrived intact. A miracle.

Horse trailer et. all hauled over the furniture. Mark and I did the rest in the cars. For the last three days of October we got 2-3 hours sleep a night. So tired I was sick. That awful feeling you have after working four or five 12 hour night shifts in a row. Shampooing the carpets at 3am on the 31st was the worst. But we got it done. We got back our whole deposit plus some. The landlords paid us for the improvements we made to the house. As we were leaving a work force was arriving to fix water pipes, faucets, gas leak and electrical problems. Thank God we are out of there. Never buy or live in a house that faces north. Nothing but darkness and trouble.

New house faces west. Windows galore. Cats love it, and so do I. My "creepy flesh colored" living room and bedroom are beautiful. I put lace edged shelf paper on the kitchen shelves. The washer and dryer work when I push the buttons. We watch deer and elk on the mountain side from the breakfast table. I am content. Now if I could just find my shoes. I have one old pair of tennies I have been wearing for a month. I finally went out and bought another pair of shoes in desperation.

Came to the end of myself during this most recent move. Not a pretty sight. Found God at the end of me. Was a surprise. I almost never run out of me. Whole darn move has been about faith and my willingness to trust God. At the end of me, there was trust. I had no other options. I was granted strength, and peace and joy. Praise God.

Found no comfort in binge eating. Made me feel worse. Pattern of eating for pain relief is still present, but some of the nerve synapses must be dead. Thank God.

End of the line for this week. Going home to my snug little home and TAKE A NAP. See you next Sunday.

Take care of yourselves. Love Bea