A Visit with My Buddies

My daughter and I were out running errands, trying to fix our latest problems caused by other people's incompetence, and decided to stop by the boarding facility to visit our buddies. The boarding facility owner had asked me to turnout the horses when I do come to visit, because she wants them to stretch their legs more often than just on the days she is able to do it. So, after we

Bumps and Dips

The foothills of the Superstition Mountains are filled with roads that have bumps and dips, which are right in line with how my circumstances have been unfolding, practically on an hourly basis.



After freaking out about the fabulous timing of our car's electronics going on the fritz, I thought, "Well, at least we should be getting a big fat check at the end of the month when the house sells."

And So It Goes...

The day started off well. I met Cut-N-Jump and the real estate agent/hay farmer she introduced me to, who helped me find my new house, at a great Mexican restaurant for lunch. We sat for three hours and talked about hay, horses, food, exercise -- you name it -- over cervezas and in my case, fish tacos, rice and re-fried beans. I was hoping to watch Cut-N-Jump compete with her horses, but show

Horsey Heaven

I was able to take a break from Midge's potty party to visit the horses. They were excited because the boarding facility was booming with activity over a three-day holiday weekend. Some people were driving a draft horse up and down the street from a carriage. I'm sure that was a totally new sight for my guy and gals.  Gabbrielle is a bit on the skinny side with being fed half grass, half

Enslaved by Dogs

Midge had a $250 follow-up appointment regarding her diabetes and eye infection, another full day in the vet hospital for them to monitor her glucose levels.  She really hates that place.  When we drive her to the vet hospital, she rolls down the back window and tries to jump out, so we have to lock the windows.  Then she climbs all over us and doesn't want any of the staff touching her.

When

Scenes From Another Geocaching Adventure

My daughter and I covered the all the geocaches in the southwest quadrant of the public land across the road from us this morning.  None were particularly challenging, because people really only have the choice of hiding them under a pile of rocks or a piles of logs, but we do enjoy the hikes.





















One of the things that I really appreciate with this new neighborhood is not having

From the Inbetween State

This is one of two horses who live up on the hill above the arroyo.  Their knickers and whinnies will have to suffice until I can get my horses onto my property.  I haven't given up yet.  I just keep reminding myself that because of the move, we are going to get walloped with all kinds of additional, unexpected expenses that are going to thwart my plans and make me go over budget, but some day

More Money Down the Drain

Literally.  I received news that a main pipe under my old house in Nevada is cracked and needs to be replaced.  I keep wondering how much longer I'm going to have to fork out cash to repair a house that will no longer be mine after June.

The day before I left for my new home in Arizona, I noticed water running out from underneath the house, across our new concrete walkway and onto our lawn. 

Some Fun Comparisons

I've noticed a few differences between Nevada and Arizona over the past couple of weeks.  Of course, these are just first impressions and generalizations, but they are something I've observed.

Busiest aisle in a Nevada supermarket:  The check out aisle and any aisle in the parking lot.
Busiest aisle in an Arizona supermarket:  The ice cream aisle.  (Despite this, everyone seems to be skinny.)

First AZ Geocache Hunt

My husband and I started off the morning updating our contact info for all our accounts and on all the websites we use.  When I got to Geocaching.com, I did a quick search to see if there were any geocaches hidden in the equestrian trails across the road.  Sure enough, there were several!

My daughter volunteered to go on a quick hike with me to find the three closest ones.  We came to an area

Pictures

I took two walks today and took pictures with my point-and-shoot.  The first walk was at noon, so I didn't get the best lighting.  The second one was at sunset.  But first, I wanted to mention that Scrappy is starting to feel at home...



 And Midge can open her boo-boo eye now...



Here's an example of the hiking / horse riding trails around my new house...



There is some construction, but

The Latest News

I was looking for a picture to upload with this post, but couldn't find any.  I need to get out and go on a photography expedition to have more visuals for the blog.  We're still unpacking and having trouble making everything fit in the new house.  Every day is filled with phone calls, text messages, errands and appointments.  I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy my new surroundings beyond

Monster Encounter

We seem to keep experiencing fairly rare sightings this week. There was a Gila Monster in our back yard.







The focus on this one isn't good, but it's the only shot I got of its banded tail.



From what I read, these creatures are an endangered species and not only is it illegal to handle one, but very dangerous, because they are venomous. They are slow moving and easy to catch, but can

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

This offer we got on our old house is turning out to be a thorn in my side.  I'm realizing that I'm just not up to weathering the stress of one more real estate transaction this soon.  When I was selling my mother's house, it was painful because I lost a buyer due to a harsh home inspection, I was having to pay all her household bills despite having lost my job, and I ended up losing hundreds

It's a Good Thing I Slept in my Clothes Last Night

I got up to go eat breakfast and found Scrappy, my little black Chiweenie, wagging his tail by the front door.  Standing by the back door usually means he's got to go #1 and standing by the front door means #2.  I opened the front door and walked outside with him, expecting the usual -- a lot of sniffing around bushes in our yard until he finds the perfect spot.  I was in my bare feet and he was

Ups and Downs

We finally got our first full grocery shopping expedition done this morning, which is a good thing because I was getting tired of drinking water and eating fast food.  I was astounded when the lady bagging our groceries welcomed us to the area after I mentioned that we just moved here and needed an application for a discount card. 

I then drove over to the home of one of my Nuzzling Muzzles

The Journey: Part 4

Obviously, my fingers are feeling better now, because the posts are coming fast and furious.  I found the right kind of hand lotion to do the trick.  I knew I had some.  It was just a matter of opening the right box...



I swear, this was a really classy house when we bought it, and we haven't even been here a week and we've already trashed the place.  Anyway, I know some of you are anxious to

The Journey: Part 3

The drive from Northern Nevada to the Phoenix area of Arizona was relatively uneventful, save getting accosted in a gas station in Blythe by a beggar who claimed to be out of both gas and money.  You always have to wonder about people like that.  How did they get into the situation of being stranded, assuming they are telling the truth?  Didn't they plan ahead?  Do they survive through

The Journey: Part 2

You may recall that one of my problems with traveling last week was the timing of a certain visitor who is in the habit of completely incapacitating me for at least four days in a row.  Despite getting all the warning signs and pre-symptoms, the visitor never came.  I suspect that my body and mind had been under such intense stress that even Aunt Flo didn't want to be around me.




This is the

The Journey: Part 1

I am officially and physically in my new home.  I decided to title this "Part 1" of the journey to the new home, because I have so many stories to tell, but am a bit handicapped at the moment and can't share all.  First off, I have pictures on my camera, but can't find the cable to upload them to my computer.  There are a lot of things I can't find because the entire house and garage are filled

Taking A Short Break

I'm taking a short break from packing to tell some funny stories.  Yesterday my husband was cleaning out the garage when that annoying little boy who the old woman next door babysits came riding up on his bike.  He had one of those professional snake catching devices that Mikey has and said, "Since I am an experienced snake catcher, I would like to look for snakes over there in your bushes."

My