If I had more room...

...these are what I'd buy for the walls.

By Michael Sowa, "Kohler's Pig". I've always loved this pig!

Can't recall the artist's name, saw it in a gallery in Minnesota somewhere. Just reeks of companionship, adoration, and love. It was titled "Batman and Robin".

By Rudy Hurlsmeier, "Krahe" means crow. With boots on. Makes me giggle, and not very much makes me giggle any more.

Don't recall this artist, either.

The Bear Dance, William Holbrook Beard. I actually owned a huge framed print of this once, but gave it away when we downsized to the RV. My friend Joy in Minnesota has one over her sofa. Reminds me of the song Teddy Bears' Picnic, which used to scare the crap out of me when I was really little. This version by Anne Murray isn't dark at all.

Teddy Bears' Picnic (Anne Murray)

Saw this on Ebay. I used it for my Avatar for a while.

Here's what's been going on:

Ron came up to Show Low, fell down (he gets dizzy) and got a huge bruise on his leg because he takes a blood-thinner. Took a while to heal, he was miserable.

Then he drove to Minnesota and cleaned out the storage unit. He was supposed to get RID of it, instead he brought a lot of it here. He also got to cuddle grandbabies.

Then we went to California to meet our first great-grandchild, Oliver. SO precious, so contented, we never did hear him cry all week.

And that's all. Glad I'm home, need a vacation after my vacation...

Mighty contented! Finally!

Most of the US is sweltering. Unprecedented heat and humidity. Y'all need to come visit me for a while.

The White Mountains of Arizona is where Phoenix comes in the summer. At 6500 to 7200 feet elevation, thickly forested in Ponderosa pines, it's nice and cool here. We did get temps into the 90s last week, but everyone says that's very unusual. And it always smells pine-y. I have a futon for guests... Show Low Weather Report!

Well, here's what's new:

I cut back my hours at work to 3 days a week. They're 12 to 15 hour days. Now when they ask me to pick up an extra day (most weeks) I'm not overwhelmed like before. And no more on-call. I feel rested and content. My blood pressure is now controlled and no more nausea if I take my pills, and have stopped losing weight. The future may include having that adrenal node removed, but not this month anyway. I'm busy.

Ron's been in Minnesota cleaning out the storage. He was told to get rid of most of it, but he had to rent a trailer, he said. D'oh! He's due back tonight.

My friends from Kino, Delfie and Jose, left the heat in Colorado and are parked in their motorhome across the road from me for the rest of the summer. I love them.

Ron's granddaughter Lindsay delivered a 9 pound 4 ounce boy, Oliver, on July 2nd. I'm a Great-Grandmother! We're leaving Sunday to drive out to California to see him. I booked a week off.

I re-opened my Etsy shops for my crocheted and felted booties, purses, and amulet bags. Take a peek!
HotWetWool
Barbiloulou

Bought a vintage fishing rod, then found out it's a baitcasting rod, not for a spinning reel. I don't know how to cast a baitcasting reel, it always backlashes. Ron calls it "Professional Over-run". But I decided I'll learn, and found a vintage reel yesterday that fits it. The new ones have thicker plastic "feet" that don't fit.

Phone picture, sorry. Like my fish pillow? Garage sale. Tons of those here, in fact, gotta get going soon, it's Friday, best day for garage sales. Wish Ron was here so I could take the truck, just in case we find something big. My car's so tiny I may have to just buy jewelry... And tonight is Seafood Buffet at the casino. We're going. All the crablegs you can eat. I can eat a lot. They saw them in half for you so you can eat'em faster.

Later! Come visit!

One month later...

Really loving my roomy mobile home in the tall pines! It's SO 60's, yet so perfect for what I need right now.

Ron came up a few weeks ago (when I got kinda sick) and has been helping to tweak things into shape some more. Here's the guest room, now that I got my futon back. The couple that traded me the mobile for our fifth wheel bought a big sofa and gave me back my futon!

And when Jan and John Knicklebein came for a week, we found these deck chairs at a yard sale on the Rez for $20. They match the mobile's green and white theme, PLUS they fit in my little Nissan with all 3 of us in it!

 

While Jan and I were browsing a consignment store, I got this amazing print. It's hanging in my kitchen. Reminds me of me and certain of Mi Amigas... You know who you are.

Re: the "sick" thing. I've lost a lot of weight here, and my new doctor (love her!) is busily trying to diagnose and fix me. I'm suddenly developed very high blood pressure, quite a bit of nausea, and am fatigued like never before. Fairly extensive blood and urine tests showed that this adrenal node I've had for a while is secreting epinephrine and cortisone, but she doesn't think the numbers alone are high enough to explain everything. So Friday I had a brain MRI and abdominal CT. Taking my new blood pressure med (Toprol) and nausea med (Phenergan) religiously, which nurses rarely do, because frankly, I'm sorta scared.

But I'm also oddly resigned , like Que Sera. Hard to explain.

Today (Sunday! No work! No call!) Ron and I drove over to Hawley Lake on the Rez for a little fishing. There were these beautiful trees all along the road with gorgeous magenta pea-like clusters of flowers. 

Robinia neomexicana – New Mexico Locust

We didn't get any keepers, but I got this: A bit of a sunburn. That's gonna peel. Try not to notice the wrinkles. Mom always said "Stay plump, fewer wrinkles..." Yes, that's my liquor cabinet behind me. It's growing.

 

For those of you that aren't my Facebook friends, here's one of the latest photos of a couple of the grandbabies I miss so much. This is Dylan's graduation from Montessori's Kindergarten, missing a couple of front teeth, with his little sis Nora.

My work schedule has eased up a bit. This is my last week of on-call. I finally told them no more. Ron's truck spent the week in the shop (new rear end, $2300!) and he'll be leaving this week for an extended trip: Louisiana to see his brother, Atlanta to see his daughter, and Minnesota to see a bunch of grandbabies (one of whom is going to China next week!) and to dispose of the contents of the storage unit we pay $95/month for and there's nothing in there worth what that has amounted to since 2005. He needs to be back in time to get me and go to California to see our first great-grandbaby, Oliver, due early July. I've booked 10 days off, so he'd best cooperate.

Lindsay

Also loving my June calendar pin-up boy, John Knickelbein.

So outside of missing Kino, being sick, and working too much, things are good here in Show Low. The weather's absolutely perfect, it always smells like pines, got plenty of gin, and Ron has my drink waiting when I get home. Don't forget about the guest room...

Trailer Trash!

I traded our fifth wheel for a mobile home!  With this three year gig here in Show Low, and our place in Mexico, we really don't see ourselves traveling any more. Plus, I'd come to realize (well, duh!) that winters in these White Mountains in an entry-level non-four-season fifth wheel would not be much fun. So on my rare days off, I drove all over, chasing Craigslist ads for used mobile homes. One morning, too early for my first appointment, I decided to drive through a mobile home park I had avoided before because it was perched on the side of a mountain. A man working in his yard came over when I rolled down my window. I told him I was looking to buy a mobile home, and he pointed to the one I was stopped in front of. Said these folks want to sell theirs and buy a fifth wheel. Karma! Even trade.

(Sorry for photo quality, still haven't bought a camera. Phone pix.)

This park is thick with very tall Ponderosa Pines. Next to it is National Forest, complete with elk, bears, javelinas, and mountain lions. Campfires with drinks next door nightly. And a 1966 mobile home, dark paneling, single-wide, two bedrooms, and a real bathtub. Compared to the casita AND the fifth wheel, it feels cavernous. My clinic is 1/2 mile north, and the hospital, WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Big Lots are 1/2 mile south.

Ron drove up from Mexico in the truck to move the rig to the park, as the MH owners had taken an empty site across from it. They had already removed their stuff outside, so they sat in lawn chairs and waited for Ron and I to make 18 dozen trips back and forth, moving our stuff out of the fifth wheel. Took all day, amazing how much stuff was in there.

They left it furnished. Some of it will/may get replaced in time, but it's all fine for now. Here are my favorite parts:

Bathtub, shower, COPIOUS hot hot water. After the 6 gallon "navy showers" in the fifth wheel, OMG!

HUGE bedroom closet. Four sliding doors, couldn't even get the whole thing in the photo.

CRAFT room! Funky old big desk, closet, built-in dresser. I'll look for a futon to put where the glider-rocker is. For guests.

Gas grill, bolted to the deck!

Shelving in the living room for tchotchkes, huge cupboards and drawers below. I still have empty cupboards and drawers. That white leather armchair and ottoman I recently bought online from Walmart. I love them. Haven't found a better place for the litterbox yet.

This mobile home is exactly what we need, and where we need it, to see us through our last 20 years or so. After this three year gig, I only intend to leave Mexico for those couple of too-hot months every summer, and this little mountain hideaway is perfect.

More pictures.

Kitchen, big fridge. I can have ice cream, my gin, AND a bag of ice all at once in the freezer, PLUS food!
The opening over the microwave is my bar.

I'm trying to lighten up the living room, may have to delete the dark overdrapes, or whitewash the paneling or something. The older blue sofa has recliners at both ends. VERY comfy!

We did buy a few things. New TV for the wall. (Ron mounted it too high, have to recline so it doesn't hurt my neck) Printer, now that there's room for one. Leopard shower curtain. Lamp. Kitchen curtains (theirs had roosters...)

So there you have it. We are no longer RVers. (Have to change my blog header.) I did feel some remorse, sadness, whatever, after I made the deal but before I moved in, because there've been some good times in that RV. No more. I love my old mobile home!

Bits of My New Life. And rambling thoughts. And a rant or two.

Working 50-60 hours a week, hardly ever a day off to do errands or just recuperate. That was NOT in my contract, but I'm mostly holding my tongue, awaiting the promised new staff due soon. Mostly. My Area Manager asked me was I OK with doing this for 6 more weeks, and I told her no, I was furious, and scared I'd get sick. I know I should have said "Sure, whatever you need", but I couldn't.

And it's true, the government takes a whole lot more when you earn a lot of overtime. My take home was 60% of my gross.

First time in my life I paid someone to do my laundry and they lost one whole load. Throw rugs and towels. Including Karen's crocheted-from-sheets rug. Shoulda known: Earl's Laundry.

Had to put gas in my new tiny car today. First time. Trying to like the little booger, but it's hard. Have to turn the lights on and off manually. Can't get the seatback vertical enough, had to get a pillow. SO small and low to the ground, when used to driving that big diesel pickup. No computer, apparently: doesn't tell me what direction I'm going or how my fuel mileage and oil filter are. Couldn't find my car in the WalMart parking lot the other day, thought it was stolen. Who'd steal a no-frills Nissan? It was hiding behind a Jeep. Completely engulfed by a small Jeep.

If you can't figure out what that rhythmic CLICK is, turn the thermostat up so the noisy furnace drowns it out.


I put the awning up all by myself (except forgot to get the stick to hold the end of the strap, so the strap is now inside the rolled-up awning), made the porch light functional again (had one of those Tap Lights stuck up there for a while), and dumped the tanks. I fill water jugs when it's going to freeze, then undo and drain the hoses. I called up the propane company to find out how exactly my big tank gets refilled. Good thing I did. Turns out I'm on Will Call, which means I tell THEM when I need propane. He patiently told me where to find the gauge and how to read it, explained about local temperatures and expected usage, and we decided I was maybe good for the summer, but might want to refill anyway. Generally feeling a bit more confident re: living alone in this RV. Still can't operate the remote control for the TV, though.

I have my TV shows DVR'd because I nod off watching them, but I  fall asleep watching the DVR'd ones, too. Can't get a handle on who's going to win Idol. I thought Joshua or Jessica, but they tried to vote off Jessica last night.

Really enjoying the bird feeder 6 feet away from the window where I'm typing. Finches, sparrows, nuthatches, and huge flocks of these Gray-headed Juncos with the rusty brown backs:

Made a mistake bringing my cat here. It was pure selfishness, and he's miserable. Keeps looking for Ron. I'm paying Mary-The-Cat-Lady to come walk/cuddle him during my long days at work. I've asked Ron to make a weekend road trip and come get him. He has not agreed yet.

I'm drinking, smoking, and eating less, purely from fatigue, but have lost enough weight to need new clothes. Although, since I only seem to wear scrubs and jammies, I don't guess I need to buy clothes any time soon.

Got a new duvet cover for my down comforter. It's cats! Duvets are SO great because you only need the bottom sheet, the cover is much more easily washed than that comforter,  and the bed can be "made" in 5 seconds.

Made an appointment with a family practice physician (a woman) for after my new Blue Cross health insurance takes effect next week. (My VA coverage states I have to be seen in Tucson. ) I have a list for her...

Stole a log from someone's woodpile for a scratchy post for Rocky. He knows those words, scratchy log. Also go for a walk, time to feed the kitty, let's go ni-ni, and no, use your box. This last is when he's scratching up the screen door, 20 degrees outside and blowing sideways.

Here he is right now, napping after his walk:

And right above him is the only crafty thing I've done here so far: a hemp/seashell garland on the slideout header. Makes me homesick.

 

(Sorry for the photo quality, Ron took my camera and these are from my phone.)

I'll wind this up. Have to go do the water hose thing outside, supposed to snow tonight. God, I miss Kino.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Having chosen to live far from home and family (for a variety of reasons), I find myself relying on phone contact, IM, Facebook, and memories to alleviate homesickness. The "memories" part gets frequent and regular boosts due to the tchotchkes (Yiddish for useless trinkets) I'm surrounded by. Living in an RV severely limits tchotchke displays, so almost every surface is crowded with memories.

When I look at these items, I get nearly tangible picture and sound in my head of the people they represent. These are the things I would fight to rescue in a fire, after my cat. These are my memories, slices of my life, and very comforting. William Morris said "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Well. Very few of these tchotchkes are useful, and while they're all beautiful to me, I'm sure visitors to my RV are thinking WTF?

So here are a few of my favorite things, memories included.

Birch-framed mirror, a gift from Brian and Joy Paulzine. Useful and beautiful. Brian and my husband Ron have been friends for 35 years, Ron is their older daughter's godfather, and their younger daughter is the mother of my two youngest grandchildren. They live in Minnesota, and this mirror evokes the closeness of these good friends. I can almost feel their hugs.

Buddha was acquired in San Francisco's Chinatown during a trip with dear friends Marlene and Stewart Becker of San Diego. She's my BFF. That trip included a couple of days in the Sierra Mountains, where Buddha was frequently referred to as That Effing Buddha, as we were short on space and he took up a lot of room in the trunk. This guy's been with me ever since, and is currently wearing my binoculars and guarding the litter box. Useful, no?

My personalized, signed Clint Eastwood photograph was a gift from the surgeon in San Francisco that did my first neck fusion. He had connections. My husband thinks he and Clint may be twins-separated-at-birth. And next to that is a BEAUTIFUL painting of our Mexico environs by my friend Jan Knicklebein, a daily reminder of what I'm here in a snowstorm in Arizona working so hard to get back to.

Gramma Edie's potato salad bowl. Beautiful and most useful. I can almost taste the stuff when I look at it. I do have lots of Edie-memory-items. And my newest martini glass, a recent gift from my friend BetteSandySue Parker, a glass as eclectic as she is. Extremely useful! Also in this tableau is a silver chip-dip tray (Edie) and a fish-shaped wine bottle from one of my Mexican Segundas. I may turn that into a lamp some day. Segunda-shopping with Las Amigas: now THAT'S entertainment!


This dreamcatcher was a gift from one of my patients, a Lakota in Minnesota. Can't name him, HIPPA laws. He had it blessed by a Shaman. I can still see his face and hear his laugh. He made this beautiful thing himself. I've been a dialysis nurse for 35 years, many hundreds of patients, a gazillion memories of these fragile, noble people.







Birch basket of twigs, bought during our first RV trip to Gunflint Lake on the Minnesota-Canadian border. Also an arrowhead I found there. I can smell campfires and pine forest, see the Aurora Borealis, hear loon calls, and taste fried walleye when I look at this.








This canoe shelf is crammed with memories. The Demdeco Angels each elicit moments of joy from my life: my first glimpse of a Sequoia, my dog, my cat, and the taller Free Spirit, another gift from Bette. The lowest shelf has an amber Zuni bear (which reminds me again of my friend Joy, who's always coveted it!) and some amethyst points she and I found together at an amethyst mine in Ontario. Amethyst protects one from drunkenness. Good to know, huh? Beautiful AND useful.





This is my shrine to my dad. The photo is from the 70's, sipping a beer while working on the new house. The frame has a shot-glass vase holding one of his actual cigars. And the useful little green pitcher was what he poured his milk out of every morning of his childhood. The inlaid musical jewelry box was a high school graduation gift from my godparents. And the tiny bronze chest that holds rings was in my dad's box of Army Air Corps memorabilia. No idea of it's history. Found it while sorting out the house contents after he died and mom went to the nursing home.


I was born in the year of the dragon. I'm fierce. Some framed photos of the grandkids, plus one of my son Jon in the 3rd grade. He has a house key clipped to his shorts: he was a latch-key boy. Those were my alcoholic days, and he sorta raised himself. That photo makes me ache for him, he looks so sad and lonely. 

Here it is enlarged:

It also fills me with resolve to never be that self-absorbed person again.
I will never love anyone as much as I love Jon. And I can't live near him, be a daily part of his life, lest I damage him any more than I already have. My penance.







This is my seashell IM-mobile (that has to hang flat against the wall or it tangles badly.) It reminds me of Kino, beachcombing, ATVing, all of it. Pinned to the windowbox are mostly Edie's brooches, PLUS the crocheted angel mi amiga Delfie Lujan made. She IS one. And hard to see unless you click on the photo to enlarge it is the beaded spider (on the washcloth basket) made by my friend Grace Doyle, a gifted crafter who is married to Pat Doyle, who looks JUST like my dad. I love them.

Pat Doyle

My Dad

This is a cat quilt made by my friend Jeannette Harris. The fabric was purchased in Arizona by my mom, who planned to make me a nightgown with it. But Alzheimer's Disease intervened, and it was stored away and forgotten. Mom found it later and gave it to Jeannette, who was futilely trying to teach my mom to quilt. (Something Alzheimer's victims cannot do is learn new things.) Every time I wrap this quilt around me, I remember Jeannette's loving care of my mom and OF ME, her support and belief in me, and her encouraging words when my life was so very dark. The quilt is now frayed in places, loved to bits. As is Jeannette.

That's most of it. There are also cartons and bins of photographs, baskets and boxes of shells, rocks, bones, and potsherds. (The RV has a basement...) I sometimes sit and pore over them, remembering. It's not sad, though, it's actually very fulfilling and comforting. Like Edie's potato salad.