Another Busy Day!

I spent the morning doing one load of laundry after another, and probably accomplished 6 or 7 loads - I lost count!  I still have a couple more to do, but everything will be clean and I won't have to do it again for a while.

I had an appointment for Rocky to be groomed at 11am, and Ara & Steven took me to drop him off and then it was off to Costco!  What fun!  I always love shopping at Costco and haven't been able to go in a while.  I was so impressed when I picked Rocky up and he looks beautiful.  His black coat is so soft and shiny, and his nails are wonderfully trimmed and smoothed off.  While there I bought a harness for him and it makes such a difference when walking him.  When he wants to pull toward another dog however, it's harder to hold him back with the harness.  We went for a short walk and passed a corner yard with two big dogs, and they all wanted to get together and play.  I could hardly hold Rocky back, which could be a problem now that we are on city streets.  It was much safer taking him out in the mobile home park, but I hope he eventually settles down and will be more compliant.  Hah, big chance! 

I am totally worn out and will probably be asleep before long.   Good night to everyone.

 

Accomplishments today

I am so happy to have the new washing machine, which was delivered this morning.  Ara and her fiance Steve, are in town and they came over this morning.  Steve got together the pieces needed to hook up the dryer and figured it out.  I remarked to Ara, "The male mind is a beautiful thing!"   A man might not know a thing about things like getting an appliance or other equipment working, but it seems they can figure it out so quickly.  I know some women's minds are excellent with mechanical things as well, but I've always marveled at how men seem to be born knowing how things work.  One of my brothers told me he thinks men will take a stab at anything and if it works, then "Eureka!"  Whatever it is, I love and appreciate it, and also women whose minds can figure things like that out.

Rocky has a two-hour appointment with a groomer tomorrow, so Ara is going to take me shopping at Costco.  It's so difficult to go places that I can't take the dog, and there are a lot of things I need.  On my list is Omega 3 for my aching joints and muscles, and I thank every one who recommended it.  I've taken it in the past, but then I've never been this old and needed it this badly!

I'm feeling so comfortable in my new place, but still have a lot to do in getting it presentable.  It's coming together slowly.

I hope to post pictures soon, and apologize for the time it is taking me. 

Slowly but Surely!

I'm working my best to get things done in my move, and Jeannie has been an exceptional help.  She finds a place to put everything away, and I search to find things I need, haha.  Next thing I need to do is to clean the floors.  There is hardwood everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms, and it isn't in the best of shape; the former tenants had a big dog and the floors show it.  So I'm going to live with trying to keep them clean and waxed, and not complain about scratches - Rocky is busy adding his to the former doggie tenant.

Speaking of the boy, he loves the backyard but I'm sure he misses the play with other dogs.  For some reason, I hurt so bad all over I can barely take him for a walk anymore, and limit the distance when I do.  Additionally, there is broken and cracked pavement along the way, whereas I did have to walk in the streets of the mobile home park, but they were maintained  and in excellent condition.  

My new washing machine can't get here too soon!  The dirty laundry pile on the floor of my closet continues to rise, as my stacks of clean clothes continue to recede!

My Alarm System!

I hope you can make out the details of Rocky's face.  It's such a beautiful face but very difficult to photograph because of his color.  I have an appointment for him to be groomed, bathed, and pampered for two hours on Thursday, and since Ara is in town for a couple of weeks, she will take me to Costco while Rocky is being taken care of.

I'm sorry I haven't posted any pictures of my new place yet -- I've taken lots of photos but am no longer good with framing pictures.  I always had a good eye for composition, but using a phone to take a picture is completely foreign to me.  I will eventually get some together that pass my now-very-loose standards and do a blog with all pictures.

Making Progress

Jeannie was here yesterday afternoon and evening and sure got me straightened out!  Nearly everything has a place and is in it!

Rocky and I have both had allergic symptoms the past few days, but I sure can't take the Benadryl any more and I'm going to try to skip giving Rocky a dose today.  It calms him down a bit but I don't like the idea of drugs to modify behavior.  And he is still a puppy!

Speaking of Rocky, I know he is a retriever but didn't realize he can be a hunter as well.  We were working in the living room last night after dark, and he was out in the back yard - Jeannie saw that he had brought something up on the deck and it was a possum!  We thouht it was dead, but as soon as we restrained Rocky the possum was gone!  I'm glad he didn't kill it.  I hated to yell at him because he was so proud of himself, but I don't want him catching animals and hurting them.  Instinct takes over I suppose.

I took a lot of photos of the house but have to learn how to get them from my phone to the computer.  Maybe by the time I'm ready to post this I will be able to include pictures.   (Not yet!)
  
The washing machine that was here didn't work  (and wasn't actually the landlady's machine) so I bought a new one that will be delivered later this week.  I have mounds of laundry to wash and it's piling up on the floor of my closet.  Soon I'll be turning my clothes inside out to be able to wear them another day!  The dryer that was left here is a gas dryer, but somehow the connections weren't in place to operate it, so Donald and I made a trip to Home Depot to get the things needed to operate the dryer.  This is an annoying situation to me to not be able to keep up with the laundry. 

I didn't get this posted earlier today but I have been so busy with putting things away, and then looking for them.  I mainly have to search for the things my daughter has put away!  

I walked Rocky down to my daughter's house for dinner this evening - Donald's tamales and Donald's special rice!  His cooking is divine!  We celebrated Cinco de Mayo although I turned down a marguerita in favor of a beer!

I still have too much to do and too few hours in the day to do it, but I'll get there eventually.  Now I need to get all my pictures hung to make the place my own.

I'll try to post more often once I get settled in, but for now I just try to write when I can.  I'm also desperately needing a replacement computer - the new Macbook Pro looks so different to me and I'm not sure I would like all the changes.  Whatever happened to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

The first few days

I had hoped to be fully unpacked by now but am nowhere near that point.  I really love the place, but am surprised to find that my mobile home probably had much more storage space, especially in the kitchen.

Rocky is very happy with the back yard.  I went out to check out the garden space that needs to be rototilled, pulled a few weeds, and about half an hour later I'm itching like crazy.  Rocky has had allergies that show up in his eyes, and several other people in the family have had itchy eyes.  I think I'm getting it now which is surprising because I haven't been bothered by springtime allergies for several years.  I just took a Benadryl and hope it works quickly!  I'm also giving Rocky a small dose of children't Benadryl.

After several days of unpacking boxes and trying to put things away where I will be able to find them quickly, I've hit a point where I need a break.  So no unboxing today.  Also, I quickly forget where I've put things so it's really difficult to find anything I look for. 

Sorry for no pictures yet, but I have to have a little more order in the place to take photos that I would post!

I've had to buy a new washing machine which won't be delivered until next week.  My laundry is stacking up like a mountain!  There is a gas dryer here that needs to be hooked up, but I understand it needs some kind of hose or whatever in order to work.  

I'm anxious to get pictures hung - that alone will empty quite a few boxes.  I don't have the eyesight to hang them straight, so I need to wait for Jeannie to have time to do it. 

That's about it for today.  I'll try to get some photos that won't show the mess!

Short update

I finally got internet hooked up at my new place.  I will try to post some photos soon - the back yard is HUGE, and Rocky loves it.  I'm sure he misses the dog park though.

I'll post as soon as I can get the time to sit down and relax.  Moving isn't as easy as it's always been for me - I must have passed the "magic age"!

The pains of moving!

It isn't just the packing, although that is a real pain too.  I'm at the point that I am beginning to think I won't ever get it all done.

The real pain as I found out this afternoon, is all the effort to change your address with utilities, medical services,  retirement services, and a whole host of different entities and companies.

I'm a civil slervice retiree, and they,  like everyone else must hire a huge staff of developers whose job it is to make sure you don't get too comfortable with using the screens on their website.  I tried all afternoon to change my address with Civil Service Retirement, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medicare, the local utility companies, and many others.  The only change I was able to make was with my credit union, and I just wrote them a letter detailing the changes to my information.

For previous moves I just went to the post office to fill out a change of address form, but that was when I was driving.  I decided to do it online, to find out they want your credit card info so they can charge you for online service!  You can bet I will find a way to the Post Office to fill out a card!

I thought I had completely lost my computer this morning, but someone suggested I plug it into another outlet and see if it would work, and by golly it did!  I'm going to buy a new computer soon as this one is acting really bad.  I've decided to pay the extra and get a larger screen - I'm using a 13" and will go back to a 15" screen.  Anything larger than that makes it more difficult to get around the screen with the mouse, as well as it being nearly impossible to take the entire screen in at a glance.  I will move my eyes around the screen, but don't want to have to move my head to get from one corner to another.   One problem I've noticed with newer Macs is that they don't have a slot for a disc.  I have a lot of information and photos stored on discs, and I won't buy a computer that doesn't take them.  That will leave out the MacBook, but maybe I can change to another model.  I sure would hate to go back to the Microsoft operating system.

Rocky is sticking right by my side, and I don't even have as much problem leashing him up to go home from the dog park.  He wants to make sure I'm not  moving without him, and every box I pack and add to the stack adds to his consternation.  He is still definitely a puppy and will remain in puppy-hood for another year at least, but I see little signs of improvement now and then so I have hope I can hang in there.

It is really getting hot now, and wouldn't you know it my swamp cooler isn't cooling.  The water isn't getting up to the pan underneath the fan, and I've turned the valve on so I don't know what else to do.    You can barely survive in Sacramento without some kind of cooling.

I need to get back to doing something connected with preparing for my move.  I feel so inadequate and that is hard to take when I think of all the moves I've made in my lifetime.  This is definitely the worst, and I hope the last!