Moving

Friday

Got up early with not enough sleep. I had intended to take Moki on a long walk today, but I decided I needed the time to pack. But, I was too tired to get motivated to pack. I'd pack a little, and surf a little, pack a little, surf a little more. I was too tired to stay focused. Mid afternoon, I finally woke up and started packing in earnest.

I had planned to go to square dancing tonight, and as tired and hot as I was at 5:00, I started getting ready. I'm looking in the mirror, and my face is bright red from the heat, the rest of me is feeling it, and I decided to reassess the situation. I already had my dancing clothes on . . . tonight, I was even going to wear a dress! . . . which I don't do very often. The person who is going to help me move tomorrow is one of my square dance pals. And I needed to clarify a direction I had given him to get to my house. When I started doubting my sanity on going dancing, I wasn't sure if I had time to call Les . . . that is, if he would answer his phone either in the car or at the dance. Luckily, he answered. Now, I don't have to go. I still don't have a lot of energy to pack, but at least I don't have to take that drive now. I think I'll watch Star Trek . . . that will make me feel better! Then, hopefully . . . some time to pack.

Saturday

I'm glad that I chose to completely load the car last night. I still awoke early today to get more packing done, but at least the car is ready to go. Les arrived early, and we spent a long time loading his truck. Organizing is the biggest part. All the big things that needed to be moved . . . couch, desk, file cabinet, etc. . . . all fit very nicely. Plus, we were able to fit some other stuff in that helped.

I was trying to get to Durango in time to make a second trip back there before the internet guy came to install the equipment. But, by the time we got everything locked and loaded, I realized it was too late. We took off, Les in his loaded truck, and me in my loaded car. We got about a mile down the road before Les pulled over to the side. His brake lights on his truck didn't work. Bummer! This is the truck that Les calls his brand new 1973 edition. Les is a fixer, and the truck works perfectly . . . normally . . . but, he hadn't driven it in awhile. So, we pulled off onto a side street so Les could work on the brakes. It was a weird problem and took Les awhile to fix it, but before too long we were back on the road again.

We got to the new house and unloaded everything. Then, since I had to wait there for the internet guy and it was still awhile off, we went back into Durango for lunch. While I was there, I remembered that I had forgotten to bring a check! Then, I remembered again that I had the "accidentally" had the checkbook in the desk drawer that I had brought over to the new house. After lunch, we came back to the new house, and while Les tried to get the cover back on his pickup, I started putting things away. But, it was getting later and later and the internet guy still wasn't there . . . and I wanted to make a second trip. Then, I realized that while I did have a check to pay the guy, I had forgotten the new router that I bought that he needed to hook up the internet! So, I called him, and cancelled until Monday, and I drove back to Mancos to finish packing and loading. Les stayed at the new house still trying to get the cover on his truck. He told me later that it took him over an hour!

I drove back to my old house . . . dead tired. But, I still had a lot to do. I drove into Cortez and picked up a steam carpet cleaner. Then, I knew I had to make one trip to the new house early in the morning, so I loaded my car back up. Then, I kept packing until I had to go to sleep.

Sunday

Final day at my old house. I got up early and left immediately to drive to the new house. I unloaded everything as fast as I could and drove back to the old house, loaded up again, drove and unloaded again. Unfortunately, I still had a houseful of stuff. I had to place it in uncarpeted spaces so I could do the steam cleaning. That didn't take too long, and seemed to work really well. Moki didn't really have accidents, but he used to eat crud that he found on our walks, and then he'd come home and barf. I'd clean it up, but sometimes was unable to get it all off the carpet. The steam cleaner took care of that, thankfully.

I drove back to Cortez to return the steam cleaner, and hurried home. It was getting late, I still had a lot to do, and I was already dead tired. I wanted my landlord to check the house after I steam-cleaned, but he didn't want to until all the stuff was out. So, I packed like mad and loaded the car for the next couple hours. The car was getting full, and I still had more stuff. I put the dog kennel in the back, and it was obvious that Moki was going to have to ride in it because there was no room for him anywhere else! I was making a last trip to the car with a box that I had put together . . . but, I hadn't taped it up . . . the darn thing came apart . . . fully loaded . . . just as I was putting it in the car! OMG! At this point I was so tired I could barely function . . . but, it was the end of the month and I needed to be out that day. Of course, the landlord *probably* would have let me slide cause no one was moving in yet, but still . . . I didn't want to have to come back. Finally, with the car fully, and I mean fully, loaded, I was able to drive off at about 8:15 . . . which meant that I had worked steadily from 6:15 am to 8:15 pm with only about a fifteen minute break for lunch! Ouch.

Monday

Landlord called to say that the place looks fine, but he still needs me to take care of the three boxes of books! Shoot! Back I went within another couple days to get rid of the darn books . . . these are old books that I had printed that didn't exactly work out. Anyway, done.

Mundane issues and the not-so-mundane

I had to take a quick trip to Farmington to get an adjustment on my back . . . it hadn't been right since my big move (kind of jumping ahead here). While I was down there, I took the opportunity to go shopping. I'm not really a shopper, and after awhile, I start feeling . . . yucky. I used to enjoy shopping with my mother . . . to a point . . . but, now, it's just not in me. Never really was, really.

I've been having sleeping issues lately. Well, maybe not just lately. Anyway, I have bought every herbal sleep aid you can think of, and none of them have consistently worked for me. There is a non-herbal on the market, and it definitely works, but I wake up and my kidney hurts. So, I haven't used that one for quite awhile. It's actually an anti-histimine . . . which totally dries you out . . . hence the pain in my kidney. I think I'm always a little dehydrated, anyway, and this just sucks it right out of me. (I'm a little better at drinking water now, though.)

One of the suggestions that I've read about is not watching any tv or doing any computer stuff right before bed. In fact, not reading in bed, either. You're not supposed to do anything in bed except sleep. Well, there's one other thing you're allowed to do in bed, but I don't have to think about that right now! I've been rejecting this idea . . . about no computers . . . because it would affect me so much . . . two hours before bed . . . no computers . . . how can I live like that!? I was actually using the computer until right before bed, and then I'd get in bed and turn on my iPad, which is kind of like a mini-computer.

But, I was getting desperate. So, I decided to try it. Difficult at first, but getting easier. Now, I have time to do other things that I "didn't have time for before." It's actually become a quite nice time in the evening for me now. It seems to have helped my sleeping issues, but time will tell.

Eating . . . I'm having eating issues, too. I've been struggling for months to find a diet right for me, and I haven't quite succeeded yet. I'm about this far away from starting to eat meat again . . . I was thinking of trying buffalo. But, I don't know. I haven't eaten red meat for about fifteen years now . . . and the thought of it . . . I don't know. I don't know what the thought of it does, but right now, I guess I'm not quite ready for it. But, I have eliminated other things from my diet and they need to be filled in with others . . . so, I am probably going into the meat direction.

I have eliminated . . . tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers . . . the "night shade" vegetables . . . whose presence in your diet can cause "arthritic symptoms." Problem is . . . I used to eat a lot of pasta . . . which mean tomato sauce . . . which I used constantly. I had a problem "replacing" it . . . but, someone turned me onto something called artichoke archuleta . . . actually I forgot the name of it, but it's kind of a sauce made from artichokes. I'm kind of a picky eater, and wasn't sure that I would like it . . . but, I love it! So, that's worked out well.

I'm also trying to eliminate wheat/gluten from my diet. That isn't going so well. I used to eat a lot of pasta-type casseroles. The artichoke stuff let me alter the recipe to get out the tomato, but now I have the gluten thing . . . so, I'm going to have to find a whole new way of eating. So far, I haven't discovered it yet. I'm thinking of going to the "paleo diet" . . . the cave man diet . . . which is essentially meat and vegetables. But, again, I'm struggling with the meat thing . . . although, this is probably the direction that I'll ultimately go. I haven't gotten there yet, though!

Now, for the not-so-mundane.

A very, very good friend of mine died unexpectedly last week. Ken, the cowboy. He was my best cowboy pal, and we used to talk all the time, but haven't much lately. I was just getting ready to call him to tell him about my move to Durango . . . but, I never got around to it. He was younger than I am . . . I miss him very much. I still talk to him all the time. He was also on the therapeutic riding board with me. Last time I was there, I turned around at one point and really "felt" his presence . . . right over by Ken's favorite horse, Apache. And Apache turned around and looked at me for "no" reason. It was an interesting moment. I don't know if it was really Ken or not, but it "felt" like him.

And I just found out that another really good friend passed: my good friend Naomi's son, Paul. He's the one who visited me not so long ago. It seemed like it happened really fast. Wasn't he just here? He was still on treatment then. I guess it really didn't matter that he was still smoking. My Mom used to tell me . . . when it's your time to go . . . That seems more and more true to me the older I get and the more I see in the world.

Good by, Paul. Good by, Ken. I love you both and will still think of you and talk to you often . . . I know you're both still around me. I send love . . .

Ute Museum

Today, I went with members of my archeology group to the Ute Museum on the Indian Reservation in Ignacio. In a word, it was awesome! We had a big group . . . maybe twenty-four people, so they split us into two smaller groups. My group went to the permanent museum first.

The Ute woman who gave the tour was excellent. In the museum, first we watched a short video that was interesting. Then, we started on the official tour. The museum is divided into different sections, and we'd stop at most of the sections and she would talk about it. It has been too long now for me to remember the sections, but they had a broken promises section, a section on herbal plants, food, weapons, horses, mandatory schools, and they even had a small house of the type that they forced the natives to live in on the reservations.

It showed some info on the Ute language, and I saw that horse was kava. I asked them how to pronounce it, because kava kava is an herb. It's pronounced ka-va with the accent on the second syllable. They talked about the mandatory schools where they ripped all children from their parents, forced them to go to school in faraway places (so it would be too far for them to run away and go home), and how they cut their hair, and wouldn't let them speak their native language. The houses that they forced them to live in were one room simple affairs, with a wood stove, a chair, and a table. Not much else.

After that incredibly interesting presentation, we went into another room to watch a short presentation on the "buffalo box." The buffalo box is a box made of rawhide from a buffalo. Inside the box are different parts of the buffalo and she explained what each one was for. One of the most interesting were these little things on the forelegs of the buffalo . . . and horses have them, too. Jennifer had told me once that they were remnants of a previous toe. Anyway, they are this hard, pointed "thing" coming from the back of about where the ankle would be. The Utes used to use them for . . . well, she described it like this . . . they'd hang them over the door, and if a teen-ager tried to sneak out at night . . . they would make a sound! I thought that was kind of cool. The whole table was filled with many different things all made from the buffalo.

After that, both groups met up again and had lunch at the casino. This woman from the casino/museum, who had apparently arranged the whole thing for us, came as we all sat down. She started to announce that whoever came up with the first ute word . . . I immediately shouted out "ka-va!" and I won a free lunch! How cool is that!? All in all, it was a really fun day!

Mesa Verde, grossness, and horse stuff

I spent a spectacularly cool morning at Mesa Verde. They sometimes have "special" hikes, and this was one of them. I had to pay and make reservations in advance. The hike goes to a place that the general public is usually not allowed to go. This was to Oak Tree House, and it was awesome! The ranger said to me that he thought he knew me. I told him that I'm there all the time. But, he was from Mancos . . . where I currently live. I said to him that I was the one who walks my dog and waves to everyone, and he said, "Yes! That's where I know you from! Your dog is very well trained!" So, that was cool.

Afterwards, I walked down to Spruce Tree House to sit and meditate in the kiva there. I totally love that. I don't like going to Mesa Verde and missing that kiva, so I always try to go.

WARNING: THIS part is graphic and GROSS. Read at your own risk!

Later on in the week, I was home doing laundry. It was ready to come out of the washer, so I opened the washer and started putting the clothes into the dryer. But, it smelled funny, and I thought that was odd, since it was just washed. There was a big piece of what looked like fluff on the side of the washer . . . and since Moki is very long haired, and usually shedding great hunks of hair everywhere, I didn't think much of it. UNTIL, I picked up the piece of "fluff," and it had a tail!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!! I couldn't believe it! Oh, barf! It was so incredibly gross! I tossed the mouse in the garbage outside (poor guy), and washed and re-washed the clothes. Then, I washed my hands about a dozen times before I was willing to start cooking! GROSS!

END OF GROSSNESS.

At the ranch, I rode Marvin in an English saddle and had a hard time turning him. The girl who rode him before me cried because she couldn't do it, either! He's tough! Jennifer said that he's like a high level dressage horse who is very patient and a good teacher. He is!

Another time I rode Bo, who is one of the stallions. That was on a lunge line, and bareback. I did better on him, and we trotted and I actually did pretty good.

Last time I was there, we went on a trail ride and I rode Kachina bareback. I did pretty well, although Kachina in pretty easy, and I learned a lot. Every time I ride I learn a lot.

Oh, one more horse. I also rode Lyra this past week. This time, Alicia led me around and Lyra was perfect. But, since the last time she was so scary . . . I was totally scared and kept wanting to get off. Jennifer wouldn't let me. So, I kept on riding, tried to do what she asked, plus push my fear down, and all in all it was a good experience. Jennifer apologized later for not letting me get off, but I told her that I had free will and that I could have swung my leg over that saddle at any time. Plus, I learned a lot by staying on. So, I thanked her.

Pics = some cool pottery sherds the ranger showed us, and the (very unusual) square kiva at Oak Tree House . . . most are round.

Landlord blues . . .

Ok, yeah. My landlord was out of town when the rent was due, so I left a check and a notice to vacate in the usual spot. When he got back, he said something like, "So you're leaving, huh?" I said yes. He said, "I sure wish you would have paid me the extra $50. First I said that we hadn't signed the contract. I don't think that was the right thing to say. Then, I said something about thirty days notice for a raise in rent. He kind of walked off in a huff. I yelled to him to take it off my deposit.

The whole episode upset me. On my drive to Durango to go square dancing, I thought about it a lot. I kept thinking that *I* was in the right. Then, I heard my Mom's words . . . don't be dead right. When she said that the first time . . . I was learning to drive and I didn't slow down or even look at an intersection because I didn't have a stop sign. She said not to be dead right. In a car, it's appropriate. In this situation, it was just a message from her that I got loud and clear. I realized that my landlord and I had a good [landlord/tenant] relationship for the past two years, and it would be stupid to ruin it for fifty dollars . . . even if I was right.

So, the following morning when I saw him outside, I went out there and offered him the check. He refused to take it. I told him that I looked it up on the internet and I could give him the links. He said he doesn't have the time or the inclination. Ok, what could I say. I went back inside and tried to research some more. I found out there is a Colorado law that a landlord only needs to give ten days notice before the following month's rent is due. He still didn't give me enough notice . . . only seven days. Then, I called several rental agencies in Durango and they said that they give thirty days notice as a courtesy.

I know that when I moved in here I had a mad crush on this guy. And as the Garth Brooks song goes . . . thank God for unanswered prayers! The guy is a jerk. What can I say? When I lived in Bar Harbor many years ago, I lived in a small apartment over someone's garage. Doug lived with his family in the main house. They basically treated me like family . . . always invited me to holiday affairs, and when my Mom came into town, they had both of us over for dinner. Maybe Doug and his family were exceptional . . . I don't know. But, this landlord has never been like that. He just does his own thing and pretty much ignores me. If I'm home alone for the holidays, he never says a thing. Oh, well. I'm outa here. In about three weeks, anyway.