The Joys of Owning a Home

Although we were offered the opportunity to live on post in military quarters, we declined. The quarters that we were eligible to receive are small and we certainly would have been cramped. The house we bought (the one I bought on-line) is much larger than quarters and if we ever decide to finish the basement, we'll almost double the square footage. We have a lovely yard of which a portioned in fenced. That's a good thing for the pups. Unfortunately, the gate doesn't securely latch and Jake is able to push it open. In order to prevent them from wandering (and they have on several occasions) I now have an old style wash tub set against the gate. If this were West Virginia, it would be perfectly acceptable as lawn decoration. Actually, in some parts of our town, it's acceptable lawn decoration, but my neighbors have all their teeth and very well manicured lawns. I'll be glad to have the fence guy come fix it. For now, the wash tub solves the problem. Aesthetics are a bit further down on the "to do" list.

The first few days after our arrival, the sun was shining. The grass was rapidly turning brown and dying. We borrowed our neighbor's hose (ours still hadn't arrived) to water our lawn. Then, there was a shift in the weather. It began to rain. And rain. And rain. It rained for a solid two days before the clouds broke.

One of the trees in our back yard fell over into the pie-wedge portion of our yard. It didn't hit anything, except for other trees. Not too big of a deal. Unfortunately, it's OUR tree. There is no provision for off-post residents to call in for a work-order and have the Housing Department workers come clean up the mess. Nope. It's our house, our yard, our tree and ultimately, OUR problem.

After speaking with my neighbors and obtaining recommendations for a good tree guy, and after several more days of rain and a few more fallen tree limbs (nothing as dramatic as the first tree), a tree guy came out and gave us an estimate of what it would cost to remove the fallen tree, trim back some space invading branches, some future problematic branches and many dead limbs. Simply because the one tree had fallen down, we were able to get the work done within three days. Had we not had the fallen tree, it would have been several more weeks before a crew would have been able to come. The bid for the cost of tree rendering: $775.

Another tree crew came out to give their estimate on the job. This guy had maybe three teeth in his head and I am fairly certain he checked out my old style wash tub. His bid was $975. Naturally, I went with the first crew. No only would I save $200, I wouldn't have to worry about my wash tub "disappearing".

Wouldn't you know, once the big limbs were trimmed and removed, more dead and/or dying limbs were visible. Good thing for us that we had already agreed on the original bid and since the one fellow was already up in the trees precariously hanging from a rope and dangling a chain saw, they agreed to cut away the additional branches for no extra charge. That was so nice of them. I'm sure the fact that I provided them with cool beverages throughout the day helped with their generosity.

They worked very hard and quickly. Luckily, the rain held off most of the day. It drizzled off and on throughout the day, but the down pour didn't hit until after they loaded up all their equipment and drove away.

And the rain continues. We've had around four inches of rain in the last two days. I'm hoping the sump pump maintains its performance level. I really don't need to deal with a flooded basement right now. That would be a nightmare. Can you imagine?

5:00 a.m. is for sleeping

Usually, I can sleep through just about anything. Okay, any noises. Blinding light from the bathroom dramatically disturbs my R.E.M., but that's another story. Back to the noises. My dogs, okay, my spoiled rotten little Sydney, tends to need a bit of extra attention and usually it's around 3:00 a.m. when she begins to act a tad sassy. My husband, the world's most patient man, hears her long before I do and takes care of her every whim. At 3:00 a.m. it's predominantly a visit to the yard. Although sometimes, Syd just needs to have someone be awake with her.

Since we have moved into our new home, Sydney has worn herself OUT. Not only do we have lots of windows from which she can see the squirrels invade the yard, but she can also witness the comings and goings of many, many, many deer. By the end of the day, she is so worn out that she doesn't even make it on the bed. She simply crawls under the bed and is snoozing before her head hits the proverbial pillow.

Unfortunately, the move into the house has had an opposite affect on me. As a result, I now know that the paperboy delivers our newspaper at 4:50 a.m. The sound of the approaching vehicle up our cul-de-sac off of a cul-de-sac in an otherwise silent environment, caused my eyes to pop awake. Yep....just in time for the blinding light from the headlights to hit the bedroom window. So.....now I'm wake awake.

It's going to be a long, long day.

Internet Access

It's been a long time, but I finally have my computer set up and I am back on line. Thanks for being patient.

I don't need no stinkin' helmet

The return to the United States has been quite eventful. Shortly after arriving in Colorado, my mother, son and I got in her Mustang convertible along with the five dogs and drove to Oklahoma to spend the 4th of July weekend with my sister and her family. Even though all the dogs are small, five certainly made for cramped conditions.

My sister is "horse people" and has three. The first one she bought is a pony. His name is Gandolf and he is a happy-go-lucky pony. I, being the animal lover that I am, couldn't wait to ride one of her horses. Apparently, Gandolf is known for forcing riders to fall off. I scoff. I've ridden horses before and have never fallen. My nephew is so convinced that I will have a close encounter with the ground that he puts his money where his mouth is and bet me a dollar. To a kid, that's a pretty decent amount for a bet. Still confident in my ability to defy gravity, I accept.

Up onto Gandolf's back, with no saddle and no helmet, I go. No bridle either, just a halter. Around the field, under some trees, around a pond, over a hill, walking and trotting. And wouldn't you know, there was no falling for me. Sorry, kid. You loose.

My sister's next horse is a Morgan. That's my nieces special horse and there was no doubt that I would not be riding that horse. He's a bit high spirited. Not a problem. I wasn't in any hurry to experience a rough ride. I was perfectly content to simply pet and brush him.

The horse I really wanted to get on was horse number three, Stryder. He's big: half Arabian and half Percheron. BIG. As I prepare to climb aboard, my sister suggested I might consider a helmet. She indicated that not only had she fallen off this horse, but my niece had too. I pass. I don't need a stinkin' helmet. I have no intention of falling off. Besides, this horse is mild-mannered and not prone to quick starts. My sister informs me that they affectionate refer to Stryder as Mount Stryder because he is a mountain of a horse and falling from the lofty perch, well....let's say it's a long way down.

My sister had arranged for my niece to have a riding/jumping lesson and a second riding lesson for me. So, up onto the horse I go. This time with a saddle, an English saddle, but a saddle none-the-less. No problems. All was well while I sat on the back of the horse and watched my niece encourage her Morgan over jumps.

Then, it was my turn. The training/instructor walked into a circle pen and I followed. Unfortunately for me, the pen didn't have a gate, just a flimsy strap attached to the fence posts. Initially, I didn't recognize the hazard, nor did my sister or the trainer.

Stryder was a bit nervous having a novice rider on his back. I was a bit nervous on the back of such a large horse.

The trainer instructed me to let loose the reigns and place my hands on the horse's withers and gently squeeze with my legs to make the horse move forward. Well, he had bent his head and neck down to nibble on some grass. As he lifted his head, he came up on the other side of the flimsy strap. He did exactly what I told him to do and he went forward. That strap....well, talk about clothesline.

On my way down, I thought to myself, "And I don't even have on a helmet."

I landed HARD. After a few minutes of seeing stars and feeling the earth's rotation, I got back up on the horse. This time, we hand an understanding. Go easy and let's be friends. There were no further complications.