October 20, 2009: Home at Last!

It was a looooong eleven hour drive from Jackpot, NV to Bouse, AZ yesterday. It was made even longer than usual by a detour we decided to take to bypass downtown Las Vegas freeways. We'd always wanted to try taking the route by Nellis AFB over to Boulder Highway so, since we had arrived in Vegas at least an hour ahead of schedule, we gave it a try. Bad choice. Although the traffic was lighter, and the drive less stressful than Vegas freeways, I think I hit every stop light! And with a speed limit of 45 mph, it seemed as though we crawled through town at a snail's pace. I can normally go completely through Vegas in 30 minutes or less, but this little ordeal took more then an hour. Oh well, at least we know now! The weather was sunny and hot. It's always a bit of a shock to leave on a cold morning, then be running the air conditioning by noon, but sure nice to have such good weather this late in the month.

We had just upgraded our DISH receivers before leaving home, so took a chance the dual recievers would work with our old antenna down here. Would you believe it was actually an easy setup on TV #1, and we had reception in just minutes. But the second receiver, set up in exactly the same way to another cable, gave me nothing. I got a dual signal from the first receiver, so thought we could just move that cable the next morning, but it turned out that, although I could view a different channel, the remote would not work with TV #2! If I don't figure out how to fix it, I'm destined to watch FOOD TV all winter, 'cause I can't change the channel! Actually, by now, I'd probably be watching the DISH screen saver. I ended up watching the only video tape I had in the house, the movie Cold Mountain. We'll try to get a technician here soon to set up the system correctly.

Annie was so happy to be "home"! She went belly up on the living room floor for nearly two hours, with a big smile on her face. You haven't lived until you've seen Annie sprawled out belly up and smiling! Otto ran around for a bit, then settled into his favorite chair. They seem to remember this being their home, and are joyfully running in and out of their doggy door to play in the front yard then jump on the sofa.

We ran into the same-old-same-old when we got here. Extremely tired, hungry, having to unload at least the necessities, hooking up the TV, the innards of both toilets having weakened and disintegrated from the summer's heat. At least the house was nice and clean, the beds only needed to be turned down to air out a bit, and a jug of water set in each bathroom for flushing. I cooked some bacon in the microwave and made toasted BLTs for a quick dinner. Of course, I had a good sized basket of tomatoes!

In the past, we've had to drive all the way to Lake Havasu City, 70 miles away, to get to the nearest Super Wal-mart. But this year we have a brand new one right over at Parker, just 25 miles away! We already checked it out this morning and donated a couple hundred dollars to stock the pantry, fix the toilets and purify the drinking water. It makes all the difference in the world to finally have some nearby shopping, and it cost about half of our normal winter stock-up. Maybe I won't sell this place after all!

I do have intermittent WIFI, same as last year. It's via Hughes satellite from the neighboring RV park, slow and unreliable. If I'm lucky I can stay on long enough to blog and get email, but it's iffy.

The rosemary plant and lettuce seedlings made the trip just fine, but I have a lot of yard cleanup to do before I even think about starting my tiny veggie garden. In the meantime, the plants should be happy in their pots on the front porch.

Well, back to work. The pilot lights have to be lit on the stove and water heater, the bathrooms have to be cleaned after getting sprayed with broken flusher parts, and the puppies need a bit of people time after that long trip.

14 comments:

  1. It's got to be so stressful to leave a house for months on end, just hopingthat everything will be fine while you're gone. I don't know how you do it. It would stress me out far too much.

    I'm glad you made it there safely. I am still having a hard time realizing it's been an entire year.

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  2. So glad you made it safe and sound. Rest up.

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  3. Ribbit, every year I stress out for a day or two upon arrival, but it settles down quite soon. I worry more about leaving the Arizona property vacant, as that's through the hot, hot summer and I never know if the watering system will hold up until we get back in the winter. We lost a pretty little ficus tree this time, but everything else looks pretty good (as good as arid desert land can look). My kids keep check on the Washington home, so there's not too much to worry about there. This time I couldn't turn off my washer though, as the faucet leaked all over when it was off! Son-in-law is supposed to take care of that. And I forgot the onions that are hanging in the fruit basket in the kitchen, so someone will have to rescue them. Mr. H and I come real close to calling the divorce lawyer right after our moves north or south, it's that stressful

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    Rachel, what is this "rest up" you speak of? I don't know the meaning of it for at least the next few days!! But with this gorgeous weather, I'll be basking in the warm sun real soon :-)

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  4. That's great, granny! Now you can start on your Arizona garden.

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  5. I can see Annie in the belly up "I'm happy" mode! Glad you are safely arrived and that the "to do list" while daunting when you are tired from traveling, is not insurmountable overall. Like Ribbit, I am in awe of your ability to maintain two households in such remote from each other locations.

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  6. EG, I'll have to do some real heavy tree pruning first...the Palo Verde has grown some big branches that nearly obliterate my tiny garden spot!

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  7. KitsapFG, the "todo" list is nearly done, with the exceptions of the water heater still being unlit (Mr. H can never quite figure it out, and this is a brand new heater), and my clothes still in a container behind the pickup seat. If it continues at this rate, I'll soon be known as "Dirty Granny"!

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  8. I'm so glad you're home. My first daughter started out right near St. John's AZ on an archaeology field trip where I was the cook ; )

    Hot then, too. I hope you get all settled and enjoy yourself again. I swear, you sound like I bet I'm going to sound. . . sheesh.

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  9. Aw, Stefaneener...it's not so bad. Heck, I've had an internet connection all day today, and time to use it after I heated up the water to do the dishes and clean the kitchen! I'm heading out to the pickup right now, 'cause I will have clean underwear for tomorrow, shower or no ;-)

    Other than putting away my clothes, my inside work is done. Tomorrow comes the fun stuff, like hosing off the front porch and installing my new brass four faucet manifold for watering my pitiful plants! There will be photos ;-)

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  10. Hooray for Wal-Mart. I know that made you happy.

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  11. So glad you made it safely! I had to laugh at the buckets of water for flushing... we go through that every time a hurricane knocks out our power. Since we are on a well, no power = no water! I hope you are able to post some pics of your winter digs. I was under the impression you were in Phoenix proper, now I am intrigued at the thought of the nearest WalMart being so far! Sounds like a nice place to enjoy the winter months.

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  12. I'm glad you're trip is over. Driving that long would make me crazy. I just can't stand being in a car for very long. I hope you'll get a rest soon.

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  13. Awwww, granny, I think it's great that Annie can still roll over on her back. LOL!Glad you are safe and sound in AZ. But, have to admit, I am still awestruck when I see your WA garden!

    Later, my friend. Sorry I didn't get to see you this summer. Maybe next year God willing.

    Z

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  14. Lost my WIFI connection all day yesterday, so let's hope it stays connected long enough to comment today!

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    Cheryl, You've got that right! I will be making another run today...for all the "forgotten" stuff!

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    Erin, We're about 120-14 miles from Phoenix, in a tiny town with nothing but a couple of bars and two convenience stores. It's impossible to get any type of services here, so we have to do everything ourselves. We're in an old mobile home that I've spent four years completely renovating, so it's quite comfortable for us. We have over half an acre here, but it's all natural desert "landscaping". My veggie garden (and I use that term loosely) consists of a few pots and a 3 foot square raised bed. Quite a contrast to the WA garden!

    http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2008/11/november-13-2008-fencing-finale.html

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    Daphne, the inside work is done (except I'm still taking cold showers). Doesn't look like there's too much to do outside, just some general cleanup and pruning. Then I rest!

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    Zoey, You'd have enjoyed strolling through the larger garden this year....I miss you, wish you could have visited again.

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