Although life is still good overall, things weren’t too great last night and earlier today.

I was able to fall asleep sooner than I thought I would last night, but I kept waking up all through the night.

I’m surprised I forgot to mention what happened yesterday afternoon. It could’ve been worse than it was, but instead, it turned out to be pretty funny. We locked ourselves out of the trailer and couldn’t jimmy the lock with a credit card. Luckily, though, Tom had his pants with the keys in their pocket by a window, and he was able to pop the screen and reach through to get them.

We’re at the La Quinta now, but I’m too tired to get into it now, so I will later. I’m just gonna read for now.

We got new camera batteries today and I took more pictures of the land, trailer, and animals.

Tom told me he’d prefer to wait till tomorrow to screw cuz he feels more comfortable in a hotel. That’s fine, but I don’t understand why when you only like to screw for 2-3 minutes. I spend 10 minutes hardening him up by hand (although he gets hard right away) then we screw for a couple of minutes, so why we need a hotel for that beats me. I can see if you wanted to screw for at least 10 minutes, but he prefers quickies.

I may not write long, cuz I can’t see well cuz our battery needs charging. The toilet barely flushes and the lights are so dim that I’m using one of our kick-ass flashlights.

Later...

Tom went out and charged the battery, so now the lights are plenty bright enough to read and write. He used jumper cables and charged the trailer’s battery with the car. God only knows I’ll be up late tonight because as I was starting to say, for some reason I was beat. Yesterday I woke up really tired, even though it quickly passed. Then last night I crashed earlier than the usual midnight I normally crash at. I was out by 10:00. I woke up for an hour or so during the night, then I slept till 9:15 when the guinea pig decided it was time to serve him breakfast. I set my clock for 8:15, but for some reason, it never went off. Anyway, I was still a bit groggy. Then Tom got in a few minutes later and he crashed and I dozed off yet again for a while. So it’s gonna be a bitch getting to sleep tonight, and I’ll be getting up an hour or two earlier than usual once Tom gets up. His movements wake me up if his snoring doesn’t.

I took some pictures after dark of the distant city lights, all the beautiful stars, and the planet Jupiter. Of course, I won’t know how well they came out till I get them displayed on the computer. This digital camera sure beats other cameras, though. I started with nearly 90 pictures and I now have 55 left I can take. You sure don’t get that many with a regular camera.

Anyway, at about 2:00 this afternoon we headed out to a sit-down restaurant, which would’ve been OK if it weren’t so noisy. I had Chinese people gabbing really loud next to me. I don’t know why those who don’t speak English feel the need to shout when they talk. Then minutes later, a couple of loud kids came in behind me. They could’ve been worse, but again, Mommy didn’t even try to calm them down. A simple “shhh” would’ve been nice. I wonder why restaurant employees don’t even do anything. You’d think they’d think that maybe other diners were annoyed, and ask the parents to take some responsibility for controlling their own kids in public.

After eating we went into a Petco. I got rat/mice food, a cute little wooden log for the mice to burrow in, and another little mouse wheel. Of course, sometimes two mice still like to wheel on one wheel.

After Petco, we hit Circle K in Maricopa and picked up batteries, double mocha coffee, and some orange juice so I could take a water pill.

Again, it’s been another quiet day and night. I only heard barking once in the morning for a few minutes, and again at sundown. And these dogs wouldn’t have been heard in the house.

A big smile came to my face when I thought of all the company the nearest houses had to have had since we’ve been here that I didn’t have to hear. I no longer have to know they exist! Neighbors' company is no longer my company, too. I’ve only heard one car door since being here. The one visiting next door that mysteriously parked between our properties and only cuz I was standing outside.

I know it won’t always be this way, but I intend to enjoy every day of peacefulness God will allow me to have until he takes it away from me.

It’s also nice to know that holidays are no longer something to stress out over. If neighbors party - so what? It won’t be my party too, like it or not. They can’t force their shit on me unless they were to blare a car stereo, but remember, they’re not into that here. They want to hide from people and life in general, not be in the spotlight. You want to be noticed, you want to be on stage, here’s not the place to be for that.

Lastly, before I read for a while, Deb and company had to have gotten my mail by now so long as there wasn’t any “divine interference” of any kind. God could’ve made sure it got to our old place, for all I know. The H's seem like the type to give it to next door, though, if they did get it. Speaking of them - what’s the story? We haven’t gotten a bill from them or heard anything about the side mess, so does this mean that they’re not gonna take our offer and that all they wanted to do was bitch about it?

Desert Winds is really living up to her name today, fortunately, or else it’d be a bit toasty in here. I’m lying on my bed topless, enjoying the breeze coming in from the window right by me.

It’s quiet out there, but that’s to be expected in the middle of the afternoon. Dogs and people won’t be heard till the sun starts setting, and they’ll go on till 9:00-10:00.

Now, here’s the best news of the day: I got one new rat and three new mice! I’ll expand later.

Later...

That’s weird. You mean I could take the heat and he couldn’t? That’s a first. He’s not only a native, but I’m usually more sensitive to temperature than he is. He was going to take a nap but said he was too hot to sleep, so he fired up the generator so we could run the AC.

Hilda, Steven’s assistant, gave us the number to Palm Harbor’s factory so we could set up a tour appointment. Tom spoke to the guy he was referred to and was told we could go there Monday at 10:00 and see our house which will be half done by then! I guess that means they started building it today. Can’t wait! It’ll be interesting to see what it’ll look like half done.

After the continental breakfast at the hotel, and then a stop at the fast-food drive-through, we went to a pet store that was either in Mesa or Phoenix. I’m not sure which. They had a ton of Fancy mice and rats! They even had animals I’d never heard of before, like some weird-looking gerbil-like animals.

I originally wanted this gray rat, which the girl tried to claim was blue, but it was a female, so I got this cute little black rat. Actually, he’s dark brown. Darker than Porky, who I call Vanilla Belly these days. He has the same white hands and feet as Vanilla Belly, but he doesn’t have a patch on his belly.

He’s an energetic little guy, and I sure hope he’ll be big enough to live in their wire cage!

Anyway, the rats all get along with each other really well.

They had more variety of colors and markings than I’ve ever seen before with rats and mice. Got three mice - Mocha, Butter Rum, and Oreo. Oreo’s a black and white timid mouse who I doubt is pregnant. Butter Rum, who really has more of a butter rum, butterscotch color than Butterscotch the rat, who I call Polar Bear these days, could be pregnant, but I’m not sure. Mocha, the bravest mouse of all, is definitely pregnant and should deliver in around 10-15 days. Mocha’s colors resemble that of a wild mouse and an all-brown Fancy mouse like Cocoa was. She has a mix of different browns, and I personally think she’s the nicest looking. I have quite a variety of mice colors: white, brown, black, and gold. The rats have brown, crème, and white. They all have three different shades of brown, though.

I can’t wait to take pictures of them, get them set up in the house, etc.!

Oh, I forgot to mention that the house will be delivered on the 4th.

Later...

I am utterly amazed that I haven’t heard a sound yet. No dogs, no voices, just that engine.

I had to rescue Ratsy earlier, who got stuck in his wheel. The poor guy started squealing and was pinned between the wheel’s stand and support bar.

The mice are as cute to watch as the rats. Maybe even cuter. There’s only one little wheel in there since I didn’t know I’d be getting this trio before getting into the house. Sometimes there are up to three mice tumbling in it at once. Sometimes two mice run together side by side. Sometimes they squabble for no apparent reason, yet they don’t fight over food.

Butter Rum, whose fur looks gold in dim light, may or may not be pregnant, but Oreo and Mocha are for sure. At first I didn’t think Oreo was, as young as she is, but she is.

A little while ago Tom got us dinner at Dairy Queen. Their burgers are great.

We’re back at the Hampton, and Tom just went to bed.

I slept OK last night, got up at 8:00, then went to Casa Grande when he got in shortly afterward. I didn’t realize just how many papers there were to sign!

After getting a baked potato at Wendy’s, we decided to skip going to Palm Harbor’s factory since it was out of the way, and just come here to the hotel.

In order to get the top floor, which is something I always prefer, we had to take a smoking room. So, we’re on the 6th floor, the hotel’s only smoking floor, and man is it quiet. This is definitely the best place so far, but it is a bit early still. The closest rooms to us are right next door (I forgot some doors are next to each other here) and the two across from us. There’s no one on one side of us cuz there are vending machines there. Well, I don’t have to describe the place since we’ve been here before.

I brought bottled water to run through their coffeemaker to heat up water so I can have coffee that doesn’t taste like it’s laced with bleach.

Soon I’ll go enjoy a nice hot, relaxing bath in their nice clean modern tub which is identical to the Red Roof’s. Yeah, they have some of the same things. Same digital alarm clocks, same tubs, same lamps, same AC units. But unlike Red Roof, they’re serving cookies at 4:00, which I’ll go help myself to.

Sometime after 8:00, I’ll get him up to go to Denny’s.

Look at this! He’s not snoring at all. But if I were trying to sleep, he’d be snoring like hell! I’m hoping we can find a battery-operated sound machine by the weekend, so I won’t have to listen to his snoring while I’m trying to sleep.

From about sunset at 6:00 to about 9:00 or 10:00 is the noisiest time on our land. That’s when the dogs are barking. It still beats Phoenix!

Believe it or not, we don’t have to pay flood insurance at the new place even though there are three washes, possibly four, going through our land, yet we had to in a flat subdivision in Phoenix! And next door’s house wasn’t considered a flood zone.
I think I’ll go take my bath now.

Later...

Ate a can of fish I brought, took my bath, and now I’m just gonna relax till it’s cookie time. I have three basic things to do…listen to tunes, read, or write.

We have our doubts that the house can be delivered on the 1st cuz we didn’t sign the papers till today. The good news, though, is that the house has to be there and ready for us by December 1st.

Tom’s still being as quiet as I wish he’d be when asleep all the time.

Although I no longer want a child, it bothers me to know that if I’d been naïve all along, and didn’t know he didn’t cum (especially during the first few years of marriage when we were “trying” to get me pregnant), he’d never have discussed it. Nor would he ever bring up fertility testing if I hadn’t. Just the fact that he’d never have come out and admitted to his not cumming, if he saw I didn’t know it and didn’t question it, bothers me. I just knew in my gut that he’d lie when it came to sex and stuff like that, and that’s why I did my little test about a year ago. The one where I’d make comments about us having so-called normal sex that he wouldn’t deny.

Although I don’t appreciate the dishonesty, at least I no longer want a child or care if he cums. As long as he’s happy, which he truly has to be, or else he’d complain and see a doctor. So, at least I can rest assured that he wants to be the way he is and that he’s perfectly OK with it. He wouldn’t have put up with it this long without liking things the way they are. I just think he should’ve leveled with me a little more, and from the get-go, although he did try to tell me, in his own way, by dropping certain comments, that he’d rather not have a child. I just didn’t want to hear or accept it at the time, although my journals will tell you that I’ve known all along when you read about all his resistance and his lack of appetite.

Having a low drive may truly be a part of him, but he didn’t have to live turned off cuz of his fears if he’d only been firmer. I’d have given in for him. Well, at least we’re on the same side now, and birth control and lack of cumming, and infrequent sex no longer matter.

Trio 2 is a good CD, but not as good as the one they did 10 years ago (Linda, Dolly, & Emmylou).

What a difference in how my life was when the first Trio album was released! All alone and broke, rotting away with no life whatsoever in a project in Mass. Just thinking of it makes me cringe! All the depression, frustration, anger, helplessness, and hopelessness I felt!

Well, I’ll finish up my before-the-house writing in my big blue book.

Later...

I hate it when one person says one thing and another says another thing. So cookie time isn’t really at 4:00. It’s at 5:00.

I couldn’t get out of the room cuz the inside latch got stuck and I had to get Tom up to figure out how to get it unstuck, and the poor guy bashed his fingers in the process. At least he was able to return to bed.

Well, I guess I’ll read till 5:00. Why are they serving cooking at dinner time, though?

Later...

Those cookies were great! I thought they’d be store-bought, but they were home-baked oatmeal raisin cookies. I couldn’t get any for Tom, cuz he hates raisins. I’m not overly fond of them myself, but I’m willing to pick them out and east the few I can’t.

What’s going on now? It was quiet all day, but now I hear a ton of door slamming. Can’t people make up their minds - in or out? Well, it is prime time for that, and technically, it’d be quiet enough come bedtime to sleep without the fan, but I’d rather not.

I almost had someone let me in here so I wouldn’t wake Tom again, but I finally got in after fighting with this so-called key. Red Roof has the better key. You slip a key-like thing in, it beeps, and you’re in. This thing, a piece of plastic like a credit card, doesn’t always release the door lock.

In disguised handwriting, I’m sending Bob a “death” letter rather than just disappearing. That way he’ll tell Kim. I could care less what Bob thinks, but I’d rather Kim think I died than that I dumped her. I didn’t literally “dump” her. I just moved on without giving her a way of keeping in touch. She’s just too far away and I felt it best not to bother. What kind of friendship can we really have anyway, with us on opposite sides of the country?

Anyway, in the letter, I claim to be Tom’s sister, reporting to a list of friends we left, that we died in a car wreck.

Later...

Tom and I walked across to Denny’s a while ago. He got a burger and I got a pot roast.

Been writing journals for 12 years now.

Last night was the best I’d slept in quite a while. I slept straight through from 12:30 to 7:00, then I dozed till 8:00. I’m sure having the fan helped, or else I’d have woken up many times in between.

Tom should be here any time now.

Today we’ll be going to Casa Grande to sign some papers.

I let Tom get caught up on his sleep last night, and while he slept, I read 110 pages in my book, between writing and listening to music.

When Tom got up, he went to Circle K and got himself a hot dog, and me a brownie and some coffee. Shortly after, he went to Whataburger and got himself some fries, and me some chicken strips. Then he left and I conked out.

When I got up, I headed down to the lobby for the continental breakfast. As figured, they didn’t have as big of a selection, but what I got was still sufficient enough. I got a blueberry muffin and some coffee. Some apple juice, too.

I guess Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, will be the nights we stay in hotels.

After I finish this book, I’m gonna use my big, unlined sketchbook to finish up the time before the house. There’s no way I could fill up the whole book, and if I did, that’d mean we ran into a serious problem getting into the house.

Yesterday was pretty cloudy from the time I got up till we checked in here, and even afterward, too. It was a nice break from the usual glaring sun. If it actually rained, I wouldn’t know.

Later...

Tom just called. Says he’ll be here in 10 minutes and will call Casa Grande to make sure we can get out there today. I hope so! They can’t do the house without payments or signatures, and that house is due on the 1st. Less than a week!

We’re gonna check on the animals first since it’s on the way. Tom made a good suggestion last night - that I pop some popcorn in Circle K’s microwave as a treat for the animals. They certainly can’t have a whole bag, though, so I’ll eat most of it as I usually do and give them the rest.

Later...

I gave the animals their popcorn, changed their cages, and Tom called Casa Grande. We couldn’t sign the papers today, so we made an appointment for 10:00 tomorrow.

We went to Casa Grande today anyway, to do other things. It took us 10 minutes to get to Stanfield, and another 10 to get to Casa Grande. On our way, we went up to the higher desert which was even nicer than our land cuz it had saguaros and better mountain views. Yeah, life’s always about second best, but hey, it sure beats Phoenix!

It’s been dead quiet here ever since we returned at 4:00, but it’s a little too early for dogs and voices. It’s still pretty warm out there.

Anyway, we went to a Laundromat which was overrun with wild loud Mexicans, and walked to a furniture store with a pesky saleswoman while our clothes washed. After they dried, we went to a pet store. Large Fancy rats and Fancy mice are so hard to find. They did have small rats and Egyptian spiny mice that were cute, but probably too aggressive.

Then, we went to pick up the prescriptions I ordered, then to Arby’s drive-through. Lastly, we picked up a few things at a grocery store and drove by Palm Harbor’s factory where our house will be built. I’d love to see them build it, or at least give us a tour, so we’re gonna stop in there tomorrow.

We’ve also got to stop in the center of Maricopa to check out a truck I had a hot vibe on as we were passing by.

I’d go outside to read, but there are just too many damn flies. How sad, huh? If it isn’t noise, it’s flies. Does something not want me outdoors much? Well, I’ve never been that outdoorsy, anyway.

I still don’t understand why next door parked on the service road in between our properties. Even if they did have a ton of company, there’s plenty of room on 10 acres to park vehicles. I’d say, though, that no, they’re not Mexicans. They’re just not loud enough. I don’t hear any kids or music.

It’s amazing how much has changed since we moved. I’m not the talkaholic I was, Tom’s more talkative, and even the pig is, too. I don’t expect anything to change in bed, but I’d be lying if I said I wanted it to. I love Tom and I want to be with him forever, but nothing beats fantasy.

I wonder how long the sawdust will stay where it is? Both times I changed their cages, I dumped the sawdust by the front of the wash.

Later...

I don’t believe it. I just don’t fucking believe it! Then again, I can believe it. I’ve already heard someone’s music, but I don’t know if it was from a car or a house. At first I thought it was from next door, and I had heard voices from somewhere around here earlier, but it was coming from the opposite direction. It lasted 5 minutes and may’ve been country music. I highly doubt I could’ve heard it in a dual-paned windowed house, but just the fact that I did hear it tells me something. It tells me I’m still a magnet for noise. I mean, this is a totally nasty sign. You’re not supposed to hear that shit out here. We’re in the middle of the fucking desert, for Christ’s sake! Well, it still beats Phoenix, that’s for sure, cuz in Phoenix, you could hear them over loud fans.

The sunset dog barking was pretty mild this evening. There’s only one dog I’d die having next to me, cuz it has a very whiny, shrilly bark. Its yipping sounds more like shrieking.

Later...

Yes, other than the few shrieks I heard, and the music, it’s been a quiet, pleasant evening so far. That diesel engine hasn’t started up yet. That starts closer to 7:30, I think.

I went for a little stroll around the grounds earlier and for the first time in ages, I thought - wouldn’t it be nice to have a cigarette now? I like to keep my hands busy, which is kind of hard to do when you’re walking. I’d be terrified to live out here if I still smoked, though (it’s been 2 years now!). There’s no way they could rescue me in time and save me from the deadly attacks I used to have.

I still can’t believe I heard music, even though I can believe it at the same time, and even though I know my presence here will mean hearing more and more of that, I thought people out here wanted to be ignored. I thought they didn’t want attention.

Tomorrow night’s my pick, and I vote we return to the Hampton. We just may not get a room on the end like last time. I liked how their doors weren’t right smack next to each other like the Red Roof’s were, and like most hotels/motels are.

Tonight we’re gonna do what we did two nights ago; I’ll get him up when I’m ready for bed. Then he’ll go doze off or play computer games in the car till it’s time for him to head to work.

We’re in the Red Roof Inn right now. He’s sound asleep. The place isn’t as nice or as quiet as the Hampton Inn was, but it’s cheaper, and I’ve got my fan this time around. I may be sleeping at night these days, but what’s to say someone won’t slam a door an hour or two before I’d like to get up?

At least their water’s almost hot enough for my instant coffee.

Yesterday, I did manage to get more sleep, but I could’ve used even more. I woke up half a dozen times or so but was able to fall back to sleep. I crashed at around 11:30, and Velvet decided that at 8:30 he’d waited enough for his carrot. So he squealed for me, I got up and fed the animals, then waited for Tom.

Someone cut their hair while sitting in this chair, cuz there are hairs at the sides of the chair.

This place’s negs are that they have the same dark, dull colors (I guess they feel it’ll hide spills and stuff like that better), and there’s a lot more door-slamming.

Despite it being smaller, less attractive, and bangier, it’s suitable enough. If I can’t even sleep with the fan on, then no.

Tom was sweet enough to leave the trailer at 10:30 last night, so I couldn’t hear him or feel his movements. He dozed in the car a few more hours before work. He was pretty beat when he got to the trailer just before noon. But he called and found that our loan on the new house has gone through (I knew it would), we went to Denny’s, then to the post office where I got my two CDs.

Ashton-Drake never sent that pen and yearly planner like they said they were for ordering over $75 of stuff, so I’ll call them if we still haven’t gotten it in a week or so. I want it for Tom.

Anyway, we checked in here on the 3rd of 4 floors by 1:30, then he showered and crashed. I’m gonna try staying up till 11:00-midnight so he can have time to get caught up. Thank God he’s on nights throughout all this so I can have some nights where I can sleep without his snoring.

I also like the idea of doing the hotel scene every other day, so we can rotate between days where we have a decent shower, and where I can go to sleep not having to worry about doors slamming.

It was dead quiet from the time I got up and left the land. I’m sure it was quiet all night too, seeing how I slept. Like I said, it’s just late afternoons/early evenings that will have dogs barking. I just hope most of them stay off in the distance, but at least they can’t get within a few feet.

Later...

I’m listening to my new Heart CD as I write.

I crept out in search of food. Even though Tom told me to wake him if I got hungry, I want him to catch up on his sleep, so I found a vending machine in the lobby and got something for him for when he gets up.

They don’t give skin lotion, shampoo, or laundry bags here, and they certainly don’t have irons and ironing boards. No coffee maker, either. Just soap, toilet paper, towels, and the usual basics.

As I said, I hear a lot more door-slamming here because, with their lower rates, it’s bound to be full compared to the other place, so more people will be coming and going. Sleeping at night with the fan should be OK, though, but if it’s not, we won’t stay here again.

Friday and Saturday nights, we want to spend at the trailer or else we’ll really have to deal with a lot of people and noise, no matter where we go. I’d rather listen to Tom’s snoring than people banging.

I also heard what I think was the housekeeper vacuuming the hallway which took forever.

I realized something pretty sick and rather sad the other day. After one of his visits to his mother, I had asked what the latest gossip and complaint about me was. He said nothing was said to him because they know he’ll tell me. That’s when it hit me - Evie told his mom who told Tom cuz she knew he’d tell me, and that’s what she wanted. What a wimp you are, Ev! What a sneaky way to get someone to do something you don’t have the guts to do, and why is she such a coward, anyway? That sly, little deceptive shit!

Speaking of shits, the shit black in Phoenix will hear from me tomorrow at the earliest, and Friday at the latest. Enjoy your reading material, you fucker! I wonder what blacks or Mexicans are next to me tonight. A white guy is across the hall.

I sent the excellent ratings I gave the Hampton, and this place will get a ‘fair’ report card. I mentioned the hair, cobweb, and door-slamming (there’s a huge cobweb over the door). The hair and cobwebs are nothing, though. I’m just an observant person, and they asked. I’ll leave the card in the room, as well as a page from here which I had been writing notes on.

We’re now on our way to Mel’s, after having lunch at IHOP. I got pancakes, eggs, and undercooked bacon.

The hotel was the best we’ve stayed at since we’ve known each other, but his snoring’s really been robbing me of sleep. I guess for now we’re gonna stay in hotels every other day. Tonight we’ll be in the trailer, and thankfully he won’t be in at 6:30 snoring. So now just the animals can wake me up. Or my having to pee. Or just because. I really don’t think I’m gonna be able to sleep 8 hours straight through till after we get into the house, but at least I’m not sick. I still don’t wheeze, my lungs are OK, I’m just tired.

He won’t get back till around noon tomorrow, which is good, but he won’t be leaving till around 12:30 tonight. Much later than I want to be up, but hopefully, he won’t wake me up if I fall asleep before he leaves.

Their complimentary breakfast was good. They had a good selection.

Later...

We’re now at Mel’s. At least we got here only 20 minutes early and not 45.

Anyway, the only noise I heard at the hotel was the housekeeper bopping around at 8:30, but if I had slept longer, I wouldn’t have slept past 8:30 anyhow.

After this, we’re gonna go straight to the trailer where I’m gonna be lazy for the rest of the day.

I forgot to add that the hotel was much darker at night than that dive in Snotsdale was. Also, it had a flat carpet. The carpet in the trailer, which is a yellow/gold color, is plush.

Later...

Went to my appointment, but haven’t mailed the bitch’s mail yet. We will within the next few days. We were just so beat and we wanted to get back to the trailer as soon as we could.

I’ll also be mailing a little survey the hotel provided. I gave them excellent ratings. Tom liked how I put “lots” next to “position.” Well, I do lots of things.

I told Mel I was gonna stick with her at least for a while. She said, “Good.” Also, that purple was my color (I was wearing a purple dress). The doctor came in and tightened my retainers, and I’ll see them again in 4 weeks.

Is there really no place on Earth that’s totally quiet? I guess no home is completely free of other people’s noise, or other people’s dog’s noise. If there is, God simply won’t allow it for me. Although there’s still no comparison to our old place, all the area’s dogs can really get to be a bit annoying at certain times of the day. Again, they’re nowhere near as loud as the collies, and we won’t hear them in a dual-paned windowed house, but once again, I can’t enjoy the outdoors in peace. I give up. I totally give up. This isn’t just one dog, either. It’s obvious there’s a kennel somewhere around here, or as Tom suggested, maybe racing dogs. There are at least three dogs that go on and on for hours, but there could also be a dozen of them. It’s hard to tell for sure, but there are a lot of them.

Also, I see new utility poles nearby. Tom said they may’ve always been there, and they’re still miles away. I’m pretty observant, though, and I think they’re the first sign of how I vibed the place would build up as soon as we got here.

He also reminded me that we could sell our land and house in a few years and make a ton of money so he doesn’t have to work and go 100 miles from people (we’d split the land into 4 properties). Yeah, but moving’s a bitch, I really want to stay here, and where would we go? God would only have someone and their dog move close enough to be a bother. And this is nothing. The barking’s gonna get almost as bad as Phoenix was once the surrounding properties get dogs. It’s better than those fucking stereos, though.

I thought I also heard screaming as if someone was getting attacked by these dogs, but I couldn’t be sure. These dogs have got to be a mile away, even though sound carries a little better out here cuz it’s so flat. Yeah, wait till the dogs get on all the surrounding properties as I said. The mountains are too far away to block sound, but we are gonna put up a block wall. Not as close to the house as in Phoenix so it doesn’t enhance sound, but enough to ward off surrounding sounds.

Tom doesn’t think it’s building up in this direction, but like I said, it will now that I’m here. I’m gonna be stubborn, though. I do not want to leave this beautiful land and what will be our beautiful house. Maybe I’m not getting my hopes up for no reason for once by hoping it’ll be quieter in a well-insulated house, and I don’t have to be outside all that much. It’s either too hot or too cold for the most part, and I hate all the flies. You just can’t casually stroll around here without the possibility of encountering a snake at night and without the more definite possibility of encountering ants during the day. When you sit still, flies won’t leave you the fuck alone.

Later...

The shouts and barks are still going on. Just what is this place and what are they doing?

Now I hear an older voice that may be closer. A white service van of some kind just headed towards the houses behind us, but I can’t say for sure that that’s where it went and that that’s where the voice came from. Well, in another hour or two, people should head indoors as the cold rapidly closes in, and the dogs should settle down.

I think I’ll go listen to music.

Later...

The "kennel" has settled down. All I heard, but only for a minute, was some adult voices. They were coming from either behind us or from the opposite side of the kennel. I heard a middle-aged woman and a young to middle-aged guy. I’d rather a few spurts of distant voices than hours of distant barking. And I sure as hell don’t want any close barking or bass.

The analyst in me says the voices are from the houses behind us (they sound white!). I also get the feeling there’s something going on too, and that this isn’t an ordinary hang-out-at-night-when-the-temperature’s-pleasant-and-chat kind of thing. At least whatever’s going on is good. The voices sounded pretty jovial, and I even heard some laughter.

I just hope I can sleep tonight. I really need to catch up on my sleep. I won’t count on it, though. Not till we get into the house and I can run a soft fan.

I hear ducks or geese, but they’re no bother.

I hear that engine running as I usually do, but it sounds different tonight. Actually, it sounds more like a vehicle running. Something with a bassy idle like our car has. Now it’s slowly fading. Nope. Still going. It just faded for an instant.

Later...

The well, or the diesel truck, or whatever it is, began running at 8:30. A little later than usual. I like this thing, though, cuz it provides some background noise, even if it isn’t much. It only stays on till around midnight, though.

Tom woke up for a minute and said those voices couldn’t have come from behind us cuz the place is too deserted. After he said this, I saw someone drive up and park in between us and next door, suggesting that other cars were filling up the space closer to the house. I heard the car door shut, then saw someone get out and go to the house, but of course, it was too dark to see who it was. So I guess they were having a party and needed more space to park. You can’t park just anywhere on their land, and these people have 4-5 vehicles. Mostly old trucks, and who knows if they all run or not.

Judging by their vehicles and their house, I’d say these people aren’t very nice and that they aren’t very easy-going. What do you expect, though? They’re next to me.

Their house is older and uglier and has been around for a while. Of course they also have those two little shacks that are falling apart with smashed windows that are on a corner of their land closest to us. I’d say they’re the ugliest things around here. Anyway, their house is no big beautiful manufactured home, and they’ve probably been there for a long time.

They’ve hung out laundry today and yesterday. I get the feeling there are a lot of them, they’re poor, and not all of them work. This, coupled with what God’s had in store for me the last few years, made me think all the more that these were Mexicans, but those voices I heard, if they were truly from over there, sounded pretty white to me.

Also, where are the millions of kids Mexicans have? I’d think there’d be more evidence of it if lots of kids were over there. I’d hear them. Not like I heard the Phoenix kids, blacks, or Mormonettes, but I’d have to hear something to tell me they were there. So if they exist, they’ve been unusually quiet.

I just can’t wait to get into the comfort of that big, gorgeous new house with its master bedroom windows surrounded and insulated by other rooms. Actually, every room in that house except for the master bath will have just one exterior wall. The master bath will have two.

Tom’s asleep now. He told me that although he doesn’t have to leave till 1:00, to wake him up when I’m ready to crash, and he’ll leave. He said he’d go play computer games in the car or something. That’s sweet of him, but he hasn’t had much sleep either, and so I’m gonna let him sleep till 10:00. It’d be wonderful if I could sleep from, say, 11:00-7:00, or even 10:30-8:30, but I know better than to even think I could do this. Either it’ll be too hot or too cold and that’ll wake me up. Or the animals will, or I’ll just wake up just because and not be able to fall back asleep for a while. Or maybe a person or an animal will wake me up.

We are now just off the freeway that goes to our land at the Hampton Inn in Chandler. Although it’s $69 which is over our $40 limit, it’s really nice. At least so far it is. It’s a far cry from the Siesta Suites. The only thing we’ve heard so far was the housekeeper slamming a nearby door. The doors here aren’t right next to each other either, but we do have a room right across from us. We’re at the end of the 5th floor. There are 6 floors in all. I deliberately picked something with more than 2 floors. Once you get over 2-3 floors, they really have to build things firmer and thicken walls and floors up.

I’ve been tired for the last couple of days, but fortunately, he’s returning to work tonight so I can get some sleep without his damn snoring! Even if no bangs of any kind wake me, though, I’m sure I’ll wake up once or twice cuz I’m in a place I’ve never slept before. That seems to be my habit these days anyway.

Even though I was tired this morning, I couldn’t have slept much past 8:30 if I wanted to. I guess my body is just not used to sleeping past that anymore. I may take a nap today like I occasionally do.

I’ll write more about our hotel later.

Later...

We just returned from Denny’s. I got a nice steak and shrimp dinner and he got a burger.

This is a wonderful hotel so far, and you get so much with it. There’s a little coffeemaker with coffee, dry cream and sugar, an iron and ironing board, a digital alarm clock, and a big TV with HBO. I’m not interested in TV, but of course, Tom is. He likes TV more than sex. We screwed yesterday in the trailer, but we wouldn’t have if I hadn’t brought it up. We could make the time for it just about every day, but neither of us is very interested. He was only up top yesterday for a minute or two, cuz it was very hot in the trailer. What was neat, though, was how easy it was for me to start with him up top since there was no room for our side position which sort of forms a T, where he’s on his side and I’m on my back.

I revved him up by hand before our brief screw, and man did he get hard! I still can’t imagine getting that excited without releasing it. Ugh! He has major control, restraint, and determination, on top of his fears.

Melanie, or Tisha, never left my appointment reminder message. Why, I don’t know. My only guess is that they’re too cheap to call long-distance.

Anyway, the only negs to this place are its ugly, dark, dull colors, and its bathroom floor. It’s a rough sort of odd-textured tile.

The bathroom’s great. It’s roomy and has lots of counter space. It was great taking a bath in the nice clean, roomy, modern tub.

I washed my exercise mat’s cloth cover in the tub and hung it to dry. I put the foam part under the cover sheet and blanket (I’ll cover myself with the bedspread) which has a nice velvety feel to it.

I hope I get caught up on my sleep tonight with Tom not around and with being able to have a more stable temperature in here. Last night I went to bed sort of warm and awoke in the middle of the night freezing like Tom did a few nights ago. I had to wake him up to light the pilot and heat the place up.

Although I’d like to stay here, it is rather expensive, so we decided that for the fun of it, we’d stay at a different place each night. I don’t know how “fun” that’ll be if we end up in a 2-story motel, though, but we’re gonna take turns picking. He suggested we stay at the Super 8 tomorrow (which I think will be noisy), and I suggested the Red Roof Inn the next night, which is a hotel identical to this place.

We checked boxes before leaving the land this morning, and Tom found the bitch’s mail, so it will go out as planned.

Even though I’m kind of tired, I’m really enjoying today. It’s been a while since we’ve had a day off to relax and go at a leisurely pace, but tomorrow it’s back to sitting in the car and dealing with traffic and construction as we go from place to place. It’s good to be busy and active, though. Gotta go to Mel’s, the post office, and hopefully to Casa Grande to sign the house’s loan papers. Naturally, we’ll also go to the trailer to feed the animals.

Tom’s gonna have to call the Budget Suites tomorrow. This was the place that didn’t allow animals that we were gonna stay at till we settled on the Siesta Suites. We had made reservations, then canceled. Well, these little moochers stole $58 from our credit card. Fucking thieves! What a spiteful thing to do all cuz we canceled. I’m worried about the dive we stayed in. What are they gonna help themselves to? They’re my real concern.

Later...

So much for getting all excited over the coffeemaker. Their coffee tastes like shit and the water tastes like bleach, as Arizona water usually does, so it made my instant French vanilla taste shitty, too. Maybe I’ll just have my wake-up cup and get my English toffee coffee at Circle K till I can get a cheap warming plate for the places that don’t have coffeemakers and my water filter.

I’d never have worked at the Harley Hotel in Enfield, CT if it had been anything like this what with all the extra things there are to clean.

I polished my nails. Each one’s a different color - pink, light blue, dark blue, light purple, dark purple, yellow, white, black, red, and green.

Tom and I returned not too long ago from doing something I’m getting pretty sick of - running errands.

It looks like the fat tub of shit’s not gonna get her mail next week after all. I can’t find her envelope. It’s here somewhere, but she’s not worth tearing things apart for. It’ll just have to wait till we get into the house, but she’ll get it.

I was right about strongly vibing the white trash and the blacks would be there while we were, cuz get this - the blacks next door were moving when we were there. The older animal nearly ran Tom over running around the corner.

Can you believe the black lady next door smiled at us? Does she even realize we were the ones to complain on her? I’ve never heard of anyone smiling at someone that complained on them. Especially out here. Normally people are furious with you for complaining on them. Especially when it’s about noise.

Also, I think the blacks below us may’ve moved too, cuz there was a different car in that spot.

The white trash, however, will be there at least till the painting’s done. They’re now painting the studios. Yeah, it figures they’d do our building while we were there and not after. In the end, though, there wasn’t as much in the way of projects as I thought there’d be. Just noise from kids and movement within the building.

I waited in the car while he turned in the keys, cuz I knew that if I went in that office, and if that lying little cock looked at me wrong, I’d kill the little shit. As it turns out, he never said anything to Tom.

Before going to the apartment, we went to a place in Phoenix I had a hot vibe on. I was right. It turned out that there was a truck within our price range, but we didn’t like the looks of it.

After leaving the apartment, we went to Ace Hardware where we found that Durham’s rock-hard putty we need, and I also got a nice plastic step ladder. They were giving away free bags of popcorn, too.

From Ace, we headed here, stopping in Maricopa at Dairy Queen. It’s hard to believe this is also Maricopa. This here is so rural and remote, and the center of Maricopa’s rather ugly with its scummy junkyard and all.

We timed it today, and we’re about 40 minutes from the freeway and 20 minutes from Circle K.

Later...

I’m sitting outside now with Tom. We also got fly strips at Ace too, and we put two indoors and two outdoors. So far, I’d say it’s worthless.

Later...

Tom just went in to lie down, but I think it’s too hot inside the trailer so I’ll stay out here, even though the flies are totally annoying. I haven’t heard much from the area’s dogs yet. It’s still a little early for that. Dogs usually do their barking between 7:00-10:00 PM, so I’ve noticed.

The view from where I’m sitting on this little beach chair looks so cool. The taller mountains are towards the back and the sides of the property, but when I sit down facing the front, I’m below most of the trees, so it looks like we could be on a cliff since the sky comes down into the little trees and clumps of sage. Sitting down and looking towards the sides and back, though, you can see the mountains.

Later...

The sun has just reached the mountain tops in back, so it won’t be long before it’s set and this trailer can begin to cool off. It’s hard to believe we’ll be freezing and in the 50s late at night if we don’t use the heater. It’s cold at night and hot during the day. Whenever you’re far away from an ocean, you have a wider temperature swing between night and day.

Later...

Tom ran out to Circle K. I ran around outside for a while, enjoyed the beautiful sunset, and sang.

There’s a full moon out. On the 7th there’ll be a new moon.

The house is due in on the 1st, it’s to be inspected on the 8th, and he thinks we’ll be moving in on the 12th. I still fear rain, or something, will delay us till November 20-something, but I sure hope I’m wrong and that I lose our bet. Meli is a beautiful doll, but I’d rather move sooner and wait on her.

I’ve begun drinking a glass of prune juice every day to help with regularity. It seemed to help at first, but I haven’t gone today or yesterday.

Tom put pieces of foam - the same kind air conditioners use - between the screens and windows. This is to filter some of the dust the workers will be kicking up when they bring in the house and dig the septic and the well.

It’s already gotten much more comfortable in here, but just an hour ago, we were boiling.

I hear that engine running now. It seems to run from sundown to around 11:00.

I also hear different dogs in the distance all around me. Sometimes the barking is in spurts, sometimes it’s pretty consistent. Again, it’s nothing like the collies were, and it probably won’t be audible at all in the house.

I don’t fear coming across a coyote, cuz they’re very timid and wouldn’t go near a person, unlike wolves, which travel in packs, but all the ants out here make me pretty damn nervous. I’d be pretty scared to run across a rattlesnake, too. Another thing we may encounter would be a stray dog, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a household out here with no dog. Also, if they don’t allow them in their homes in the city, then they’re really not gonna allow them in their homes out here, and there’s certainly no leash laws here. You just don’t take your dogs indoors in the southwest, and you let them roam free in the remote desert areas. The only thing out here I think there’d be laws on confining would be horses and cattle.

We see that crop duster flying around a lot.

I think Tom’s back.

Later...

Ashley, who’s never really been healthy, and who’s always been sort of hunch-backed, was wheeling for about a minute or so. She never usually wheels, either. Not like Katie. She wheels a lot. Even in the daytime.

I forgot to mention that the two little houses in back, that are where the land’s divided into four lots, have had front lights on. I don’t know why, though, cuz the houses are obviously empty. All we could see between the two houses was a refrigerator. It was sitting in the middle of one’s kitchen. Their power poles look new, cuz the newer ones are metal, not wood. Our guess is that people are moving in little by little. It may take them a few months, but it fits with my vibes. I tell you, it’s gonna build up around us over the next year as we get settled. Oh, it may never get like Phoenix, but I’m talking about the lots surrounding us. And like I said, people and music may not be a problem for a while, but we could easily get boxed in by dogs. God would have me stuck with dogs too. And I know he’ll have me next to off-brands at the hotel we end up at. Or with freeloaders. My guess is that he’ll black out on me, before siccing Mexicans on me, but they’re just as bad. They’re all the same, but God forbid he put a white person next to me! Hell no! It’d be a sin for me to be allowed to have a white person next to me. There was to the left us in Scottsdale. Yeah, after we started roughing it out here.

Tom’s listening to the first game of the World Series on the trailer’s radio.

We’re not gonna bother turning on the heat and setting the thermostat tonight. We’re just gonna bundle up. To tell you the truth, I’ve been sweating my ass off so much that a little cold will be a nice, refreshing break. Yes, I’d rather be cold for a change. Just a few nights a year, though.

I’m packing about a week’s worth of stuff, even though we’ll be coming here daily to feed the animals. Even though I’m not looking forward to leaving here and returning to the smog, crowds, and noise, we’re both looking forward to having some elbow room for a change and to being able to plug things in at all times, rather than only when our gas-powered generator’s running for a few hours. Real showers and toilets will be nice to have again, too.

This 70s Terry trailer really looks 70s with its wood grain paneling and its upholstery design/color. The only good thing about the 70s, in my opinion, was its music and its TV.

It’s hard to believe I’m nearly halfway done with this journal and I began it barely two weeks ago.

I sat outside with the mister to try to get a little color. Tom says I’m burning, but I don’t see it. Nor do I feel it.

As much as I love Tom and spending time with him, I’m kind of glad his vacation is over and that I’ll be alone at night. His snoring is getting old. By the time he’s ever on days, and we’re both asleep at night, we’ll be in the house. I don’t know if we’ll ever sleep together or not. As long as we’re together, happy, and healthy; that’s what’s most important. You never know, though. I was wrong when I said I could never quit smoking or get on a schedule (it’s been 2 years since I quit!). The only thing I know I could never be wrong about is having a kid, but that’s fine with me.

Later...

Well good, I did a duty. My stomach was kind of gassy, so now I feel better.

Tom went to bed a little while ago, and when I do, I’m gonna pull the accordion-like thing that separates the back from the front to muffle his snoring a bit. This divider was mostly created to block sight rather than sound, but it should lessen it slightly.

Usually, when I do my journaling, I type notes on stuff I want to write up at the end of the file I’m typing in. Here in this paper journal, I’m writing notes on the last page, since it’s quicker and easier to flip to the back of this book to glance at notes. As each page gets full, I’ll tear them out. They’ll go to Andy, along with the house/land pictures I plan on sending him. The same ones I’ll send Tammy, Dureen and Art.

Speaking of Tammy, boy, is she about to get a strange and confusing piece of mail! From Bob to me. Yeah, I thought she might get a kick out of it. I wrote to Bob, whom I just received a boring letter from, letting him know I’m at a relative’s house in Salem, CT, and that he can mail me his visiting hours there so I can try to visit him. The sucker will definitely fall for it too, so there Tammy will be, receiving wacky mail from this inmate.

As I said, I never bothered giving any numbers or our address to Bob, Kim or Paula.

When describing the trailer, did I mention it has Venetian blinds? Well, it does. I try to keep them shut on the west side as much as I can. I’ve been keeping them shut at night too, to block out the moonlight.

I haven’t done any reading yet and I don’t know when I will. At least my books aren’t library books so I don’t have to worry about deadlines.

I wish I knew which box I threw that fat bitch’s shit in!

It’s quiet out there tonight dog-wise. One of the things I love about the house we’re getting is how only one bedroom wall is an exterior wall. You usually have two exterior walls in bedrooms. Even though there’ll only be one, and even though we’re out here, I plan on sleeping with the fan on low, but not my big box fan. I’ll use our wimpy fan on a stand. This way it’ll keep the air circulating like I like, and I don’t have to worry if Tom drops anything, for example, or if the animals have a night where they’re louder than usual. Remember, they’re gonna be right outside the bedroom, and I plan to go from 6 rodents to about 16 rodents.

Another day of roughing it out in the desert! It sure beats living with blacks, Mexicans and noisy kids.

I jogged around the property at sunset. I’ve been jogging around the property a lot to release all my energy that gets bottled up due to sitting in the car all day while we run errands.

The view is just as beautiful at night as it is in the daytime. At night the mountains form really neat silhouette shapes around most of the area, but in a little corner of the property, you can see city lights miles away in the distance.

Besides seeing lots of lizards and quails, we saw a coyote! It was neat to finally see one, but it wasn’t here that we saw it. We were still on the freeway about a half-hour from here when we saw one dart across the road. It was so cute. Looked a lot like a fox.

I can’t wait to get into the house, set it up, and have use of the computer again! There’s just no room to set it up in the trailer.

So far, the only thing around here that could be annoying would be if next door’s dog were to bark a long time while we were outdoors. You wouldn’t really hear it, though, in a regular house.

When our house is set up, our house will be about 400’ from next door. That sure beats 3’, huh?

As I said, they subdivided these lots in ‘58, and we read up on some of their rules out here.

You can’t build closer than 50’ to the front of your property (I assume the same goes for the back) and no closer than 25’ to the sides.

You can’t have more than one house per acre. If our land were in the city, there’d be 60 houses on it!

Ain’t it ironic how we whites stole the Indian’s land, yet they’re protecting our land? Yes, the AK-Chin reservation goes through Maricopa, so it buffers it and protects us from the expanding cities. Cities like Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, and Scottsdale are really growing fast, but due to the way the reservation borders near where we are, we won’t have to worry.

Between that, and the fact that yes, my lungs are actually better. Boy, do I fear compensation!

We’ll have to check out the new casino on the Gila River Indian reservation soon, but we did spontaneously pop in AK-Chin’s Harrah’s casino, which we’ve been in before, and we each lost about $20. It was fun, even though my vibes always told me we were never destined to win anything big.

Maricopa’s a nice, but weird town. You get the impression it’s a separate town - us and its central street. We go through its main street to get here, and you also get the impression it’s a one-street town. Its side streets are sort of hidden.

As of tomorrow, this trailer becomes a weekend retreat. Tom wants to stay in a hotel, a real hotel with more than 2 floors, so he can have access to a shower he’s not so cramped in and that doesn’t have wimpy pressure.

There may be no comparison in noise (although I’m sure I’ll hear doors slamming), and it may be more comfortable and roomier, but I’ll miss being out here. Still, it’ll be nice to plug in a fan and my portable CD player, so it won’t all be bad.

Haven’t done any reading since we got here, which has been nearly a week, so I think I’ll read soon. I want to write a bit more first.

Amazingly, I’ve written nearly 40 pages so far. It’ll be much easier typing this up, cuz of its spiral binder.

I still want to describe this trailer and our land, but first I’ll cover today’s errands.

First we ate at Denny’s, stopped to pick up our mail, then went to the apartment to get a load of stuff. All that’s left will fill only half of the car. It was amazingly quiet while we were there, but weekdays tend to be quieter till those animals get in around 4:30. Although they’re not peaceful, they really did quiet down in the end, but I guess they’ve figured out that we’re hardly there lately, cuz they were wild when we were there a few days ago. I’m sure it’ll be rocking this weekend too, but at least we’re checking out!

We also went on a wild goose chase trying to find all the doll supplies Jamie listed for me.

Got another state coin today. They’re quarters. We’ve got Georgia, Delaware, Maryland, and Connecticut. I think. We may have New Jersey, too. I can’t remember what we have for sure until I unpack.

Anyway, I called Jamie from the apartment to ask about Jade’s dress, but it won’t be ready for a few weeks. Oh. I thought it’d be ready in a few days, but there’s no hurry.

After looking in four different craft stores, as well as Wal-Mart, we got the white tacky glue, what’ll hopefully be long enough needles (although we’d have preferred upholstery needles), silicon, 18-gauge wire, batting, and I think that’s it, cuz we couldn’t find the putty we needed.

Got a 17” super thin vinyl doll to practice making clothes on. I want to learn how to do patterns. Anyway, for a cheap vinyl doll that costs $6 or $7, she’s nice. I don’t know if she’s supposed to be a white doll with a tan or a Latin doll, but she has a pleasant enough face with nice curly brown long hair.

We went to a drugstore and were unable to find fly strips, but we got the nail clippers we needed, cup holders, a tarp for the generator, more plastic silverware, trash and freezer bags, and the best thing of all - a personal mister. I love it! I wish I got it as soon as I came to Arizona. It’ll make tanning a lot easier. It’ll run steadily for 20 minutes. The water goes in a sports bottle and you can strap it over your shoulder, around your neck, or set it down somewhere. The part where the mist comes from has a clip on it, so you can clip it to your shirt if you want or to whatever. They had black, blue, green and purple. I got purple.

I forgot to say that we’ll still be coming to the trailer daily to feed the animals. How I wish they didn’t exist just till we got into the house! We should’ve tried to have them boarded at a pet store or somewhere, even though I’d miss them.

I stopped for Chinese take-out on our way back here, then he got a hot dog at our closest Circle K in Maricopa 20 minutes away, and I got my favorite new coffee - English toffee cappuccino. It’s great and you don’t need to add cream or sugar.

Still haven’t heard from the people who bought our house. Who knows if they’ll take our offer and who knows if they’re living there yet or if they’re remodeling? We drove by there the other day and saw no people or cars there. As for the Mexicans - all we saw was the van. No cream pickup, other vehicles, or people. I’ll be mailing that fat bitch’s mail out the day I see Mel, next Monday, so she should get it Wednesday or Thursday. Less than a week, Deb!

Let me break, then I’ll get into land/trailer descriptions.

Later...

You’d think it was a streetlight, but it’s actually the moon that’s glowing out there. It’s nearly full. I can’t wait for a moonless night out here so I can see all the stars. We talked about getting a telescope.

Tammy’s considered remote where her house is, and it is for being in New England, but this is remote. It takes about 20 minutes just to get to our nearest stores, like a gas station, convenience store, and Dairy Queen. There are a few other things there too, like a school and a church. The nearest grocery store, though, is about 40 minutes away. We’ll probably try to do biweekly grocery runs, rather than weekly, and throughout most of the year, we’ll need a cooler or else our frozen stuff will spoil before we can get it here.

Anyway, although the land lacks saguaros, prickly pears, Joshua trees, and ocotillos, it sure is gorgeous. Besides, we can plant those kinds of cactuses and some palm trees. There are no organ pipes, either. Just lots of sage, Palo Verde trees, a few barrel cactuses, and lots of gopher, ant, and maybe even snake holes.

There are up to four washes running through here, but two definite main washes. We plan to put the house just behind the front one where we have a couple of pretty tall trees. Although most of our trees are shorter than me, these are at least 10-12 feet high. We’ll make some sort of bridge to get across the wash, what’ll be neat; having a little river run through here when it rains. Although I suppose it’d be more appropriate to call it a stream or a brook. There are a lot of “bald spots,” just open, bare patches of hard-packed dirt (I wish I had my roller-skates) which really helped us when it came to driving the trailer in here. We went out and got shovels and rakes, just in case we had to clear a path. This was before we were as familiar with our land as we are now, although there’s still more to explore and learn.

The 27’ trailer is what I’d describe as being simple. They certainly have nicer, newer, bigger trailers than Dennis’, but it’s no little piece of shit, either. You walk into the living room/kitchen area with its 2 beds (we use the one on top for storage), a table we don’t bother to use, and its kitchen with cabinets, an oven, and a refrigerator. There are 4 main windows in this area. There are a total of 3 ceiling windows too, which we crank open. In the back, or close to it, is a bed (this is where I sleep. He sleeps in front), more cabinets, and a little counter. In the very back is the bathroom. I’m amazed that it’s got a tub. I thought it’d be just a shower stall.

All in all, this thing has pretty good cabinet and drawer space, but we sure could use triple this amount!

There are 2 windows in the back bedroom and one in the bathroom.