After a week of having around 1000 calories, I saved some money but failed to drop below 127 pounds. I knew I wouldn’t, though, and again, I know I’m far from the only one in this world who can’t lose weight.

The first of many samples came today. A regular letter-size envelope and a big envelope came made of very lightweight material. I’m not really sure what it is. The question is, can I send it to jail? Maybe I’ll just send the big one to Mary containing past journal excerpts or stories if I ever hear back from her.

If mom’s check isn’t there tomorrow, I’m going to be worried.

We went out today for water and a few groceries, as well as to the Chinese place. I got fries and barbecued pork. The fries were wonderful as always, but the pork was boring. I should’ve gotten the fried wontons.

For now, we’ve got a computer setup where he uses his outside on an old folding table. He has to put a tarp over his head, though, so he can see his screen. I use mine in the RV. If it wasn’t so cold at night, we could use it then, but he goes to bed before the sun even sets between 8:00-9:00.

I still hate the long drives to and from Klamath Falls, but again, it’s either be chilly in peace and solitude or sweat it out with the animals and antics of warmer climates.

Later…

I forgot to mention that on our way back we took a different way in. One that’s longer, but with better roads.

Tom got a bit of a sunburn. He didn’t wear a shirt because of his rash, so now he’s burned. That’s the third problem he’s had since coming here. Maybe he’s the unwanted one in this place.

I saw a cottontail earlier just like the ones down in Maricopa, plus we have what appears to be a small gray rat living under the wooden boards in the screen room.

It was cute when one of the chipmunks was standing straight up looking curiously up at the rat’s cage. God help it if it or a mouse dares to enter that cage for my rats will surely kill them! Rats are predators who especially love to kill mice.

Tom and I have a bet going, even though we didn’t actually bet on any particular thing. See, he insists that anyone can lose weight and that the main reason they don’t is that it’s no fun being hungry all the time and not easy staying thin once they get there.

I, however, insist that some people simply can’t lose weight, including myself. They just can’t do it for a variety of reasons. Could be a medication they’re on, thyroid problems, or genetics, but not everyone can lose weight, like it or not, any more than everyone can sing or dance.

Anyway, I agreed to faithfully stick to my diet of roughly 1000 calories a day, plus a half-hour workout to save money and to show him I won’t and can’t drop under 127 pounds. I did have dreams in Maricopa where some nameless, faceless being was insisting I couldn’t lose weight while I was there only because the evil that resided there wouldn’t let me, and while I always thought it silly for a ghost to tamper with someone’s weight, though God knows whatever was there sure as hell despised me!

I hope to hell he gets a job this week! I really do. If he doesn’t actually start something then I hope he’s at least hired somewhere this week. His getting a job will take so much stress off of us. Then we can start over and hope that we can have at least a decade before we have to do it again for the millionth time. Oh, how great it would be to stop starting over!

I swear it’s like something wants to keep things going for me and keep me on the go. I think, however, I could do a fine job on my own of keeping busy and productive! Yet here we are kicked down once again and once again we’re building ourselves back up on account of others, though it was our choice to come here (yes, for once a decision was made by us!) and we do want to build our own house to get out of having to have a mortgage. Still, I feel like I’m back playing appointments again, in a sense. In fact, the appointment game is exactly what I’m back to having to play if I want to be the one to do the laundry, go out for a bite to eat periodically, and to pick out things by myself at the grocery store.

Oh well. At least no one will threaten me with jail if I don’t go. If the so-called appointments aren’t neighbor-related, I can handle it.

I’m not looking forward to playing appointment with a new dentist either, once I finally get one, but I have to. I have a killer cavity that’s got to be filled, plus a few others.

Not only did I receive no reply from Dave, but none from Bob or Jeff when I went to ask if they ever expected to have plain caramel in their inventory. Why is everyone ignoring me? Oh well. Guess I’ll just ignore them back!

On our way in we checked out these two swimming holes that are sort of side by side, and yuck! They looked disgusting. The shallow, murky water was filled with tall reeds. You couldn’t swim very well there even if the water were deep enough. The lady at the bank said to stay out of the lakes due to the leeches. Well, we didn’t see any blood-suckers, but I saw a small snake swimming through the reeds. It was perhaps a foot long and might’ve been a water moccasin. If it was, the thing’s way poisonous.

Although we’re not scared of snakes, it’s nice to be out of rattlesnake territory where you always have to check under the stairs, under the cars, etc. Not that Tom would be sitting outside at a computer with a tarp over his head in Arizona in July, but it’d be an extremely dangerous thing if he did. Here, he doesn’t have to worry about stuff like that and having to always look over his shoulder at certain times of the year.

I just hope someone hires him this week. That’s our biggest concern right now. He spoke to a woman who said it took her 4 months to find work here. I don’t know if she was being picky or not, but hearing that and how she had to stay in a shelter was scary!

Think I’ll listen to music now on the laptop, then read, then work on Anyone’s Dream. Tom says I’m a real writer now because most writers work on more than one story at a time. Yeah, but aren’t real writers supposed to get paid for their work?