In the Woods in the Auburn Trailer…

We are now in the trailer!!! I thought I’d wait till I got a desk to do my writing, but then I’d be so backed up I’d forget things.

It was so exciting to see Tom wheel that dolly up to the room yesterday! I never thought we’d get out of there. I still can’t believe we did. I think there’ll always be a part of me that can’t believe we did. If it weren’t for me winning that 9K we could’ve been there for years.

Jessie and I had been swapping evening emails once I told her about the place. She checked out the view from a satellite image and asked if we were getting a rat and things like that. When I was describing how small the place was, I said, “Sorry, you’ll have to stay in a motel if you come to visit.” Then added. “Ah, but I think I know one I can recommend!” I’m sure she got a kick out of that one, although she’d probably be better off staying at the Best Western in Roseville cuz it’s closer.

I said goodbye to Say on our way out and she asked about the new place, saying she’d miss me. I waved goodbye to Rosalinda up on the second floor too, so I guess she was the one to do our room and haul out all the books I left behind.

Both Maryann and Jesse were here when we got here. Maryann was cleaning the oven and Jesse was working on the cooler, stuff I wish they’d done during the week, but at least it got taken care of, and they were nice enough to bomb the place for us beforehand. The only things they’re going to have to come back for that we know of are to replace the living room and bathroom windows with new dual-paned windows like the kitchen and bedroom have which will seal the place up better, and to put the patio roof up. He already has the posts set up for that. Of course, there’s still the phone and internet that needs to be set up. At least it looks like we should be able to get high speed. I sure hope so!

Jesse’s also going to get a screen for the sliding glass door, though we don’t expect to use that or the door outside the bathroom and bedroom. The kitchen door is fine enough and closest to where he parks. Why this little trailer had to have 3 doors is beyond me. Talk about total overkill in an asinine sort of way! I wish those areas were part of the wall so I could have more places for the free-standing, adjustable bookcases we talked about getting from Big Lots that are dirt cheap. I could probably still put stuff in front of the part of the sliding glass door that doesn’t open, but not the other door. The hallway area there is too narrow. We got blinds for that door because, for some reason, this door has clear glass and is not frosted like in the kitchen.

Maryann said they weren’t going to tell us this, but we seemed like nice enough people who wouldn’t be a bother, so she let us know that “the neighbor” whose motorcycle the last people here stole, was really Jesse, and he lives just up the hill in front. I would never have known anyone was up there till she pointed it out and I squinted through the trees. It’s about 75 feet higher and about 150 feet away. So the houses you can faintly make out from the north end of the house aren’t on his property like I originally thought. This property only consists of his place, ours, then the ditch which is another 50-75 feet down, maybe even 100’. Jesse’s place could be 100’ away too, but definitely no closer than 50’. It’s hard to tell for sure with all the hills, but the other houses are definitely 400’ or more.

I told Maryann I sometimes like to play my music a little loud when I’m cleaning and asked if that would be ok. She said yes, and that I’d probably hear Jesse’s, too. That wasn’t a thrilling thing to know, and neither is the fact that he’s got a dog, which isn’t allowed indoors, no doubt. With the windows open or without background sounds from fans, heaters or coolers, it’s a little annoying, but it’s fine otherwise and rarely barks. It’s nothing like the canal dog was. If anything worries me, it’s his Harley Davidson motorcycle Maryann says he’s got. Those are ferociously loud, and I worry it may wake me up, but we’ll see. Other than that, Tom heard a yipping dog before I got up that was way off in the distance, the faint sounds of big trucks on the freeway, and a possible chainsaw or motorcycle, it’s been wonderfully dead quiet. I can’t believe we’re in a place quieter than Maricopa! We’re still in town enough that no sonic booms could be heard here, nor could car stereos be a problem. If it were flat and open like Arizona, then it wouldn’t be as quiet. It’s anything but flat and open, though! Most of these trees appear to be California oaks. I had no idea you could live where there were so many trees without being in a cold climate or a rainforest. This is definitely no pine forest or rainforest! The land is like this all the way from here, which is considered the gateway to the Sierras since we’re at the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, on into Nevada. The problem is that while the land gets cheaper the more you head towards Reno, which is about 100 miles from here since it’s harder to get to, it also rises in elevation, which means snow. It’s really dark at night too, save for the moon, which is a little more than half-full right now. I can’t wait to see how bright the stars are once there’s no moon!

Later…

I’m sitting by the open window now with nothing running and all I hear are birds chirping and the distant hum of trucks. It’s awesome! The sun is setting now, though, so the birds aren’t chirping as much. Although it’s not literally “remote” it sure feels that way cuz of all the seclusion, yet all the stores we could possibly need are just minutes away.

It would’ve made the motel time much easier to deal with had I known what was waiting for us in the end. I mean, I never thought we’d be lucky enough to get 20’ away from the neighbors, let alone this much. And so much peace, too! It’s so country-like! I feel like I’m back in the wilderness again, yet not the miserable kind in Oregon where we had to watch out for bears and big cats. We still have deer here, which is kind of cool. Tom saw 3 of them this morning. I love the rural, farmland setting! Like I said, if only someone could’ve told me. Then again, I’d never have believed them anyway.

I’m more sure of the prayers and spells than ever. Once the coincidences become one too many, you know they’re not just coincidences.

Here are all the ins and outs so far. The trailer seems to have been made in ’66, judging by the date on the taillight. The license is from ’94 which is probably when it was hauled in here. It’s got the number 4 on the front, so it must’ve been in a park at some point before ’94.

The cooler sucks because as low as these ceilings are, I’m still too short to reach the control knob, so I’ll have to stand on a step stool once we get it out of storage. It also sucks because it has no thermostat. The heater, which runs off of propane as does the hot water tank and oven, has a thermostat.

The tub’s back isn’t slanted at all, which sucks, though I take a lot more showers than baths anyway. The faucets are old and it’s a little hard to adjust the temperature because it’s got a knob for both hot and cold water, and the hot water doesn’t last long. The pressure’s sort of wimpy like the Klam dump was. The bathroom’s the nicest-looking room, though, with the most storage space.

Just about everything in here has been upgraded. The bathroom has a new, but ugly back countertop same as the kitchen. The drawers are old and don’t open easily, but there’s sufficient counter space in the bathroom. Not the kitchen, though. The tub is a nice mauve color with a light blue surround with gold streaks. We got a shower curtain with a beach and palm scene. I don’t like the floors which are the same in the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway area outside the bath and bedroom. Nonetheless, I dislike it because it’s vinyl tiles, rather than one continuous sheet of linoleum. Tile edges tend to lift here and there and that’s why I don’t like them. I don’t know why they didn’t run the carpet straight through from the living room on into the bedroom, yet a small square area just outside the bathroom door and in between is tiled.

So even though the trailer itself looks like poor trash lives here at least from the outside which badly needs a paint job, we’re not doing bad at all for two people who were staring death right in the face half a year ago! I cannot believe we’re alive today to enjoy this moment. Tom pointed out that this is just a small stepping stone toward where we want to be. Sure seems like quite a leap to me! Sure, we still want to own someday so everything can be what we want from the carpet to the appliances, and for the security and other reasons, but this is great for now. Now he can work the horses without the pressure of trying to get us out of a bad place as fast as he can, and we can be patient when it does start making serious money in order to give it time to show consistency. So we can easily enjoy a few good years here, as small as the place may be and with whatever imperfections it may have. Worst-case scenario, we stay here forever, if people can’t stop messing up our credit or we can’t find another place this quiet.

Shortly after our arrival yesterday, Jesse left to take his 10-year-old son to his ballgame. Maryann said he wasn’t a very good husband, but that he was a great dad. Nothing wrong with that, considering how many guys don’t want or care about kids. He returned a couple of hours later with a package of vertical blind slats. There were a couple missing from the blinds by the slider so I wanted to replace them.

Jesse put sheetrock on the kitchen and bedroom walls and redid those ceilings. Those rooms look modern and quite nice compared to the living room. The walls and ceilings in there are ugly.

Later…

Tom just went to bed. I was relaxing for a while cuz my feet are killing me. I’m not used to being on them so much. I think I’ll call it a night myself soon enough.