We’ve been busy, but making progress. Meanwhile, I’m getting used to typing on my new regular keyboard once again. It’s nice to have that in addition to the laptop’s keyboard, especially so I can 10-key, which I’ve missed the convenience of. But I’d gotten used to the laptop’s funky keyboard and now I have to get used to this again. I like this regular one better, though, and this one’s wireless. It came with speakers that sound much better than the laptop’s, but not nearly as nice as my stereo speakers. I still haven’t gotten that and my stereo yet from storage since it’s way in the back, along with my bed. I’m looking forward to getting those things back!

I’m still not sleeping much better than in the motel because of all the activity going on around here to set up the internet. Jesse ran into problems on Saturday because he couldn’t find the pipe he wanted to join with the new pipe. Then I was annoyed with him because he was supposed to return the next day but didn’t. He didn’t even call. Still, as Tom said he would, in order to help out and speed things up for our sake, he continued digging the trench for the pipe that’s to carry the wire.

Today Jesse finished filling it in. According to him, he had to run over to Reno yesterday because he had been there doing a construction job, which was where he hurt his finger, and he had to get some tools of his that people were getting into.

Jesse was impressed with the shed we got and wants to see it when it’s all set up, as he’s never seen a Rubbermaid shed made of hard plastic like this one. Yeah, we decided it was ok to splurge on this wonderful 7 x 7, $600 shed that’s actually high enough to stand up in. He thinks he may even be able to set up a little workshop in one area of it. It seals up way better than a traditional flimsy metal shed with a slider door. This one has double doors on hinges and is way sturdier. It even has a floor and little skylights so you can see things better! It can be moved and we can have it all our lives. It’ll be great for storing things we rarely use and stuff we plan to sell on either eBay or at swap meets. It saves us a lot of room inside the house. It may also be good for storing trash each week till we can take it to the dump. This way we wouldn’t have to worry about raccoons or anything getting into it.

Jesse’s brother and a friend were here on Saturday while I slept (or tried to), and Maryann came by with the smoke detector with her sister in tow the next day. They missed us, though. We ran into each other along the drive as they were leaving and we were returning from storage and shopping. She had just “fessed up” again for the second time on the phone the previous day, telling Tom that they wanted to keep things in Jesse’s name because this isn’t legal. They never got the proper permits to rent this place to people and all that, which explains why the utilities are included and all we have to pay for is propane. Meanwhile, if they had just told us this up front, maybe we could’ve gotten back online sooner. So we told them we didn’t care whose name it was in, we just needed to get back online. That’s the second thing she fessed up to. First was how they weren’t going to tell us that Jesse lived right up the hill, now this. Anything else we should know? I hope not. And I hope they don’t make a habit of bringing friends and family around any more than themselves alone, but if so, we’ll just remind them that we came here to live, not to be buddies. I doubt they’ll pester us, though, because so far they’ve only come by when they’ve needed to. Maryann left the smoke detector with Jesse, who gave it to Tom, who installed it himself a little while ago.

Tom says we should be able to at least check our email via modem tomorrow. But it’s still going to be 3-5 business days before we get the DSL kit, and possibly longer if Jesse either goofs off or has something else come up with him.

There’s still a part of me that worries that my sleep is doomed no matter what and that something up there is going to use these people to make up for the lack of city noise that used to wake me up. As shitty as we’ve both been sleeping so far, at least it’s plenty peaceful when we’re awake!

What an ideal piece of land to own! A long, winding drive all your own in the woods, yet in a nice climate, and with plenty of privacy and space to build on. I don’t think there’s any house closer than 400’ away from his or ours, but it seems like miles, unlike in Arizona where they didn’t seem as far as they really were. That’s the difference between living on flat land with hardly any trees, as opposed to hills with tons of trees. Jesse said to watch out for some of these trees. You can get poison oak that gives you the same rash poison ivy does.

We can actually see the houses up on the hill easier than Jesse’s because there are no gaps in the trees between us and Jesse. Jesse’s one lucky dude. I guess he inherited the place from his parents and that he lived here before they died, then moved up the hill.

I asked him about the howling I heard and he said he’s never seen wolves here. Just coyotes, deer, skunks and raccoons. He might’ve said badgers, too. Tom thought he saw either a badger or a possum in the road one night on his way home.

Unfortunately, Jesse’s got two dogs, not one. He drove back and forth to get stuff he needed on an ATV and he had his puppy with him, of course. This is the one that does the yipping, but so far it’s been quiet when it’s here. This one’s Whiskey. Brandy, the adult dog, is the one with the regular bark. I wish all dogs could be like these. I hear them maybe once a day for 30 seconds. Even that would be annoying, though, if it were just a few feet away. It’s still nice to hear just a few barks once a day as opposed to it going on and on for hours.

This place is definitely not as dumpy as the Klam house, but it has the worst kitchen I’ve ever had. This is mostly because most of the cabinets are hard to reach. It’s weird how they put in a new sink and countertop but left the old bummy cabinets and drawers.

I’m glad that he’s pulling stuff from storage a little at a time for me to work into the place, rather than going and renting a truck and hauling it all back at once. That would’ve been much more overwhelming and very hard to sort through with so little space. In a house like Maricopa, that was fine, but not in this little thing. There’s actually turning out to be more space than I thought there would be, except for in the kitchen.

Here’s what we got so far with the money and what we plan to do with the rest of it. First, we each got a new desk. That wasn’t the original plan, but the desk we initially got me was too big for this room, so he ended up taking it which worked out well in the end cuz all he had before was the stand he’d gotten at the motel. The desk I got for myself is perfect for this room. It doesn’t have any shelves, but I can add them later if I want to. It just has a little storage space underneath.

I also got a chair that takes some getting used to. It’s got a higher mesh back and lumbar support that I had to adjust to get the most comfort. Its fabric is rough, so I may reupholster it with some spare fabric that’s softer.

For less than what the camera we pawned and never got back cost, we got a shiny pink camera, and best of all, a darker shiny pink iPod Nano! It was a toss-up between that and the Microsoft Zune. Both Tom and the salesperson pointed out that Zunes may be cheaper and have bigger screens, but they have some problems with copyright and downloading issues, so I went with the Nano. Zune also has a touch-screen that would leave fingerprint smudges.

Seeing the tiny screen without glasses may be quite a task, but it definitely takes up much, much less space than an additional computer! No more desktops for me! I’ve completely upgraded my office. I should be able to store all my songs, documents and maybe my pictures as well on the Nano, so this stuff can always be with me wherever I go. When I go out I can carry it in a case in my pocketbook. This way, if there ever was a robbery, all my stuff would be safe. I only have just my docs and some pics backed up online, but no music at all.

I got some wind chimes that may be too pretty to ever hang outside. Its metallic reeds are different colors. Usually, they’re just gold or silver, but besides that, I’ve got pink, purple, blue, green and yellow.

We got a new and nicer water dispenser than the one we had before, and the washer we ordered will be at the store for pick-up tomorrow. We got a microwave when we first got here. It’s a stainless steel one, which I normally didn’t care for cuz it looks too commercial-like, but it was the best deal.

We decided not to let our money get lower than $1300, figuring we could live comfortably on that if they let him go before he got a new job. He calculated that we’d have around $50 extra each week, and we agreed to save half and spend the rest. He said I could have $20 of it since all he really needs is $5 so he can get sodas at work. Whenever they’re Coke or Pepsi, he brings home the caps and I enter the codes on them for points that can be redeemed for prizes. That is when I can get online! We’re not going to start this until he gets his May 9th check. We’re also going to split the grand we’re expecting from the government. In the end, it will be nice when we have 3 grand saved. He thought of what could be our most expensive catastrophe, and that’d be the car’s transmission going out, so our goal is to have at least 3K saved, although we’ll keep saving all we can.

I was finally able to put together Paula’s package, but not my parents’ yet. I’ll need the printer set up first so I can print their incense labels. I’m giving them one stick of each scent and I want to print the names of the scents so I can tape them to each stick so they’ll know what they are. Speaking of them, it’s been 4 months since I’ve heard from them. I know most people aren’t into writing, but I wonder if something’s up. Are they busy? Ill? Not wanting to write, or what? If I don’t hear from them after I send the package, I’ll assume they want no more contact and will stop writing them. I’ve only sent 4 or 5 letters since October, but I won’t send anymore if I don’t hear from them after the package is sent, because then I’ll know it is because they want no contact. If something were wrong, I can’t believe they couldn’t get word to me somehow.

Anyway, I’m sending Paula the necklace I won that I think she’ll like, especially after losing the bracelet I also won. I’m sending some incense I don’t want, some CD samplers, plus 6 dolls – Rapunzel, Pine Leaf, Snowy Owl, Praying Spirit, Kayla the lollipop doll, and one of the kissing dolls I got at a swap meet we went to right after we got to Oregon.

My hair is just starting to creep past my ass and I am getting sicker than sick of it! It is such a bitch to deal with. I’m also getting sick of being 138 pounds, as much as I love to eat and would hate to trade in pleasure for hunger, but I think I’ll take before and after pictures and make some changes. I’ll take a shot of the current me who’s fat with insanely long black hair, then the smaller me who will have shoulder-length auburn hair. I’m not going to start dieting and cutting my hair just yet, though. One thing at a time. First I want to get settled, then I’ll move on to that and whatever else.