The attacks didn’t stop till a day or two after we washed the blanket, and I came to wonder if it weren’t the little bottle of Vanilla Fields perfume I got at Big Lots that may’ve caused them. I’ll find out tonight, as I just sprayed some on me for the first time in a few days.

I’ve finally been sleeping better too, but that’s mostly because I’m on days.

Today started off rather annoyingly as Jesse’s dogs went off longer than usual this morning and he just ignored them. Tom thinks he was leaving and that’s what set them off. Sure hope this doesn’t become a regular thing! If Jesse was there and really did ignore them, how rude! He did mention going to some hospital for some family member today, and that’s why he’s not working on the porch roof till tomorrow. Other than that, he’s always here, so it seems. Tom thinks he’ll return to work someday, but for now, we’re basically helping him stay put. If his house and the land are paid for, he doesn’t need to work all that much with the amount we’re paying him each month. Anyway, the only thing that keeps it from being 100% quiet here are the dogs. It’s still 98% quiet, and that’s a far cry better than I ever expected to ever get!

Yesterday turned out to be so much fun! We both had a blast. I’m so glad we got to survive in order to enjoy it. We had our fun in Auburn. First we went to Denny’s, then to Goodwill. He checked out electronics while I got a couple of surprisingly nice dolls. One is a Barbie I tried to win and didn’t. The other is a 15” vinyl flamenco dancer doll. Her features are distinct and well done. She has a lovely face, nice hands, and a pretty costume. She’s just a bit tall for her body proportions.

Our third stop was K-Mart where I got a 2’ statue of a wolf that’s way cool looking. Very realistic and detailed. Could be a coyote. Don’t know for sure. The howling wolf/coyote has a sculpted tongue and teeth. Tom got a pair of black flip-flops, a new pillow, some line to string a clothesline with, hooks to hang my wind chimes up, and a new outdoor mat. The mat they had here was a scrap piece of carpet that was all yucky, so I threw it by the door we never use. I got a colorful floral mat to put by the door we do use, plus a floral seat cushion for the kitchen chair I’m going to use (Tom got a black futon and the perfect two-seater dinette a few days ago). Denise, who’s going to use the other chair, won’t mind sitting on the hardwood! I also got a beautiful black 10” ballerina bending over, lacing up her ballet slippers.

Our last stop was the best of all. The pet store! We ended up getting two rats, a mom and her baby. Mom was in with her two sons and one daughter, and Tom thinks she’s been knocked up by one of her sons. She’s a bit timid, but the baby’s friendly and curious. When I got up this morning, she ran to the door of her cage to greet me. That melted my heart. I missed that!

As I told Jessie, as soon as I get more familiar with the new camera we got, I’ll be sending tons of pictures of them, the land, the trailer (which looks much better on the inside than the outside), and of us. She’ll get my “before” picture first, then in a few months the “after” picture. Right now I’m 137 pounds with dark hair covering my ass. After a few months of 1200 cals, Oolong tea, and exercise, plus a serious haircut and dye job, she should see a slimmer version of me with shoulder-length auburn hair. Wish me luck!

Jessie says she’s going to try to get the job she regrets not taking last fall that’s advertising for employment. She says she has to get out of the “horror show” she’s working for now. They’ve been spiting her, and as I told her, having a job you hate is a horrible thing same as living in a place you hate. Better to take a lower-paying job where you’ll be treated better, than a higher-paying job with a bunch of back-stabbing snobs. I told her I’d pray for her and do spells and that she should take a moment each day to pray for the job, too. The more people that pray, and the more often, the better the chances are of receiving it. Especially if it’s something that’s good, that you can handle, that’s correct. At least it seems that way lately.

We’re getting settled, but still need to take old boxes and junk to the dump and get things rearranged better. We’re almost there, though! Jesse did the windows yesterday, and with Tom’s help, they got the job done in about an hour. He says he’s got an even better view than we do up at his place. I guess the land consists of 3 hills. At the very top is where he says he keeps all his junk. I guess that explains why the road forks up there. It fucking figures that the dogs just have to be on this side of his house. Tom says he thinks the reason we hardly hear them is that they are allowed indoors, but I think it’s because there’s not as much to bark at as there is in the city.

I contacted the Italy sweep agent and let her know that rough times have prevented me from contacting her sooner, then gave her our new address, but as I also told her, it still may be a year or two before we can take the trip.