The boy and girl in a hay field, run Trip run

Well I have been here 4 weeks now and things have been good. I will say in all honesty that I am a little lonely I miss my family very much but the animals and I have settled in nicely. This past week I settled on a builder and if all goes well they should start on the house by the end of August and it hopefully it will be done by November. The house is going to be a log home and quite small about 700sf but it is in my budget and it should be very comfortable.

Living in the mountains is a bit different than living on the beach. I have acclimated very quickly to the temperature, this morning when I woke up I was hot, the temperature in the camper was 70 degrees and I was very uncomfortable. I very much like the upper 50’s and 60’s. The hilly ground has caused my glutes (butt) to hurt. Walking on uneven ground uses muscles differently than on flat land, I expected my leg muscles to feel the burn but not the glutes. It’s a lot dryer here which is nice for me but it has been hard on my girl dog. I had to take her to the vet, it seems she has environmental allergies and the dry air has caused her to have dry skin, so now she is on a steroid, an antibiotic and an eye ointment she will be starting on fish oil tomorrow. The girl dog has also developed an attraction for wild animal poo. She has had more baths this past 4 weeks than she normally has all summer. The boy dog is doing just fine he does like to sit on the hill side and howl but.. if he’s happy. The cat is keeping busy being a cat.

I will be heading to PA the end of this week for the yearly friends and family party at my cousin’s house. It should be fun.

Well I have been here in Willis for a little over 2 weeks now and I think I have finally settled in. now admittedly living in a 19ft camper makes it hard to really settle in but the things that make a house a home are here for me. I have a bed & bath, a place to eat, a DVD player and a Wii. the dogs and cat have settled nicely. trip the girl dog is loving the 4 1/2 acer yard so much that I had to increase the amount of food I feed her. She seems a little disappointed over the fence I had installed this past week by Tracy Blevins of Beaver Creek Fencing but I love it. gravel was delivered this past week boy does that help keep the mud down, of course I did not mention that I needed it spread so I will have to drive the Jeep because the Nissan cant get through the rock. Shortts Excvating are the folks I had deliver the rock and they are going to send some one to spread it as soon as possible. They are also the ones who cleared the building site and I think they do great work. Still working on getting a house built, ... it will happen.

I'm heading back to the beach tomorrow to pick up a load of stuff. Its a quick trip down and back. My #3 son want's to come up. He will follow me up and then drive back to the beach by himself.

great view except for the mud

Paradise comes with a price which in my case is mud and lots of it. Mud is something I have had very little experience with in the past 27 years but in the last week I have had more than I want. Other than the mud and the mess the that comes from it I am very happy to be here. the weather is great and I am enjoying daily walks and visiting friends. Friday after going to a friends house for a cook out I went to my first July 4th celebration in Floyd and had a great time.

This next week I will be working on getting a house built. I think this will prove to be quite a task, we shall see what is to come....

Well I’m here in the mountains and I must say the beginning of this adventure has been an adventure. My house at the beach closed last Friday as scheduled and believe me I hope I never sell another home. I was a wreck. What were the appraiser, inspector and surveyor going to say? What unreasonable requests/demands were the buyers going to make? How am I going to pack the house in 30 days and where am I going to put all the stuff? Well I did it and it has taken me 3 days to recover from the move.

All my sons helped me prepare for the move but #3 son was the only one who could help me move. He drove my car, the car that was wrecked in May up while I drove the Jeep pulling a fully loaded trailer. We got up here Friday night right after a storm so we were welcomed by a beautiful mist covered mountain view and red mud. Mud, 2 dogs, a cat a fully loaded trailer and two very tired people make for a very messy 19ft camper, my home for a while.

We had to head back to the beach Saturday morning because my son had to be at work Sunday. So we got up early and braved the Saturday traffic to the beach. It only took about 15minutes to get over the bridge to the beach, a 5 minute trip normally and while traffic was heavy it was steady. My son helped me load the trailer I then took him to his dads house so he could go on line and load my Wii with some games (I’m a Mario & Zelda girl) I then headed to the other storage room to finish filling up the trailer. With the trailer full I went to #2 sons house took a shower, went to the kids dads house collected my Wii and headed back to the mountains. How convenient that #1 son was in a sailboat race and #2 son was helping a friend in a surf competition when I need brute strength for a move.

I was surprised how depressing the trip back was. It was on that trip that the move and all that it entails hit me. I have left my home of 27 years, my family and friends and am moving to a place that I have only visited. Tears welled up and WHAT HAVE I DONE screamed in my head. I was stressed and tired, the weather sucked and everything was a mess my out look was grim.

Sunday was not much better. I had gotten back to the mountains at 2am and was up by 7am. A look at the sky was all I needed to see that rain was again on the way so I quickly unpacked the trailer and headed to Galax for a phone jack and groceries. By the time I got back to the camper, put everything away and connected my phone the rain came and I exhausted and again close to tears decided to take a short nap. It was 4pm and I just wanted a 20minute rest. When I woke up at 8pm I felt better. Fixed some dinner played some games and went back to bed around 11pm.

Monday was a much better day. The day started clear and bright, I had slept well for the first time in weeks and with out the use of Ambien. It is amazing how much better the world looks after a good night sleep. I went to a friend’s house and did a few loads of laundry came back to the camper and enjoyed the afternoon rain.

Today is starting out beautifully. The temperature is cool the air is crisp and view is great. I have no doubt that I will miss my family and friends and yes even the beach from time to time but I also do not doubt that this is the right move for me. I don’t know if I will be here forever but today I am glad to be here.