2012, Changes

Is that Two Thousand Twelve, or Twenty-Twelve? The second sounds more hip, but the first is most correct.

I've decided to re-start this blog. It's been a peculiar time since I quit. The main thing I'm ready to discuss is the fact that we have moved, lock, stock, and a partial barrel, to the mountains. I have mixed feelings about it, but a big move like this always takes some getting used to. I miss the Buffalo Wallow -- its space, the storage, the huge kitchen, all its conveniences, and the little things like a gazillion exterior electric outlets. I don't miss Cuero, the gas & oil boom, trucks roaring around at all hours, the humidity, the work involved in keeping up that place, the snakes, the bugs, or the stickery plants. I miss my cat, miss him immensely. I think I would be sad there now without him, would constantly be on the lookout for him in his usual spots. I miss the hot tub, sipping wine there and looking at the stars with my darling. I miss my dad. I don't miss the narrow-minded people, or that godforsaken WalMart. I miss having a town the size and convenience of Victoria within 30 minutes. But I never was able to sustain any writing at all during the time we lived there, and I have a new feeling about that here.

We have just come through some hard winter weather, and we're on a steep learning curve when it comes to living where it can snow 15-inches in a single day. The SO has lived with snow before. Yours truly not so much. I'm finding out about layering, snow boots, icy driveways, dripping roofs, slushy roads, and hungry wildlife. We've been putting out alfalfa cubes for the deer, and the bird feeders are constantly being re-filled. I now keep an ice pick on the deck to crack a hole in the birdbath so our feathered friends can have something to drink.

We slogged across the street to a Christmas Party a few weeks ago, dressed up fancy, with snow boots and my party shoes in a bag. Changed shoes on the host's doorstep and stuck my boots with some others behind a porch statuary. Some of the guests were in their stocking feet. One lady had brought her mules from home to change into. Looked kind of funny, everybody dressy with alternate footwear. Then on Christmas Day we slogged the other directions, to a different friend's house for dinner. That time I did the stocking feet thing and was the only one who did. We had a snowman contest. Our Trevor won. We named him Trevor because of the Aussie hat the SO put on his head. He is melting as I write this, has already lost his eyes, nose, mouth, and his buttons. We took off the hat and scarf on New Year's Eve. He is kind of pin-headed now. The four-foot long icicles hanging from the roof melted in the Chinook wind that passed through here over the weekend. We've nothing but sunshine in our forecast. But there is still plenty of icy snow on the ground. The predominate color outside is white.

On a writerly note (and I do intend to blog more about writing from here on), THE PASSION OF DELLIE O'BARR is being converted to Kindle and eBook at the present moment. This process requires that I re-read and edit any mistakes made in the conversion. I'm finding a plethora. But I'm also finding that I really like this book. It's been a long time since I've read it, and it's always been the one I had the most trepidations about, possibly because it was written during the time my mother was dying of cancer. There is a darkness to the book, it's true, but overall it is as good or better than other books I've written. I always wanted to write a screenplay of this story, and even have something like 20 scenes already done. I think once I get this back to the people doing the conversion, I will have a go at continuing with that project. Not so much because I'm hot to try to get something produced, but because it will be fun to revisit this story and to try my hand at a new way of writing. More to come on this, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, I have high hopes that 2012 will be a better year for those people around me whom I love, particularly my SO. I am quite certain that the new year will present its own challenges. We never know the path that life will present to us. Sometimes the turns can be sharp and treacherous. We just have to take extra, special care.

Onward ....

Snow Morning

Woke up this morning just before dawn. Weather forecast had been predicting snow and 19 degrees, but it had been a beautiful, clear, full-moon night when we went to bed. Still, I when I got up, I peeked out the curtains, still dark, but I thought I could see snow. As soon as there was the least bit of light, I looked again. Everything was covered in a blanket of white. When my SO got up, he was as surprised as I was by it. We figure it was about four inches making a total of 16 inches this winter so far.

We spent the morning throwing out the food we knew wouldn't last until we are back. Put a couple of things in the freezer. I got my clothes sorted out. My SO stoked up the fire. It was hard to make ourselves bundle up and go out to shovel the driveway, but we needed to hook up the utility trailer we brought with us full of things for the cabin. We're taking it back to Texas to fill up again.

Learned a big lesson -- after my SO drove the truck and trailer around -- and that is to shovel first before you pack down the snow in your tire tracks. We didn't do that, and when my SO got ready to back the trailer into place, the truck was skidding and sliding so much, it became a huge job, even after we had shoveled the snow away. We resorted to a bucket of kitty litter to melt the ice left in the tire tracks. Worked. SO was able to get the trailer backed near the door, so we can load easier. We had a snowball fight, then played with the dog in the snow-filled pasture, which is the name my SO has given the rest of the property. The dog gets so frisky out there in the white stuff. It's powdery and dry, looks like diamonds or cake dust with the sun coming down through the trees. The silly dog thought there was a critter in the wall when she heard the snow melting off the roof and dripping in the downspout. She barked and jumped around, cocked her head. Exuberant.

We discussed it last night and have about decided to come back in March for a couple of weeks. Neither of us is really excited about leaving, but we know we have obligations. My SO's post office didn't forward last week's mail up here, and he feels like he needs to get back for that and other things. Funny, when we left Texas, we thought it would be my mail that wouldn't make it because my post office is so skitzy. But my mail has come as regular as clockwork.

So, we will go over to the Lodge tonight to eat. It's pizza night. They have these wonderful gourmet pizzas they make. One of our neighbors has said she would be there, and we will probably share a table. Then tomorrow early, we will finish loading the trailer, and head out homeward bound. Dread the 15 hours and 2 days on the road. But since we don't own an airplane ... well anyway.

Onward ....