Saturday, July 30, 2005

Moving onward ...

I'm amazed. Everything went on schedule -- the walk-through, the paper-signing, the movers' arrival. Like clockwork!!

Then arranging for blinds, telephone, cable & Internet ... and some calls to the repairmen from the warranty book that the builder gave me -- all has gone well.

The big surprise was Anne's find: a gardener who can solve problems such as what plants to move where, what trees to plant where, how to drain the little lakes that were forming in my back yard (and stagnating water is perfect for mosquito breeding, of course, so that problem needed to be solved immediately), etc. He's a real find -- a gardener with a sense of design and balance, not just the ability to mow and edge lawns and trim shrubs!

The blinds are not here yet. I'm hoping for early next week, but if I haven't received a phone call by Monday, I'll call them to find out what's happening. Living in this house with all windows uncovered can be a bit eerie at times! And I need to keep watering the front lawn, moving the sprinkler around. But it'll start raining again some day, and sprinklers won't always be needed. I don't see the need for a sprinkler system. A garage-door opener is higher on my wish list! This getting out and opening the door and then driving in is getting old -- and when it does rain again, I'll probably skip that step and just let my car get a bath!

Indy is doing OK. She seems to have adjusted to becoming an indoor kitty pretty easily. The house is more than twice the size of the Indio house, and the garage (with the big door closed) seems to be close enough to "outdoors" to meet her needs. Between the size of this place, frequent visits from young children, and the fights with feathers every evening, she seems to be getting enough exercise! She has definitely discovered all the nice low windowsills in this house, and she sits and gazes out on the scenes frequently.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Ending and beginning...

The trip from SoCal to eastern Texas went pretty smoothly. It was a long trip, but not difficult. The deserts around Tucson are as pretty as I remembered from years ago, and in Texas from about Van Horn eastward is really beautiful, too. Lots of rolling hills, mesas, buttes, etc -- and GREEN. Very green! Lovely country.

Interestingly enough, as we were pulling into the driveway, it started to sprinkle ... then rain ... then pour! It was wonderful!! This country around here has needed some rain. I wonder how long it will take for TPTB to lift the water restrictions??

The walk-through on the new house took place yesterday (July 12), and everything went fine. Here's my newest pride and joy:

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Waiting ...

Today a young man flies for the first time on his own -- from Houston to Ontario. Thank heaven for non-stop flights! They are such an improvement over having to change planes at other airports.

Indy is waiting for him ... feathers poised!

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Trip planning

By means of AAA maps and Mapquest and other devices, I learned that taking I-10 from La Quinta, CA, to the Houston area is about 1,500 miles, so three days of driving approximately 500 miles each day is perfect. That's about like driving a bit farther than Los Angeles to San Francisco. Not bad.

Taking along a cat, however, is the big unknown. Everything else I can plan for and envision, but how Indy will do ... anyone's guess!