Dear Friends,

Greetings (finally) from our cozy little house in Arkansas!  (Well, chaotic would be a more accurate word, and definitely smaller.)

This update is long overdue – I am not sure which is more unsettling, packing or unpacking from a move.  Plus, the computers were not set up until a few days ago, and I am not comfortable sending e-mails via phone (too many show up later in drafts – as I have often said, I am not a techie).Anyway, I have thought of you all every day, but have been too exhausted to do much but think about you.  The past few weeks have been a blur of activity to get here and get settled. 

We ended up leaving a day earlier than planned due to the moving van driver giving us an earlier time of arrival in Calamine, so we left Point Loma/Ocean Beach about 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon.  We arrived in Surprise, Arizona after dark that evening and were able to meet with our friends, Jeanie and Bill, for dinner and a visit.  On to Albuquerque and then to Oklahoma City, two long days of driving.  Sampson, our cat, was his usual calm self and slept on my lap for the whole trip.  Petting him makes for a good tension reliever, too.  While driving through the Texas Panhandle we received a call from the moving van driver that he was in Oklahoma, would be in Calamine the next day.  Yikes!  So, we got up at 4:00 am in Oklahoma City to high-tail it to Arkansas.  While on the way we received a text from Roger that the moving van driver didn’t think he could make it up the rural roads with his huge 53  foot trailer. Apparently the local crew convinced him he could make it and guided him in.  He made it!  When we arrived the unloading was well in hand and Machelle and Roger were here to tell them what room the big furniture went into.  The boxes were mostly stacked up to five high in the garage.  We were here for the last hour or so of the unloading, enough to meet up with the driver and the local crew.  The good (no, great) news is that our furniture actually works well in this house, which is a relief, and really nice as we already had it. 

Our first few days were spent moving boxes and unpacking boxes –trying to find basic things.  We still had our travel clothes and items, so that helped.  Roger was anxious to go to Jonesboro for their monthly shopping trip as it was getting close to Christmas, so off we went to Jonesboro on the first Sunday we were here.  It was a two hour drive eastward into a rice growing area.   (Arkansas is number one in rice growing – who knew?!?)  A trip to Sam’s Club, lunch, Lowe’s, a natural food store Roger calls “People’s East”, and the huge Kroger Supermarket.  Of course, then two hours back.

Batesville has quite a large and beautiful Christmas light display every year in the big park on the shores of the White River.  Roger was eager to show us the lights, so the next evening we picked up some hot chocolate at Casey’s gas station and drove through the historical district first, then the park.  You drive through a tunnel of lights, and there are many figures lit up, complete with synchronized music.  There are options to walk or take a horse drawn carriage and a temporary ice rink.  There was an animated carousel, too, and a little blue truck display – both made me think of San Diego friends.

Page 2.   We did take a break for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Christmas Eve we had dinner at Machelle and Roger’s before going to Christmas Eve mass at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Batesville (about 40 minutes away).  We had enough time to drive through the light display again before attending the service.  It is a lovely older church, built in the mid 1800’s.

Christmas Day was at Machelle and Roger’s.  We put large bows on ourselves and sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas – we are your Christmas presents.  They prepared a lovely turkey dinner for us with all the trimmings.  We were also there for New Year’s Day, to watch the Rose Parade, and dinner was our traditional black-eyed peas and rice.

Then it was back to slinging boxes around, looking for needed items. (Well, I like to think of it as slinging them around, but at our age it was more like moving them with lots of moans and groans.)  We spent a couple of days looking for a box of papers Mike needed, and it was all hands on deck as we moved every box in the garage.  There were a couple of sleepless nights wondering where it could be. A few days later Mike found it –camouflaged under boxes that we both swear we moved at some point. The next search was for the box with Mike’s winter clothes – heavy shirts and longies, later found in about the same place.  However, the real search was for the box with silverware in it.  Machelle had loaned us a few utensils, and we had some plastic ones, but we simply could not find the silverware.  Success came just a couple of days ago, in an unassuming box with miscellaneous items in it -not labeled for silverware.  Hooray!!  Most days were spent getting up, getting a bite to eat and going out to the garage to unpack boxes.  The challenge was finding places for things, and just as I was working on one box, Mike would show up with another.  We agreed that we became very good at disturbing the other person when they were involved in a project, creating much frustration.  By the way, Mike’s plan for filling in the boxes with items to “fill in the holes” while packing makes for some interesting and unexpected finds when opening boxes!

Machelle and Roger have been marvelous at providing meals for us.  We call it the M & R Café and after we have just about collapsed for the day we go over to their house for a home cooked dinner and a visit.  The other day Machelle felt like baking and made three different kinds of muffins that she sent home for breakfasts and is also good about sending over any left over dinner for lunch the next day.  They have also taken us into Batesville for shopping, and last week took us to Ash Flat to get our Arkansas driver’s licenses and Arkansas license plate for our car.  A bittersweet moment.  It was all done at the courthouse, and, much to our surprise, Mike was handed the new license plate there on the spot.  He qualifies for a Disabled Veteran plate, handicapped parking, and it was free of charge.

Under the “who knew” category was how much I missed having my own washer and dryer.  The M & R Laundromat was always open and welcoming, but just not the same as having access to my own to use at any time.  I purchased a set from good ol’ Costco, and chose it by first delivery date possible.  Other items that have gone on lists of things to buy was a yardstick.  I missed one when putting down shelf paper – and use it for getting cat toys from under the couch.  There have been other small items we didn’t realize we used as much as we did, but the shopping lists are getting smaller.

Page 3.   As for the pets:  it has been a challenge for all to get used to having a rambunctious kitten underfoot.  The name Ginger Snap seemed to be the one he responded to, so Ginger Snap he is.  I am beginning to wonder if he thinks NO! is his name, as he has a great philosophy:  “Everything is a toy”.  That means EVERYTHING!  Our living room floor is covered with cat toys to try to keep him amused and bedtime means hearing him racing up and down the hallway batting away at his favorite:  the “jingle ball”.  (He also likes to bat at the coil spring type doorstop behind the door, it makes such a lovely sproing sound!)  Part of my morning routine is to get the yardstick out to find all the toys that went under the couch or hutch.  Of course, the yardstick itself is a toy.  We have to remind ourselves that he had this house to himself for months and everything is new to him.  He actually has learned not to get up on some furniture – progress! 

As for our beloved Sampson Cat, he seems to be slowly adjusting.  Ginger didn’t know what to think of him at first and followed him around, but then started wrestling with him.  Sammy has the advantage with his size, but being blind does not help when batting back.  Sammy usually wins out though, if we let it go that long.  We do say “no” a lot until it is time to put them in separate rooms for a time-out.  Sampson “talks” by moving his tail, which fascinates Ginger, who seems to think that Sammy’s tail is a fine toy to grab and bite into.  Well, it moves!  We do have hope as they have been known to snuggle together on the couch, and groom one another on occasion.  

The chicken story has also been an ongoing saga.  The week before we moved the roosters had either been in a fight, or some critter got them.  Then Machelle and Roger did not see the chickens for a few days and figured they wandered away.  The day we arrived the chickens came out, and there was a Mama with chicks!  We took that as a good sign, and I immediately began to worry about the chicks so much that I asked Santa Amazon to bring us a chicken coop for Christmas – and he did!!  It took a few days for Mike to put it together and Roger came over with his tractor to move it from the garage assembly area to the place we decided to put it.  It was quite a sight with his big tractor driving through our yard with a little chicken coop on forklifts in front of it. Sad to say, by this time there were a couple less baby chicks.  However, being the novice chicken rancher that I am I did not realize that you have to persuade the chickens to actually get in the coop – they don’t just say “oh, we will try this” and go in.  Mike has covered the floor with wood shavings and straw in the nesting boxes and spread food all around it, but we don’t think the chickens have actually been in it yet.  Seems we will have to make a caged in run so they can’t escape and herd them into it to convince them to go in.  Yikes!  Mike has been a real trooper and is the one who bundles up in the morning to go out and feed and check on the chickens as we don’t always see them.  Mike did discover 6 eggs yesterday and 1 this morning, all in the old coop.  Unfortunately, we have not seen Mama or any chicks for a few days now, but still have four chickens that we look out for.  Most of my day is spent finding Ginger’s jingle balls and asking “have you seen the chickens?”

Weather-wise, we were here for the warmest Christmas ever in Arkansas – 77 degrees and sunny.  We had a rousing thunderstorm the second night we were here, and apparently one at night since then, but I was so tired I slept through it.  There was also an afternoon thunderstorm that was close and loud.  We have had mostly sunny days and I am enchanted by the beautiful sunrises through the trees.  Sunsets have been equally stunning, usually about the time we are heading to the M&R Café for dinner.  And to Page 4.   answer the question “Does it snow here?” Yes, it does!  We had a “light dusting of snow” – about a couple of inches, last week.  Being born and raised in Southern California my idea of what to do was take a couple of photos and drink a cup of hot chocolate.  Making snowballs and building a snowman didn’t even cross my mind.  Update to the update: it snowed here Saturday night and I did go out to throw a snowball and make a miniature snowman before it all melted.

We did have another outing a few days ago – we went South to Searcy (via Bald Knob) to a Toyota dealership to get the cars serviced.  Machelle goes to a curl specialist there to get her hair trimmed and I had my first haircut since before leaving San Diego.  It is about two hours away, but absolutely no traffic to contend with, so that helps with the long drives.  It does take up an entire day though. 

Another special outing last week was when Machelle and I went into Batesville to do the grocery shopping.  We didn’t feel rushed and had lunch at a natural food type store that the guys would not have stopped at.  Sunny and warm that day, too, and we enjoyed our “Girls Day Out” together.

This has become much longer than anticipated when I started – hope you made it this far! 

We send our love to you all and you can be sure that I think of you every day.  I cherish your friendships and you are always in my heart.