This morning I faced a doggy dilemma: when I go to R’s today to load up some things from my storage shed and transfer them to the new house, do I leave the dog behind at the ranch, where she might quite possibly decide to run off again as she did just yesterday? Or do I bring her with me to R’s; surely a confusing experience for her, since she spent three happy years (of her six) there and certainly has no way of understanding that we don’t live there anymore. I admit that a small part of me also wanted to deny R the pleasure of seeing her – I envisioned it as a ‘lesson’ that when one decides one is unwilling or unable to do the ‘work’ part of a relationship, one no longer can really expect to continue the good parts of it either. This is incredibly petty of me, I know, and that is part of why I decided to bring the dog with me. I also think it will be good for her to see the new house another time, to speed her acclimatization to that place as new ‘home’. Even though she’ll be waiting in the car as I unload things, since the fence is not built yet.
So, mid-morning, I set off for R’s. Through the freshly fallen snow… (I guess I’m just a Murphy’s Law magnet). Fortunately it was just a dusting, less than an inch. I got to R’s, had a nice visit, loaded up the truck with some boxes from my shed, and headed over to the rental. There I unloaded my things, signed the lease, and gave the visiting landlords a check for half of March, all of April, and a “last month’s” deposit. As I was unloading, my friend Emily showed up to help with the heavy stuff, which I hadn’t brought yet. So she rode with me back to R’s, where he had already put the trailer on his truck, and filled the truck bed with bulky-but-lightweight things like garbage/recycling cans, the wooden food dehydrator we scavenged from the dump, etc. With Emily’s help, we loaded the heavy and awkward stuff into the trailer and into my truck, then all headed back to the rental and unloaded. While there, KH stopped by, and she got introduced to the landlords and talked over with them her plans for the subleased fields. Other than the sauna apparently being out of service (I knew the hot tub wasn’t working but I thought the sauna was functional) everything seems in order for me to move in. A sauna and a hot tub sound so extravagant, and definitely not in the spirit of the Riot for Austerity, but I could see using it a few times a year as a treat without going too overboard on electricity usage. Soaking in hot water (indoors in the bathtub, usually) may not be a NEED but it’s right at the very top of my list of WANTS. It’s a reward, a relaxation, a warmup, and a physical boost to my bad back muscles, all rolled up into one. Elsewhere in the house, the woodstove has been repaired and is ok for me to use (and there’s a propane heater backup). I don’t have much firewood left, but KH still has lots of downed limbs in her yard.
Yes, when we arrived back at the schoolhouse, Luna looked confused for a few minutes. When she was let into R’s while we were there, she made a beeline for where her food and water bowls had been. R gave her water, but I felt bad for confusing her. Familiar place, but no food in the usual place, no bed in the usual place, etc. Poor pup…
Tomorrow – more moving, but not nearly as strenuous – no two-person things, just lots of boxes and jars from the kitchen, clothes, etc. I’m starting to feel better about this, and definitely looking forward to feeling settled and to putting my day-to-day life in order.
