Acclimating

Well, the boxes are finally unpacked, and AG and I are both here, in the same house! The house is much larger than the apartment we were living in, and for the most part, it's pretty empty. The sofa and armchair that made our apartment living room feel cozy and filled, doesn't even take up half of our "bonus room" upstairs. The living room and formal dining room downstairs need to be furnished in the near future, so people don't walk into a huge empty space when they first enter our house.


It was still 40 degrees and chilly the day we moved, and now we're into humidity and temps into the 100's. I am really enjoying having sunshine almost daily, and am looking forward to being able to garden again.

I have just finished orientation at the new hospital, and start work full swing next week. In the past month, AG and my roles have flipped in that I was coming out here with the anticipation of work, but hadn't heard much from my new employer. Now, the position he's spent so much time preparing for is becoming less and less guaranteed due to a few things I don't really want to discuss here. So we have flipped, to my job being the more stable of the two for the moment. Now that I am here, I am locked into my new workplace for at least a year, and having bought a home here and put a large chunk of money into fencing and landscaping our backyard, have no interest in moving for several years. I don't think AG will be relocated, no matter what happens, it's just another reminder that nothing in life is guaranteed. And, at least as of this morning, I don't think we will have any idea what he's going to be doing for several weeks yet, possibly months. Another exercise in patience, I guess.

In the meantime, we had both talked of getting a dog. Back at the apartment, with no yard, my 12-hour shifts, and his coming and going out-of-state, it didn't seem like a good idea. In the meantime, we researched breeds, and found a breeder that we liked. We are expecting a Vizsla puppy in July. Two weeks ago, a husky puppy showed up in the neighborhood. No one had claimed him, so we did a week trial with him at our house. He is actually very well-behaved, housebroken, and doesn't trigger my pet dander allergies. We have decided to go ahead and adopt him, and still get the puppy in July. Hopefully, they'll play well together, and maybe having an older dog (the vet says he's 1-2 years old, based on his teeth) around will help with training.

This is Jackson:

Vegas, Baby

The rest of my vacation was pretty much spent recovering from our hike. I met up with an old college roommate and we flew to Las Vegas to see "Mamma Mia". It was a fun show, and after losing a few bucks quickly at the tables, we decided to spend the rest of our time there lounging by the pool and at the spa, which was good for my sore muscles.

I was in Phoenix long enough to witness a car accident in which someone plowed through a red light right smack into another vehicle. My friend and I left our names and numbers with the officer on scene, but as there were 2 other witnesses, I don't expect to be contacted to provide more details. Luckily, no one appeared seriously hurt.

I won't say that getting away fixed everything, but I do think that I have at least had a better attitude at work this past week. And, while the annoying people are still annoying, there's just nothing much that I can do about them, so there's not much point in worrying about stuff.