Over the mountains: UPDATED w/photos

Today did not entirely go as planned... but we made it to Reno!

The majority of our plans played out perfectly. The movers arrived early and loaded quickly... Noah swept out the house and played with the dog while I slipped drugs to the cats for our first day of driving.

While waiting for the tranquilizers to take effect, I noticed a traffic alert for the eastbound 80 (which we're taking pretty much the entire way across the country). It was closed before Truckee... a diesel truck turned over and was leaking all over the freeway. Bummer... Plus, it was snowing!!

We loaded up the car and headed out,





deciding to go across on 50 to Lake Tahoe and then cut up to Truckee and over to Reno...









Bangs took his tranquilizers quietly and slept most of the 4 hours it took us to get to Reno (we had some construction traffic, too). NNK (no name kitty) protested loudly every 20 minutes or so... but I think she was better for the tranquilizers than she was without. No one threw up on anyone. Jack and Gill quietly waited for us to let them out again and Tag... well Tag is the best ever.



The room here in Reno is gigantic and we love it.... We got in around 4:30 and room service just got here, so I'm going to go eat now :)

I'm tranquilizing the cats again tomorrow. I'm hopeful that it will make the traveling easier... our longest day of driving yet!

Hopefully pictures tomorrow, too!

Some sadness and anticipation

Today was the day of packing. Moving commences tomorrow! Noah and I spent the morning wrangling details. But first, breakfast!



I packed the food for all the cats and Tag in a plastic bin:





The movers arrived at around 9:30. They spent ALL DAY packing... well... one of them did. The other one spent a lot of time talking and answering his cell phone. Almost dropped dead of boredom and stress more than once... and the animals were REALLY confused about the new guys and how noisy they were and why there were more and more boxes appearing in their home. Little did they realize...



We loaded up almost as soon as the door closed on the movers backs this evening. Jack and Gill went in fairly quietly, having no experience with this type of thing and so nothing to dread. But Bangs and the no name kitty protested LOUDLY at being shoved into the same crate.

We left immediately and NNK cried the whole way there... she crowned the adventure by throwing up on Bangs's back. Poor Bangs!

We arrived at La Quinta in Davis for our first night of hotel living... a good break in for the animals. I'm hoping the stress will abate soon, for all our sakes.

Tag is a champ. He was only a bit confused about why there were cats on his car ride. He'll get used to it.

Fed, watered, and littered, we took a little time to hang out with Leslie one last time. We discussed the finale of Lost (cue deep disappointed sigh here) and shed some tears about being parted from one another. How will we live without Leslie?



Tomorrow we drive away! So tonight we're trying to get used to hotel living. Tag and Noah and I are pros at this, but the cats... well... they are going to need some time to adjust. And by the time they adjust, I think we'll be there :) Misery loves company, so I'm fairly certain the cats will bond over this common trauma. They're already doing better about sharing space with Tag!



One thing I am wondering is how well I am going to be able to sleep with so many animals on my bed...

'Twas the night before...

'Twas the night before moving... the house is in disarray... mostly in the area of the kitchen and the bedroom. We got rid of all the food we weren't planning to move (perishables, etc.) so there's nothing to eat and we're reluctant to make dirty dishes given that someone will be packing them for us tomorrow...

I sold my dresser at our yard sale on Saturday, so I have no where to put my clothes! I packed what I will wear over the next week in a suitcase, and filled a couple boxes with the rest of the clothes from the dresser... but that's still weird.

The kittens are confused. Their condo is gone and some of the furniture from their room has disappeared as well. So they're sprinting around the house and calling each other. Tag is oblivious. It'll kick in later, I suppose :) But we've been trying to travel with him some so that things like this would not phase him. Kitty is reproachful, but then, when isn't she? And Bangs... well, Bangs knows that something is up. He's clingy and needy. Poor guy has been through this more than once.

I'm stressed. I shouldn't be. The movers will take care of all the details here. Perhaps there's some of that control freak in me that can't let go. Mostly I'm stressed about the animals and how they will handle the next week's journey. I've done what I can to make their trip as stress free as possible. I packed plenty of yummy canned food... we have a nice new roomy car to travel in with an air conditioner that works. The hotels we're staying at are pet friendly. I have kitty valium in case someone decides they really can't handle it. Still, it's going to be hard on the cats. There's not much else I can do about that.

So tomorrow around one I'll take the pets and go check into our hotel in Davis. And tonight I'll try to sleep. Wish us luck! We'll keep you posted on the journey.

My last lesson

We're moving this week. Had a garage sale today. Got rid of a lot of stuff, actually. Yipee!

Sadly, I had my last riding lesson on Watson this past Wednesday. We had a great ride, though. I was having some anxiety in the morning, probably connected to the emotion of it being my last lesson. But I told myself I was just going to ride and not hold back... and have a good time. So we did. We did pole patterns and a few cross rails (Leslie did one vertical jump). Watson was SO happy... by the end of the lesson we were going VERY fast (for Watson), and somehow I was managing to keep his head up fairly well.

Noah took lots of pictures and some short videos. And by short videos, I mean SHORT videos :) Here they are for your viewing pleasure

A weekend to celebrate the new job

We decided that when Noah got a job, we'd take a mini-vacation to celebrate. And we are celebrating... on the Russian River... in a cabin called Blackberry Bliss.

We spent the morning eating breakfast on the patio and being divebombed by hummingbirds.





Then we went down to the river, which is right behind the cabin. Tag REALLY enjoyed this.













Then we went to the beach to wear the pup out.







After that we were pretty pooped, so we came back and took a nap. When we woke up we decided to take a walk down to the bridge.







Tonight we'll probably relax in the hot tub and drink some wine... a perfect way to relax before heading back into the mayhem of preparing to move at the end of the month.

One last thing... we got a new car this weekend! Ruby* wasn't going to make the journey across country again. So we got a 2009 Subaru Outback with plenty of room for Tag and any brothers or sisters he might acquire in the future. Her name has yet to be decided, but here she is!



*Note: for anyone who doesn't know, Ruby is my 1991 Acura Integra... she has 250,000 miles on her and has served me well for the past 8 years. Now she's going to go back to her previous owner, Good Friend Dan, who will lovingly care for her until the end of her days.

Change is in the air

Some of you are going to like this post... some of you are not... and there's no amount of explaining that will change that... but I will explain anyway for the rest of you... so here it goes...

We're moving! Again. To the Northeast! I can't even believe I just typed that phrase! Yeah. Noah has been done with his credits to graduate since last quarter. He should walk in June. Instead, we're moving!!!

We found out in March that Noah did not get into grad school. Thus endeth the path toward sustainable ag. Any jobs Noah wanted in that field required at least a master's degree. After some discussion back in December we had decided that if it didn't work out for grad school he would look for jobs in his former career again, and he seems to be glad of the chance to go back to something that he excels at anyhow.

He's been job searching for the past few weeks while taking some easy classes. And these two fantastic companies have cropped up to fight over him! They're both East coast... one in Manhattan, NY, the other in Westport, CT. We were a little surprised at these 2 prospects at first, but now we're excited! Needless to say, there are quite a few details that need to be ironed out over the next few weeks and we will be flurrying and scurrying to get our act together and all our ducks (not to mention cats and dog) in a row.

I'm sad to leave here, sure. Our time in Davis/Woodland has been full of pursuing passions that, had we stayed in LA, we would never have had the chance to pursue. And I've made some good friends here that will be sorely missed.

That said, I'm so happy for Noah to have this opportunity before him. He's amazing and such a hard working, supportive husband... it's nice for him to get some external encouragement like this!

I'm looking forward to the idea of being able to do something I like for a while, too, now... and not have to be so focused on being the breadwinner. Having not figured out my own personal path yet, it has been a stressful few years of working at a job I despise (albeit with people I enjoy and appreciated). I'm looking forward to trying out my skills elsewhere and seeing what I can make of them.

Our departure date is not finalized as of this time, but I will keep this blog updated as we go through the process of moving... again :)

Tag in the snow

Here's the cutest dog in the world experiencing snow for the first time. :)



Isn't he so cute?

It's late

It's late. I should be in bed... I have an early start in the morning. But I can't bring myself to break the magic that is my living room at the moment.

In one corner, the squirrely orange kitty twirs and darts up and down his cat condo, lost in his own frenzied imagination. His sister crouches under the fish tank, watching the orange kitten antics and waiting for her moment to pounce.

The more civilized elder kitties have taken up their respective posts. Gray nameless kitty is cozied up on the red chair cleaning herself and occasionally glancing up to see what nonsense the young ones are up to. Now she's staring at me and wheezing a little bit (probably from eating too much fuzz earlier today).

On the back of the couch next to my right shoulder, my lovely tuxedoed companion is curled and squeezing his eyes shut. He's pretending he isn't interested in the kitten antics either, but we all know he is paying very close attention. He's been with me the longest of all of the furry critters in this house. He's my sweet Bangs.

To my left lies the best dog you will ever meet... my Tag. He's been crashed out on the couch with his head hanging off the side for about an hour and a half now... Noah went to bed a while ago, but Tag sticks by me. I love this dog. He's so cozy and affectionate. He checks in every now and again, flipping his head up and grunting lazily.

In a moment I'll go to bed, too, and break this magic moment, but here I am surrounded by all my animals... and I am content.

This week at the barn

So, we've been furloughed since Wednesday. That means extra time for me to do the fun things I always hold a grudge against work for keeping me from. I've been busy!

Monday evening is my usual night to ride Watson for practice. So as usual, I went to the barn and Debbie was there teaching a small child a riding lesson (so cute)... and I went to pull out the old boy and tack up... except that Watson was missing his front right shoe. Bummer... that's the third time in 2 months he's pulled off his shoe. Debbie was not pleased. Nor was I as I was likely to lose my ride that evening and I need to maintain a steady schedule if I'm going to work through my nonsense anxiety, etc. Luckily, I didn't have to go home without climbing up... but all W and I got to do was walk around for 40 minutes. At least he got out and stretched.

Yesterday was day 1 of furlough time. I did NOT go to the barn to ride. I stopped by to unblanket some horses for a friend and then Noah, Tag and I headed for the coast. We went to Dillon Beach by Bodega Bay. (Cue lovely photos)











Today, day 2 of furlough, I spent at the barn. I watched W in a lesson with another rider, watched Debbie have a lesson, then came back in the afternoon and rode HoneyBee, an appendix Quarter horse. Debbie needed to work her and her own horse, Diego... so after I warmed up Bee, Debbie let me get on Diego, her gigantic thoroughbred gelding. All I did was sit there on Diego, and concentrate on breathing and not moving my leg AT ALL. Diego took me all around the arena at a walk that leaves Watson in the dust!

Truth be told, I'm a little scared of Diego. He's stepped on me before and it hurt. My toe was purple for a week. And getting on his back didn't make me complacent... he can't step on me from there, but he could break my neck... still... riding him, even so basically, was encouraging. I didn't die, didn't fall off, and didn't go rocketing off into the great beyond. Whee!

Tomorrow we're going to look at a new horse that may be coming to stay with us at WC and be used for lessons. Furlough = More barn time!!

Horses, dogs, and sheep oh my!

It's been a jam packed weekend, as usual. I'll start with Saturday...

I rode in a lesson on Saturday without Leslie :*( because she is in LA for spring break this week. Miss you Leslie. Debbie and I talked a lot about elbows and hands... I am having trouble freezing my elbows and not being flexible enough. This is likely because I find myself clenching to try and ward off Watson's head disappearing act (where he throws his head between his knees and trundles off to who knows where... very hard to stop him when this happens). So I went around in circles working on changing my posting diagonal and keeping my elbows FLEXIBLE.

After that we worked on a mini course with some poles and a couple of cross rail jumps. Debbie says I should ride in the cross rail class at the show at the end of May... so the challenge for me now is to see how many obstacles I can make it through before I lose my head (or Watson's). The more obstacles we do the more excited Watson is about them and the more likely he is to act up. And so I clench... and so Debbie yells at me.

Truthfully, Watson isn't going anywhere very quickly... it just feels like he is, like I can't control him... something mental is going on with me and I have to keep working on it to get it out. So the lesson today was a successful one. I learned, have more to practice, and didn't freak out.

I did miss Leslie.

In other news, Tag got to have a go at being a sheep herding dog today. Collies were bred originally to herd sheep in Scotland. They don't all have the instinct however, and so we took Tag to Performance Dogs In Action where he could have the experience in a controlled environment.





It went fairly well, all things considered. I don't think Tag is a motivated herder. He didn't try to KILL the sheep... which is a good thing... and he was mildly interested, but when he was rebuffed by the trainer for chasing the sheep, he quickly lost interest. Not his idea of fun, apparently.





It was well worth the experience, though. Now we know how he will do... maybe down the road he'll change his mind, but for now I'm going to focus on building our relationship in other ways.

A flash of inspiration

I had a wild moment of inspiration last evening and went out and bought a 100 pack of markers... It seems like a lot, but they are pretty distinct shades of color, and it cost relatively little...

Anyhow, this is what I got out of it... it's called Middaydreaming... inspired by the work of my good friend Scotty Voyles... a true artistic master.