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[pecunium]

On the domestic front, we are unpacking. That may take a few more weeks. The landlord/roommate is pretty nice. Much better than the last set-up, with the senior-tenant and the poorly run communal aspects of things. The three of us went shopping at Costco Saturday, reminding Maia and I of the things we need, but haven't had to buy, because some member of whatever house we were sharing had it.

Alexa being there meant when we thought of something, we'd be told if it was present. Odd things you'd expect, aren't here (e.g. I opened a can of tuna with my Swiss Army Knife tonight). The snakes are less happy than they might be (we've not got them heated, so they think winter is coming, which it is, but we'd rather not have it coming right now). The mice are in a strange shed outside. It's about 12'x8', has a strange door (5' high and 29" wide) has eaves, and is about nine inches off the ground, on 4x4s with wheels.

On the very up side the dogs can run around. The yard isn't large, and is mostly concrete (with sand... there is no soil here, all around) but it has a decent fence, and the radio fence could actually be set up. This is so much better. For the past year and half they've had to live on chains, because Token will get out, and Oliver will eat (or at least kill) chickens, even if Token would put up with being the only one chained (when taking them for a walk, Token has to be released/leashed first, or the baying is beyond mortal bearing).

Them not being chained up also means I feel better about playing with them... because standing and paying attention to one, and then the other (can't have them too close, lest the chains tangle) and then leaving, made me feel so guilty that a couple of minutes at a time, a couple of times a day was about all I could bear.

When the Lab leaves (our landlord had to start looking for someone to fill the other room the day we came to look at the place. The other tenant is moving back to Ariz.) I can buy Oliver some tennis balls. I'd do it now, but if Barkley (the lab) were to go for one, they'd scuffle, and that wouldn't go well for Barkley... Oliver having split the lip of another Lab, larger than he, the last time someone tried to steal a tennis ball... Barkley is much smaller than Oliver, even if he is at the top of the pecking order, because he gets to come inside).


For us, well we could use more space... between us, even with what we have left in storage, we have more stuff than we have room. A couple of bookshelves will help, and making a pantry in the garage will help some more (which is a good thing because we could fill the kitchen, and Alexa has her stuff already here... who knows what the new roommate will bring... the present roommate seems to not cook. A nice enough woman, but I don't pretend to understand how someone gets to be in one's late thirties and depend on other people, i.e. restaurants, to do one's cooking. Some place like Mexico, where the facilities aren't always present, and one gets things prepared at the corner, ok, but here, with a gas range, an oven and a microwave?).

Orchids in the windows, pictures on the walls, and the difficult questions (animals, and housemates) well resolved... we can live with this.