Taking The Long Way Home

These long drive days are really cutting into my computer time. Apologies for the brief update today. We have a highway to catch in a little bit! The drive across Nevada was uneventful. I was pretty weary of desert driving after New Mexico and Arizona, but it was awfully good to finally make it to Reno, where we have a bunch of family, and took a much needed day off from the drive. I was so tired I could easily have cut the trip short and just moved to Reno. Motel 6 is our friend. Dogs are free, the rates are great, and many of them are updating the rooms, so we've had some really nice digs for little cash. Driving across Nevada. Rest stop at Walker Lake. Lucy enjoys wading, but not swimming, which was just as well, since wet-dog-smell in my car is not my favorite. Breakfast with the family. So nice to have them welcome us "home." Who doesn't love baby geese? Beer on a sunny patio by the river had us saying, Yeah, we could live like this... Ka

Everything we own is in this truck. About a third of what you see here belongs to other family members and will be delivered along the way. We really pared it down this time. Two long days of driving have gotten us to Beatty, NV. Long days because the U-haul doesn't like to go much over 60, and because we need to stop often to walk the dogs. They're doing really great, considering we've turned their world upside down and they have no idea what's going on. As long as they have us though, they seem to be content to just ride along and crunch down the extra treats. Day one was rough. Leaving Taos was, of course, quite emotional, but once we got to the other side of the canyon, and even more so to the other side of Albuquerque, I was thinking less about what we'd left behind, and more about what we were heading towards. Honestly though, I don't think about that a lot because I have no idea where we're really heading, and that scares me when I give it ro

Today is moving day. But not in the usual way. Most people have an address to go to when they move. We have a general direction - west, and a potential town - Portland. But we really don't know where we're going. We're moving in the sense of pure motion, and we'll know where we're going when we get there. Everything we own, aside from my car, which I'll be driving, with the dogs as copilots, is in the 14 foot Uhaul truck in the driveway. All we need to do this morning is eat breakfast and throw a few last things into the truck. The house is clean. We've said most of our good-byes - except for one or two who will pop by to see us off. We're ready to go, but not in a hurry now. We're savoring this last lovely morning in Taos, after a night in sleeping bags on an air bed in the living room, looking out at the billions of stars we've become so familiar with. It was like camping, and it was a good way to spend our last night in this house. So h

It's countdown week. After all the time we've spent working toward moving, it's finally just a few short days away. I still panic frequently. Sure this is what I want. This is what I asked for. But that doesn't make it easy. Thirteen years in place is not nothing. There's a level of comfort to be found even in places we've grown out of. Letting go is not as easy as I imagined it would be. And as much as I'm all in for moving forward and exploring the next part of my life, I sometimes need a little help when I start to freak out about all the unknowns. I joke about wishing for a bucket of Xanax, but that's not really my style. I will admit to enjoying a few more tasty adult beverages that normal in recent weeks, and the homeopathic Calms Forte a friend recommended helps a little bit. But this is Taos, and often there are alternatives to mainstream de-stressors. Take for instance our favorite little coffee place, Coffee Cats, who advises patrons to "

We're less than two weeks from closing the sale of our house on April 25th. Almost 13 years to the day from the day we moved in. We've been wanting this for a long time, this freedom, this release from feeling like we were being held hostage in Taos, and in our house. It was home for all this time. And then we knew it was time to go, but it seemed were we not being allowed to leave. It's been frustrating, but now suddenly it feels like the gates have been flung open, and we're free to wander off in search of Whatever's Next. I didn't really believe this was all happening until two days ago, when the soon-to-be new owner of our house came to our yard sale, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I love this house." All the logic in the world couldn't convince me it was a real deal until that moment. I wanted to trust it, but after what we went through a few months ago with buyers who backed out at the last minute, I guess I felt the need to guard again

Well hello there... You thought it was all over with here, right? So did I. But life changes, and so do minds and perspectives, and I now find myself coming up with reasons to revive this blog. It's a total surprise to me. Is anyone still out there? Here's the quick story: After 13 years in our Taos House - minus the 15 months we traveled and blogged about it here - Rick and I have sold our house and are moving on to... Somewhere. I want to be able to share more of everyday life than I can over at Positively Vegan , so for now I think I'll write both blogs. Maybe a post a week each or so, with a bit of overlap, but more personal stuff here, and more food over there. They might blur to a point of total melding some day, but for now I'm a two-blog girl. I hope you'll re-join me for this part of the ride. It promises to be a good one!