Taking The Long Way Home

I blame the couch. It started all this... all this... nesting. The old couch was a smelly memory, gifted to a happy couple in a smelly house some weeks ago. Our empty living room became the Hooping Room, where I could practice my clumsy hoop-dancing moves while watching Oprah on one of the two channels we get in the house. It was perfect. Then Deborah sent me a link to a couch for sale on Craigslist. Green leather, near us in Taos, and only $75. I had said it out loud, I want a couch . And while I wasn't specific about the color and fabric, here was the answer to my request--a good sturdy couch at a price I could afford. We drove out to see it, and brought it home to live with us... even though it's green leather. Leather is a tricky thing for vegans. We, mostly I, don't eat meat or other animal products, except for the rare special occasion cheese splurge. Rick, it turns out, is one of those people who craves a good chicken mole enchilada periodically, and I can't fau...

I spent all day yesterday moving stuff from the trailer to the house. It was shocking to see how much we had crammed into that tiny space. A whole house full of necessities is now back in the house, while the "extras" remain in storage. I really like this lack of clutter, and think I'll just leave most of the decorative stuff where it is, packed away in boxes. The biggest difference in living in a house, after living in a trailer, is the size--well, that, and the fact that nothing moves . It's like we've been on a boat all this time, and I'm still not used to solid ground. And the distance I have to cover just to grab a pen seems enormous now. In the trailer I could just stand in one place and pivot around, reaching everything from one place. We would joke, no matter where you go, you're already there. But having to walk across a whole house to get to things isn't so bad. I think of it as exercise. And the dogs love having all this room to romp. They...