Discombobulated in the Desert

      Comments Off on Discombobulated in the Desert

I have a confession to make. I’ve had gas for nearly four decades. Before you start feeling sorry for me or wondering how I’ve managed to have a-n-y friends let me explain. I’m not talking about that kind of gas – unless you count living with Other Half for nearly four decades.

The gas I’m referring to is the kind you cook with. The kind that doesn’t burn the crap out of a grilled cheese and render bacon inedible. The kind that isn’t an induction cooktop. That’s the kind of gas I’m happy to have back in my life.

It’s also the kind of gas Other Half used as one of his selling points for this house. That’s right, we are now back living in sticks and bricks, or in our case sticks and stucco.

In the full disclosure department, I’ve been a bit behind Other Half in embracing our new domicile. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great house in a great community in a great city. There’s a lot to like about living here.

Happy guy with his golf cartOur golf cart is one of those things.

I’ve always wanted a golf cart – as long as I don’t have to play golf. (Another one of Other Half’s selling points.) I do enjoy the golf cart and so does our pup Rigby. Since our new abode is in the desert we are seriously short on a place for Rigby to do her business. For some reason, she’s not a fan of the scorching patio or hot gravel we call a backyard.

Parkway viewTo help her with that, a couple times a day, we load her up in the golf cart and take her to the grassy park area. Rigby is a wimp about most everything but she loves the golf cart – maybe it’s because she’s figured out it leads to peeing on grass. Can’t blame her.

Where should the dog pee is just one of the discombobulations of late.

Moving back into a house when you have zero furniture is also a discombobulation. To fix that, we’ve been spending a lot of quality time on a furniture buying binge.

Other Half and I are usually in agreement when it comes to buying furniture. Our first trip to Mathis Brother’s, a gigantic furniture showroom in our area, set the tone. He pointed out what he liked and I pointed out that I didn’t like what he liked. After about an hour we agreed – it’s best to let me pick the furniture. Good decision.

Real furniture!We’re making progress, just yesterday we were able to remove the lawn furniture from the living room. We now have real chairs and a couch. My office is taking shape, the guest room has a bed, we have a bed and we have a TV. Just so it doesn’t seem like I’m bossy or anything, Other Half has final say on electronics and vehicles – but that’s another story.

Living in a house again comes easy. Living in a house in the desert takes some getting used to. This is our first summer in the desert and so far the temps are hot and hotter. Of course, as everyone reminds us, it’s a dry heat.

The good old 1-2-3 Dry heat is easier to take than humid heat, but 120 + degrees is just crazy.

Neighborhood RoadrunnerThe desert also brings a new array of critters, some good and some not so good. We enjoy the Road Runners in the neighborhood, not a fan of the rattlesnakes or the scorpions and the creepy crawlers in the house require calling a bug guy.

This morning we were visited by a cute little gecko. I’m a fan, but not when he’s sunning himself on our bathroom floor.

Visiting GeckoOther Half saved the day and released him into the backyard.

Our open road adventure has taken a turn. In truth I’ve been feeling as discombobulated as Rigby. I am enjoying cooking with gas again and the golf cart is a blast. I’m coming around.

I want to thank all of you who have encouraged me to continue this blog. That’s my plan.