Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys

Well ya'll, we're in sunny Oakdale, CA. Day two of a heat wave with temps over 100 degrees. Thank goodness our little 'palace' has AC. So, we're living in a little house, on a 20 acre horse farm. There is a big barn with stables, many smaller barns, several paddocks, a big house next to us, and an outdoor riding arena.



From the kids' window this morning, we watched a horse that was just let out into the pasture gallop around. It was beautiful to watch. They are western/pleasure horses, chestnut color. The woman that we rent from breeds them. We met the 'cow girls' (really) that take care of the horses and the barn, Mary Jo is the leader, her daughter Crystal helps out and so does her mother, Dixie. They were nice. Crystal was a rodeo queen 3 years running. The horses and barns surround our house on three sides. In front of our house is a busy road, and then directly across the street is a large cow pasture.



Holy shit. What am I doing here?



This house and this community are a little more rural/agricultural than I bargained for. Everyone that we've met is very nice and welcoming... but I just don't think if its a good fit for us. We're only five minutes from town, where there is just about everything we need--and some things we don't, like tractor sales and three big ag stores. Our house is kind of rough. It hasn't been lived in since February, so its pretty cobwebby and dusty. Also, as Jackson wrote in his one sentence letter to Pierce, "Dear Pierce, We have an ant problem."

I've been cleaning as I unpack, so its slow going.. Doing so has made me remember how much I hate cleaning. On the bright side, it's got three good sized bedrooms, two baths, a wood stove, and a fenced yard for Hannah. Also, except for the spiders on the porch, I feel safe.


At first, both John and I were unsure about staying here. (We took it sight unseen.) But we've decided to stick it out, try to save lots o money while we're here, and then buy a house right after.) I'm treating this like a social experiment. I mean, I did say that I wanted to live in a more country setting, teach my guys more about gardening and maybe even have some chickens. We certainly could do all that here. (Really--our landlady said having chickens would be fine... just have to keep them in a coop to keep them safe from the wild dogs that occasionally come by.) Alden saw a coyote in the cow pasture across the street the other night. We watched it slink through the pasture, and disappear over a hill.


Yes, a social experiment. I must say, I'm having some identity issues. I went from being a successful nonprofit director, living in a beautiful, custom built home, having great friends and family nearby and feeling very comfortable in most ways...to a woman without a job, living in so-so house, surrounded by cows and horses, driving (John's) pick up, all without clothes/foot ware that are appropriate for the climate. Nothing like stripping away all of the things you use to identify yourself by, to figure out who you really are. (Not that I've got THAT figured out yet...)



Today, we finally found out where the kids will go to school. It's not the school that our neighborhood children go to, because they were full, but one just down the street. Both a really good. Tomorrow will be their first day. Jackson is going into Kindergarten and Alden is going into third grade. I can't believe it. Kindergarten is only half day, which is a bummer. I've got to find daycare for Jackson for the other half of the day that's stimulating for him. He's such an experiential learning--he's not going to be content with coloring, or some lame craft. After being at Mayberry Hill Preschool, any school or daycare is going to have a hard time measuring up.



I'm so exhausted... Dropped John off at Oakland International Airport today at 5:00 AM. He's flying back to ME for two weeks to finish up some jobs and button up his business. Was proud of myself that I got home (about 1.5 hours) from Oakland without a hitch. (OK, one little hitch, but I knew I was going the wrong way and turned right around...) He'll be back here in early September. It's going to be so hard without him.

On Tuesday, John took his electrical test to be a licensed electrician in CA and passed it! He got an 85%. Pretty impressive given that he studied about 30 mins to prepare. So, now when he gets back out here, he'll be able to get a job as an electrician. I have a second interview at California State University at Stanislaus on Monday at 9:30 AM. Please send me good vibes, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for me! I think my biggest downfall as a candidate is that I'm new to the area and that I don't have an existing network. If anyone has any suggestions on how to mitigate that, please share! Also, I think I'll need to take Spanish lessons so I can pronounce people's names correctly. Tomorrow, I'm going to get my new cell number for CA, and will order a GPS service for my cell that will help me get around.


Onward...Yawn, onward...