Somewhere in the shade near the sound of a sweet singin’ river Somewhere in the sun where the mountains make love to the sky Somewhere to build me a faith, a farm and a family Somewhere to grow older, and somewhere a reason to try.....Thank you John Denver

Let’s talk house. The rental house 3,000 square feet. We left two hotel suites that weren’t more than 1,000 between them. We were in our home which was 2,000 square feet full of our things. The things that were our lives. I never really thought about how possessions are such a huge part of your life. I am not talking about fancy things. More like the wind chimes that I have collected over the years. Like the one I picked up in Adventureland in Disneyland because I fell in love with the coconut and bamboo sound.

I had so many wind chimes, I would pick them for different reasons. Some I bought because the colors attracted me. Ooh shiny. Most were because I loved the sound. Our house had an “L” shape to it in the front yard. We had a court yard out there and I had wind chimes that lined it. On a windy day it was musical in our yard. You could lay in bed and hear the music of the wind chimes. Oh and I was creative. I would say I was buying them for my mom. I know Scotty has always known who they were for.

Then we have the garden statues. I had a Minnie Mouse, she was so cute and bright. I had frogs, and toads. It all started when my mother in law Karen got me a toad house for Christmas one year. I don’t think she realized what she started. I became obsessed with having them. Anytime I would see different ones that would mix in well I would get them. We had several little creatures. Some may be saved but I know toads and frogs won’t be. When I saw the garden where I kept them I know they did not survive.

I could go on and on. But, I know I shouldn’t so I won’t. We are going to go with the positive. I have a hanging primrose plant and another planter of flowers on the front porch here and I have a bamboo wind chime. No it isn’t like the one I got in Disneyland, but it shouldn’t be. It is new and deserves to be its own wind chime. I will buy more. I have things now that I did not have that I have now are some house plants that Kacy bought me for Mother’s Day. They are lovely.

I also have a mantle here. We didn’t have one in our house, and I became obsessed with decorating it. That became my have to do thing. I hit the thrift shops and antique stores. It all started with an Asian Junk ship in a bottle. I paid all of $1.99 for it but it is my treasure, I also bought a tea set. It has an Asian feel to it also. I then got a carving of 3 elephants that I am giving to Kacy’s friend Jenn. I fully intended that it be for her because she loves elephants. I then visited Goodwill, the first day I didn’t find anything but I took Kacy the next day and I found a couple of small vases that fit in with it all. My prize in the setting is my couple. It is a couple sitting on a bench that completes my mantle. I am going to get one other thing. There was another couple that I saw that I want. That is for next month.

I need to get a lawn chair or something along those line for our bedroom. We have such a big room but no place to put my stuffed animals or dolls that Kacy gave me for my birthday or the Duffy that Danielle gave me. I am not going to put them on the floor, the carpet may have been cleaned but to me it is still gross. At least too gross for my babies.

My next project now is to go out and get light bulbs. There are so many light fixtures with one or more light bulbs out and it drives me freaking nuts. Wednesday we are supposed to get living room furniture. Thankfully. I am sick of the front of the house echoing. It drives me nuts. I also great another night stand and a second lamp for my dark bedroom.

Oh and if you’re wondering about my Mother’s Day from Scotty and the other kids. Annabel Lee got surgery on her foot. Her health is all the gift I want.

The touch, the feel the fabric of our lives The touch, the feel of cotton The fabric of my life Thank you Zooey Deschanel

These are the times of our lives…..or are they? We finally moved into a house. Dance and shout let’s get it out. Okay now we talk about what’s what. I love the house it is in a great location and it has more cupboard and closet space than I have ever seen in a house. It has stone tile that is beautiful on the bottom floor and hardwood floor in the entry.

It is huge, trust me I Swiffer mopped it this morning. It has vaulted ceilings in the living room. Unfortunately the only furniture we have in there is a TV stand, a TV and Loren’s Xbox. Because the furniture company did not deliver that. It will be here on Wednesday. Oh and that beautiful stone tile it isn’t as beautiful once your phone falls and your screen cracks into a spider webbed disaster. :’( But yay for an amazing insurance for cell phones from Asurion I had a replacement in a little over 12 hours. But no service because this house has major blind spots for cell phones. All not near plugs.

But, it has a beautiful kitchen with cupboards, oh so many cupboards. Thank you to the amazing Brandon from Travelers Haven. We have a furnished house. There are queen sized beds in the kids and my mom’s rooms and a king size one in Scotty’s and my room. They have night stands and dressers. Unfortunately in our room we only one night stand. Obviously there is a flaw in the plan there. By the time the living room has furniture, we get our second night stand, lamp plus our washer and dryer it will be amazing right?

I mean they provided all of the housewares, I mean all of it!! Brandon is one kickass guy, he told me he is like my concierge. Well he is!! Today we are getting our internet and cable. Have I mentioned that Brandon rocks? Well he does. But…..and here is the big but. When we walked through the house the first time there were things that we noticed that needed to be fixed. The owner was supposed to come in last weekend to fix it all

Yesterday, I get here with our first load and to do the walk. I was full of hope, I was told the owner had fixed the holes in the walls, touched up the paint. Fixed the two showers upstairs and the bath in the spare bath. But, alas no he had not visited and oh the joys and surprises the three car garage is full of their things. Seriously? This is what the insurance company is paying for?

I put down every little freaking thing on paper and we documented everything with photos. So the owner is supposed to come in on Saturday and fix every little thing. Including the fence. Sigh. :/ But I love this house, for all of the warts and bumps because you know what? We are together, and today one month after the fire we have each other, the dogs are able to run in a big backyard. For all of the not so great things I am happy here. I am sitting at the dining room table on my laptop feeling the breeze blow through my windows around me. There are windows behind me and next to me. There is a beautiful breeze blowing and I am a happy camper.

Who can be unhappy when they have a home and place to lay their head next to love of their lives? Who can be unhappy when they know that downstairs their mom is alive and well? Who can be unhappy when they can hear their kids, whether they are arguing or getting along? Who can be unhappy when they see their dogs romping in the yard or laying under a shade tree with their tongues hanging out with a doggy smile on their faces? Who can be unhappy watching a peacock walk across their front yard? It’s not the turkeys we normally have at home but I’ll take it.

Hey Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping? What, what, what, what... Oh! Oh! I'm gonna pop some tags Only got twenty dollars in my pocket I-I-I'm huntin' Lookin for a come up.......(thank you Kelly for the suggestion

One of the things about moving into a rental house that has concerned me is needing things to make it into a home. The little dust collectors, the things that remind you that you live there. I have always had books and things like that. Those are the things that make my house a home. I decided that it was time to go get some.

The only place to go to get some knick knacks and bric a bracs was to the thrift shop. You mention thrift shop and Kody is ready to go! Good thing because that was where we were going. While we were at Velo Wrench Bicycle Shop in Vacaville, CA Kody and I visited the thrift store two doors down. What a treasure it was to find.

It is a little tiny little shop but what she does with her little space is amazing!! Also she knows a sucker when she sees one. I mean that in the nicest way. There was this little tea set that I was enamored with. I was not willing to pay $9 for it. Cheapskate aren’t I? She lowered the price to $6. Now that I would pay. I have just the place to put it. There is an island in the middle of the kitchen that is just perfect for it. I found other treasures that screamed at me and I got them. More on that later.

Kody found treasures for herself. She found a Winnie the Pooh dressed up as a lucky cat. This is a big deal for her, she loves Pooh bear and she loves lucky cats. She also found a Humpty Dumpty tea pot without a lid that she can put flowers in. There were several things that she found that she liked I wouldn’t get. At least not yet, kind of glad that I didn’t because we have managed to get so much stuff to move.

Where did it all come from? Well there were those few things that we got at the next thrift store. Honestly here just a few more things. ;) On Friday or Saturday I don’t remember which day we hit the local antique mall. Oy! I fell in love with this little ceramic Asian couple and had to have them. But, the biggest treasure was what Kacy found. She found a Fantasia snow globe. That was her favorite movie when she was a little girl. She wore that video tape out, and as soon as it came out on DVD we got it for her. It was lost in the fire.

We will go back. I didn’t managed to see it all. Also Kody found a desk from the 1970’s that she thought was amazing. Kacy found several pieces she wanted including a metal vase. It seems that Kacy’s decade for treasures in the 1950’s. Ironically the last decade she would want to be from. It’s funny how life is that way. To me the biggest treasure that I found at the antique store was a Carter/Mondale button pin that I found for Scotty.

The point of all this? Tomorrow, yes tomorrow when we move into the rental house I can make it into a home. I can hardly wait. No matter how nice the staff is here at the Staybridge Suites I will be glad to move. Oh yes I will. We all will!!

But there's one thing I know The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me Raindrops keep fallin' on my head.....Thank you BJ Thomas

If you ever wondered what one thing might make staying in a hotel room with two dogs even more fun….it’s pouring down rain. I am sitting here at my laptop typing and looking out the window at pouring down rain. And of course guess what? They both needed to go to the bathroom. Badly. Thankfully they are now taking a nap.

I never really thought much about it but dogs resemble both toddlers and teenagers. It all depends on the time of day and the mood they are in. Right now they are napping so it is toddler time, the nice part of toddler time. They both are quiet and just resting. This is the nice time of day. I look forward to it. It also hits for Annabel at bedtime. She will look at anyone still in the living room and just whine like a baby.

Rain also poses another problem for some of us. Loren only has shorts, while Kody, my mom and I have no closed in shoes. Kacy has closed in shoes but they are Chucks so they are canvas. And sadly my beloved Mickey Mouse poncho died a sad death. Sigh. So did my rain jacket. No we all go through life with hoodies that offer little or no resistance to the rain. Oh the fun, oh the thrills. We go from the 90’s last week to rain today. Then I read on twitter that we had a lightning strike here in town. :/

I remember back in the good old days all I needed was a box of different colors of Playdough, plastic rolling pins, plastic silverware, plastic scissors and cookie cutters to make hours of fun. Which reminds me we had a new box of 12 colors of Playdough at the house. Sigh. But, I can smile with memories of the laughing times that were had by all while the Playdough was out.

Another fun rainy day activity the kids would sit in the living room and watch every Christmas video or DVD that they could find. It didn’t matter what time of year it was it was a fun activity. I still know every word to Disneyland Sing Along Songs. They wore that tape out, I recently bought the DVD. “We’re walking right down the middle of Main Street USA…..” Yeah. No blues are going to defeat me, especially not with these memories. 

This hotel room got a lot of stuff A laundry bag and a shoe shine cloth Thirty-two hangers and a touch-tone phone Well a light that comes on when I'm not home I ain't home, I ain't home You better leave a message cause I ain't home......Borrowed from Jimmy Buffett's song "This Hotel Room"

This hotel life has its ups and its downs. For the dogs it has been especially rough. At home they can come and they can go. Here they cannot. They get to walk to go to the bathroom. They have two wonderful trips to the dog park and they got to go bye bye to pick daddy up from work. The majority of their time is spent in their crates, the poor things.

Annabel has a wart that has to be removed and the vet wants her to have a cone. The dreaded cone of shame. So this too will wait. Just another thing to go the never ending wait list. Roy is like a caged lion he is constantly pacing, he paces whether he is in his crate or wandering the room. I feel so deeply for our babies.

The girls are going crazy being constantly feeling like they are being judged by all of the guests that stare at them. Look at the tattooed girls…Midwestern people. What can I say? If the kid’s keys need to be re-magnetized they say, “again?” I end up being the one to visit the desk if anyone needs a key or anything. I want just once want someone else to visit the desk for themselves or for me. Forgive me while I whine.

But Loren has bent over backwards to do things for me. If I don’t eat he will ask if he can fix me something. With Scotty and I having our birthdays the last few days we have had cupcakes and ice cream here. He got me a bowl of ice cream and there was none left for him. I tried to convince him that I didn’t want it that he should have it. He wouldn’t take it until I told him that I told him he would be doing me a favor to take it.

The girls have it hard, not only are they in a separate room from us but it is down the hall. We have had this traumatic event in our lives and they have had to be alone. I cannot imagine night time when it gets dark and we are not as close as we might be at home. What brave grown ups they have become. It isn’t easy I am sure. We are out and away from town so that isn’t easy for any friends to visit. Thankfully they have their cell phones and computers to use.

This will be Michele’s whiny post. My mom has really started to show the stress. I can hardly wait until we get into a house. It will be much better for her. Have I mentioned what a hike it is to do laundry? My mom doesn’t like to walk that far, especially since it takes 3 hours to dry a load of clothes. I brought my clean clothes back wet to hang up in our bathroom. When questioned why I didn’t dry them in the dryer I replied why when I can hang them up and they will dry just as fast that way. I can hardly wait until I have a washer and dryer in the house to use. What a thrill that will be!!

Welcome to my nightmare I think you're gonna like it! I think you're gonna feel you belong! We sweat and laugh and scream here! 'Cause life is just a dream here! Thank you Alice Cooper for your lyrics.

It’s 1:03 am and I wake up in a cold sweat. I have had another dream. They aren’t always the same and they aren’t all scary but they are regular. I am like clockwork, if it is dark I am awake from a dream I have had. I think it is normal, we all have those moments in life that trigger them. Mine was jarring for me, I never thought I would come close to dying not once, especially not twice.

The first time was health issues and beyond my control. Well I would like to think so but I was in complete control of that to a certain point. I don’t talk about that time in my life to anyone. No one knows the whole story except maybe family members. I went in the hospital on April 4, 2007 and I woke up on April 28, 2007. I remember explaining my pain level to the triage nurse in the ER and the next I vaguely I remember is talking to my husband and he was explaining that they were moving me to ICU. Then it was April 28 and I was paralyzed on my right side. More on this another time.

The next near death was April 9, 2013. I walked down the stairs after being told by Kacy that there was a fire in our garage I was convinced that someone was overreacting. That Scotty and I would come downstairs and be able to turn the hose on and put out the fire. It wasn’t that easy not by far. No one overreacted, it was out of our control. We were set on a path. Destiny is written in stone.

April 9^th I laid my head on a pillow and I could not sleep. The visions I saw when I closed my eyes were the things of things too scary to give words to. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am never without words to say. I started down the road of sleeping one or two hours a night and trying to exist. Not a great plan, unless you want to be so tired that you could sleep on your feet. I sat at lunch with my best friend and I am not sure what I even ate to tell you the truth and food is something I love.

Then the sleep started coming but I am awake every morning at 4 am. I wonder now if I will ever sleep past that time again. I am getting enough sleep to exist now and my memory is better. Thank goodness. Last night I saw my death in a dream. Frankly it scared me more than I can express to you. But what scared me the most was it wasn’t just my death I witnessed. I saw someone I love die. I heard myself screaming as I watched this person die. As I died in my dream I woke up. I could not sleep again for hours. I lay there in bed hugging a Duffy I got as a birthday present just yesterday. I didn’t want to wake Scotty because I didn’t want to have to tell him about my dream. I couldn’t it was too raw. It still is.

My wish is that tonight I dream of Disneyland and Mickey Mouse. Or of how I want to decorate the house when it is done. Boy do I have ideas about that. I am torn on our bathroom. I am torn between a villain or a Little Mermaid themed bathroom. Either one could be a lot of fun!! No matter what I dream I can almost guarantee I will be awake around 4 am.

Can't you feel 'em circlin' honey? Can't you feel 'em swimmin' around? You got fins to the left, fins to the right, and you're the only bait in town....... plagiarizing Jimmy Buffett

When something like a fire hits and you have tragedy the sharks start to swim around you. Be they clean up people, facilitators, contactors, you name it. They all want to be your best friend. Worse yet they start striking when you are down. They love you down because they begin to think that they “have it all sewn up.” Guess what? Allow me to introduce myself, I am Michele. It is never all sewn up with me and I have a built in bullshit detector. I am your worst enemy.

They visit your neighbors, and try to convince them that you need them. That we are in desperate straits and that no one else can help us. “Can I please leave a card for them? They will thank you for this.” No, I will thank my neighbors for being more polite than I will ever be. If they didn’t learn that when I said don’t talk to me they never will never have a chance at getting my business. Don’t call me I’ll call you. Not!!

Then there are the ones that ingratiate themselves to you. Oh let me do this for you for a small charge. Let me board up your house, and put this lock on your house. Don’t worry we will bill your insurance company. Oh and by the way we will send you an envelope with this courtesy notice and it’s not because we hope that you are confused by the stress of everything going on and you pay us too. Seriously go to that really hot place and don’t expect ice cubes from me.

All too soon the meetings start for with contractors. They are supposed to come to these meetings with a type of estimate that really isn’t an estimate. Meeting number one and he tells us that he will do all these “extras” for us. Meeting number two they were late and all I got was a business card. No you don’t need my business. The third one was a lot like the first. He did that one used car salesman thing, he grasped my being a Disney fan. He and his family are huge Disney fans so I started testing his knowledge. He is, he knew things that only a true Disney fan would know.

Soon it is time for a slower dance. We will be meeting with two, it is time to get down to the nitty gritty. It is time to find out if they are willing to do the little things that we want and mean so much. The insurance company has started cutting checks. This is getting closer to the big time. And soon it will be one.