My favorite folks ! :)

19 January 2009

Starting our week

I wish this had more font choices. I like something more informal, looking. However, now i notice it doesn't matter what i choose as my font, it prints the same in the blog.

Our life is like this: We travel "down the hill" on Monday AM, & return home sometime Wednesday PM. We both have flexible jobs. Duane is a computer person & is able to do much of his work from home. I'm a massage therapist, & work out of a chiropractic office three half days a week. I'm also trying to build a practice in Big Bear, but that takes time.

Ideally, we would be able to stay home all the time. However, most people who live full time in BB have two, three, or four jobs to do it. We are full time in that our BB home is our only home. But we have to leave for a couple of days a week.

We tried this out first by renting a small house in BB (at a great $$$ savings over what our rent in OC had been) to try this out. It seems to work out well, & we have family we stay with (Duane's parents, tho there are aunts & uncles we could stay with too) when working in OC.

Another benefit, if we do have children is that my MIL wants very much to be a grandmama & would be more than willing to care for them a couple of days a week. (She has stated this, i am not assuming!)

And, the wonderful thing about living in the mountains in Southern California is that if we get sick of the weather, we can be "down the hill" & in warm weather in about an hour. Very different from where i grew up in Montana & the winter seemed to last forever & there was no escape. Strange thing, our growing season for when it is safe to put out a garden is shorter here than it was in the mountains in Montana.

Duane's more a dog person than cat person, but with this lifestyle a dog is not going to be a reality for us. The cats are independent, self-sufficient, & don't seem to care. They are more affectionate when we get home. I've noticed the weeks we don't leave they are much more indifferent to us. But our cats in general have "dog" personalities. Jazz loves to fetch, & they both follow us around quite a bit. If "the people" are upstairs, then they are somewhere nearby. The same if we are downstairs.

It is always hard for me to leave our home & our cats on Monday AM. It doesn't seem as difficult for them! Sometimes it appears they are trying to push us out the door, "Are you still here? Aren't you gone yet?" You see, they get treats as we are leaving . . .

Goodbye Sugarbear, until Wednesday PM.

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1 comment:

Jessica said...

Hi Kathryn (and Duane),

I got to your blog at last and am enjoying it. Practically the first thing I saw was a reference to us! That startled me! Looked at the pictures first--great ones of liquidambar leaves and snow, squirrels and cats--then started reading recent entries,, going backwards, then, because you had suggested it, the first two blogs of the series. I thought maybe I should read them in the right order.

Then (before I have gotten to the middle), I read the other blog, the one more focused on nutrition and family. I'm going to let Becky know about it--both, actually. I'm enjoying the humor, especially when you're sharing personal anecdotes about you and Duane.

Looking forward to seeing you Friday. After your comments about Campbell's mushroom soup, I am going to have Jerry sneak it into the green bean casserole while you aren't looking. Over the last 5-1/2 years, his family has seen me on all kinds of weird diets--the low-soy for blood clots in my lungs, the fasting-and-praying liquids only (I think it was) and then my normal attempt at healthy eating. Then there's all the different styles, lengths and colors of my hair. I'm letting it go natural, which turns out (I've been coloring it since I was 29) to be snow white. Right now I'm halfway there. To me, it looks like I'm molting (moulting?). But Jerry calls me "Silver Vixen" and at least we'll match. Anyway, I decided for once to just eat what everyone else eats for the two days we're with my in-laws in Big Bear and not call attention to my weirdities.
Love,
Jessica