Home From Vacation

We just got back a few days ago from our winter vacation. Sure was good to get out of the cold! Spent the time in sunny California. Was wonderful to sit out side in shorts and tank top there since when we left Missouri it was something like 2 degrees here. We made several trips down into Mexico, Algadones, where I get my dental work done and get new glasses. So much cheaper there. Bought the usual few trinkets, and even though I swore I was not buying any more clothes I saw this beautiful dress........oh well. Had to have it. On the way home Hubby mentioned he thought that was the first new dress we had bought since we have been together. (23 years now) I got to thinking about it and decided that it was the first new dress I'd purchased since I was 12 or 14 years old! When I was a kid my mom was a seamstress and made all my clothes but I did see this one store bought dress one time that I really wanted, so she actually let me buy it. So this new dress makes only the second new dress I've had in my life. Algadones is a really nice tourist town and a fun place to hang out. One Café has a live musician and he is REALLY good. Plays guitar and sings a lot of the older rock and roll songs, and some country stuff. He can sound almost as good as the original singers in some cases. It's funny to watch the other tourists sipping margaritas and then try to dance. Remember, most of them are old fat ladies like me. And the food is even good!

The only really bad day was the day we made a run up to a little town north east of LA to pick up a puppy I'd purchased from a breeder up there. It should of been about a 6 hour trip, ended up taking 12 or more, we took a wrong turn at ever single chance. Had trouble even finding her town, and then when we did and found her street, went the wrong way the first time of course, and ended up in what looked like either an old airport or airplane junk yard, not too sure which. So when we went the other way we ended up out in the middle of the freaking desert on a dirt track that didn't even look like it was fit for a 4 wheeler, let alone a car. But we finally found her got my puppy, who I have since named Milo, and eventually even managed to find our way back to my sister in laws house. Believe it or not we even had some trouble doing that.

So vacation was great, but boy was coming home a pain! Got in about 2:30 in the morning, and our furnace wouldn't kick on. Freezing cold, too tired and dark out to fumble around that late with the wood stove, so Hubby went out early about daylight and started a fire in the wood stove. Except we don't have much wood, very few pieces that will fit in the stove without splitting and the first bloody thing he did was pull the rope out of the wood splitter. So for the next 2 days we had to split it with a splitting maul. Not a pleasant chore at my age and condition. We finally got the gas furnace fixed just tonight and the house is finally starting to warm up. It's been a miserable few days. Especially after coming back from that nice 70-80 degree weather in California.

At least the kennel and all the critters faired well while I was gone. We did have some pipes freeze up and bust but the hired man was able to get them fixed and everything thawed out, and it was only froze inside in the bathroom and kitchen, but we have lots of outside frost proof hydrants so it wasn't all that bad, could still water all the dogs.