I just got back from a nice walk. I am having a hard time wanting to exercise like I know I need to but I am still managing to do it most days. I miss being able to walk around the golf course, see the road runners, bunnies and lizards. This morning I walked around some of the neighborhoods around here. This is an interesting area. There are lots of older homes but also lots of newer, modern homes. I love the older homes because most of them have a front porch. Reminds me of summer Sunday afternoons at Grandma Barneys. She had her chair, Grandpa had his chair and the rest of just just sat. I like that the house we are in now has a front porch. I have a really old chair my Mom refinished for me and I have put it on the front porch. Many mornings I eat my breakfast out there. The porch here really needs to be repainted and I am working, half-heartedly, on getting the old paint scraped off so I can paint it.

I like this area but I still feel pretty much out of place here. I thought maybe I would feel a bit at home in the LDS church here but, I don't. I feel almost like a stranger, an intruder here. Maybe its because I know nothing about anyone or anything. When I walk by a house I never nod hello or say good morning to someone I know. The only people that seem to even recognize me are the ladies at the DMV - LOL how sad is that?

I have scheduled a botox shot in Scottsdale on my birthday. I have been stressing about what to do because I knew I wouldn't have insurance before I needed one again and if I go to a Dr here I am pretty certain he will want to do all kinds of diagnostic tests before he will give me a shot. I might be able to scrape up enough for a shot ($1200) but I would never be able to pay for the tests. Not sure why it took me so long to realize I could just go back to Scottsdale one more time. Hopefully by the time I need the next one I will have insurance. The move here hasn't helped my voice as much as I had hoped it would. I would really like to try out some speech therapy.

We have been here just over a month though at times it seems much longer. We are all slowly adjusting to each other and our new surroundings.

I have dug up a bunch of places to plant flowers and have planted some vegetables. Just this morning I noticed I had radishes coming up. I can't believe how many weeds and how much grass I have put into the green recycle bin. I am also about ready to hang my hammock in the back yard.

Some days I enjoy all this free time and other days I am really, really, really, ready to go back to work. I think I must be struggling a bit with depression. I don't know what else would cause me to feel so tired and worn out all the time. I try not to nap during the day - which is a huge change for me, I love naps - because I want to be able to sleep well at night without taking ambien. It also might make a difference if I didn't go to bed at 8:00 every night.

I had an interview with the background investigation unit last week. I think they have finally started on my background check in ernest. I worry about my voice more than I do the background check. Once I can get some insurance I am going to look into speech therapy. I can talk to Murphy and the birds, and most times Lisa, just fine but if it is anyone else my whole throat seems to freeze up and I have a hard time getting the words out.

We went to Jamie and Jareds baptism last Saturday. I guess this is one occasion where my obliviousness worked to my benefit. People weren't overly friendly to me but no one was overtly rude either. Lisa said she noticed some disapproving looks and I guess there was talk afterwards about how brazen Lisa was to bring *her* (me) to the baptism. I guess I didn't think I would ever hear myself being referred to in those terms but - it is what it is and if people choose to dislike me that is their right. If Jamie and Jared had asked me to stay away I would have but they didn't and it was their day so I went.

We have been to the Ward here a couple of times and to a Universalist Unitarian Church once. The UU church was different but I liked it, it was very peaceful and uplifting. We will probably go back there again this Sunday. People at both places have been very welcoming. The missionaries have been over a couple of times. This last time they almost insisted that we give them a date when we would come to church and stay for the whole 3 hour block. We finally got through to them that that just wasn't going to happen. If we wanted to do that it would be on our own timeline. They didn't make an appointment to come back again which is probably just as well.

I have been working in the yard most of the day. I am tired, sweaty, have already broken my new shovel and uncovered a rock that is too big to move alone so I decided to take a break and write a bit.

I am pretty amazed at how at peace and comfortable I am here. I really do like this area. The population is just over 14,000 and the elevation is 469 feet. A bit different climate than I am used to but I am loving the nice weather. When we went to Walmart yesterday I realized that it is probably time to start planting a garden so I have been working on the garden spot today. I enjoy yard work much more than I do housework.

We have been to the beach a couple of times. The weather has been just beautiful both times we went. Yesterday it was mid-70's, not a cloud in the sky and very few people. I really hated to leave. I am thinking I might be making a few trips to the beach on my motorcycle before I start work.

I talk to Bill at least once a week and email him a weekly update as to what I am doing. I know he doesn't hear well on the phone and it is much easier for both of us if I can write and he can read. He never responds to them but tells me he enjoys them. He always sounds good when we talk.

Not long after we got here we went to the wedding of a couple of Lisas lady friends. It included a dinner and we were set at the same table as a very nice couple, Vicki and Helen. Vicki is from Monroe, UT, not awfully far from Hatch. They seem like really nice people. We are going to meet them at the beach for dinner in a couple of weeks. Helen is a nurse so she might be able to help Lisa out some along the way. I'm hoping for a good friendship to develop.