Moving Sucks

Hey, lookey, it's my one year anniversary since I've blogged. I really should have been blogging this whole time because this year has been crazy. Randy took a job in Norman, OK, 130 miles south of here, last September. He got a temporary apartment while I got the house ready to sell. Turns out we had a lot of stuff and we spent a few months getting rid of quite a bit of it. By then it was getting close to the holidays, and we didn't want to put the house on the market until after the holidays. Finally got it on the market mid-February.

All this time, Randy is working in Norman during the week and I'm in Enid. For awhile I was still doing my court abstracting also. So he would come home on weekends and I would go back down with him on Sunday afternoon, with a load of stuff, and spend a night or two.

Didn't have many lookers at the house, due to the housing market. We made offers on a couple of homes in Norman that didn't work out. Finally found a new home and made an offer on it. Three days before closing, Randy's boss told him that the company was not in good financial shape and they may be having to lay off people. He said this would not be a good time to have two house payments. So we backed out of that and bided our time. Meanwhile, Randy had been looking for jobs elsewhere. Long story short, we decided to stop looking for jobs anywhere USA and decide where we want to live, go there and then get jobs. We chose the Minneapolis area, mainly because that is where our son and daughter-in-law are, and that's also where Jess wants to go.

SO! Moved everything back from the apartment and storage unit in Norman. Jess had moved back here after she graduated college. Now we are in the process of packing and moving the last of it up to Minnesota. Storage units until we find a house. Staying with Randy's parents. Jess will stay with us until she gets a big girl job.

Moving is one of my least favorite things. We moved ourselves to Enid from Pond Creek, 25 miles. Up until then, we'd always had a company who paid to move us. This is brutal. We have so far a broken thumb (mine) and a hernia (his). But we are excited and optimistic. And now I will post some pictures and then go take a shower because, OMG, I can't believe how awful I smell after packing in this heat.

Jess got to drive behind this for twelve hours. Yeah, that was fun.

My daughter, my nephew, my grandog and the chaos that our house has become.

We are actually having quite a time with this. That's my hubby smiling and it's way too early to be drinking. BTW, we celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary yesterday. We are embarking on a new chapter of our lives. It's exciting.

And now I'm going to find some soap.

Still Driving Around

Sooo . . . Jess and I went to the Castleberry family reunion (my maiden name). This is an annual event, on this weekend because my grandfather was born on the fourth of July. Our family went in 1990 and 1999, which means none of us had been there in eleven years. Jess and I stopped at a couple of interesting places on the way out to Illinois.

Outside of a hot dog place. I don't know why.



One of the reasons I love Route 66. World's Largest Rocking Chair.



That's Jess with my great Aunt Grace. I'm not sure how old Aunt Grace is, but I'm guessing at least ninety. And let me tell you, I had trouble keeping up with her when I was following her out to her farm. Maniac.



We left Illinois with Grandma Castleberry and went to Branson. Grandma and I caught the Patsy Cline show, very nice, while Jess caught the Outlet Mall. We also went to The Butterfly Palace and The Chinese Acrobats.



All in all a great trip, now we are getting ready to go to Minnesota. Randy is going to the Boundary Waters and I am getting some more quality time with my daughter-in-law. More pics soon, she has a baby horse!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .

I posted a blog. Since then, I have been busy, busy, busy and have not posted another until now. This is what I've been up to. We left the Grand Canyon early (got up to see the sunrise)and were going to Amarillo that night. The only thing was, there was a nasty ass blizzard coming in that was supposed to muck up the Texas panhandle and most of Oklahoma. So we decided to drive all the way home and try to get there before the storm hit. Got in around midnight, got up around noon and sure enough,there was the crap we drove out of. Not a fun night of driving, but better than being stuck in Amarillo in a blizzard.

Went back to work, but then we went to Minnesota for a week. Hubby helped his Dad with some projects (MIL was visiting relatives). Curtis went to see his space camp alumni in Kansas for an Apollo 13 anniversary deal. So my DIL and I got to painting their new house. We did four rooms in three days and got to spend some quality time together. Then she took a day off work and we went shopping! Came home and one of my baby girls got married.






Then I went on a whirlwind three day/seven court working trip. Yup I hit seven courts in three days, including one in Boise City, which is AAALLL the way up into the panhandle of Oklahoma. Put almost a thousand miles on the van. But saw some pretty interesting stuff.



One of my courts is in Beaver, Oklahoma, in Beaver County. They're quite proud of the Beaver, among other things. The people are super nice, I have to say.

While we were staying in Elk City, right on Route 66, we saw this in our hotel parking lot.



Later that day we saw them all parked in a Route 66 museum parking lot in Clinton. I'm guessing they are taking my Route 66 dream vacation.

Then we helped Jess move, played some golf, did some landscaping in the front yard and worked some more. And one day, on the way to Woodward, we saw some awesome clouds.





Next week Jess and I are driving to southern Illinois for a Castleberry family reunion. After that, she and I and my stepmom are driving to Branson for a few days, after which Grandma will come here for a couple of nights. We'll take her back to OKC for a flight home on Friday, which will be our 27th wedding anniversary. And that, in a nutshell, is what's happening since my long ago last blog post. Thanks for still reading!

Random

Jess and I left Enid last Saturday, driving west. We gained an hour when we crossed into New Mexico. Of course, that was the day we kicked into DST, so we were supposed to spring ahead that night. We were so cocky about the fact that DST was not, for once, going to affect us, because we just got back our hour by being in a different time zone. Yeah, that was all well and good. Except that yesterday, we continued driving west into Arizona, where they don't fart around with the whole DST thing, so we gained another hour. Very cool. Until we drive home this weekend and LOSE TWO HOURS. We're screwed.

Anyway, this was yesterday. I had heard about this place, La Posada, on NPR, long story, but it was a fancy hotel during the depression where a lot of celebrities stayed because it was right on the railroad tracks. It was a Harvey hotel. At some point it was gutted and used for the railroad offices. Then someone bought it cheap and restored it close to its original self. We ate lunch in The Turquoise Room and it was fabulous. We are having such good food on this trip, I don't know what I'm going to do when I get home. Hamburger Helper ain't going to cut it.



La Posada is in Winslow, Arizona, and you know what you have to do if you are in Winslow, Arizona. That's right. You stand on the corner.



It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford.



On the way up to the Grand Canyon we passed Fred's diner (as in Flintstone) and had to take some pics. Such kitsch.



Then we did sunset at the GC.



All in all a wonderful day. When Sleeping Beauty wakes up (the altitude is kicking her butt) we are headed back to the GC for sight seeing and hiking. Then home tomorrow where we will surely feel the full effects of DST and time travel!

Santa Fe and OMG

Jess and I headed up to Santa Fe this morning and had a wonderful day. We saw some beautiful things, bought some beautiful things and enjoyed a beautiful spring day in northern New Mexico. We also had a fantastic lunch at La Fonda.

This is the miraculous staircase at the Loretto Chapel.



This is (purportedly, I don't know how to prove it) the oldest church in the country. That is a classic New Mexico sky color.



But by far, the most beautiful thing we saw today was my three day old grand-niece, Mallory.





Men can make chapels and staircases, but only God can make something as wonderful as this precious infant. It was a joy to hold her!

Road Trip, Days 2 and 3

Yesterday we picked up my BFF Mary, who was my matron of honor a bunch of years ago, and went to El Paso. El Paso is where I met Mary and hubby, we bought our first house and both of our children were born. Lots of wonderful memories there.

Here is Jess celebrating the fact that she's home - she's a native Texan, after all!



Where hubby and I had our first 'date.' We just hung out, had a couple of beers, played some pool and Frogger and Tron.



Today we left Las Cruces and headed to White Sands. The Organ Mountains were really striking with snow and clouds.



Then on to White Sands. It wasn't the best day for White Sands, what with the wind and chilly temps, but still fun.



Back on the road to Albuquerque, we stopped to see some petroglyphs and took some pictures of different mountains with clouds and snow.





Tomorrow we are off to Santa Fe where there are lots of fun things to see, lots more pictures!

Road Trip!

Spring break, so Jess and I are headed west. Spring break this year is Grand Canyon. Here are some pics from our first (long) day on the road. Hubby and I drive by this place on some of our travels for my job. This has to be the most evil chili I have ever seen.



Here is a giant windmill farm. I love these things. They kind of look like they are dancing.



Then we stopped in Amarillo for lunch. This is the place where you can get a 72 ounce steak, small salad, baked potato, shrimp cocktail, and roll free if you can eat it in an hour. While we were there they had three guys from Cushing, Oklahoma, attempting this feat. I think they came close, but no cigar. This actually draws quite a crowd around the glutton wannabes. I don't know if people think they are going to actually witness someone accomplishing it, but I would be afraid I would see projectile . . . well, you get the picture.



And then in Tucumcari (which creeped hubby and me out a couple of years ago) I got to see the Route 66 sculpture.



Now we are chilling in Las Cruces and going to pick up my friend, Mary, in the morning. Then we're going to El Paso to show Jess where she was born, her first house, and all that cool stuff. After that, on to Albuquerque where we will get to see my nephew's new baby (who hasn't arrived yet, but is, after 30 something hours making her mother wish she would). Then on down Route 66 to Winslow, Arizona, where we will be taking pictures on the corner.