So much has happened since the last time I posted, dear reader. In November Bob and I adopted Bisbee (named after one of our favorite small towns in Arizona.) A DNA test showed that he is 55% Chihuahua, 20% poodle, and the rest is Pekingese, Pomeranian, Cocker Spaniel, and American Eskimo. We just call him a long-haired Chihuahua mix. At just 4 pounds, he is a little bundle of love!
Bisbee is about 2 1/2 years old and was rescued from a hoarder house in Yuma, AZ, with over 100 dogs. He’s a cuddler and now gets all the attention that I’m sure he missed in his first couple of years.
Not long after adopting Bisbee, I came down with a sinus infection, that progressed into an ear infection in both ears. My doctor (and all the other area doctors) suddenly became unavailable around Christmas time and it took weeks to get in to see an ear/nose/throat specialist. I lost all hearing for over six weeks, which was incredibly isolating. I was unable to talk with people since I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I couldn’t talk on the phone. I couldn’t her the TV. I didn’t feel as though I could drive, since I couldn’t hear honking or sirens. Or hear cars approaching when walking across a parking lot. Bob had to shout to be heard, which he hated to do.
Eventually I was able to see an ENT and he put tubes in both ears, which made a huge difference. I also got bilateral hearing aids. Hearing in crowds is still a little hard but things are so much better than they were.
While we were going through this, we got a phone call from daughter Catherine who was tasked with checking regularly on our house in NJ. We had a foot of water in the basement. Uh oh. Bob called around and got Roto-Rooter out there the next day. They pumped it all out (twice,) dried out the basement with multiple fans, then had a new sump pump installed. After paying a hefty bill, which was well worth what they did, we were all set. But we realized that living so far from our home was really not for us. So Bob and I decided it was time to sell our AZ home and move back to NJ for good.
The first person we told about selling our place told his sister who lived across from us. By evening we had people touring our home and the next day the deal was made and a closing date was set. Our good friend and neighbor was looking for a house with a new AC system and low maintenance, and since we had replaced everything in our house including a new roof, windows, appliances, water pipes, downstairs flooring, bathroom shower, etc, it was just right for her. And we were thrilled our home was going to someone we cared about!
Bob and I rented a 16 foot Pod and moved all our stuff into it, including my two floor looms. It was a big job!
But it all fit, and off it went to NJ. We were delighted to have one last visitor—our nephew Danny who was taking a much needed vacation out west. It was great seeing him!
We had made the decision to drive our Honda CRV rather than sell it and fly back (mostly because of Bisbee, to be honest) and we made the trip in five days. Staying in dog-friendly motels limited our choices of places to stay but Bisbee traveled like a champ and we got through the ordeal without picking up bedbugs (my #1 fear.)
It’s good to be home! I’ll write more in another post on what we’ve been up to since we arrived.
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