jam-tart

It has been almost an entire year since I posted any sort of update here. We are still in our quiet home on 3 lots, dogs running wild in the cool morning air. 2022 has been extremely good to us and we are planning many big things. My aunt's wedding will be at the tail end of August. She is finally (after 13 long years) marrying her partner. Everyone is excited, thrilled, and overjoyed. I have been very busy helping to plan and keep things organized as they go. Wedding rings, cakes, nail appointments, ordering dresses and flowers... it's not the norm. But, we have our book and stickers and pens to make sure it all goes without a hitch! More parties, more time with family, more time with each other. That is what I am looking forward to with my extra hours this spring and summer.

June 20th, the first day of summer, is fast approaching and I am finding myself reflecting on the last year of my life. This time last year, I was finding myself making plans to move 1,500 miles away from Arizona back home to South Texas. I was sad about it. Still am. I loved the town we lived in, the friends I made, the feel of the land. Alas, the town was already becoming more and more expensive. What started out as a $625/month broken down apartment was becoming $900 at the start of the new lease that was looming in August. Gas was never less than $2.50/gallon. Work was cutting hours due to the projected tourist traffic being extremely low thanks to a global pandemic. It was just not a great time. We made the choice to move back to Texas and, let me tell you, it has not been easy. The job and housing that I lined up fell through within a matter of days. We bounced around a bit until we ended up in the place we are now. I think all parties are mostly happy. Jay has his garden, is

This month was full of both anticipation and coming to terms with the fact that we are getting older, two things that neither of us have coped well with. We took a month to ready ourselves for visiting Arizona once again, in hopes of both spending time with family and perhaps finding a way in order to (potentially) move back. I don't believe either of us had high hopes for the latter on the list, but we needed to try. Unfortunately, the best laid plans somehow usually end up falling apart before you begin to reach them. Our trip up was marred with lack of hotel rooms across New Mexico and Northern Arizona, leading me to spend 20 hours behind the wheel, only stopping for gas and Kona Blend Java Monsters to help me stay awake. Heavy eyes was not the only thing I had to contend with. It seems, just passed Roswell, NM, nature decided to bless us with snow flurries that continued as we, going about 45 miles per hour, made it over the Arizona border. We finally made it to Flagstaff