Home sick

I'm not an Okie. I live in Oklahoma. Moved here in 2005. But, I am not an Okie. I lived in Kansas for 8 years before that, but I am not a Kansan either. Colorado five years, previous. You get the picture. No, I am a California girl. I was born there and I hope to die there. Though getting back may be a trick.  I have been away from Cali now just as long as I was there. Hard for me to believe.
I think I have spent much of that time trying to find a way to get back home.  Funny how those old adages that we laughed at as kids seem to come back to haunt you as an adult. Like "There's no place like home" or "You don't know what you have til it's gone" or "Someday your face will freeze like that!" OK, I don't know what that last one has to do with anything, I just like saying it.

I am fixin' to (that's Okie for preparing) take a trip home. It's not exactly a pleasure trip as the primary objective is to help Mum care for Pops while he recovers from surgery. But, it's a trip home just the same. The husband is staying home to take care of the pets and, oh yeah, he has a job he has to go to. I was hoping to have a doggie daycare in place, but that fell through.  I am hoping that perhaps my local friends can take turns walking her a couple of times a day. My biggest concern however, is having to sequester her in a separate room. She is not used to being alone all day and she may get depressed. Hopefully a couple of visits a day will help with her anxiety. I wish I could take her with me. Sounds good on paper, but it would turn out to be a pain in the ass.

But anyway, I am looking forward to the California air. The smell of the ocean, the cool Cali breezes and the perpetual green. Oklahoma is in such a horrific drought that all things plant like are dead and ugly brown/yellow color of sadness. There are certain sounds I miss as well. The sound of Santa Clara Churches bells going off several times a day, and even more on Sunday. The sound of the trains hooking up their cars in the wee hours. The sounds of my Mother padding around the house early in the morning, making coffee and whisper yelling at the dogs. Even the sound of my Dad snoring the night away.  There is so much I miss, I haven't the space, the time nor the interest to list them all here.

  How does the song go?

California here I come, right back where I started from....blah blah blah those something gates, California here I come!!

4th time's a charm?

OK, I know what you are thinking.  I have tried this blogging thing before, and failed to keep up with it. I suppose in my defense (not like I really NEED one) I was a working stiff at the time of those last 2 or 3 attempts. Not much time to sit and think of much to say when ones mind is muddled with the mundane task of putting food on the table. Now, the weeks and months to come will prove or disprove that excuse, as I am at home nearly 24/7.
I have 7 cats and a small dog to keep me company. Though at times they drive me totally insane. I am a constant referee and cannot even go to the bathroom alone anymore. Most of the time, this does not bother me. After all I CHOSE to have them in my life, but that, however, does not comfort me when I have cleaned up another spill, another broken plate or vase or mopped up yet one more pool of cat barf. And of course the worst of the worst, misstepping and treading on an animal.

Anyway, I am going to keep this short. The next post will be a more thorough introduction.