I’m writing this post from a desk in my parent’s two-car garage. The couch I left behind is also out here, along with an air mattress and a few other pieces of furniture that make it more livable. There’s an A/C unit in the window and a mini fridge in the corner.
For now, I’m a grown-ass woman depending on family and friends for shelter. My sister and her boyfriend live in the lower half of the family duplex with their cats, lizards, and dog—so we’re out here. When things get too cramped, we’ll take trips up to the Pawling house to regain some personal space.
I expected this to feel like hitting “rock bottom”, but it hasn’t been so bad. Not yet, anyway. It’s a little embarrassing to take video calls for work in a garage-turned-studio apartment. The upside to being in my 30s is not caring what other people think anymore. Buying a house, sight-unseen from California, wasn’t an option. For now, this is home. Again.
I spent last week with my parents driving back east and then spent the weekend catching up with friends. I’ve seen more loved ones in a week than I have in the past seven months. This is probably why I don’t feel too sad (yet).
The dogs handled their second cross-country road trip well. In January, the entire country was in an unusually cold spell. Last week, by contrast, the entire country was in a heat wave (it was 120°F in Arizona). The dogs definitely preferred the cold.
We swung by the Grand Canyon and camped at Monument Valley for the first night, and stayed in hotels the remaining three nights. At this point, the dogs are pros as sneaking into Motel 6’s and Super 8’s (both are dog friendly but have a 2 dog limit). The 3,000 mile journey flew by after a few dozen podcasts. I recommend Guys We Fucked, Stuff You Should Know, and Reply All.
So now we’re in the next phase of this strange adventure. In between house hunting, fence research, and new dog truck plans, I’m preparing for the 2018-2019 season. I’m leaning heavy into mushing now that I’m flying solo and planning to move to Tug Hill. I’m going to beef up our Patreon content and rewards, and hopefully, have a lot more dog-related stuff to share here, too.
I’ll leave you all on a cliffhanger—a big box is on its way to us from Oregon. Check back in a week or so to find out what it is!
