My Brain Cells Go On A Trip

I knew this morning when I saw the small creek had flooded into the fields, the chances of Stella wanting even a late morning walk would probably not happen. Heidi let me know that she was not staying outside any longer than needed because it was April 20th and 42° with light rain.

Usually when Stella is in this stance she is not going anywhere and is only waiting for me to confirm her decision by walking past her to let her inside the house. It took less than a minute for her to let me know we were going nowhere this morning.

So after pouring my second cup of coffee trying to wake up from my late Friday night of watching the Reds pull out another win in San Diego ... my brain cells floated away down memory lane. Was it the weather outside trying to make me forget it was officially spring or was it something else. I typed realtor dot com into the address bar at the top of the screen and started looking at houses for sale.

That happens when the weather is bad but it normally happens during the middle of winter when it's freezing snow and 7° outside, not Seattle weather in April. Now before you get too excited there is only one area that I would look at with the hounds in tow. All of the other places are for when I get older and might be boundless ... or I am tired of doing yard work or freezing my ass off in the winter.

While looking at houses, condos and even apartments for rent in one specific location, I did this the rest of the morning missing lunch and into the early afternoon. That is how curious I was. A little after 2pm the hounds acted like they wanted outside and I too needed to relieve some of my 'cabin fever' so we were off.

I didn't know that Stella was planning on take an early afternoon walk but that was nice.

She wasn't waiting for me as she silently snuck away while I was checking on where Heidi was at and what she wanted to do. It was 47° but felt colder and a light sprinkle of rain. For the second afternoon in a row, Stella took a walk in a light rain. That is history right there.

Long time blog followers have been on this 'trip' before and heard the same commentary as I move from state to state, large towns to small and from north to south. Today I covered NM, AZ, CO, NV, WA and CA. I reminded myself the reason I was moving was to see the sunshine as many days possible in a years time, with temperatures as high as possible for as many days as it could.

Another words, I need weather in southern Arizona or southern California to do that.

After living in Carlsbad California for close to 10 years I know what the weather is like and that May is the month of fog while December tries to get all the annual rainfall in one month. That's fine, it's not single digits. I have to watch myself though when I look at familiar neighborhoods because where I use to live I cannot afford. Plus I am not a fan of California's political leadership. I went from the coastal towns, looked at La Mesa and as far east as Borrego Springs.

Depending on locations in that state determined whether I looked at houses, condos or possible apartments to rent. Of course this would be years down the road without any hounds. I will admit though, good memories living in that area do cloud my thinking when I try to justify I could live there again.

I also looked again in my old stomping grounds on Whidbey Island, WA. I then reminded myself the reason I was looking to move was for good or great year-round weather. Whidbey Island is beautiful with the Cascade mountains only an hour away by car, Seattle a few hours away with today's traffic and Ft Ebey SP just minutes away. I also enjoyed the 10 years I lived there.

I did glance at Colorado, the two towns I lived in the early 90's and a couple that sparked my interest a few years ago. Yet, if I want snow and cold winters, I can stay where I am.

When I think of small towns in southern Arizona there is always one thought and not what you might think. No it's not immigrants traveling through the area but what will the water availability be like 10 or 15 years from now? I'm serious. Out there in rural small town Arizona water is more valuable than gold and seems to be disappearing in some mysterious ways.

Still the thought of being warm during the winter made me feel better ... then I remembered seeing the snow somewhere in southern Arizona where RVsue lives. Maybe what I want is winter or year-round weather is no longer possible. No ... Florida is not an option.

If you had not noticed in the photos, Stella started our walk taking the return path and then cutting over to the regular outward path in this next photo.

It might sound strange considering where I live now and from the pictures you see on the blog but I can see myself living in one of those small townhouses in Borrego Springs, CA. I always have a good feeling when I look in that area and at that property. A few of the townhouses have been for sale over 550 days.

La Mesa CA interests me because I could use public transportation and get to San Diego Padre games only 12 miles away. I'd have great winter weather and a lot of activity would be within walking distance. Maybe an over 55 complex might be the way to go in that area.

I could go as far east as Escondido or Vista or San Marco in northern San Diego County. Of course when I rode my bicycle through all of that area in the late 1970's it was all orange groves and now it is wall to wall houses. I remember when I flew down to visit friends in that area in 1994 I didn't like all the changes and the huge population/traffic explosion ... so I moved to Indiana, where I am now.

Of course all of this brain cell tripping could be just a case of things "always look greener on the other side of the fence" or it could also mean in a few years I will be ready to pack up and get out of cold winters.

So what location would I be looking at when the hounds would be coming with me ?? New Mexico. I've looked at a couple of towns since 2010 off and on. I saw the other day NM is now one of the three states that are popular with retirees. Ara over at The Oasis Of My Soul has given me a lot of good information about the town he lives in.

Like anywhere in any state, all towns large or small have their own plus and minuses. Compromise is a needed feature anytime you move. I can say though that everywhere I have lived in my life I have really enjoyed my time there. I have never lived in NM but have traveled through it numerous times by car, VW Bus and bicycle.

It does get cold in that town and they do get snow in Alamogordo but rarely more than an inch or two and it is usually gone within 24 hours. If you want snow, the mountains are 20 minutes away. I have always enjoyed the time I have visited towns in the high desert.

Like I have said many times though, where I am now is perfect for the hounds. I cannot beat this 7 acre field anywhere that I look at property out west. I also enjoy a lot of the benefits living in this area. I'll not list everything but this small town had a higher livability rating than any of the towns I have looked at out west. Now if I can just remember what that website was called that gave every town or city a 'livability' rating, I could check out some more information.

Another telling sign is, when I get in moods like this and consider different moves, it usually takes me only one walk through the field to pull those run-away brain cells back into formation where I can think logically and find out this place is hard to beat. I like hot and humid weather, it's just being delayed this year.I will continue to look at property just like I did this morning.  :)

Yesterday was my first day in a very long time that I ate food without logging it into my phone app and then later manually inputting some data from that app into my spreadsheets. I had no problem getting through the change. I bought nothing different when I shopped for groceries yesterday.

It is the late night baseball games that is killing me this past week. Last night the game went 11 innings which put us past 1am. I also think looking at the city skyline during that game in San Diego and remembering just how many Padre games I use to attend, in a different stadium, may have brought on those thoughts about moving back to the San Diego area.

The thought of living in southern California again, maybe in a condo with no yard work, does spark my interest more than it should.

It will be interesting to see what Stella does in a few days at the end of her walk when the weather is sunny, no rain and back to the high 70's. Will she still walk as close to the house as she can or in the middle of the yard where it will be nice and warm.

Luckily the Reds game starts an hour or two earlier tonight but I still might need a short siesta this afternoon if I am going to make it through another 9 innings of baseball. Otherwise I'll make a new cup of coffee, log back into realtor dot com and let my brains cells take me on further travels.

Seattle winter weather today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

What A Surprise !!!

As I was watching college basketball Saturday night, I glanced out the window to see the largest snow flakes of the winter and possibly the hardest snow of this winter. It was really coming down after a day full of rain. This is normal for this time of year here in 'the tropics' but it was still a surprise. Enough so, that during the next tv commercial I grabbed my camera and headed outside to record the moment.

This same type of snow took place last year on April 16th.

As Stella and I did our Saturday morning walk in a warm 56° I knew by late afternoon the wind was supposed to increase and change from the SW to the NE/N. With that change the temperature would drop into the 40's and overnight lows in the 30's. What the forecast did not tell me, there was a chance for snow.

I just glanced at my weather app on my iPhone and it says the "feels like" is 26° at 10:29am this morning. No worries though because after today the temps get back to our spring averages with many days in the mid to high 60's. This is just a reminder I guess of the weather gods telling us that winter is officially over.

That didn't keep Stella and I from taking our walk this morning. With the standing water in the field across the highway I know our path was going to be very wet with standing water in some spots. What was weird, if Stella and I walked in the thick grass off the path, there was a crunching ice sound on top of a very saturated field.

Heidi was in her daily routine as usual, a nap after breakfast, so none of the light snow or freezing temps outside bothered her. Yet, I can almost assure you that she will NOT be taking any kind of afternoon walk with Stella and I today.

It's always nice to see all the different clouds after a day and night of storms. Weather is moving across 'the tropics' but we will see nothing but bright sunshine all day. That will not interrupt my schedule as a sports addict though. I have a Reds game starting at 1:10pm and the last two games of the weekend for the NCAA College Basketball tourney starts a little after 2pm. Thank god for the split screen feature DishNetwork gives me.

BTW, I am noticing the programs to stream tv are slowly increasing their prices. By the time I add the channels I would need to see all the sports channels I have now, there is only a ~$30 to $35 difference in my monthly price ... hardly enough to make a change, especially if I don't know if it would work well with the lag time of satellite internet service.

Stella was stubborn as ever by the first step she took outside the carport. She curled around the corner of the house to the left, walking as close as she could along the side of the house basically to keep her feet dry. She was heading north I was heading east ... this wasn't going to work. How did she know that the path we take every day was soaking wet and cold ???

After the second time she looked right at me, turning away and walking north ignoring my verbal herding ... I marched across the yard to manually direct her in my location. We were taking the normal path one way or another, wet or cold. Sometimes you have to decide to be a leader I guess.  :)

This is what she was wanting to avoid. When it is this wet just a few steps into the field that is a sure sign that water will be coming up over the sides of my boots with each step I take for the next half mile.

She was okay with the decision I made, or at least she acted as if she was. She had scents to track and like any other morning after a night of snow, she had more than enough scents to follow. They always seem to increase after this time of weather

As you can see there were some massive clouds today, moving slowly in a NE direction.

As I was feeling the effect of freezing cold air on my face I was happy when I remembered it was going to be April tomorrow. That has the sound of spring and I instantly starting picturing t-shirts and cargo shorts. I am more than ready for summer to show up ... the hotter the better, humidity does not bother me. Bring on the heat !!

You can tell by the way Stella was walking on the path that she didn't like getting her feet wet. The problem was wet feet are colder when stepping on the lightly snow covered field. I know that temperature difference may not be felt by a bloodhound that not only has a high pain threshold but the pads on her feet resemble those of a bear. She can walk through anything, fire or ice.

You may notice if you are reading the blog on a desktop computer or laptop, that I have been doing some blog "housecleaning" and some of the sidebar is no longer there. That list of links wasn't being used much, in fact readers on a phone or tablet do not even see the sidebar unless you click the three dashes in the upper left corner to open the menu. (WordPress design).

So I added a few of the newer links to my old blog's sidebar, here. One thing that is nice about Blogger's platform, they automatically move the blog link to the top of the list based on the most recent post. Plus it will show you when the last post was for each blog or website.

I also changed the Archives from a list to a dropdown menu, got rid of the list of recent comments for a more cleaner look on the sidebar. I also did a little rearranging on my old blog, which I still use to go back to look at old posts plus it is easier working with the blog list, knowing the latest post.

The eating plan continues to go well. I have noticed from my spreadsheet, where I log in daily calories, carbs, proteins and fats, then average them for the week ... that I have basically flipped the nutrient targets of carbs and fats. It shows I have really reduced my fat intake but I also remember that any carbs not burned at the end of the day turns into fat. So really, is that really a difference ??

The biggest issue I still find and always have ... the nightly urges for sweets or snacks. These cravings usually take place after 8pm. They are very strong cravings and once again last night I was this close < > of getting in the car and heading out to buy some sort of snacks or junk food.

I didn't want to disturb Stella and Heidi's sleep just to move them to the bedroom while I was gone, so once again the hounds kept me on my eating plan. Away from fast food and junk food.

I did find a new way to cook a skinless chicken breast and it's fantastic. What a difference there is between the chicken I eat now compared to baking it. The other day out of curiosity I did a search for "the best way to cook a chicken breast" and found this technique.

Heat your cast iron skillet on high ... once hot, apply oil and lower the stove to 'medium' heat. Cook each side for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to 'low' and cover the skillet for 10 minutes. After that period, turn off heat, leave the cover on and let stand for 10 more minutes. After that 10 minute period make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through (so far mine has been cooked all the way through).

If you have an electric stove like I do ... move the skillet to a burner that was turned off for that last 10 minutes. You will end up with the juiciest, moist chicken breast you may have ever had. I know after the past few days I will not cook my chicken breasts or thighs any other way.

Where there was only one of these yesterday, there was a new one added and both were filled with water due to the high underground water level after all the rain yesterday.

decided to move over to where I could follow Stella and to my surprise there was more spots of standing water along that path than anywhere else in the field. Water was also standing in the thick grass to the side of Stella.

Here she steps around one of those puddles you cannot see.

She didn't hesitate to make the turn for home when I said "come on, let's go" ... she must have been cold. It was freezing like a January day this morning.

Looking in the direction of the neighbors a few houses away from mine. I wonder if she smells food in the air, hears something is just looking for the field cat. I do know that during the walk this morning a woodpecker was very busy in the north woods which is on the other side of the field and was working non stop while we walked.

Why she decided to sit down and then look at me ... I have no idea. At first I thought she was getting ready to scratch herself but as I walked closer to her, she got up and trotted  away.

It is going to take a while before the north yard grass is tall enough to mow. Right now the yard just in front of the carport is the tallest as usual, followed by different spots in the backyard where the hounds have helped fertilize it during the winter. I'll start the spring by cutting the yard taller so the root base can be established and as usual I'll expect to mov every two to three days or in between spring rains.

Another morning walk in the books and hopefully this was our last walk in extremely cold temps until next winter.

It was another night of some great college basketball games. Things changed in a matter of seconds and between the two games there were just too many highlights to describe here. I did tune into the baseball game in San Diego during commercials of the basketball games. They did a fantastic job with their stadium design as you can see the city skyline in the outfield. It's right downtown. It reminded me of the years I lived in the San Diego area many years ago.

You could tell by the sky, sunset and what people were wearing to the game, just how nice the weather was. Why wouldn't it be nice, it's San Diego. I did think to myself that after the hounds are gone maybe I should sell the house and move back to Carlsbad CA and rent a place. Of course living there now compared to when I lived there in the 70's and 80's are two different worlds. Maybe I need to visit some friends out there first before making any moving decisions.  :)

I'll try to get some photos of Heidi this afternoon and post those later. Due to Saturdays weather she wasn't real active and the only photos you would have seen, were her different sleeping positions on the couch.

Let me know if you like or don't like the sidebar changes.

It's cold but at least it's sunny here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today.