Welcome to my New Blog

It took me this long to choose a new name. The others I wanted were taken, so I made variants of them, which didn't inspire me. Then last night I thought of "Wisconsin Sunrise"...surely it must be taken! But it wasn't, so it is now. It makes sense, our apartment faces east. We may or may not stay in this town but we will stay in Wisconsin. It was my dream to live in this state, even before moving to California. My hubby loves it too, and his health is improving. So in a way, it is our sunrise, because a sunrise is the beginning of a glorious new day.

We moved to Hartford Wisconsin on March 4th. The movers arrived with our furniture on the 14th. We had been sitting on the floor and sleeping on a pile of thick European blankets all that time.

The move went well, considering I was sick and we were on the road 5 days. I took many pictures, too many to go through right now. My shoulder, which I hurt a few months ago, flared up with the odd positions I put it in trying to maneuver the mouse while sitting on the floor. I am resting it as much as I can. It's slowly getting better.

I have been thinking a lot. Here are some of my thoughts.

I didn't realize how much the sound of the ocean stressed me out until we left. The sea is particularly violent on the north coast of California. It is an angry, pounding sea.

I didn't realize that having virtually no doctors stressed me out as much as it did. 111 miles is too far. I thought I was lucky to live there, but really, I was just lucky.

I never realized how much I missed the shadows of deciduous trees on the ground until I saw them again. I am eagerly awaiting spring, dreaming of summer, and anticipating a gloriously colored fall. Winter....well, you know I don't like the cold, but this apartment is warm and the heat is free!

I didn't know I would not get used to the mountain roads with their sharp turns and precipitous edges. I didn't know that a rainy season could cause so many landslides, I didn't know how much Last Chance Grade on Highway 101 wants to fall into the ocean. I didn't know how often the roads break apart there.

I didn't know we had mold inside the apartment until we moved here and I was finally able to smell it. We kept our apartment at Seawood dry, heated almost every day with the dusty, sooty (yes it was) pellet stove. I kept an eye on the humidity and always kept it below 50%. Mostly its things made of leather, cloth and plastic bags. Cloth can be washed, leather is tricky (only a couple wallets) and bags can be thrown away. Thankfully it was very little that was affected.

I did realize I never felt at home at Seawood. As nice and spacious as our apartment was, the crummy walls never felt like home. Every wall, ALL of them, had that old, blotchy, raised texture and it was painted a glossy pale yellow, all 9 feet high, plus the ceilings. The walls, plus the dark living room was disheartening. We could have moved, but the mold broke our plans.

I did realize we missed shopping at Aldi and we really missed having ethnic food available (we found it in Milwaukee).

I have umpteen photos of our walks through Tolowa Dunes, Lake Earl, along the ocean and through the Redwoods. Great memories. You must visit, in the dry season. I have my rock collection. Yes, I will remember the walks along the beach, the Smith River, the glorious blue skies and the fun times with my daughter. Yes, we both miss Tuki bunny. He stayed behind with my daughter.

I miss my younger daughter, of course. The largest superstore Walmart in all of Wisconsin is here but I don't know anyone. I am just a shopper here, no longer an ex-employee. But that's ok.