Shaun and Bear are opening the pool.

Shaun and Bear are opening the pool. I guess it's about that time. Kira should be happy. She's been asking about it for weeks. 😂

A couple of the few people...

A couple of the few people who have been in our house since we moved have commented some version of "It's very... neutral" or "How long have you been here?"... I guess in response to my lack of decoration.

It's totally fine; that's not offensive to me. It's kind of funny. 😂

But I will agree that downstairs is pretty neutral because that's where everyone should feel welcome, and it's also where most of the animals are. So not too much that I really care about is down here.

Shaun is more of the decorator of the family. His game room is swords and knives and red and black things and LOTR. Our bedroom has my loft bed and more of a nature vibe, I think. It has some of my decorations in there. And the actual loft room does, too.

But all in all, I prefer less clutter, fewer things to dust and clean, and less grabbing my attention. I find it easier to relax in a space like that.

It's funny because today we moved some stuff around. We took the shelves from the sunroom and brought them in to the "dining room" that I use as my downstairs office space. It's not done, but there are a few plants on the shelves and some driftwood and some rocks. We have a few small totes of rocks and I put the totes in the bottom shelf. I called it decoration. Shaun disagrees. 😂

But there is no good way to display that many rocks. I don't know why, as a family, we have so many rocks, but we do. Me and Shaun both collected rocks when we were kids, and still do. Shadow did/does it, too. Kira might be the only one of us who didn't move a box of rocks into this house. 😂  Actually, she did.  She brought rocks that she had painted.

I'll post a photo of the area once it's done. Right now I am getting beachy vibes, probably from the pale colors and driftwood and sunny area. I would like to try my hand at houseplants, but I hit a few spring sales for succulents already and I'm not trying to spend a bunch of money on plants I might accidentally kill. There is plenty of time to load up my indoor shelves.

Anyway. Goodnight, friends. Monday is almost here!

Some of the plants we planted in the yard...

Some of the plants we planted in the yard last year didn't make it through the winter. I looked back at my Facebook posts and we planted those in AUGUST. What were we thinking!?

The three Teddy Bear Cholla died, but I have over 30 pups that we picked up out of the yard/off Bear. As much as I love the way they look, I don't think we'll replant those because Bear still runs right through them. The spines are around 2 inches long and they're hard to pull out; they really stick in there. I have no idea what I'm gonna do with all these babies, but that's a problem for another day. 😂

We had also planted an agave and it just rotted. We have a neighbor less than a mile away with 3 growing in their yard, so we're going to try that one again. We'll plant it earlier; the plan is to do that in a few more weeks when we're sure it won't freeze again.

We'd also planted some spineless Prickly Pear. They looked great! However, someone ate them over the winter. One is literally eaten to the ground, and the other is close. I'm not mad about that. Critters need to eat, too. I might replant some of that behind our fence. I don't mind animals coming in, but it's safer for them not to. 

I have no idea what were going to put on the inside of our back wall since we're not doing the Teddy Bear Cholla or the spineless Prickly Pear. That's very much a "first world" problem to have, though, so it's ok.

This was our weather yesterday.

This was our weather yesterday. It sucks when everything's dusty, and the winds straight up HOWL, but I'd choose it over a tornado any day.

Poor Shaun masked up and went out in it to close the top windows on my greenhouse to prevent damage. He's paying for that with his sinuses now. 😕

Bear was UPSET all day because he wanted to be outside, but he hated it every time he went out. 😂

Thankfully, today was much nicer.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1384846379546044

I feel like we've been initiated. 😂

I feel like we've been initiated. 😂

It seems like a rite of passage to have to remove shopping bags from your prickly plants here. 🍃

We heard it and I rushed out, but...

We heard it and I rushed out, but it happened so fast that I missed a great view of this balloon descending across the way.

I love it here so much! ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18SAuH6RM8/

It's beautiful out.

It's beautiful out. Look what I missed while bed-rotting today.

Shaun took the boys out for errands today.

Shaun took the boys out for errands today. A certain someone is WORN. OUT. 😂

Also, look at these precious cookies he got them!

When we gave them the cookies, Bear did the goofiest thing (imagine that). 😂 He took his from me, laid it down to smell it, then decided to take it to the grass for a picnic. But when he picked it up, he was like <| instead of <- with his mouth. He was carrying it on the edges with his mouth propped wide open. 😂 I would've gotten a picture, but we were wrangling Cub so he wouldn't steal from Bear. Gosh, he's such a goober. 😂😂😂

I went out after work today.

I went out after work today. I usually avoid leaving my house in the dark and/or cold, but I've been meaning to get to a NM Cactus and Succulent Society meeting for almost a year now.

They had a presentation on Christmas Cactus care. I really wanted to see that because the last one I had didn't live very long. A friend recently gave me a piece of hers and I really want to take great care of it.

I had a lot of fun and met a few people. The guy I was next to had been in for a while and told me about some of the members. It seems like a really neat group of people. I am looking forward to spending more time with them.

One thing that I think is super neat is that they do plant rescue missions. I know that might sound crazy, but it makes sense. When land development is going to happen, they try to get in touch with whoever is in charge to get permission to dig up the plants in the area. I love that because the plants matter, too. I really love how New Mexicans care about the plants and animals and environment.

They went on a rescue recently that I would have loved to be part of, but it happened on a week day and I didn't have enough time to take off work. Maybe I can help on the next one.

Here's a photo from today. A few people were giving plants away, so I helped lighten their load.

I haven't had a Propeller Plant since the baby I grew from a leaf died when we lived in Talladega. I was so sad about losing him. I was super stoked to see someone giving away this neat, gangly guy. I hope he'll be happy living with me. ❤️

This whole post just sparked a thought:

If money was no object and I didn't have to work, I'd spend my time going on plant and animal rescue missions. I love to drive, I love to help, and I love being part of my community like that. I love seeing new places and going on adventures. But I'll just do it around work when I can.

What sparks joy in your soul? What makes you feel happy and connected? What would you spend your time doing if you could?

I don't know if this is a city thing or what, but...

I don't know if this is a city thing or what, but we're snacking today on some stuff we've never seen before. These things came from DoorDash Market.

Shaun has always liked freeze-dried ice cream. He's the one who introduced me to it. He loves cheesecake, so I got him the freeze-dried cheesecake. He likes it, too. Not pictured is a coffee ice cream with espresso bits in it. He's already devoured that. 😂

I'm about to try my can of red velvet cake. That's such a weird thing to say. 😂😂😂

We've never tried Fat and Weird cookies, either, but we will be eating these soon. They're like stuffed cookies or something. One is a Biscoff cookie / Krispy Kreme doughnut mash-up and I got it for Kira because she likes both of those things. I hope they're as good as the description makes them sound.

The fudge is ok. The taste is nice, but I don't love the texture.

I made it home safe and sound about 2 hours ago.

I made it home safe and sound about 2 hours ago. It's nice to be back.

Bear was already in bed so I haven't been able to kiss that lip yet (he doesn't do well when his routine is disturbed), so I'll get my kisses from him tomorrow.

Cubba was so happy to see me that he ran outside and got in the car. 😂❤️

I'm heading up to be bossed around by my cat. He's probably gonna be awful since he'll be excited to see me. 😂😂😂 Hopefully, I'll be able to get some good sleep despite him.

I'll post more about the trip this week. Gotta rest up and get ready for work first, though.

❤️❤️❤️

We got about 6 inches of snow last night.

We got about 6 inches of snow last night. Temps are still low. We're snowed in for a day or two. We still have electricity (our lines are buried, so it rarely goes out) and internet. We have food. We're good. Just gonna stay in and cozy with the pets.

Bear is loving the weather. I work from home, so I'm good. Shaun likes cold and snow, so he's happy.

The worst thing is that we've had to reschedule Bear's vet appointment that was for today. Thankfully, it's not an emergency. He hasn't had another seizure yet, but we'll still get him in ASAP.

Greenhouse (more or less) complete.

Greenhouse (more or less) complete. We still want to run water and electricity out there (not just with an extension cord), but we're good for now. Floor is down, plants are cozy, and I'm happy.

I have 2 more shelves that will fit nicely in there. I may not put them in and instead give myself a work/sitting station in that mostly empty corner. I love to just chill with my plants, prune off dried leaves, and check for bugs. As you can see, my shelves aren't full, so I still have room for me in there if I want. 😂

We moved 48 pavers yesterday and 60 today.

We moved 48 pavers yesterday and 60 today.

I was fine yesterday, but today I must have gotten some dust up my nose. I'm sneezy. I'm about to take an allergy pill and crash out.

We have about half of the floor down in the greenhouse.

We have about half of the floor down in the greenhouse. We are using square stone pavers for the stability of my shelves. The auto-opening windows are in and working, and I have a heater/fan out there.

We're expecting our first freeze tomorrow, so it's in working order just in time! We'll finish the floor sometime this week or this weekend. It's not urgent, just a nice thing to have completed.

I'm so excited to post some pictures once it's done!

I checked the temperature of the greenhouse...

I checked the temperature of the greenhouse on my phone and it said 101°F. It's 60°F outside right now.

Shaun said there's no way it's that warm in there today.

He took a thermometer out there and guess what. It was.

We opened the end windows. I guess we need to put the auto-opening ones on pretty soon. Just in case. 😂

We made it to Lowe's, but came home empty-handed.

We made it to Lowe's, but came home empty-handed. They only had decorative gravel.

It's whatever. It's raining and I feel like garbage, anyway. I've been fighting off a migraine since I woke up. It's all I can do to stay awake.

Thank goodness the cold snap won't last long. And the plants are safe and dry, even if the greenhouse isn't perfect yet.

Shaun and I worked super hard today.

Shaun and I worked super hard today. The greenhouse is strapped down and tied down and the bottom is attached to the ground. Everything is tightened. We didn't get to the floor, but hopefully tomorrow. I have shelves coming on Monday so I would really like for it to be ready to move into by then.

The only thing that's not complete besides the floor is the two windows (the OTHER two windows), but we don't need them right now so that can wait. We have two windows that will auto-open if it gets too hot. We'll have to cut the space for them out of the sides and it might not be hard to do, but we're TIRED. Other than that, we'll probably run water to it, but that's also not urgent.

Here is a picture of it completed. Also, some of my plants are blushing beautifully, so I got a few photos. They are not edited at all besides cropping. Oh, and I found a little lizard sleeping in one of my empty pots. He was definitely sleeping and not dead because he'd moved later. ❤️ I also got a few more blooms from two of my cacti. I just love them all so much! ❤️❤️❤️ I hope they like their new home!

I love his hair! 😂😁

I really don't know what's growing under this cactus. I'm gonna wait and see what it is. It doesn't look like the same thing as the cactus, but I could be wrong.

The colors!

Sleeping friend. ❤️

Blooms! ❤️

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

When we were eating dinner, the wind kicked up pretty hard (not unusual for here), but it also started raining hard.

I ran outside and started moving my plants into the greenhouse because I really hate for them to be watered from the top. If water remains on them, it can cause rot and the leaves can also get burn spots if the water is still there when the sun comes back out.

The roof and walls of the greenhouse are up, but the floor isn't done, my shelves aren't in, and in general, moving plants quickly in the dark and the rain is not ideal. Not to mention that I really, really wanted to clean the dust, bird poop, and any possible pests off of them before putting them in there, but at this point I'm just glad I had somewhere dry to put them.

Shaun came out to help me and about the same time we were done moving them, the rain had passed. Of course. 😒 What I didn't know was that there was more on the way. By the time I went to bed, it was raining again. It rained for a long time. I fell asleep listening to it.

I woke up this morning to two funny messages from Shadow. One:  We have a little roof leak in the stairwell. He put a cup underneath to catch it. (This one's only funny because it won't rot my house like it would've in Alabama. It'll dry fast here. We'll get it checked out/repaired and it'll be fine.)

The second message, well, see the image. 😂

This is funny because we ordered a microwave from Best Buy several weeks ago, but it never came, so Shaun called customer service and they sent out another one. We got the second one according to the tracking numbers. But just the other day, the one we ordered first showed up after being lost in the mail for weeks. We assumed it had been stolen. But anyway, it's been sitting in the living room, new in the box, because we didn't know what to do with it. I guess that sorted itself out. 😂

I haven't been awake for long. It's cool and cloudy, so very tempting to stay in bed with my weighted blanket and the cats. But I guess I need to get up, see if we can finish the greenhouse, and check on my plants.

Happy Saturday, y'all. ❤️

Look at these dogs:

Look at these dogs:

Construction Bear and Supervisor Cub have been working hard today.

Cub is really good at observing from a distance when we're busy... but Bear is up in EVERYTHING we do. 😂

We got the top and sides put on the greenhouse today.

There are paw prints and scratch marks on a few of my brand new walls. (It's fine - it has character now.) When Shaun was up a ladder stretching to screw in some screws, Bear stood up against the wall, too. When Shaun climbed the ladder, Bear walked through the bottom rungs. When I was grabbing the nuts to the bolts that Shaun was screwing in, there was a purposefully placed paw in the parts box. When Shaun went to look out of the window, Bear followed like "What are we lookin' at?"  😂😂😂

I've had dogs who are interested in what we're doing, but never one as interested as Bear and certainly never one who seemed to try to imitate our moves like he does. He's so interesting. We love him to pieces. I am so, so thankful that Shaun has so much patience for this pup (and all of the animals, really).

I could've had a ton of cute photos of Bear today, but I was helping on breaks from work and I know that Shaun is sore and tired of working on this greenhouse. We just buckled down to get as much done as we could.

We need to do the straps over the top and attach it to the ground. We also need to finish the floor and get some shelves set up. Then it'll be ready for my plants! 😁