June 2, 
2013

Dear Mama,

Hi! How are you doing? I am doing a whole lot better than last 
week. Jay and I went to Tucumcari on Monday, the 27th (Memorial Day), 
and finished up getting the house ready to put on the market. It is done 
except for one minor detail. The kids put a combination lock on the 
bomb shelter and can't remember the combination, so we need to get 
someone with bolt cutters to go over there and cut the silly thing off. 
Other than that, all is done.

I started unpacking boxes on Tuesday and pretty much finally got my 
kitchen pulled together. Wednesday I worked on my bedroom and my 
bathroom. Thursday I had to do laundry and ended up unpacking the 
laundry room and working on food storage. I actually went and bought 
some wire storage shelves that are for heavy duty stuff and those #10 
cans can be pretty heavy. Friday I got the kids to help me get out a 
book shelf that Jason had stored in the garage and put it in the dining 
room and put my cookbooks on it. I also baked pizza for the first time 
in this house and it didn't turn out too well. I mean, it was okay, but 
not up to my usual standards. I just need to get used to this oven. It 
is gas here and I haven't cooked on a gas stove since I lived at your 
house. Saturday I spent cooking lunch, baking Shayna's birthday cake 
(she is 23 today), and cleaning.

Jason and I went to a committee meeting on Wednesday for those 72 
hour kits and got put in charge of pricing stuff so the ward can buy 
some things to get people started on their kits. I was approached by 
the scout leader about the boys going to Scout camp. I said no because 
of past experiences that were not good. He was gracious and let it go 
at that. However, our neighbor is very pro scouts and I think he is 
going to try to "resolve my concerns". Ain't going to happen.
Those neighbors are also very thoughtful...every year their "field" 
blows sand across the highway and destroys our other neighbors grass. 
Every year my neighbors to the south of us replants (his name is Aldo). 
Now, the Cane's (across from us to the west) decided to put up a fence 
on part of their field and then they put manure over the rest of their 
field to keep the sand from blowing and if anything does blow over to 
Aldo's, he will get some kind of fertilizer to help his grass grow. 
However, the Cane's did not dig the manure in, it is just sitting on top 
and the wind blows in our direction, too. I feel like I live next to a 
feed lot. It really reeks. I am sure that over time we will either 
become accustomed to the smell, or it will dissapate on its own. Jay 
was always excited about living out in the country, and this is the 
first time I am giving it a try, and to be honest, I am not that 
impressed yet. Time will tell.

I know that I have complained about the house we live in. The more 
I clean, it gets a little better. Our landlady is wheelchair bound and 
cannot do much to take care of things other than making some phone 
calls. The landlord just found out he has macular degeneration and so 
soon he will be limited as to what he can do to make repairs. They are 
both older, and so I think we will probably be their last renters. They 
have a son who has done some repairs for them in the past, but he lives 
in Colorado, so that doesn't sound promising. The guy who was supposed 
to be fixing our window? His mother died shortly after ordering the 
window. It was unexpected and so he is in mourning. Also, he does the 
repairs as a side job on his off time because he has a whole other 
job. So, with patience, things will be pulled together, and I am 
actually less stressed about things now that I have left Tucumcari. 
Actually, I won't really leave Tucumcari until the house is sold.
The ward's Girl's Camp Director is very pregnant and is having a 
C-section tomorrow and so she won't be going. Shayna volunteered to 
go. I volunteered the use of our van. Because of all the wild fires 
every summer lately, they are doing Girl's Camp at a resort. That will 
be interesting.

Well, the family is waiting for me to play games. I should close. 
I know this is really short, but my week has been pretty mundane and 
boring. I hope your week was more exciting than mine. I love ya, your 
4th, Lisa