Day 2: On My Own in Oklahoma

Day 2 On My Own in Oklahoma 2/24

The night went quickly, as I slept well, but yet woke up a lot because of sounds I wasn’t used to. My sister has many dogs that keep coyotes and other wild creatures away from the property at night, as she is butted up right next to the Kiamichi Mountains. She says she hears many sounds during the night, and often won’t go outside if the dogs are all barking at once.... she knows there's something out there. A good rule to go by, I’m sure.

I don’t quite remember what I had for breakfast, I don’t think it really mattered, as I was eager to go visit my cats and start my day.

While visiting my fun felines, I took inventory of what supplies were needed and headed to the closest large town that had a store with more merchandise than a neighborhood hardware store. Fortunately, there were food items at the same store, and I didn’t have to drive to many places because I checked off everything on my list. A big ticket item was buying a rechargeable vacuum cleaner. Since there was no electricity in the mobile home, and the solar panels were connected to the cooling fans, we needed something we could charge up, and would work for about an hour. It’s amazing how many features are in vacuum cleaners that one has to compare. One would think it is an easy decision, but when looking for specifics, you are often left with just one or two items that fit your needs. The one that I think will work best was $20 cheaper than the other ones. Now to find a clerk to find the box somewhere in the back warehouse so I can purchase it. Success, it will have a new home. I’ve never purchased a rechargeable vacuum, never had the need for one. But now, a new different world!

Once I unpacked my prize, I plugged it into the house, and had to wait 24 hours until fully charged. Don’t think I’ve been this excited about a vacuum before either! Weird! And I headed out again. This time to the post office. Trying to establish residency so we can move our life to Oklahoma has many more steps than I thought. We’ve never moved out of state, so this is new to us. On my sister's property was an old building that once was the post office for the area. It was closed, and the property was sold off. It served as her home for many years as it had residential cabins with a kitchen and other life necessities. Unfortunately, the building burned down many years ago, and the charred remains wait to be cleared as finances allow.

My sister’s husband, who is a long haul trucker, was scheduled to arrive home for a week break. The rest of our day was focused on my sister’s chores, making dinner and organizing where I was to sleep for the night. I settled in the extra bedroom that had a clear upper bunkbed,

(the bottom bed had been turned into storage that was not mine to organize). Being over 60 years old, I couldn’t remember the last time I slept on the upper bunk. Climbing to the top was a bit more of a chore than I remember from my youth. Nevertheless, I settled in for the night. This time I put in my earbuds to dim the sounds of her residence.