So I’m back in Tucson and I want to start making a habit of blogging on this site again, only I’m finding it really hard to find a starting point.

The last time I blogged here, it was winter and I was living on Long Island and working full time as a children’s librarian again. My dreams of working for myself crashed hard with life on the North Fork. Once I started looking into the rental prices of living spaces (that weren’t the really good friend deal), I didn’t see how it would be possible.

Plus, so much time and energy was spent on things like laundry and shopping, due to location. I was also reminded why I moved to Arizona when I was reacquainted with grey, wet winters.

Living near the ocean has always been a dream, but the reality was that I missed Tucson and the West.

Since returning, I’ve spent far more energy than I ever anticipated in getting my house back in order. My tenants left me lots of unwelcome surprises. The place was filthy, there were mice. They broke a sliding glass door. They had the power turned off before they had all of their stuff out. They didn’t let me know that the power was off until it was too late for me to do anything about it – as I was driving across country in a car with a dog and a child. When the power came back on – days later – the fridge never did.

So after being on the road for over a week, we still had to eat out until I could get a new fridge. I bought a cooler to try to have some cold items, but it wasn’t very big and buying ice is a bit of a hassle.

I’m still finding dog turds from their animals in the back yard. And the garden was destroyed. My rosemary bush survived and I’ve nursed a holy basil plant back to health. I’m trying to think of it as an opportunity to redesign and start over, but it really does get me down realizing how awful my tenants were.

So coming back hasn’t been easy. I’ve been helping my elderly mom from afar after another scammer targeted her and almost got a bunch of her money.

But here’s a win: I have a scheduled program with my first library! In between cleaning and moving and organizing and calling, I managed to get a not so great flyer drafted and sent to a librarian, who then shared it with the library system. I am an officially contracted presenter with Pima County Public Library and I’m presenting Altered Books in Sahuarita on December 5th at 3 pm.

I’m planning to do some shopping at the friends of the library sale this weekend to make sure I have enough books. Monday is $10 a bag day.

I’ve rambled enough for one day.