May in Denton: Settling into Texas

 Our trip/move to Denton, TX is behind us, but as promised here is my monthly update and in this case travel log. It all began with a little return to one of my childhood homes.  We made our way to Moab to stay with our friend Nola Walker, but getting out of Spanish Fork was a challenge at best.  If you want the longer version ask, if not, well I wouldn't blame you.  We ate a fantastic breakfast with Nola, and then spent some time driving around the valley before stopping at my father's grave.  With the 10 year anniversary of his passing so near, it was hard to say another farewell of sorts, but I know my dad would be thrilled with our new adventure.

After saying our goodbyes, we ended up in Santa Fe where we ate at Guadalupe Cafe.  Slept in the most delightful casita, awoke to a heavenly breakfast, and then spent the day on the town.  Doug fell in love with the unique city, and enjoyed the time, and the food, and of course the history.  We went to several historic churches and buildings, including the oldest house in the U.S.  Both of us got fantastic Native American jewelry pieces to remember the time we spent in Santa Fe.


After Santa Fe, the desert of the northern panhandle felt like hell.  Hell with a lot of wind, and better furniture.  Amarillo is an ugly place, and let us just say that if all of Texas was like Amarillo, I would have turned around and gone back to Utah.  We got a chance to drive through the wildfire area ... yeah, that was the highlight of Amarillo.  We left immediately following our paltry breakfast and headed south.

After about an hour of driving we began to enter the panhandles farming area.  The road was bordered by fields filled with spiky reddish stocked plants.  Doug was trying to figure out what they were and soon enough I remembered my youth and told him we were in cotton country.  Officially in the South, after our long long ugly drive.

The cotton fields became fields of fresh tilled earth.  Oh heavenly smell. It was so much fun to see all the changes.  We even had a little bit of a hilly area.  It made me miss my mountains.  Doug was surprised by how beautiful it was but the flatness unnerved him.  Doug had never seen such vast flatness, and I too had forgotten how flat the Southwest can be.  Then the fields turned into sparse trees with pumpjacks lining the horizon.  We had left the farms and entered oil country.  All in one day no less.


We slid into Denton around dinner time, and it seemed a bit of heaven.  Green everywhere, trees in profusion.  I will be honest.  I am rather in love with the area we have landed in.


We enjoyed our short time hanging out with our friends and getting settled into our space.  Monday Doug headed to work, and we were sure we were going to get everything settled by the start of July.

However, life is often surprising.  As usual if you want the long version call or email.  The short version is that after a week of work Doug discovered he was allergic to the sun, and he was forced to quit his job as per doctor instruction.  We have spent the last three weeks in a bit of a panic while he has searched for another means of employment.

After several hours of online work, and multiple job fairs, Doug was able to land a job working in McKinney starting later this week.  This was not the original plan, but then life rarely follows the plans we make, so I am ok with the change of course.  We were saddened when I discovered I was pregnant, only to miscarry the next day.  Given timing was horrible, but I would have happily made it work, no matter the cost.  I try to see a silver lining, but it is all a bit tarnished grey instead.

Today, however, is a day of celebration.  This is the day Doug got his good news, I also found out that the college I want to work at is hiring for Fall Semester.  Here's hoping that I am able to procure a placement, then it will be easy to decide where to live since Doug and I will be working in the same town.

All in all it has been a much better week than last, and for that I am profoundly grateful.  We are enjoying our little corner of the world, and I think for the first time in years, both Doug and I feel that there are good things in store for us.  The adventure has begun; we will keep you posted as it continues.