It all Started in Hobart

Get comfy, it’s a long one

Here is where it all began. Before the pandemic and before I knew what I was really in for. All I know is that the start to the rest of my life had passed me by and I didn’t even know it.

First came the girl, Tami. Met for Pizza and ended up talking for hours about anything that would come to mind. Then came the dog, Maverick. He was cold to me at first, which was weird because he wanted everything to do with everyone else. And then came the notes. And that is where this journey really took off.

Shortly after getting out of a not-so-great living situation (VERY long story I do not wish to recount) I started to spend a lot of time with Tami and her dog. I always loved bringing him new toys (definitely not a ploy to make him love me). We would take him on all kinds of adventures with us, and would always look for the dog-friendly establishments.

Then the Pandemic™ hit and changed everything. I had just “moved” into a new apartment and had finally gotten everything set up and settled. The only thing was that I couldn’t find any food at the store, let alone toilet paper. So I decided that spending even more time with the Amazing Tami was a great option, and we only had to find enough food for one kitchen. When I wasn’t at work (doing a whole lot of nothing) I was at her house enjoying the benefits of rural living, with camp fires and more space than I knew what to do with.

So I bought us a new Weber grill, since I felt like I was going to be here for a while, and it opens up a lot of cooking options. I also started to take after my mother and fed the birds. Though throughout the whole time I had been hanging out here I didn’t actually comprehend exactly where “here” was. And then the animals of the watershed started to make themselves known, and I started to realize that I was home.

Now home to me is not necessarily a location, but a feeling I get when I know I am where I belong. So we got a dog. And immediately went on an adventure. We had some newly freed up time off (stupid pandemic) so we decided to pack the boys up and head out on a road trip. Now mind you, Ollie was (and still is) young. He has a lot of energy and his new brother would tolerate him. So the driving was never very comfortable for these two.

We hopped in the car and headed straight for my hometown of Grants Pass, OR. This was mostly just so that I could show Tami where I grew up a little bit. But also so that we could take the Redwood Highway out to Crescent City, CA and see the ocean. We then spent a few days running up and down the coast before turning inland again to head home. 1,200 miles and 24 hours of driving took a lot out of the dogs and they slept for about a day and a half. But it created a stronger bond between the two that I was grateful for.

Life was pretty good. Football season started, I kept inviting new and exciting birds to the property (pandemic hobby for the win!), and as always, bugged my dog (It had been my birthday. We don’t live with balloons in the house normally). Not much really happened other than I had officially (publicly) moved in with my girlfriend (this was a very big, scary step for me) and we were just really enjoying our new life. So much so that we decided that we needed another road trip, just the two of us this time.

Off to Yachats, OR. Just some good quality time together, without the responsibility of the dogs looming over us. We spent most of our time wandering from beach to beach just enjoying what the Oregon coast has to offer. Time seemed to be moving at a snails pace and I was loving every second of it.

When we got back we had decided to make this “OUR” house. So we ordered a bunch of bricks and dirt and made ourselves a little flow bed (The Rhododendrons had been planted for a couple of months already after I ripped out the Juniper bushes that were there). It was a lot of work, but I really like doing this type of stuff. Immediate gratification and all that. But Tami had been working from home since the stay-at-home order had gone out and it was starting to get dark and dreary earlier and earlier. So I decided to do something about that.

I REALLY like Halloween. But I had decided to decorate with lights and webs and anything else I could think of to help lift spirits (no pun intended) around the house. We even had a party! And when I say party (this is the pandemic after all) I mean we had Tami’s best friend and her boyfriend over and played Cards Against Humanity in costume. The house stayed like this for a while. Mostly out of laziness, but also it was entertaining. It did finally come down to make way for other holidays.

Mainly Christmas (Thanksgiving was in there too, but I just don’t have any photos) which is Tami’s favorite holiday. It’s all about the lights and cheer though, as the whole gift giving thing is not really our cup of tea. Though when we do give gifts, they are typically very nice and thoughtful. After Christmas came New Years, which we just tried to keep the dogs calm with all of the fireworks going off in our area. And from there our lives became even more intertwined with one-another.