Little by little

Mark informed me that I don’t say much about what I have been doing. But to me what I do is so mundane. But he reassured me that what I do is very important too. So let me start, but first, get a cup of coffee, you may need the caffein. hehe

My tasks have mainly been financial for the first week or so. Trying to tie up ends for when we leave in the fall. Insurance payments, doctors appointments, PO Box and the like. All that is about tied up or at least it will be in a couple more weeks. Lola needs to get in for her yearly shots and one more insurance thing to take care of, then we are good to go.

It was quite an undertaking for us to find my craft supplies. But Mark knows how much I enjoy my card making and such.  Digging through the mountain of jammed packed totes in storage was no easy task. But we managed to find all but one tote. The items in that one are easily and cheaply replaced. Then I had the fun of reorganizing all the cupboards to fit my craft supplies and still keep the things that were in those cupboards. I love to organize so to me this was not work, but something I enjoy doing. 

All this meant that I had to go through the bedroom closet and cupboards in there too. Why not make it a Bigger project.  We had quite a bit of clothing that we never wore and some we had outgrown. Not something we are very proud of, I might add. So out the door went the unused clothes. Now there was more room which will make it easier to find the clothing that we do wear. Not much need for heavy winter clothing either so out that went, with the exception of a couple of sweatshirts for the unpredictable Northern weather in September before we start heading south again. While digging in the storage unit I found our bedspread. Oh how happy I was to see that. Our bed now looks so nice and it makes the bedroom look cleaner and more cozy.  It's amazing what a simple blanket can do to a room.

Happily I found the purple quilt I made too. That will be used as a bedspread on occasion as well as something warm for the cooler Yuma winter nights. Yes Yuma, Arizona can get quite chilly in the evening. Not the below zero nights like in MN but temps of 40’s are not totally uncommon. This we learned last year quite quickly. hehe

The Yuma dirt followed us to MN so that meant that I had cupboards that needed to be washed out as I organized them. See, the things I do are pretty mundane. But hey, I like this kind of thing. Call me weird, but all this makes life living in small quarters a lot easier. You really do have to be very organized and a place for everything  and everything in its place. Which brings me to my next task of removing all the ugly, outdated, wallpaper border that has been on the walls for 15 years! Yikes. This may take me a year to get completed. I’ve gotten just three small sections off and cleaned. No new border will be going back on unless I can’t get the old stuff off well.

Little by little we are making our home feel more like our home. We love our RV and what living this way has brought to our life and marriage. It’s not a life for everyone, it’s not all fun and games, it takes a lot of work, patience and above all, Gods grace.

Project after project

OH dear, I’m behind in my entries again. It’s been really busy around here the last few weeks. And it’s not looking like it’s going to slow down any time soon. So I’ll just have to start making time for other things that are more fun.

The first project that Mark had to tackle was to replace our water pump in the RV. It is well known that plumbing is NOT in Marks top 10 of things he enjoys doing. It’s not even on the list. But he can do it, just not without grumbling or something pushing his buttons. As with any plumbing project there is always something that really does more than push his buttons and this time was no exception. In spite of the little issue, and the very small working space, the pump got put in and runs well. It’s amazing how quiet a new, not worn out, pump can be.

Lets see, what was Marks next project. Oh yes, it was his favorite, spending time with Harlan and the gang. Mark really missed his morning, lunch and afternoon visits with Harlan, Kevin, and Duane. And he is trying his best to make up for lost time. hehe Kevin made a comment or two about how quiet it had been all winter. But I would lay money down that it’s not quiet there anymore. ;)

We always make time for each other to be together and share in the daily chores. Whether it’s shopping, laundry,doing the dishes or eating out. It’s not always work around here.

Oh yes, where was I….. on to project number two and three….. Project two was to put  a new antenna on the roof. What was thought to be a not so bad project turned into an almost major undertaking. The previous owners must have had issues and did a butcher job of repairing or sealing around the antenna. Mark had to remove inches thick of caulking around the whole area, which in turn tore some of the roof. So now that area of the roof needed to be repaired before the antenna could be mounted. RV shops are not common around Hutch, but thankfully there is one place in town, B  & B sports. And they had the supplies that we needed to fix the roof and finish the antenna installation.  As has been our luck when in Hutch, the weather turns to rain. So the antenna project had to be halted for a day or two. So that sent us to tackle project number 3.

Project number three was to get rid of the dinette booths. They were, outdated, dirty, and very uncomfortable. The only thing the booths were used for was hiding junk we didn’t know what to do with and didn’t use. So they are of no loss to us.

After many LONG screws were removed we hauled the ugly mess outside. Imagine that, no rain when we work on the inside of the RV. So the mess laid outside until we cleaned up the dirt and grime from under the booths. After hauling the mess to the dump, we headed to storage and picked up three of our dinning room chairs.  I could not believe that there was still no rain to ruin the chairs. But we made it back to the RV dry and happy. The new dinning area looks so nice and makes the room look homier and cleaner. Little cosmetic changes that cost little to nothing are making our home feel more like our home. 

The next morning Mark went back to work on finishing the work on mounting the antenna. And of course it rained.  Something from the previous day of working on it was not done correctly so Mark had to start all over. The rain was off and on the whole time he was on the roof. Sounds more like a plumbing job with all the water that was involved. But alas he got the job finished without melting or any rain puddles in the RV. The new antenna works great here in town and should be put to good use in other places as well. 

As far am I’m concerned Mark can do anything he puts his mind to. That makes us both very lucky, especially living the life we have chosen. It is, indeed, always an adventure.

Full Circle.

Late Monday afternoon we were back in Hutchinson where we were before we headed south for the winter. What a great time we had before we got here. And now we have many things to get done, finalize and visiting to do before we head south once again for the winter.

Tuesday we started, or I should say, I started with the  mundane job of doing laundry. You see, we seemed to have had some stow away wood ticks from Underwood that had to be washed down the drain. Yuck, I hate creepy crawly things. Mark took care of all the license tabs that needed to be renewed while I did the laundry. Since we are not in Minnesota when they are or will be due, we needed to take care of that before we forgot. Then it was time to hit Cashwise and Walmart for supplies. The best part of the day for me was when we surprised my dear friend Dawn at her place of employment. She didn't know we were in town already. Watching the smile on her face and her jaw drop was second to the big hug I received from her.  Mark surprised one of his best friends, Ken, at work as well. And had a great time seeing Ken.

We excitedly  stopped at Ken's to get Marks motorcycle on the road. Wow more great hugs. Guess it pays to leave and come back. hehe Sadly the battery was shot so no motorcycle ride last night. But we stayed and visited with Ken and his wife Julie over a couple beers. So good to see them again. So even though the motorcycle didn't start, the night ended on a positive note anyway.

Before we knew it it was 9:30 pm and we were shot from all the days activities. Today is looking to be another full day. We have plans on picking up my motorcycles today and sorting through some things in the storage unit. Time to clear out some of the stuff in there and wave bye bye. Although that job will take more than one day. hehehe

The time we have here will be very busy but not so busy that we can't spend time with our friends and our son Lincoln, Maria, and grandson Patrick.  We are really looking forward to seeing everyone.

May 30th water dillema solved

We had our almost full Black and Gray holding tanks sucked out by a honey wagon today. All went well. Then we ran out of water in the fresh water tank. Not a good thing to happen when the nearest water supply is miles away.

Now according to Legend that tank holds 60 gal so how do you get 60 gal. of water out to the middle of the country. No well, lakes all over, but Cindy does not want that water in the fresh tank for obvious reasons.

So we do what good all good dry campers would do and drive about 50 miles to get a Godfathers Pizza!

Why not, it can't hurt and we both LOVE GF PIZZA. 

As expected the Pizza was great even though finding parking for the Dully was at a premium as in every state. But on the drive into town I noticed a Menards Truck in a stall in one of the the repair shops we drove by so mentioned to my lovely bride there had to be a Menards in town somewhere.

What is so great about a Menards Store you might ask. Ever since I started building things I have been going to Menards be it 50 miles away or just a few blocks. The reason is they always have a solution to your issue. Now it may not always be the solution you are looking for BUT they always have a solution.

So we looked at Solutions from $12 on up to $200 but then walking down a cleaning Isle my Bride said how about this and pointed to a 32 gal. garbage can "with cover" for only $9.97....... Wooooooooow, This is in the price range we were looking for. The GC holds enough that making two trips to her brothers hydrant 3 miles away will work, and all we need is a pump to move the water out of the GC to the Fresh water Tank.

We then move over to the fountain supply side of the store and yep found a pump that would work great for our needs as well.

Moral of this story is: If you are not sure how to solve a problem you may need to go get a Pizza to give you a new perspective on what you're doing. And there is no better pizza than a Godfathers Pizza. 

May 29th in Underwood

May 29th

We have been running on solar to charge the battery bank for over almost 3 months and it has been working very well.

But now that we are dry camping it is putting the batteries under an extra load as they must pickup all the ac electric requirements as well by running the inverter.

Under perfect working conditions this would have still worked out quite well ......"but"...... as it has been solid overcast and raining for the last three or four days we are working deeper into the battery banks capacity than we have in the past.

We plan on shutting down the inverter tonight saying by-by to all ac till later tomorrow when I hope the weather changes and we get some solid sun again. As we converted all lighting to LED we can still have the 12 volt system to fall bake on.

If not we will have to tie into the system using the 3000 watt generator and turning on the converter to both supply ac electricity and charge the battery bank.

It is Always and Adventure!

P/S to the post above. Ran the 3000 watt Generator for just over 3 hours lighting up the 5er's ac and charging the batteries and we are back to full power. Yeah!

Had a little problem getting the Generator to run. From lack of use the needle and seat had stuck in the carb. But by draining a little fuel out the bowl the float dropped and fuel began to flow again allowing me to start the engine.

Again it is Always and Adventure!

Made it to Minnesota

The drive to Minnesota on Memorial weekend was smooth sailing. Most traffic was going in the opposite direction. PLT. We stayed at an AmericInn RV park and one Walmart on the way. The WM greeter was very friendly and made us feel like we family coming to visit. hehe The AmericInn was just as friendly. So nice when you are welcomed someplace in such a manner.

I'm not so sure how well our arrival was once we hit Fergus Falls and brought the rain with us. But my brother Mike and his wife Kim made us feel so welcomed and happy to see us. It was great seeing them too. We are staying in a section of their new property that they are building on. Tucked into the whispering pines is so nice.  No neighbors, no noisy traffic, and so far no wild animals. hehehe

we have been running on solar to charge the battery bank for over almost 3 months and it has been working very well.

But now that we are boondocking it is putting the batteries under an extra load as they must pickup all the ac electric requirements as well by running the inverter.

Under perfect working conditions this would have still worked out quite well ......"but"...... as it has been solid overcast and raining for the last three or four days we are working deeper into the battery banks capacity than we have in the past.

We shut down the inverter tonight saying by-by to all ac till this morning.The sun is not out again today so we have tied into the system using the 3000 watt generator and turning on the converter to both supply ac electricity and charge the battery bank. All is working well.  Cindy's brother Mike called a guy for us, to come and pump out our black tank tomorrow morning. Today we need to get some more water into our fresh water tank. That will have to be done, one gallon at a time. But it is doable.  All this means that we can stay a couple days longer in this beautiful spot.

It is Always an Adventure!

Before you go fultime.

 Things to know before going full-time

We've lived and traveled in our RV for almost a year and absolutely wouldn't trade it for the world.  Our lifestyle is incredibly amazing.  We've been told how lucky we are and “I could never do that”.  While we liked our previous sticks and bricks home, we love the tiny-house simplicity, and freedom to go when we want and where.  We are blessed with so many people who come into our lives through our travels and have remained friends.  But that doesn't say there aren't things we miss that we had living in our former home.  We're being honest here.  In this lifestyle, you trade one for another.

This lifestyle brings a whole new set of challenges but it's what makes us stronger to enjoy the reason why we are doing this whole nomadic lifestyle.  We consider ourselves lucky to be doing this but that doesn't erase some disappointments or things we'd wished to keep.  This is a brutally honest, hearts-on-our-sleeves blog piece.  Don't think for a minute that we're complaining but, if you're ever contemplating a nomadic lifestyle like RVing, here are just a few things you may want to think about. 

Long soaks… we miss the long hot showers and soaks in the tub. It used to be a shower or soak every other day. Now it depends on the water or power supply. We got caught in a snow storm in Cheyenne WY and had to stay at a motel. Let me tell you, we both had a long hot shower each day that we were there. 

Endless Hot Water - It goes with the shower soaks.  Admit it, long showers rock...  using the entire water heater tank in our former sticks and bricks, that we could stand in the shower for a good 30 minutes of pulsating hot water.  Now, our showers are limited to about 10 minutes  and do just what needs to get done. 

Down The Drain - Doing dishes back then was so much simpler with one less step.  Now, we scrape our dishes well or wipe them with a napkin before washing them.  We need watch everything we put down our plumbing and tanks.  If not, we're in big trouble...perhaps bigger and more costly than when we had our S&B.  On the same note, if we're not hooked up to sewer, we then are very conscious of how much we put in our gray tanks.  So, even that 10 minute shower gets cut to about two or a sponge bath.

Friends and Family - This is probably the biggest 'low point' but we try not to dwell or think about it.  Our families are in Minnesota and when we go that far north we will visit. Emails and phone calls are an ever present easy source of connection.

Girlfriend Dates - nothing like having a nice lunch or gab session with friends. And I do miss my friends back in MN.  But on a good note, I’ve met some fabulous lady friends whom I've gotten to know to do 'girlfriend things' with on the road.  Some of us have grown quite close because of what we have in common.   Again phone calls, emails and private messages keep me in contact with my treasured Minnesota friends.

Things

Parting with furniture that gives you the security of knowing you still have something to fall back on is a very difficult thing to do. But giving up things that you have treasured for years is even harder. But they are just that, things, and things can not take the place of new experiences and seeing the world that God created. Things can be replaced. And as I am writing this I’m trying to convince myself that after this coming year I to will get rid of my extra stuff too. Many “things” were sold before we started out on this venture and it was very difficult to see some things go. But I have to say I’ve not missed any of them. So I’m hoping that the last of our “things” will not be missed for long. Of course some of our things are with us, but only so much can come along for the ride.

Home for the Holidays - Most look at this as a heartbreaker but we made the most of it. I am still working on getting used to not having my family with us during the holidays. But doing holiday baking and spending time with new friends in the same boat, makes it easier. And with time it will become a norm for us too. 

 As you see even the coolness of our travels has it's challenges, but we have two choices.  We can quit and go backwards or we can stand tall, suck in our guts, however hard that may be, and point our hearts to true north and enjoy the opportunities God has provided us with. So it’s forward on to new adventures.