The Next Chapter

I know I have a long way to go, but I decided that when we finally do make it to fulltiming I'm going to change the name of my blog to:       "The Next Chapter."

Daily countdown:

521 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 3 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  only 1.5 mile today

(I've had a tender knee for a couple of days)

Total walked = 145.5 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Angel - Angle, Spellcheck didn't help!

In yesterday's blog I kept talking about the Angle food cake I made.  Spellcheck didn't help me.  I meant Angel Food cake, but I'm sure anyone who read it knew that.  My husband of course kidded me about it when he saw it this morning.  I will be editing it after I post this one.

Daily countdown:

522 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 4 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  only 1 mile today

Total walked = 144 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Angel Food Cake and Yarn

Yesterday I baked an Angel food cake.  It was probably the first time in at least five years.  I baked it as a way of saying goodbye to the Angel food Cake pan that sits in the upper cupboard above the refrigerator.  I put it back up there, just in case I need it in the next year and a half, but someday it will much easier to put on the for sale table.  I think it is less expensive to buy an Angel food cake  already baked, and I don't think the standard RV oven is big enough for the pan to fit in.

Today I spent several hours bagging the rest of the yarns I had on shelves of my studio closet.  At one time all of my animal sculptures had crocheted skins.  I think it has been at least twelve years since I switched to using fake fur.  I had tossed a lot of yarns some years ago when I had a water leak.  Some went to the Goodwill a few weeks ago, and now the rest is in the van for drop off tomorrow.

(Not a very exciting picture.)  I wish I was photographing exciting scenic places, but for now empty shelves are an accomplishment.

Not photographed is the wall of fake furs, but they are still in use!

Someday I will get in there and wash or repaint the floor, but for now the only thing that will go in there is packing materials!

Daily countdown:

523 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 5 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.25 miles yesterday, 3 miles today

Total walked = 143 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Treasures

The hours of the day just fly by.

 I'm going up to spend an hour in the attic as soon as I post this.

1 Hour later:

I found and boxed a bunch of old games and puzzles.  Some were still taped from our move here 22 years ago.  They all went onto the Flea market table, except for two that I know my daughter really enjoyed.  I set these aside for her to decide what to do with the next time they visit. (Probably Thanksgiving.)

I also culled out a very large box of old records.  Not LP's.  I reboxed some precious old letters and account books into a smaller 10" x 12" x 4" box.  This will also go to my daughters attic for her grandchildren. (I'd love to have letters exchanged between my grand or great grand parents during their courtship!)

 The account books are my budget ledgers from the first years of our marriage.  When our credit card bill  - yes we did have one for gasoline was less than $10.00 per month and rent was $85.00.  I also found an entry where I was saving $2.50 per month towards buying my little girl a snowsuite.

Daily countdown: 

526 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 8 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.25 miles today

Total walked = 137.75 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Husband looked at RV's with me

On Saturday we went over to the big RV show in Plesanton together.  On the way I told Craig that what I hoped we could do is pick out some of the things we did and did not like about the layouts and manufacturers in general.

We looked at so many, I knew I would get confused so I kept a note book with me and tried to make notes as we looked.  After looking at a few large gassers, Craig zeroed in on  the diesels.    The bigger, the better!

There were more that we didn't feel good about than we did.

But the interesting thing is one of the gassers we saw in the beginning, and we went back to before leaving was our favorite.  It was a 36' or 37' 2008 Georgetown by Forest River.  What we liked about it were some of the floor plan features and cabinetry touches.   We both liked the fact that the kitchen had an island.  I have looked at many floor plans and have not found a diesel with an island. If fact so far I haven't found any others with an island.  If anyone knows of manufacturers of Motorhomes with this feature I'd be glad to hear from you.

I also liked the fact that the potty was on an angle rather than parallel with the wall.  This gives you more "elbow" room.

We also both liked a 2010 Meridian V, 39' diesel, by Itasca.  It had a forward kitchen and no carpeting between the door and the kitchen.  I think of when one is cooking outside, the number of trips you take back and forth, and how bothersome it would be to take your shoes off each time.  This of course is something easily changed, but something to think about.

A third rig we liked was a 2004 Georgie Boy, I don't know the manufacturer, but will be looking it up. It was a 38' diesel.  We liked the fact that it had a nice desk in the bedroom, and that it had a TV on the side.

Speaking of TVs,  Why do they have so many in the big RVs?  We saw some with three inside and a forth outside.  I guess since I'm not much of a TV watcher, I find it hard to appreciate this wealth of screens!

So overall the show was a good experience.  There is no question that we will end up with a BIG diesel.  I know what the light in his eyes means when I see it.

Aside from that Craig worked very hard on Sunday on he house repairs.

In answer to the questions about the Moose lodge, I'll post what I find out as I go.

That all for now ...

Daily countdown: (Monday)

527 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 9 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.5 miles today

Total walked = 135.5 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Only countdown again today

Very busy weekend, I have a lot to write about, but need to work now so it's only the countdown today...

Daily countdown:

528 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 10 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2 miles today

Total walked = 133 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

New Friend!

I'm very excited!  I made a new friend today at the local 24 hour fitness pool.

We started chatting as we worked out because we were both doing it without being in the regular class.  She because she is just starting and wanted to move slowly, and me because I had done my treadmill time before coming in the water and was to late for class.

As we chatted, it turned out she is a member of the Moose Lodge I want to join.  She and her husband are musicians and RV (I think it is full time).  They play and stay at the Moose lodges quite often.  She invited us to come to the Memorial Day BBQ at the lodge.  They are playing, but after she is going to show me their rig.  Santa Cruz is their home ground.

I think we will be friends.  I am quite independent around the club, not doing the class all that often, but I like to chat with others in the pool when I'm stretching out.  We just had a good "vib" going.  I think we will have much in common.

It is amazing how many people know someone who is Full timing.  I just can't keep it out of my conversations.  I have gotten some interesting reactions.  Everything from "I'd never want to live in an RV"  to "We always wanted to do something like that!"  And everything in between.

Gotta get to work now!

Daily countdown:

530 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 12 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.5 miles today

plus some streaching in the pool

Total walked = 131 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles  in National Parks!

Only daily countdown

Daily countdown:

531 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 13 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.25 miles today

Total walked = 128.5 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Why Dream?

Why dream?  Because without dreams life will pass us by.

I realize that the future cannot be predicted 100%, but I believe that if you have a dream, and are willing to do things that are required to set the scene for that dream, then it may happen.  If you sit back as do nothing, life will take its own course and will eventually just end.  

We don't get do overs.  

But we do get opportunities.

Dreams can change or be changed by ourselves, or by conditions we cannot control. 

 Some people believe in miracles and or luck. 

 I believe people make their own luck, and chance is a better word than miracle.

I believe in hope, but I don't expect hope to turn my dream into reality.

Daily countdown:

534 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 15 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.25 miles today

Total walked = 126.25 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Very busy today.  I set a 30 minute timer on blog time this morning and have read and commented on a couple of the blogs I follow, but I am running out of minutes for myself!

I started the slow cooker making Osso Buco this morning, it is starting to smell wonderful!  I want to use it more often than I have in the past.

I did my two mile treadmill, watched the first 48 min.  of "Terms of Endearment."  Great old movie!

Checked mail and find another order!  Woopee!  Things have been slow here lately and the last few days I have gotten orders for the animals that I have on my "Top ten possible to take on the road?"  That  would really be part of the dream.  If I could make animal sculptures part time I would be very happy, and pay for some of the space fees as well.   I'll have to write about it soon.

 (Answer to Katie: Over this summer I am going to try to figure out how much space I might need, how much I would have to carry along and where I could put it, and if I could work in an outdoor easy-up studio.  I'll be taking some pictures then. Until then if you want to know more about how they are made you can check out    How they're Made   on my web page.

Gotta go, the timer just buzzed!

Daily countdown:

535 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 16 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2 miles today

Total walked = 124 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

OK so I went 10 minutes over!  

Monday

"Relationship wise" we had a very interesting weekend.  Craig seemed totally uninterested and unmotivated to work toward getting the work done on Saturday.  Then on Sunday he did a big turn around and seemed very enthusiastic.  So hard to read.  I know I have had many swings back and forth myself, so I shouldn't be surprised if he does, but he is my rock.  I know he has been under some pressure at work recently, and I've tried to keep things low key at home, but sometimes I'm not to successful.

Had a good time at the health club this morning.  The pool was just right.  Also got an order from Japan to work on this week.

Daily countdown:

536 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 17 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2.5 miles today

Plus stretches in the wonderful pool!

Total walked = 126 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Not much to say

My husband worked hard on his house repair project today.


I've been working on a Lion for a customer up in San Francisco.

Put a few things in a bag for Goodwill.  I'll be making a stop there tomorrow.

Daily countdown:

537 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 18 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  2 miles today

Total walked = 123.5 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Good three days

As I expected the last three days have been very busy.

My volunteering at the International Science Faire was exhilarating, interesting, and exhausting!

I am less worried about the future of our world than I have been in many years.  The young people I talked to there were remarkable, smart, personable and the hope all of us "older" people need some days.

I even made one "RV" relevant contact.  We have some prototype computer equipment that Craig wants to donate.  I spoke to someone from the Computer History Museum, and will be encouraging him to write a description and take some pictures of it.  He said he knew that was the place to take it, and said he would work on donating it a few months ago.  Now I can nudge him a bit.

On Friday I went to the Fair Grounds to make my first stop at a large, 10 day,  RV show.  I had discovered that Paul and Mary were staying at the camp ground there, and was able to stop by and visit them.  They are a great pair, and I enjoyed our conversation a great deal.  It is so nice to put "real" people together with Blogs.

The RV show was interesting.  I'm quite sure we are thinking about getting a good Class A motor home, and went into and looked over every A that was there.  I had a note pad along, and made brief comments about what my first reactions were to each rig.  Since we are not settled on size, gas vs diesel,  or floor plan it was quite a task.   I also "sat" on every potty to judge the "elbow room.  (This was in view to a blogger who mentioned her mother was dismayed about the tight fit on her rig.  Something she had not considered in advance.)

One of the things I kept looking for was where I thought my husband might sit to work on his computer.  I assume we will have laptops, but I also think he might want to have a larger monitor to use on occasion.  My daughter does that when editing photos with her laptop.

I realize that many people modify their rigs, and with that in mind I was looking at what could not be changed in any particular model.

Od course I looked at the top of the line DPs.  Anyone could love something that cost $300 K+.
We all have to dream!

But I was  surprised at how many really expensive rigs did not feel like "home,"  and I wouldn't want them anyway.

Craig is going with me next weekend.  It should be interesting to see what his reactions to the ones I like will be.

I figure that what is New now, will be close to what is available pre-owned in two years.

One of the things that did distress me was the overwhelming smell of plastic and glue.  Craig says that is a good reason to be thinking about a pre-owned.  If the glue smell isn't gone by then, it never will be.


I added 3  miles to my walking goal just because I sure I walked at least that many above my normal daily life.

Daily countdown:

538 days, or 1 year, 5 months, 19 days to go.

Exercise Goal:

1000 miles on the treadmill,  3 miles to convention center and RV show.

Total walked = 121.5 miles

Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Busy week in the offing

I can't believe it's Tuesday already.   I will be busy the rest of this week.  I will be volunteering at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. One of my good friends is a coordinator and sent out requests last week for helpers.  It should be fun.


I will probably not walk on the treadmill, but will be giving myself credit for a mile or two since the parking for volunteers is at least a mile from the convention center!  What me do REAL walking?

Daily countdown:

541  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 22 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     2 miles  today. 

Total walked = 121.5 miles   

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Weedwacking

A few weeks ago Craig started the weed-wacking on one section of the yard, but the weed-wacker broke.  He got it back on Friday and cleared the upper hill and what we call the meadow below the house.

Most of our land is steep hills and covered with forest.  The area around the house is less than an acre, and we do not "cut" the grass with a lawnmower because the hill is to steep.  We also do not water it, so it actually only grows in spring.  He has to clear it twice each spring, and after that it is just dry land.

It doesn't rain much  from May to October.   Later in summer we will be in "fire" danger and that is why we keep the grass down now.

Daily countdown:

542  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 23 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     2 miles yesterday, and 3.5 miles today! 

Total walked = 119.5 miles   

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Book not worth it

Two days ago, I mentioned downloading an e book about how to buy a used RV.  I really don't think it was worth the $27.00.   Much that was covered would be good for a buyer of an older trailer, but I think it was too elementary for someone looking for a larger motor home or fifth wheel suitable for full timing.

 Much of what was covered I have already learned from reading blogs.  I'm just getting into the maintenance forum, but I'm sure it will give me things to think about.  I don't intend on actually doing any of the maintenance, but I can tell my husband what needs to be done!  :-)

 When it comes time to buy we fully intend to have anything we are serious about fully inspected by a certified expert.  I think it will be well worth the cost.  (Now how do I find one?)

Going to a Birthday party later today.  But I did get my walking in!

Daily countdown:

544  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 25 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     2.5 miles   today.    

Total walked = 114 miles   

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Nothing much to say today

Nothing much to say today.  I've spend way to much time reading blogs this morning.  (I almost always do!) But I did do my treadmil and did toss a dozen things out of a bedroom drawer, and now I'm going to get some art work done.

Daily countdown:

545  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 26 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     2 miles   today.    

Total walked = 111.5 miles   

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

Downloaded "How to Buy a Used RV"

I downloaded  How to Buy a Used RV today.  I think it will be helpful and does seem to put many suggestions in one place.  Hopefully it is worth the $27.00.  It also came with a link to some videos on buying and maintenance tips.  It all seems so elementary, but having something in hand before starting to look is reassuring.

I feel I am learning a lot of what to look for by reading the blogs and the forum comments.  This is a great community of independent helpful people.

Daily countdown:

546  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 27 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     2 miles   today.    

Total walked = 109.5 miles   

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!

(Gotta go hunting and fill the garbage cans for pick up tomorrow!)

Good days on the home front

The last few days have been really nice around here.  Spring weather has finally come.  On Sunday we got out the cushions for the deck furniture and had an early dinner outdoors.  The air was soft, no bugs, and a beautiful view.  On Saturday I saw a Doe in the grassy area below the deck that had two  spotted fawns at her side.  Craig had seen her just up the road the day earlier.  I expect we will see her often over the summer and be able to see the little guys grow.

Another major decision about the house has been made.  We put a deposit on a new roof.  They will do the work the first week of June.   We still have to decide the color, but that will be done over the weekend when we have all of the samples that we want to see.

It is a big job.  A big roof!

This is the left side from the yard above the house.  Low slope area is the 3 car garage.

This is the right side from the same area, the flat roof to the right is the separate garage that

will also be re-roofed

.

This is a view of the house from below.  We started painting a few years ago but got bogged down.  We did the supporting beams for the lower deck and rebuilt and painted the louvered area under the lower deck.  We may have to repaint the trim.  I wasn't crazy about the color at the time, and now it won't go at all with one of the roof colors we are considering.  Painting the main part of the house may be started this summer, but we may not be able to hire someone to do the high parts until next summer.

Oh, how I wish these $$$ were going toward buying an RV.  Well hopefully we will recover most of it when we sell.  (The roof is coming to about $30K.)

The first WHY NOT on my list

I've never really given a lot of thought to off shore drilling, either pro or con.
I've seen the rigs in the distance and thought, "hey they aren't so bad,"
Even after the oil spills from ships have come into the news, I had hoped that improved hulls and other technology would prevent more of them and so quietly accepted the transportation of oil from country to country on the big ships.

When I travel down to Southern California, I have passed some small oil fields, and thought that the strange pumpers were not  intrusive on nature.   Once in place they just rock back and forth.  What about the pipelines?  If there are ways for the wildlife to go over and under, well they don't mater either.

But with this spill, my feelings have changed.  The coastal ecology is very fragile and will be damaged for a long time.  It will come back if there are no further insults to in the future, but if we keep in drilling off shore, there is no guarantee it will not happen again and again.

So how does this all turn into a Why Not to going full time in an RV?  It has made me wonder how responsible driving around a huge gas or diesel motor home is.

But, I really want to see the country. Perhaps taking a long road trip in our Prius with a tent, or just staying at home, would be kinder to the environment.

Nah!  This house sucks a lot of energy too.  And those fulltimers who stay put in campgrounds for months at a time don't use as much power as I do.  The thing is that we want to travel for a couple of years.

This is a reasonable consideration.  Our pleasure, vs the good of the world.  Can our not going make a difference?

Daily countdown:

547  days, or 1 year, 5 months, 28 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:        

1000 miles on the treadmill     3 miles   today.    

Total walked = 107.5 miles   Plus pool time.

         Someday I will be hiking in National Parks!  (or not)

Miner's Lettuce

Free wild salad greens!  The miner's lettuce usually peaks a little earlier than it did this year, but we had wonderful salads twice last week. It looks like this:

And grows all over our yard and garden in spring.

The gold miners picked it and ate it for the  Vitamin C.  I pick it by pulling up the entire plant, (it is not rooted very deeply) and fill a large paper grocery bag full to make two salads.  I then lay newspaper on the table and sit and pick off the round leaf are below the little flowers.  I discard the stems and flowers although if a few get in it is OK.  As I pluck them, I put them into a bowl of cold water.  When I'm done I usually push all the leaves under water to help rinse any floating debris (or little critters) and then run them thru the spinner.   A simple dressing of balsamic vinegar and good olive oil is all that is needed.

I have notice large beds of miners lettuce growing along the road, but I would not want to pick it from there because of the exhaust film from the cars.

I wonder if we will find it in other parts of the country.


I hope all of you who are traveling in the current stormy weather are safe.