First off welcome Jackie, my latest follower. Seems like a gal after my own heart, wants to travel but has a art/craft that involves lots of materials! WE will figure it out!
I'm feeling pretty good today. I was able to put in a solid morning of work on several animal head sculptures. I had an order for a Polar Bear before Christmas that I promised for February shipment, and got orders for a Moose and a Deer while we were gone. January is often a slow month, so these were an unexpected bonus.
Thoughts about our trip continued:
I'm learning that each couple, or individual, has to find their own way of doing things. Some say there are "pink" jobs and "blue" jobs, or if solo "all" jobs. But as I read about other couples, I have learned that some men do most of the cooking, and some women do most of the driving. There is no "only" way.
It seems for most couples, the man is the driver and the woman is the ground crew giving directions. If you have followed my blog for a while, you know we have an unusually difficult home parking situation, and although we did manage to get the Alfa parked four times before Christmas it was not without mishap, nor great strain on our relationship.
So this time we tried reversing our roles. Craig drove down the short but curvy part of our road, and got the Alfa backed into the first 37 feet or so of the driveway. It took a couple of tries, but he did it. However, but the time we got it that far I was getting frazzled. So we stopped, and changed places. It turns out Craig is much better at giving directions, and I am much better at taking them. The result was we got her parked and were not upset with each other.
Still not an easy job, but a neighbor who had watched us before happened to be walking his dogs on the road and declared we were getting to be "experts!"
Last fall one of our friends, who is a retired Navy pilot, told us that in parking a large plane a pilot must do only what the ground crew signals him to do. He must not try to drive the plane himself. That's what I did and it worked.
I don't mind this role reversal, but Craig can keep doing the dumping and power connections!
Who does what in your rig?
Craig and Merikay at Avenue of the Giants, California
Ahhh-thank you for the welcome. I'm definitely not leaving home without my sewing supplies...I'm willing to give up lots of things, but not that. Your sculptures are amazing!!
ReplyDeleteMerikay, anyone that could back the Alfa down your driveway is an expert lol!! I still don't see how you two get that rig in and out of your place. Russ and I don't have "assigned" roles but I definitely do the cooking. I figure that's fair as long as he does the dumping!!
ReplyDeleteOn our rental RV trips Lolita has done most of the driving. One was a 29 ft class c, and the other a 34 ft class A. I took care of dumping and power etc.
ReplyDeleteSince my DH rarely wants to go RVing, I go myself and do it all. Not a biggie!
ReplyDeletehttp://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com/
We take turns, but Mo usually seems to be in charge of the hard stuff. I'm a better backer, so I do the backing, we both drive, we both do the sewer dumps, but often she will do the outside hookups while I do move stuff around getting the slide out and the inside prep for settling in. I cook. Always. LOL Mo does make a sandwich now and then though and I almost forgot, she is the greatest campfire breakfast cooker around. Funny how those tasks sort of just slip into a routine, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteWe just do what needs to be done - when it needs it. I am willing to do anything as John is. BUT, so far he has not let me do the dumping. Now, I cannot say that I am sad about that, but would be willing to do it. I think I need to know how to do everything - just in case he can't. We are a team...most of the time. hehe
ReplyDeleteSo far..George does the dumping, and changing of the propane tanks. I do the cooking & cleaning (when there is some!), and he does the dishes. I think we make a good team!
ReplyDeleteSince Gin is very mechanically minded, she does the hookup and dump duties while I do the inside setup and take down. I do 95% of the driving but she's capable if she needs to. As with other things in life, each couple makes it work for them.
ReplyDeleteSyl
Ha Ha! You know the answer to that question. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, of course, I do it all, but don't mind any of it.
ReplyDeleteI think that was a great idea to switch positions and let Russ give the directions. That's a skill in itself, and following those directions is probably a completely different part of the brain. Good job! :)
And congrats on your orders - those extra jobs early in the year are nice to get!
Al does the backing and I give the directions. I think the best thing to do is what works best for you and it sounds like you've found that.
ReplyDeleteAnything that can ease the stress is the best method in my opinion.
Hey Merikay, Its been a while! Glad to see you all safe and sound at home again and busy making animal heads. Hey we're in for some wind and rain tonight I hear. Hold onto your hats!
ReplyDeleteIts all me, I don't let Fred drive he's to short. Daschounds are like that. :)
ReplyDeleteUntil now, Suzy has been virtually the only driver. With her surgery, I'll be picking up driving a lot of the way -- we're planning a major trip in a few years, and I've gotta be as good as she is if we want to get any distance in a day. I do all the hookups, although I have walked Suzy through them a few times. We take turns cooking. Cleaning? We try to find a volunteer from among our friends - very poor results, as our friends stop being our friends if we do that!
ReplyDeleteJohn does most of the driving, I'm trying to get him to let me do more but he has trouble relinquishing that control. I actually think we would do better backing up if I was in the truck for the same reason it worked for you and I hope this year I get him to let us try the role reversal.
ReplyDeleteI'm new to your blog and already I love it!! Since my hubby is a retired 32 year Greyhound bus driver, I leave ALL the driving to him. If he asks, I help, and he has taught me hand signal communication which I do very well thank you. He takes care of all the setting up, and breaking down and I am the Queen of the Castle inside. I love your sculptures!
ReplyDeleteHappy and Safe Travels,
Betty and Joe
joeandbetty.blogspot.com
I wouldn't mind if I had someone to do the dumping!!! haha. But alas, I'm solo, so I do it all myself. But my rig is small, easy to park, easy to use. Stouffers does some of my cooking ;-)
ReplyDelete