Answers in the night ...

Sometimes I get the best ideas when I am at the edge of sleep, either just as I'm falling asleep or just waking up.  I once read that you should have a pad of paper on the nightstand and jot things down so you don't lose them. I don't do that, but it wouldn't hurt.  One thing I have noticed about "middle of the night ideas" is that they are often not as good as they seemed when reexamined the next day.


One problem that I often mull over is what to do about animalhead.com  when we go full time.  What to take, where to store it all, where to work, etc., etc.  Sales have been so up and down this last two years I often think it would be best to just close it down.  Then I get a couple of orders, and I see that a few sales each month would make a nice dent in our campground fees. 


My mind was very productive last night.  The following ideas may fail in the light of day, but I think I came up with a couple of solutions for problems that have been nagging me.  


First, there are times when I need to hang a sculpture on a "wall" while working on it.  Such as when I'm shaping the antlers or checking the overall piece from a little distance.  
 Last night I came up with the idea that I could attach a piece of peg board to the back ladder, and hang work there.  With a few cable ties, it could go up and down quickly.  A small piece of peg board would not take up much room and be easy to store when not in use. 


Another problem is storage of "in process" paper mache sculptures.  They sometimes need to dry for 24-48 hours.  I can leave them outside on my work table next to the rig during the day, but need to protect them from wind, dew, or rain overnight. 


   We will be living inside the Alfa and there just is no place to put them.  


When I did art and craft fairs  I had a custom fitted table cloth that that covered my table to the ground. I used the space under it to keep bags and boxes. 


I am going to make a fitted, water proof cover for my folding table.  With a plastic sheet on the ground under it, it should be OK as an overnight storage place. 


It might not be great in a downpour, and I would have to keep track of weather forecasts! I can use water bottles for weights so it doesn't blow over in the wind.


I know it can be very important to keep you space neat and clean out of consideration for other campers.  What is OK to one person, can be an eyesore to someone else!


Things would be so much simpler if I made miniatures!


When do you do your best thinking? 

We looked at a Toyota Yaris  and at a Scion yesterday, and are probably going to see a Hyundai Accent today.... 

Craig said something very encouraging today ...

While I am not expecting the work on the house to get done any time soon so we can get it on the market, we are planning a few trips. 


Now that the taxes are done and paid, we are planning on going to the Sierra foothills, aka the Gold Country for a few days next week.  I am not a fan of hot weather, and I think it will be far more pleasant to hike and visit the Columbia Historic Park now rather than in summer when it will be crowded with families.


We also have plans for a three or four week trip at the end of June, thru mid-July to Northern California and Oregon.


For both trips I had planned on driving the Prius while Craig drove the Alfa.  We had talked about using a dolly for the Prius, but have decided against that for a lot of reasons.  


Today, as Craig made his list of errands he needed to do, I suggested he stop and buy new front tires for the Prius.  They are getting very worn, and although we will probably be OK next week, I think it would be best to get them before we go in June.


His response was "Or maybe we should just trade it in on something that can be towed." 


 There are a lot of good reasons to do that now instead of waiting until later.  


The Prius is a 2007, which makes the batteries five years old and possibly heading for full replacement.  It is also due for the 80K mile service, which can be very pricey.  As it is now, it looks and runs fine, and if RVing weren't in our life, we would probably just keep it and put money into it rather than trade it in.  


I know I'd love to have a towed.  It's the next logical step, but I always thought that if we weren't on the verge of getting out of here, we wouldn't get one unless my van died.  But we need the  van for trips to the lumber yard, Goodwill, the dump, and probably a storage place!


It's up to Craig to make this decision.  He has always been the car buyer.  (I did buy the little red MG Midget because it was cute, and a few $200 junkers for grocery runs in the 70's, but never a serious car.)


We shall see. 


 Craig said he would do some research on towables.  He also has to be able to drive it daily for the next year or so until the house is on the market.  He goes to town for one reason or another almost every day, and the Prius gets very good mileage!


I find this a very exciting step!


Do you tow?

Summer Trip Plans!

Got out of the doldrums yesterday and made reservations for the "key" week of our summer Oregon trip.  I knew we wanted to go to Crater Lake and I've been looking at several RV parks in the area.  I had hoped to be able to get a spot in the park, but it seems there are none (or at least very few) with hook ups.  We could do without water and sewer, but without solar, we consider an electric hook up essential.  After we have some experience, this may not be true, but as newbies we want power and WiFi!


From what I have read, Crater Lake can still be closed in late June if the weather is bad.  So we have booked a spot for the first week of July.  Of course it will include the fourth.  Since I want to take at least a week to get there, stopping at Lassen National Park along the way, we would end up spending the fourth at some RV park anyway.  So it might as well be there!


Now that I've got that week reserved, I can plan the route up and back.  I hope to leave the return plans very, very open with several options.  We went to Washington and back in two weeks a few years ago in a rented RV.  I feel we went too far in to short a time.  I want to explore and relax more this time. 


Sue and Mo of "The Moho and Other Traveling Tales" have invited us to meet up with them for some Kayaking while we are in the Klamath area.  I very excited about that!  Craig tried to get me to try kayaking several times, but I was reluctant.  Now that I have seen so many others that really enjoy it, I'm eager to give it a try. (Although I can swim, I have always had a bit of fear of lake water.  I'm OK in swimming pools, but don't like water weeds or murky water.  It's not a big deal, I'm less uneasy than I was years ago.)


One big "bummer" is we don't have a towed.  I am planning on one of us driving the Prius and one the Alfa.  That's another good reason to take our time coming home.  We can travel a shorter distance, park and explore together in the Prius.  Or travel a bit farther, stay at a park for a few days and drive the area. We have no experience doing things that way, but we will learn as we go. 


Someday we will trade the Prius in on a car that can be towed.  At first we thought we might dolly it like fellow bloggers The Good Luck Duck gals, but have concluded that was not the best way to go.  We like the economy and the drive of the Prius.  As long as we are house-bound, we will probably keep it.  My ride is a 1995 Safari Van. We will continue to need it for hauling  things as long as we are here. 


For now It feels good to have a trip to plan. After I post this I'm going to do some more research on RV parks we might stay at before or after Crater Lake.


We were going to go somewhere with the Alfa this week, but the trip got put on hold.  We are having some work done on the house by someone else, and we want to be here.  This is the week they were available, so we will stay home! 


I don't mind the delay if it means progress on the house.  Maybe we will get away at the end of next week or the week after.  Sometime soon I hope! The Alfa needs to get out!


Craig keeps working on things. He wants to do so much, and I just don't see when it will all get done. 


 We have  different ideas about how much to do, and how to do it.


I'm pretty sure we will see another winter here, but hopefully we will take a couple of trips during the year. I'm really hoping the real estate market will be better in spring or summer of 2013.  This is such an odd house, it will take a very special buyer.