Defrosting the igloo & tarp curtains

Hi everyone, hope all is well today.

My RV, Ellie, is now in the shop for repairs! I wish it would never have happened, but it's being addressed now as I type. The entire day of yesterday was spent on prepping the RV, taking essential items out of the RV, overthinking & taking more out of the RV. I swear, I thought it would only take a couple of hours, but I lost my energy after the first couple of hours, so it all went slowly from that point on. So as I type this, I'm surrounded by my stuff! Too much stuff from the looks of it...but then, one container holds my pantry food items, one container holds some of the loose stuff that I tossed into there to go through while I wait for Ellie to return, a pile of clothes, toiletries, etc...And I decided to bring the African Violets in after all. I didn't want to miss the bloomies!
Felton's RV service also looked like they had gotten several more rigs in for this & that. So I'm sure they'll be pretty busy there.
After I got what I needed out of Ellie, I then got the tension bar that I used to use in my van & stretched it from the cabinets. I also kept the old shower curtain rings, so they finally came in handy. I popped them onto the tarps & connected them to the tension rod. So now the back of the RV will stay fairly clean...maybe. And I also took another tarp & covered my sofa with it. The plastic that was covering my overhead cab area, I took down & left it in there so they could use it to cover the seats up front & the dash.

Like my new furniture covers? Furturistic maybe? No?

I just realized I'm sitting in this really huge bedroom, all stuffed into the smallest corner of it I could find. I guess I like small spaces ;-) I'm kind of like a turtle without it's shell. I don't know how to act!

So one of the chores yesterday was to also empty out the RV fridge. I really thought that was going to be some insanely huge chore, for whatever reason. But of course, it wasn't. But maybe I thought that because I had just finished cleaning out one of my friend's big fridges in her house. Yes, they have two big fridges. I have on tiny fridge compared to theirs. But that's all I need anyhow. So I have this plastic carry container that I keep in my microwave to use for storage. In that container, I keep popcorn, chips, chip clips, hot chocolate packets & a few small items like that. I emptied the items into a container & used that for my fridge items. I fill it up, that's all I had to use. Tossed out an expired bottle of ketchup & mustard. Well the mustard, I could not tell the date on it, so since it's such an inexpensive product anyhow, in the trash it went. Then cleaned out the freezer, didn't have much there either. One frozen food item & frozen dog bones. No, not for me!! My doggies! Then I shut down the fridgemeister. Um, my freezer must have had an eskimo living in it. I saw an igloo. Really. So I attacked the igloo with a heater that I borrowed from my friend. But the heater had a shut off button on the bottom! So then, I had to find something to prop under that to keep the button pushed in. Found a box of baking soda (which is now residing inside the fridge) & two boxes of playing cards that were contained in hard plastic cases. Then I had to hold my breath, check my pulse, (no sneezing!), to stabilize the heater on top of the boxes hanging the top with a bungie at the same time. Presto, success! I walk away, it all falls down...grrr. So once again, I follow the same steps, this time it stays! Yay, it melts the igloo. I kept checking it in total fascination over the melting ice (I need a life huh?).  Oh & I also bought a shammy to place on the freezer floor to collect igloo debris. It worked quite well. Then at one bright light moment, it dawned on me to just pull the igloo off because it was all falling apart anyhow. Duh. So I did. Then I sat it in the sink so it could freeze the sink.

OK, so now WAKE UP! Because I see your eyes falling asleep over this boring post! So here's the boring pics to go with the boring postey. (& you didn't know I could see you did you? Please go put something on that is more presentable--Really!)

The heater doing it's balancing act. Oh & it got used at the very lowest setting!

Look at that back wall, I TOLD YOU there was an igloo in there!!

Shammy WOW!

Igloo debris melting all over the shammy wow.

Back wall of the igloo!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Odor Control & preparing the RV for service

Hi, hope all is well with everyone today.

Since I had the overhead damages, I bought plastic to seal the area down with till the RV goes in for repairs. This is an effort to cut down on odor smells & hopefully, cut down on any mold issues as well. I got my electric air purifier out of the cabinet, which uses a carbon filter to help clear molds out of the air. I got odor absorbing pellets & put a Dri-Z-Air unit in the over head area sealed under the plastic to aid in the war of the overhead cab area. They are my temporary soldiers ;-)

My curtains look green here. They aren't, it's just the lighting. However, I've listed them to come down too so they don't get damaged!

Dri-Z-Air is a product developed to take moisture out of the air. You put Dri-Z-Air pellets in the container & they will dissolve into liquid, which the container holds in the bowl portion of the unit. You throw that away, but not down the sink. I dispose of the liquid outside on the grass. It will damage metals, but I also place the unit inside of a bowl as a precaution of it not spilling outside of it's own little bowl.

The odor elimator pellets should last years! I just took them off the overhead cab area & put them out in the sun so they can rejuvinate. I think you're supposed to do that every six months, but I thought it best to do it today so the sun can destroy any mold thingys (spores I guess?). I think I'll place that in the back part of the RV during the repairs as well since the RV will be closed up when they aren't working on it.

This is a smaller version of odor absorbing crystals that are meant for the fridge. So they are out in the sun right now too. Sun? YES SUN!!! We gots sun today! yay! But I did think that maybe the world was simply coming to an end when I saw a bright light in the sky. Truly. We've not seen that bright light in days. Or maybe I was heading for the heavens & just didn't realize it?? Ok, back to reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had prepared the RV for temporary usage, now I have to prepare it for the repairs. And take items out that are needed for daily use. Also remove important items that I should not leave inside Ellie during the time of reconstruction of the overhead cab. I started making a list on paper. This way, although I plan on trying to keep pretty much everything together in the same spot (cept fridge items -- because they could get gross in a box beside my other stuff..they could grow legs & arms & attack other things. really.It can happen. It might happen in your dreams tonight), I can check the list when things have to return to Ellie when she returns to her space in the driveway.

I will call Felton's RV service tomorrow to see if I can take Ellie over there on Tuesday morning to drop off for the start of the repairs. I hope I won't be without her too long! Another thing that I was impressed with was, since I told them that I live in my RV, their first question was, how will you get around? Do you have another vehicle to drive? I said yes & they actually looked relieved that I'd be ok! Wow. I wasn't going to get that kind of concern with the other folks, I was impressed. They were also concerned where I'd live in the meantime, but I told them that I had planned on staying in my friend's house.

Another friend of mine suggested that I seal the back part of the RV up with a plastic sheet. Great Idea!! That way, that part can remain somewhat clean from debris & such from the rebuild. So I'll need to see if I can get a tension bar long enough to stretch from the walls & hang a sheet of plastic over that. GREAT IDEA! Otherwise, if I can't find a tension bar that long, I can probably use the wall puddy stuff that's removable. I bought extra when I did my cute kitchen plaques.

I debated whether to take my plants out or not. But I think I'll just put them in the kitchen sink & leave them in the RV. They should be ok for 10 days. The African Violets are in violet containers that hold water & the other is a succulent, so doesn't need much water. One of the violets is starting to bloom. Bummer, it'll be in it's stages of blooming while gone, but they usually last for quite awhile before the little flowers die off.

See the new little bloomies? Cool!

Ok, I've yammered on long enough. I must get busy. Have a great day everyone!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

I am over my head..er uh, overhead

Hi everyone, hope all is well with ya'll. It's been a few days since I've posted. Have been very busy.

I finally have some GOOD NEWS!! I have found & chosen the place to fix my RV - YAY! And at a good decent price, not a scalpers cost. A price I can afford & whew! Complete overhead rebuild - $3,200.  Much better than the other estimates I've gotten. OK, so now I'm going to blow the horn on PPL. They were the ones that rudely told me that it would be 10-12K to rebuild my overhead cab! I was shocked over that & even more shocked over the attitude that was tossed my way. I tried to complain, but was there at a bad time as all the important people to complain to were out to lunch. However, this was not my bad first negative experience with PPL, so I am now done with them. They sent me to the wrong person last year when I wanted to buy another rig, so I lost the opportunity to buy it. One of the associates made me feel bad that I live in a motorhome. Then there was the time I parked in the handicapped section (it was shortly after my surgery & I have a placard on the window's rear view mirror). They hunted me down & made me move while I was hobbling around the parking lot! They apologized, but I still felt they were wrong with their actions. They did damages to my rig when I had it in for a fridge install. ( I need to mention that Joy in the service dept came through with flying colors, & made things right for me during that time - she was great) However, with the other things I've mentioned, I will from now on, take my business elsewhere. So onto the good news & the place I found. It's Felton's RV service  http://www.feltonsrvservice.com/  They have been around for 25 years. I am soooo glad to have found them! I think I saw a link to them on the internet on someone's RV blog & followed it, which led me to them. They said they could have my rig done in 5 days, but asked for 10. I allowed them 10 as I feel it won't be rushed through that way since they did ask for the extra time. It's not there yet, I'll get Ellie there next week when the weather clears back up. I told them I didn't want to drown while I was driving her ;-)  And I met & spoke with the guy that is going to be doing the actual work. I find that impressive as well since so often, the repairs are done without one knowing the parties, & never really get to meet them.

I can't wait to get my bedroom back!! I found these pics. I know most people use the little RV ladders they get with their C's, but I don't have one. I went to buy one when I got my RV, but I didn't really like them. I was afraid they looked too unstable for me. So I bought a step ladder instead & it's so very valuable! When I'm not using it to climb into bed with, I can use it outside for a few things as well. Like the time my awning saver jammed, so I needed to climb up the ladder to unassemble it as my awning also was jammed too.

Here are some pics of the ladder & how it fits well into my RV. Click on each image to make them bigger for better viewing if needed.

From this picture, you can see the view coming down the ladder. I never would try it going forward - ladders are not meant for that anyhow. But you can see how the footing is great on this!

Cept there have been times where I miscounted steps & thought I was at floor level, only to find a foot stomp while it hit the ground! But that's another story huh?

And here is a pic of Ellie in the snow! Once in a very rare while, we get snow in Southeast Texas! (oh, this isn't new snow, it's an old photo)

And what is snow without a snowman?

My cute little snowman that I built on top of my mailbox  ;-)

It was funny, the breeze would catch his arms & he'd wave at the drivers passing by. He even made Fox26 news! heehee

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Sleet & shred!

Hello all, hope all is well with everyone today.

We had Sleet today! Yes, sleet. Yes, really. Yes, sleet. A rare occasion here in Southeast Texas!
And it was cold today. Ok, so I can see some of ya'll sneering at me. Stop it. It was cold for us here in Southeast Texas, so there! And well, I was wrong, but I already did a video & I was wrong. It's not in the freezing temps tonight like I thought it would be. But I will not be complaining about that. So you're surprised huh? No? I didn't think so ;-) It's actually 2 degrees warmer tonight than it was today. Today was 42, tonight, 44. Break out the burmuda's baby! Bermudas? Ah well, you know what I'm saying. But my electric heater is churning on HIGH! Because I'm cold. It was 64 in here, so I kicked up the heat. Will turn it back to the 1st level though once I turn on the electric blanket. I should be snuggled in bed now, but this is the only time I've had today to blog, so be it.


Here is a video of our sleet. Ok, so you really can't see the sleet, but if you listen REAL HARD, you "might" be able to hear it! Yea, ok, don't strain your ears...



So what else did I do today, other than the regular chores? I went through 3 boxes of paper work & shredded away! So what's one of the things you grab from your home when a hurricane is approaching? The shredder?? Well, I guess because I still have it. Strange what we do, but I'm glad I have it.

What did my computer do while I was shredding away bits of paper, credit card invites, receipts, etc? It was doing this:

And it did that for 3.5 hours. I thought it would never quit! But I had to defrag because my computer became non-responsive. When that happens, I am usually tempted to go toss it in a pond. I used to want to toss my computer in the bayou when I lived near the bay, but there aren't any here. There are ponds though! :::blurp:::blurp:::blurp:::   I don't leave it on 24/7. If I did, it would have to have CPR. Computer Program Rescue. (that sounds lame). So I usually defrag it myself rather than let the computer auto defrag because my computer is off at night. And I don't want it defragging when I'm trying to use it otherwise.

So much for that boring subject. So much for my boring day. So now ya'll can sleep well after reading this post. ;-) 

My puppy dogs all got raw bones today. They were happy campers. They don't get cooked bones because they can become brittle & actually be life threatening to a dog. And cooking them also makes them harder, so bad for the teefeys. They have to wear snoods when they eat so they don't eat their ears too. I just realized I don't have a picture of a saluki with a snood on. Oh wait, yes I do. Poor Feather wore one when I stuck those leaves in it for her Thanksgiving photo!

I think maybe I embarassed her that day...ya think?

OK, time to call it a night. Sleep well everyone.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Loafin' off

Welcome to Kenny & Angela of Kenny & Angela's adventure - RV Life Is Good - http://rvlifeisgoodtoday.blogspot.com/    They now have a 5ver & are preparing it for a fulltime adventure in the future if I'm not mistaken. I've followed their site before & thought I was a member, but found I wasn't. Funny how you can follow someone, then realize that you haven't joined, so I joined them today too!

So for a meatloaf review with the new meatloaf pan. Yes, I can literally say I was loafing around today! Well, actually, I was loafing around in two regards. Took two pain pills today & it was all I could do to stay awake for most of the day! I'd read an email, fall asleep. Read a blog, fall asleep. Took care of dogs & would fall asleep between crews. I don't like being out of it like that & I try to avoid the pills during the day time hours. Before I took the pills, I sat out some hamburger meat to thaw. Then around 5pm, I decided to turn it into meatloaf & use the new pan! So I did. The pan worked great! The meatloaf was a bit on the dry side though. I will say that it was pretty cool (well, actually hot), to lift it out of the pan with the raised thing in it. I sat that down on a plate & just slid the meatloaf onto the plate. And it did stay together! It held together quite well. But I think the meat I used must have been very lean. No grease in that pan at all, just little drippings. So the test of the pan kind of failed in a way because of the lean meat. But I think the pan will work great for less lean meats & that it is a good idea. I also made scalloped potatoes to go with the meatloaf. Yum!

So here are a few pictures: (taken by cell phone again)

As you can see, this is how dirty the pan got. No grease pit at all.

 Although it looks burned, it was a very easy clean up! The pan is teflon I think. Will have to read up on that, but I think it is.

OK, gotta go shut down now. The effects of the pills are still with me. I do not do drugs well! They stay with me for at least 24 hours & I'm fading......zzzz.zzzzzzzz.......zzzzzzzzzzzz

Nite all, sleep well

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

I am weak, I am a sucker..I am a weak sucker

Howdy, hope all is well with everyone today!

I am sooooooo weak when it comes to kitchen stuff!! But I could not resist. I have to be careful or I can become a kitchen item hoarder! But better than other types of hoarders? At least kitchen items don't smell ;-)    Usually.

So I saw this at the Dollar General Store yesterday. I had to take it to the counter to get a price on it. They told me $15. I said never mind, I don't really need it. Then she sat it aside! WHAT! She sat it aside just because I said I don't want it!?? WHAT!? (ok, this is my crazy side a'showin') My purchase on the other items was only $3.something. Sooo, I thought to myself, oh buy the "blankin" pan & be done with it! You'll just sit there & think, oh why didn't I buy that"...I do that a lot. Talk myself out of things. Except toilet paper. I might be in trouble if I ever talk myself out of that. Really.
So I said, ok, ring up the pan, I'll take it. Then I asked what the return policy is. So long as I don't rip the package or don't lose the sales slip, it's refundable. So then I said, thanks, I need to be sure it fits my tiny RV oven. Then I felt stupid because, well, really, it's just a small bread sized baking pan! I'm pretty sure they are usually relieved when I leave the premises. 8-}

So here it is: note that the pics were taken with my cell phone, so the quality isn't as good because I'm too lazy to grab the real camera, take it out of the case, shoot, then upload. Life is too short for that. Really. Trust me. But I do edit my cell phone pics too, so yes, once again, I am crazy. It's the photographer in me. The stupid perfectionist in me. Or maybe just the crazy side of me?

Sorry for the less than quality pics, but you get the general idea now. Which is better than a general's idea mayhaps?


Nothing much else going on today. Cept rain. Ugh. And more rain in the way for the next several days - boo hiss!!

I DID find an RV place that may be able to fix the RV at a reasonable rate (YAY) instead of the outrageous price of 12K!! I'm still shocked over that one....And the guy was very nice. Said he'd even meet me after hours. But I won't do that to him. I will have to wait till next Thurs or Fri to get the RV to him, but I can barely wait that long. But I must. Because of the rains. So I scheduled my therapy for Mon-Tues-Wed of next week to get it out of the way first.

I am hoping my wheels will find the pavement for a northerly route in the month of April. And I hope to get the RV repaired in the month of February!! Blasted weather anyhow.

Have a great day everyone - I think I'm going to run to the grocery store, then come back & pop in a movie. My friends want tai chicken tonight for dinner & I gets ta be da cook. I'm saving the meatloaf pan for my personal cooking use later. I try not to use my items in their house because I'm always afraid of leaving them in there & forgetting about them. And it occured to me last night that I am actually like a workcamper here! I cook, I take care of their dogs, etc....in trade for a free spot in their driveway & free electricity. I just didn't realize that till last night - maybe I'm a tad slow ;-) 


~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Repair woes & bracelets

                               Hi blogger friends, I hope all is well with everyone.

I've been on the phone lately trying to get ballpark estimates on the overhead repairs. So far, the range has been from $4.5K to um, $12K! Wow, was I shocked over the $12K quote!! For now, I will refrain from mentioning what place that was. I plan on calling in the morning as I was having issues with the guy that gave me the quote. He copped a bad attitude with me & was rude about it. I guess the big city RV places don't need business enough to even be pleasant anymore!? Not to mention (well I am, aren't I) the absurd price they quoted me. I also found a review site & they were not very favored. To be honest, I've used them before & sustained damages to my RV from them. I called one of the managers & they made good by offering some free work & a discount on the work they did, but still, the damages should never have happened to begin with. They seem to view my RV as a piece of junk because it's not a newer model. That to me is RUDE. This same company also made me feel bad about living in my RV because of losing my house after Hurricane Ike. I should NEVER go back there! I was scolded by a certain person of this company for living in my RV with DOGS! ::shudder::!!!
He spoke of how his house is perfect, how inconvienced he was when he had to evacuate for Hurricane Rita (which didn't turn out to be a big deal here, except for the zillion fire ant bites I got during the clean up), blah, blah, blah....well, as you can imagine, I could not seem to dig up any sympathy for such a person. Especially since the person was dissing me! Wow. Amazing. So now it looks like my woes are turning into a rant. Sorry. I tried to take issue while I was there, but all the people of importance were out to lunch. Just my luck. I started to tear up, so had to leave asap. I just could not face anyone anymore.

I am considering on doing some of the repair myself, but not sure if I can do that or not. I just don't have a big expense account. Due to my injury in 2010, I got caught up in red tape & was told by my specialist that I should not work. Well, I could not walk well & had pain, lots of pain, every day, so driving was hard, & I had to let go of a good driving job before I could even start it. Anyhow, I digress. I'm just looking for a way to make my way through all this mess right now. I am on the right path towards healing & am getting stronger each day, so am grateful for that.

My RV is not just a motorhome. It's my home. The place I park my boots & hang my hat. The place I lay my head down at night & raise it each morning. (well, the rest of my body follows too because that would be weird otherwise). I've maintained this RV through the years I've owned it. I've done more than many women will do with theirs. I have to do most of the work myself. But I don't mind. I do mind those that judge me though & take the simple things of life for granted. I can't afford to take life or money for granted. Life is a gift & money is to be earned. I take pride in what I am capable of doing with my house on wheels.

So for now, the RV remains parked in a driveway, plastic still staying intact. I've called many RV places so far, one is supposed to come to take a look at it & give me a quote. Oh yes, then there was the guy that told me to trash it....that was nice huh? He kept calling it a trailer. I finally said it's not a trailer it's a motorhome & it's my home! He instantly changed his tune after that. But still ...oops, again, I digress.

I probably should not post any of this at all, but I am going to anyhow. It helps when we all have to get things like this off our chest. It helps others to learn through our situations. I've been looking at repair blogs to see what I can find & learn on taking on the task myself if needed.

And of course, if anyone has had any RV repairs done in the Houston, TX area & were happy with the results, please let me know of them as well.

Thanks.

This is Roper, one of those ::shudder:: dawgs!

Here is what I did over the weekend. It was nice to have the time to just sit & create. The pics aren't the best. I can take better pics of each item, which I usually do, but a friend wanted to see them, so I took a quick shot of what I had done.

These are called ladder bracelets. They are fun to make & I am hoping to make a bunch for a craft show. The two above have swarovski crystals on them. I like using glass beads, but do use other beads as well. I just love the brilliance of glass beads though. So pretty!

The detail just doesn't really show up well in these photos. The tan one with the peace beads are man sized, the others are woman sized.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

What is it? Mexican Eagles & a sunset

Hi, I hope everyone is doing well today.

Thought I'd start out with last nights sunset. It was beautiful! I especially liked the suns rays peering out between the broken clouds in the sky. That was what caught my attention. I ran to the RV, grabbed my camera, then had to hike it to the back pasture to get the shots. Carefully, as it's been raining & it's swampy back there. Our sunsets don't last very long here. You blink & gone! I missed the sun within a matter of a short minute of walking to a spot to try to shoot it, but still caught the rays.

We saw 3 of these birds the other day. Of course, they were spotted on the way home & no camera in hand! No place to pull over for a photo op either. I keep looking for them, but never see them where I can actually pull over for shoots. They are really impressive looking birds. Often referred to as The Mexican Eagle, but are actually Caracara cheriway. They are actually well dressed vultures.
I want to go camping on Gonzales county in Texas to go get my eyes full of them! Or hope to at least. http://www.texasescapes.com/FEATURES/Gonzales_-_Caracara/feature_caracara.htm

This is a stock photo taken from google.

Now for another direction - I have this thing in my kitchen. I call it the Lhama.

Why?

Because it spits on me!

All of the time.

It waits.

It lurks.

I enter.

It spits.

At least it spits a nice odor at me ;-)

And now for the "What is it?" item

What is this?

Care

To

Guess?

Do

You

Know?

Does this help?

How 'bout this?

A porcupine???

Nah, it's a fold up hair brush & mirror!!

Saw it at WalMart the other day & thought it would be a cool gizmo to pack into a back pack someday when I can hike again! Cool or junk? Or maybe just cool junk? My downfall is, I like gadgets! And it's only $1.00 in the travel item section where you buy the small containers to put shampoos & such in.

Oh & tomorrow, someone is supposed to come give me a quote on the overhead repairs. Wish me luck & that it'll be afffffordable!!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

I'm like Mary Tyler Moore!

Yesiree Bob, I am like Mary Tyler Moore!!! teehee

Why?


Because I can't sleep here right now:

My overhead bed before the damages...now it's all naked & scary looking. And poor comforter is living in a blastic...er uh, black plastic bag in my van waiting to be used again...one day...with the matching sheets so they don't all get lonesomes.

Instead, I sleep here right now:

Night use

Each night, I set up my bed. I also use an air mattress on the jack knife sofa, so that requires inflating it every night & deflating it every morning.

Day use

And the above is day use sofa. (I really need to get a new sofa cover - just how long does temporary last? I've been calling this my temporary cover for a bit too long now -- if I don't use it, then items fall between the sofa sections  -- at one time, it used to be a cat..don't ask..she was crazy about dissapearing under the sofa)

Mary Tyler Moore lived in an efficiency apartment.

Motorhomes are like efficiency apartments.

Mary Tyler Moore slept on a sofa bed.

I'm sleeping on a jack knife sofa.

Mary Tyler Moore had to make her bed each night & fold her bed back up each morning.

I make my bed each night & fold it back up in the morning.

SEE! I'm like Mary Tyler Moore!! Now where's my hat? Will a baseball cap do?

If I toss the cap into the air, will it strike a bird? Can it knock an eye out?

Should I really be worried about that?!? Should I call it a night & inflate my bed now?

Um, probably.....Nite all. ;-)

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~





Decisions...descions...sedsinons...

Yea, can't type that one three times!! 8-)

I hope everyone is having a great day!

I'm still in limbo on what to do. I am leaning towards keeping my RV & buying a small closed in cargo trailer to tow behind. Part of my problem is, the RV is not big enough. It's not even big enough to hold a simple vacuum cleaner anywhere, except the bathtub! I have a cargo carrier on the back of the rig, that holds my dogs expens, a grooming crate & 2 plastic bins. One of the bins holds clean dog blankets & at the bottom, holds a bbq grill that is in it's own canvas cover. The other bin is empty. I use it for soiled dog blankets when I travel, if someone soils a blanket or just needs a fresh one. As ya'll know, I never actually planned on living in my rig, but found myself living in it after a hurricane damaged my house too badly for me to live in...that's another story, but the reason I moved into my RV in the year of 2008.


It was fine for awhile, I was AM GRATEFUL to have it, grateful that it's totally paid for, grateful that it gives me a place to lay my head at night. A safe place until the damages occurred to it in Nov 2011. For now, I sleep on the sofa with an airbed on that. Which is fine, but I have to set it up each night & take it down each morning. Anyhow, getting back to my dilemma. Until those damages heaved themselves upon me, I was considering trading or selling my RV in for a bigger one. Now it's probably going to cost a lot to have the overhead cab totally rebuilt. But if I sell it as is, then I will lose too much on any resale value, thus, that will suck into revenue for another RV. I want to own the next one outright as well. I haven't worked since my accident in 2010. I am getting better & have plans for my future once I can get totally back on my feet again. I was caught in a bunch of red tape so-to-speak. The docs didnt' want me working as they said walking or standing too much would not be good for me. Sitting too much also irritates me. But soon, that will all be behind me. I've received some compensation, but when one finds themselves in a medical hurricane, that's not fun either!

Sooo, I think my decision is to get the RV fixed & continue living in it till I can work & save money towards a bigger rig. And just get a cargo carrier that can hold my extra things, like the expens, extra dog supplies, my cleaning supplies, jewelry making supplies, etc.   I've yet to have a chance to take the RV out for more estimates though. Thought I could do that on Friday...nope, rain will be heading our way again on Friday. It rained today, will rain tomorrow & maybe Thursday. Now that I have the funds to get it fixed, it won't quit raining long enough for me to get it fixed! Life is strange huh? From drought to rain, rain, rain. But only rain on the only days I can find to take the motorhome in!

My current set up. I also have a bike carrier that attaches to my ladder in which to carry my bicycle.

A photo of a cargo trailer that I borrowed from the web. This one already sold when I called about it. But time is on my side as far as finding another one. I want to find a used one as opposed to buying a new one at a much higher cost!

I hope to go onto Pa to visit with my family for the summer. I want to leave in April. The doc ordered more therapy for me though, which is fine. I can work on getting stronger & by the time therapy is done, then the months will be better for my leaving weather wise anyhow.

Good news is, I am getting stronger! I hope to see lots of hiking in my future too. Lots of dog walking along the way to Pa. Some exploring along the way there, stopping at state parks for a few nights at a time.

Rain clouds from window view of docs office. The street that you can see that runs along side of the building floods when it rains a lot. Fortunately today was just spurts of rains here & there instead of our usual torrential rains. Samsung cell phone photo.

So what do you do when sitting, waiting, tapping your feet in the docs office while waiting? You take pics of course! Samsung Cell phone pic.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

We be bloomin'

The other night, I took this photo. But I didn't have the settings set right on the camera, so it didn't turn out very well. But I wonder what the little dot are in the photo? I found them rather odd. Bugs? I think I used the flash, so it probably hightlighted bugs.

The clouds looked so interesting that night, too bad I didn't have the camera set right.

It's January, right? Well that's almost over, but still, we be bloomin' all over the place here now!
Today was sooo gorgeous. Cool, yet gorgeous. Folks bike riding everywhere, families on bikes. Families on walks. They all seemed to be out together today as I cut through the neighborhoods to run my errands instead of running on the main drag where the traffic is heaviest. Green grasses everywhere, flowers blooming everywhere - just a beautiful day!

This tree is in my friends' yard. I don't know what the tree is, but the little white flowers are so pretty. I think white flowers are about my favorite color of flower. When I had my house, I did one flower bed in white one year. It was so neat at night to go out & visit the pretty white flowers.

The blooming tree.

And I had an assistant while working:

This Ihop. He gained his name after being found at an Ihop restarauant, unfortunately, hit by a car. He was taken to a vet, vetted & had an artifical hip inplanted due to the accident. He was then adopted by my friends when the lady that saved him could no longer care for him. He's a pretty cool cat.

These flowers are Virignia Creeper. Rather pretty huh?

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day today! Keep livin' the good life!!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~