Day 68 / 297

Saylorville Lake Sunny 81 Degrees

Some days you just need to keep it simple. This photograph I took this morning and my thought as I took it, sum up my day.



Until tomorrow...

Day 67 / 298

Saylorville Lake Sunny 80 Degrees

If you are a camper, think about how much time you spend outside relaxing, eating and entertaining. If you like that aspect of a camping weekend, then you have a good idea of what it is like to be a full-timer. Just like at your local weekend campground, there are some outlyers who spend most of their time in the great indoors, however most of us like to be outside, hence the lifestyle.

I have noticed a peculiarity among the full-time community. We tend to socialize outside. I haven’t quite figured it out. Champ and I are quite open people and are not bashful about inviting people inside our little dwelling. I do notice a strange air of hesitance of others to enter and just sit down and relax. I in turn feel the same strange hesitation when I go in someone’s camper. It is quite a peculiar thing. Maybe it is the small space, or perhaps fewer choices of places to sit than in a larger home. Maybe we are so used to being outside that we find ourselves most comfortable there. I can’t put my finger on it, but it does exist. When there is a knock on the door, the natural response seems to be to step outside rather than open the door and say "hey, come on in"  When I think about  how many people we know I realize many have never been inside, or if they have it’s just been in the doorway. I also have not been in theirs much. It seems to have nothing to do with how we feel about each other, it's just a weird quirk that seems to go with the lifestyle. We do socialize a lot and consider them friends but everything takes place outside. Even movie nights. There are a few people we know well who we spend time with indoors, but it is generally a rare event.

[caption id="attachment_782" align="alignleft" width="225"] Our favorite table[/caption]

Our patio is a multi-use space on a level not realized in a brick and mortar home and yard. It is a workshop for projects and power tools, an outdoor kitchen, the family room, a dining room more nights than not and of course it is the preferred place to entertain, both for the host and the guests. It is not uncommon to sweep away sawdust, set the table, light a candle and enjoy dinner after a day long project.

Maybe that is why most of don’t notice the compact space we live in. Yes, we get cooped up from time to time in inclement weather, but we don’t mind too much. This evening, like many days, after a day of planting, creating a new yard ornament as a repurposing project (stay tuned in a day or so) we brought out the grill, swept away the dirt from my gardening work today, wiped off the table and enjoyed our dinner while we worked on our spring tan and listened to the music accompanied by the birds.

Until tomorrow…

Day 66 / 299

Saylorville Lake Sunny 79 Degrees

There’s something about spring in the Midwest that is special. Maybe it is because is so hard to believe it will come after the brutality of winter here and usually, a long cold wet March and April. Spring is so hard to define by the calendar dates in this part of the country. On March 20^th the official start, it is rarely warm and snow storms, usually big ones, are quite common. On June 21^st, the official first day of summer, heat is well in place and it normally hasn't felt springlike in several weeks. Spring is fleeting at best, but oh so beautiful.

Spring in Texas is kind of like waking up from an afternoon nap. Things haven’t been asleep long if at all and after a few short weeks of cool weather everything goes back to normal. You barely notice anything has changed it is so subtle compared to a Midwest spring.

[caption id="attachment_777" align="alignleft" width="300"] Just Opened[/caption]

There are two things I really love about spring. My absolute favorite is the unique color of light, bright green the leaves of northern deciduous trees have when they first open. You don’t see that particular color anywhere else in nature and it only lasts a few days before the leaves start to darken. Put that against a brilliant blue sky on a clear spring day and it is the best color in the world. There is something pure and crisp and clean about it. Like spring weather, the condition is short-lived, so I savor it.

[caption id="attachment_778" align="alignleft" width="300"] Facing the camera, Hunter fielding the ball[/caption]

The other is baseball. It is the only sport I truly like to watch, and my daughter’s oldest boy started playing this year. I am going to love spending the summer going to little league games. I went to my first one today and had such a great time watching those little guys start to learn the game. Hunter is a natural athlete, and I look forward too watching him develop of the next several summers.

Today, is one of those days that sounds like a typical day of anyone else who has grandkids, likes to be outside and has time to savor life. Maybe the answer today is, “In a lot of ways, it’s not that much different from the old life”

Until tomorrow…

Day 65 / 300

Saylorville Lake Sunny 78 Degrees

The sun came up today and the universe feels a little more aligned than it has the past few days. The thing about unexpected repairs in this life is you create the same mess fixing the issue, but it occurs in a much smaller space. We got our new fridge this morning thanks to our son-in-law helping pick it up and get it into the motor home. Our site and the inside of the motor home looked like a bomb went off most of the day.

Today was mine and my friend Joyce’s day to go greenhouse hopping and lunch. What a glorious day it was to be at a greenhouse. Gardener’s with cabin fever and aching green thumbs were out in droves. All of us euphoric about finally getting  outside to ruin our manicure and start growing stuff! It is by far the happiest shopping experience that I engage in. Doing it with my good friend makes it all the sweeter.

When we returned to my site, that was looking a bit like a salvage yard with multiple projects incomplete, the new refrigerator was inside, Champ had just finished installing the ice maker and was getting ready to start modifying the space to fit this unit. We were on deck to pick up our grandson Hunter at school today so I left him again. I got to spend a couple of good one on one time with Hunter and then it was back to the homestead to a brand new refrigerator, making ice and all my food back in one place. As ambivalent as I was with the unexpected expense of buying a new one, I really love our new refrigerator. We had a nice residential refrigerator in our 5^th Wheel and I have missed it since buying the motor home. One less thing to miss about my beloved Montana.

[caption id="attachment_772" align="alignright" width="300"] Baltimore Orioles are back![/caption]

The day kept getting better, as we sat on the patio relaxing and having a beer before dinner, I heard the distinct song of the Baltimore Oriole adding another layer of complexity to the symphony of calls in the timber behind our site. I ran for the camera of course and got my binoculars out and let my beer get warm while I gawked at the Oriole serenading his mate and as a bonus saw my first Rose Breasted Grosbeak of the season.

[caption id="attachment_773" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rose Breasted Grosbeak[/caption]

Being a firm believer in the law of averages, the blissful day I had today, leveled the previous four days that have been trying, to say the least. In a world going crazy with extreme politics and madmen driving the crazy train, it is nice to just sit and listen to the birds and look at the woods awaken from the long Iowa winter.

Until tomorrow…

 

 

Day 64 / 301 Stormy Weather

Saylorville Lake – Cloudy Stormy 62 Degrees

[caption id="attachment_768" align="alignleft" width="225"] Annie keeping an eye on the ceiling. Buster annoyed with the noise of the rain on the roof.[/caption]

Another day of storms. Both climatological, emotional and political. Iowa passed a very controversial piece of legislation that has me up in arms along with most everyone. We are getting national attention in a form that is not desirable.  Some are elated, others like me are horrified. My home state is more divided today than I have ever seen it.

Our friend Beth, who is camping at Saylorville, came over to visit. It was so nice to see her! During our visit, we got time to gather with our fellow volunteers. It was an impromptu gathering when the tornado sirens went off, the Ranger called us to make sure we heard the sirens and everyone’s cell phone started pinging with weather alerts. We spent the better part of an hour standing under the canopy in front of the pipe chase, our designated severe weather shelter.  The dogs all came as well and got on splendidly!

[caption id="attachment_765" align="alignright" width="300"] Brownie in her safe zone[/caption]

One poor soul, Brownie is afraid of storms and went straight into the chase and huddled herself under a utility shelf. Probably the smartest one of all of us! It rained hard, but the severe weather didn’t materialize as it passed over us. It has been dangerous in other areas this evening, so we dodged a bullet.  The weather created an interesting opportunity for quality time to get to know the newly arrived volunteers. I am glad that our first gathering wasn’t a traumatic one huddled together in a pipe chase while tornadoes or straight line winds raged outside. I’ll take it. As I write tornadoes are touching down about 40 miles south of us.

We’ll have clear skies and sun beginning tomorrow. 80-degree temps should bring out the coveted Morrell mushrooms in the next few days. The pear and crab apple trees have bloomed and the tulips are up in time for the Pella Tulip Festival this weekend. It’s starting to feel like spring in Iowa. The storms in all forms will billow up over the next few weeks as summer heat and humidity settles in till September.

Until tomorrow...

Day 63 /302 Yes, Full-Time RV'ers Have Crappy Days Too

Saylorville Lake, Cloudy Stormy 65 Degrees

I often wonder if I can keep the daily posting interesting for a year.  What we are doing is foreign to most of the people we know at home, but very unordinary to the community of full-timers we meet along the way. Today is one for the books as they say. All the factors that people wonder if they could tolerate are being tested today. Let’s just say it isn’t always roses and unicorns in this world either.

Remember when I talked the other day about looking up mobile RV repair services when you land somewhere? It came up today for us. The lightning strike near the RV yesterday may or may not have anything to do with the fact that the refrigerator quit during the night. The insurance company will be more trouble than the $500 deductible and claim process is worth to try to prove or disprove it. After some trouble shooting around 7AM this morning Champ narrowed the problem down to the control board or the HTS board. Not something that he has access to parts for and in the gray area where we decide to call someone. I went to work today, he stayed back to address the eminent food spoilage. He left a voicemail to each of the numbers provided to us by a local dealer who told us they were mobile repair guys. I went to work thinking there would be some sort of solution or at least a plan, by the time he picked me up at 4:00.

[caption id="attachment_762" align="alignright" width="225"] The Interim[/caption]

Enter the Venus / Mars living in very small quarters scenario. If you are reading this and know us, you know we generally get along well despite our very different temperaments. I am a doer, usually at warp speed. He is painfully laid back (for me to watch anyway). At 4:00 when he picked me up I had arranged to borrow a small dorm fridge to help supplement the ice chest. (The freezer stuff is in one of our neighbors' freezer). All he had done all day is wait for the repair services to return his call which they had not and make a template for some corner shelves I want to build for the bedroom. He thought the shelf progress should make me happy, he was wrong.

As I fumed that he did no research on how to proceed, I called the Service help desk number on the front of the Norcold Manual and told them the situation and inquired about the price and availability of both boards, should we get someone to give a repair price, so I know if we’re getting screwed. At 4:30 we learned from that call that our 12-year-old fridge isn’t worth fixing. So much for waiting on the repair guy to call back!  More fuming on my part as I watched Champ keep a little more distance from me.

With the growing trend of putting residential refrigerators in RV’s the next step was to go to Lowes and pick out a new one that will fit in the space occupied by the Norcold. Why you ask? It’s simple math. A Norcold like the one in our RV is now $4,600.00 to replace. Not unlike the $675.00 kitchen table that we turned up our nose to last week. At 5:30 I was swiping a credit card for an 18 CFT stainless steel fridge with an ice maker from Lowes for $625.00. Remember, I said warp speed. The only hitch was they were a week out on delivery, not going to happen. We’ll borrow my daughters truck tomorrow and round up some help for cash or beer, depending on the help. With any luck we’ll have a new fridge tomorrow evening. Sometime before the end of summer Champ will wire it to the inverter to it will run while we roll on down the highway in November. I had the problem solved in 2 hours. He was more than willing to take all weekend to decide what to do.  Can you feel the tension in our little home on wheels? I'll forgive him because I love him and also because he has the ability to take out the RV fridge, bypass the duel fuel components that we wont need anymore and get the space ready for a non standard refrigerator. Like I said, we are very different but seem to be able to tolerate each others vastly different personalities. He's just happy I got logistics arranged and made the decision. Something he really hates doing.

Venus/Mars  - Oil / Water. Whatever we are it works, even in 300 square feet. And now for the best part, on the way home from Lowe’s after a failed attempt to watch a grandkids little league game that was called when the lightning started, we finally got a call back from one of the repair guys, some 12 hours after Champ left a message this morning. His reply? I can’t get parts for that model anymore . My thought was, 'Who cares, I went and bought I new one while we waited on you to call back!" 

Some days really suck.  This was one of them. Sometimes planning doesn’t save you. A good friend we worked with last winter is here at Saylorville. Getting her text this afternoon letting us know she was here, was the bright spot in my day.

Until tomorrow…

Day 62 / 303 Stormy Weather

Saylorville Lake – Stormy 65 Degrees

[caption id="attachment_758" align="alignright" width="200"] Lightning strike, blew limbs off and sent bark 50' away[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_757" align="alignright" width="200"] Lightning exit through trunk and out the bottom[/caption]

As I sat at my dining room table doing some computer work this morning a lightening strike louder than I’ve heard in years hit nearby. It shook the motor home. Both cats were sleeping peacefully on the floor nearby and both came straight off the floor then looked at me in the way only a cat can like “Do you mind keeping it down?” With that unexpected event, my topic today came to life.

What’s it like? Well, during stormy weather, it can be downright scary. Having grown up in the Midwest we are no strangers to severe thunderstorms, straight line winds, large hail and tornadoes. When you live in a house with a finished basement and the weather ticker at the bottom of the TV screen scrolls almost non-stop this time of year with weather warnings, one becomes very desensitized. A quick cure for that is to live in your RV during tornado season.

We are all vulnerable to severe weather. As a full-timer it becomes more important to scope out your closest shelter. It takes a lot of wind and force to tip over the big rigs of today, but they are still no place to ride out a bad storm.

I wouldn’t say I live in fear of the weather just because we don’t have a basement and footings to hold the house in the ground. We are a lot more vigilant, however, when we know weather is about to turn nasty. We pay more attention and make sure we know where to go if the situation calls for it. When we travel we watch the forecast closely.  This morning was a stark reminder that lightening can also be very dangerous when you live in a fiberglass box with miles of wire just a ½" behind the thin paneling that separates you from the elements. Stay safe out there!

Until tomorrow…