Octopus

Seems like everything is falling apart, so I have been working left, right and center like a blind one-armed wrestler fighting an octopus.

Oh how I wish I could draw a cartoon of this.

Better yet, if I were the octopus, I could fix things that requires 14 fingers, 3 thumbs and a left-handed right-angled screw driver.

Here's the turkey vulture, waiting to clean up after the fight. He looked to be about 3 feet tall! 

See ya round the campfire soon.

Maybe.

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

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Free Boondocking Not So Free

Recently an anonymous comment was posted on my blog January 20, 2015:

Maybe you should consider boondocking more? There is so much wide open FREE places to camp.

Ironically I am working on a lengthy article about long term boondocking and the true hidden costs. I am going to try to nail down a short article on this now to explain it in a nutshell. (Famous last words...)

Assuming they meant I could boondock for FREE  long term,  let's look at the hidden costs. First off boondocking has to be done during fair weather because heating and cooling is going to cost propane or electricity. That's not free. My generator can make electricity but it also consumes gasoline. My furnace consumes electricity or propane. Propane isn't being handed out for free on the street corner either.

Hmm... 

In my research, boondocking is not near as free as one would think. Sure it reduces the outlay of camping fees or RV park fees, but other costs go up substantially. In my case, from my research with my existing equipment (not outlaying to buy more) I would be settling for a vastly different quality of life and not saving any money. 

There may come a time when I am stronger, able to chuck it all and go live in these wild open spaces, but it won't compare at all the type of lifestyle I prefer to live at this point and time. 

My rig doesn't have a rain catcher or solar panels. It does have a generator fired up by gasoline and a 40 gallon fresh water tank. 

While "free" boondocking does indeed sound wonderful, I did my own research and found out that in my case with my current motorhome with it's current equipment, that SURPRISE SURPRISE (remember Gomer Pyle?) boondocking would cost me MORE than paying reasonable campground or RV park fees that include the luxury of utilities and other benefits, like being able to legally dispose of my garbage and running my little washing machine for clean laundry. The campgrounds I stay in provide electric and water, very often sewer hookups or a convenient dumping station. Some include internet access, otherwise I pay monthly for that on a no contract plan. 

Many of these "wide open spaces" will not accommodate my cell phone or internet. I prefer having a cell phone for security and convenience, even though mine is an idiot phone that only makes and receives calls. It doesn't take pics or text or play videos or any of that fancy stuff. About the internet, well I use it for managing my budget, paying bills, and writing this blog. I also use it for other reasons like research and sometimes plain fun reading. My computer phone is vastly cheaper than any cell phone plan, so that is a huge bonus allowing me to keep my cell phone cheap. But what the heck, that cell phone and internet is likely not going to work in these wide open spaces of free boondocking. Besides both will require recharging, the batteries on the cell phone and the laptop computer only last so long. 

Living fulltime in an RV is a combination of expenses including campground rents, fuel costs, maintenance and so on. Add to that there are the personal living expenses such as food and laundry etc.

I can only assume the "wide open free places" are probably out west. I am on the east coast, so heading west, about 2,500 miles for these wide open free places would cost about $1200 in gasoline at the current prices. Some of the wide open places do require a permit to be bought  to legally boondock. I don't want to be out breaking the law or waiting for that 4am knock on the door with authorities telling me to shuffle along. I would rather sleep peacefully. Also, while I do have a doggy f

Now in these wide open spaces of free boondocking with no utilities, let's get down to nuts and bolts. My current rig holds 40 gallons of water for flushing, drinking and cooking. I use a water purifier to convert tap water to drinking water. I don't have room in my tiny rig to store gallons and gallons of bottled water. I use about 2 gallons a day of purified water for drinking, making coffee, tea and cooking. Plus my toilet requires a little bit of water for flushing and then there is bathing and washing dishes. So 40 gallons of water might last me 10 days if I keep my usage super tight and I can power the water pump required to extract the water from the tank. 

Where to put garbage in these wide open spaces? I don't wish to litter up the land. My rig is small, I currently carry out my garbage at least once a day and often twice. Campgrounds include dumpsters. There is just no where for me to store garbage. I use the tiny grocery bags and I fill one a day, sometimes two. OK, if I flattened everything, maybe I could compact it better but I'd rather just walk it out daily to the dumpster provided by the campground or RV park. 

Speaking of cooking...
If I eat out, then pile up those costs on top of the fuel costs of moving every day. If I cook at home, it's cheaper, but you need water to wash the dishes. Ok, if I use paper plates and paper bowls and paper cups, I have to store all that somewhere while it's clean and store it again as garbage. Even so, if I cook in a pan, then water is needed to wash the pan. OK, if I simplify the menu and never cook I am either washing dirty dishes or piling up even more garbage.

Laundry...
I have a compact washer and I air dry my clothes. It's a small rig, I don't own many clothes, but I also use sheets and towels which I wash in my little washer. If I am boondocking without electricity and water hookups, then I can't run the washer anyhow, it requires electricity. Oh sure I could run the generator, but it uses gasoline. Add that cost to the free boondocking. If I use a laundromat to wash my clothes, then I have to travel to do the laundry, so that's more driving. More money into the fuel tank, money into the commercial washers because I can't use my washer. 

Electricity...
My rig is set up with a very small house battery and a generator. The generator needs gasoline to run. Add that cost to the free boondocking. The house battery will run lights, water pump and a fan for about a day or two before it needs recharging. Yepper, it's a tiny battery. I guess it can charge up while I am doing all that driving every day searching for the next free boondocking spot. 

I would prefer not to break the law, so I am only factoring in "legal" boondocking where one has permission to boondock. Walmart and Flying J are popular places for boondocking and while these may work for an overnighter hither and yonder, I seriously don't want to live in a commercial parking lot on a day to day basis. I want grass, sand or soft earth under my feet, not a paved parking lot. I have a doggy who needs his exercise. I love the outdoors, but frankly sitting in my rocking chair, soaking up car fumes in the Walmart parking lot trying to enjoy the outdoors doesn't seem very appealing to me. 

Most legal free places, want you to shuffle along after 24 hours, so boondocking will very often involve moving every single day to a new "free place". My fuel tanks requires gasoline and they aren't giving that away free, so I would have to factor in the extra cost of gas of traveling every single day.

The next free (legal) boondocking spot might be 10 miles away or 100 miles away. Even if I am in that wide open free boondocking spot, I am piling up garbage and dirty laundry.

I don't like traffic, I don't even like driving, but *ahem* I drive because it gets me places I want to be which in my case is living in places with grass or dirt and trees but with utilities (aka a campground!). So if I am boondocking and moving every single day, I am driving and putting money into the gas tank to go to the next spot. 

I spent over 10 years of my life living on a sailboat without a marina, without a generator, without electricity and catching rainwater for my drinking, cooking and showering. Luckily I could send my laundry out, but I had to row it ashore. Later I bought a small dinghy engine, so that was a huge treat to commute to shore with an engine. For a few years my sailboat had no engine of its own or mast, but luckily I had a small solar panel and that did power my lights, fan and water pump plus my ship to shore radio that ran my business. 

I loved it, and had a blast. In those days and times in the areas of the Caribbean where I was, anchoring was still free. Now those same places I so happily lived now require expensive mooring permits or marinas have built right on top of the old free anchoring spots. I didn't have to worry much with heating and cooling. It rarely dropped below 70F degrees and never below 60F so I could throw a sarong around my shoulders and I had cotton blankets on board. If it was hot, I relied mostly on the tradewinds to keep me cool or I went swimming to cool off. 

Living in my little old motorhome for me these days,  is much different. With my complicated medical issues, it's far better and cheaper for me to have access to electricity and water. The big BONUS is I don't have to drive every day either. 

Maybe at some point I will be in great health, convert to camper van and go camp with nature in the wide open spaces, eating beans out of a can, peeing under bushes and wearing dirty clothes, but for now... Life is goof!

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

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Seeing Stars

Life is fantastic! The sun came up, I woke up alive and I did things I didn't want to do.

Defrosting the freezer in my motorhome is never fun, but my unit is not a self defroster so it's a thankless chore that must be done to keep the refrigerator happy. Last summer I set up the freezer to defrost with the door open in the hallway. I was planning to walk the doggy and come back to mop up the melted ice then restart the refrigerator. But I spilled my water bottle in the floor. While bending over to mop up the mess, I came up fast slamming my big hard head into the corner of the freezer door. I saw stars!

For weeks I had a huge painful lump just behind the hairline. Brushing my hair was super painful. I was also pretty goofy for weeks.

This time when I had to defrost the freezer I tied a red scarf around the door as a constant reminder to not get distracted again and whack my silly head. I can push the door back further towards the hallway, that is where it was when I slammed into it before.

Luckily this time, I managed to defrost the freezer without injuring my silly head. Thank goodness for small favors!  I really like the bright red scarf with white stars on it. I sometimes tie it around my forehead to ride my bicycle so my long hair stays out of my face and eyes. Dollar Tree carries festive scarfs now and then. They are always just a $1 which is easy on my efficient budget. I thought it was funny, that after slamming my head, I found a scarf with stars on it while out shopping for food. It seem like a fitting purchase.

Photographing the little pond across from my campsite amuses me. The reflection in the water reminds me of Renoir paintings.  I am super blessed to enjoy this view at my campsite.

Sometimes I take a photo of life on the road, life in the camp, to remind myself what a joy it is to wake up alive with a roof over my head and food in the fridge.

Other times the pic reminds me I need to seriously tidy things up! But in the case, you can easily tell I am living outdoors as much as possible. My bicycle and a visiting friend's bike are both propped up. There are assorted chairs in case of company and well I like to sit down. The afternoon sun is sometimes right in my eyes, hence I hung up an old white bed sheet that can be pulled across to block the sun from my eyes.

Life is goof.

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

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A Rubber What?

Saturday already. Sunshine and stiff winds with promises of c-c-c-cold weather tonight in the upper 30's (Fahrenheit). Yikes!

I haven't written much lately due to visiting company and my silly injury. My right arm doesn't want to do a thing without extreme pain. Since I am right handed this is a bit of a problem. I am healing nicely but I am unsure exactly how I hurt my arm. Did my doggy jerk it? Maybe. It's the only thing I can think of. Once in awhile he becomes overly enthusiastic and runs full speed ahead seeming to forget he is attached to me by a leash. Oops!

I've tried to stop him from doing this but once in awhile he "forgets". Because of my injury I've had to take a break from bike riding and I miss it. I am sure what teeny tiny bit of muscle I might have built up will quickly go to fat again if I don't stay on top of this.

At Dollar Tree (everything is $1) I bought a wrist support and some arthritis type lotion to try to heal my wrist and forearm plus another refreezable ice pack. Total cost $3. If I had gone to one of the major chain drug stores, I would have spent ten times that amount for the same products. Now I have two ice packs I can rotate around when I need to ice it down. I watched a video about beating pain and they mentioned soft tissue injuries should be treated with the RICE method.

RICE stands for
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

The first three I can easily do, but the fourth, well *ahem* I walk or stand around with my arm held high in the air for elevation. Don't do this while walking down the road. (If another taxi stops for me, I am going to collapse in giggles!)

Too funny!

Speaking of funny... here's some shots of my ridiculous pooch.

Harley Dawg enjoys a treat.

Harley dances in his dapper red vest.

Harley test drives the new bargain carpets by baby crawling from end to end to see if they are soft enough for his tender belly.
These new rugs aren't fluffy like the old ones, but I loved the colors which complimented the existing decor.

Speaking of carpets... awhile back I bought a rubber broom. Yes, RUBBER. 100% natural rubber. Now that is heaven on earth. It sweeps EVERYTHING including carpets. It can snare hair and fur right out of a throw rug or installed carpet. I often take my rugs out to shake the dirt off them outside. Then I am always amazed when I run over them with the rubber broom that it always clogs up fast with hair and fur. 

These new low pile rugs mean I can sweep them right in place with the rubber broom, snagging dirt and hair from both the vinyl tiles and the throw rugs.

Another huge bonus of owning a rubber broom is that it can sweep up the outside including wet leaves and pine needles. I have an outdoor patio mat I use while camping. Sometimes wet things want to stick to it, but this broom removes them instantly without effort. The rubber broom I chose came with a built-in squeegee. One can clean windows or corral spilt liquids. It also came with a telescoping handle that can go from 32 to 60 inches. This makes it super easy to store in my broom closet in the motorhome. If you've been reading my blog awhile then you know my broom closet is really the water closet (bathroom). 

For more information on this fantastic
100% rubber broom, click here. 

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

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Glee over Ghee

Alive and wiggling...

Some sort of mysterious bug knocked me off my feet, so not much happening here at all. I struggle to cook,do housework, and take care of my puppy, but it leaves me completely drained.

Sleep is good, so I am resting up lots praying this malady will just go away. I am doing lots of meditation which usually helps medical nightmares, but like the old adage, the impossible happens immediately, miracles take a little longer.

I did make a fast fun recipe of boiled bow tie pasta tossed with plain yogurt, Parmesan cheese, chopped garlic, sliced scallions and a smidgen of ghee. Oh my gosh was the final dish ever delicious. The plain yogurt made it surprisingly creamy like heavy duty Alfredo sauce but without the high fat cream.

If you've never cooked with Ghee then you are missing out on life. For my taste buds, a tiny teaspoon of Ghee tastes like a cup of butter! So use it sparingly and savor the awesome flavor.

Grassfed Organic Ghee 7.8 Oz - Pure Indian Foods(R) Brand

Ghee is prepared by melting and simmering butter until all the water evaporates and the milk solids settle at the bottom. The remaining butter oil is very stable, giving it a high smoke point which makes it an excellent choice to use for frying and sautéing and it can be stored without refrigeration for up to a year. Organic Ghee is rich in nutrients, including healthy fat soluble vitamins which aid in the absorption of nutrients in the foods. 

Ghee contains naturally occurring CLA, Vitamins A, D & K. Per Ayurveda, cow ghee is one of the most sacred foods. During the clarification process, milk solids are removed, leaving the healthy butter fats behind. Small, trace amounts of casein and lactose can possibly remain in the ghee, but unless a person is extremely sensitive, consuming ghee will be fine, even if dairy is not. Ghee does not contain milk solids, which gives it a very high smoke point (~485 °F). Because it is very stable at high heat, it is considered one of the best oils for baking, sautéing and deep fat frying. 

When you sauté or fry with butter, milk solids can burn causing an unpleasant odor, appearance and taste. Also, there is no hissing, popping or splattering when you use ghee. It also has a sweet aroma and actually becomes richer in flavor as well. Ghee does not contain harmful trans-fats which can cause heart disease and many other serious health problems. Well-prepared ghee is very shelf-stable because it has low moisture content. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 months. In the refrigerator, it can last up to a year.

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Beach Time Back Time

Life is funny.

I've been in Florida since early November and I haven't seen the ocean or beach yet. This part of Florida is way too picky about dogs on the beach. *SIGH*.

Who will I walk down the beach with, if not my best friend?

I think banning dogs from the beach is ludicrous.

Fortunately we spent 4 glorious weeks at Hunting Island in South Carolina where we walked and biked and played at the beach every single day but one.

The hardest part about careening around in a little old motorhome is reservations. There are places I want to be that others want to be too, and well if I don't nail down my schedule and reservations, then well I won't be there cause everyone else will be there. Nowadays just about 90% of the campgrounds require full payment at the time of reservation, so I am constantly juggling checkbook and wishfulness and calendar and madness and dreams.

Basically I am positively confused!

Reminiscing...

Here is my best friend running like the wind in the sea islands this past October.

Now that is sheer happiness!

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

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Warm Feet in a Motorhome

My RV was 15 years old when I bought it. The wall to wall carpet was original and looked like it had been vacuumed maybe two or three times in 15 years. YUCKY POO! It had faded unevenly, it had questionable stains that refused to budge. It was downtrodden in the usual areas. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be brown or orange, or gold or beige.

I lived with the awful carpet for about 6 months. I would borrow a vacuum cleaner whenever I could to try to clean it, but nothing helped. It always looked horrible. I bought some cheap throw rugs to hide most of the hideous carpet. Now I had carpet on carpet. This made it even harder to keep clean because there isn't room for a big upright carpet cleaner. Eventually I did buy a fabulous little hepa filter vacuum cleaner, but it's very small without a push handle, though it does do a superior job.

If you are pinched for storage like me, then you might love this vacuum cleaner as much as I do! It's a Shark bagless cyclonic hepa filter and it is AWESOME. It does come with the rotating beater brush for carpets and upholstery. The hepa filter picks up miniscule dust mites and THAT I just love. However, if you get one, remember you must be diligent in keeping the hepa filter clean so suction remains powerful. I always clean my filter outside away from the motorhome after every use. 

One day in the summer of 2010 on a whim, some friends and I ripped out the wall to wall carpeting, then we laid down self sticking vinyl tiles. I loved the new look! Sweeping it up was a breeze. Mopping it with a rag wrapped around my foot cleaned it up beautifully.

Right up until winter...

Then I realized the vinyl flooring was COLD.

Incredible.

Every few years, I buy some bargain nonskid rugs for my little old motorhome. Usually the rubber backing falls apart and then I repurpose them while shopping at either Dollar General or Big Lots to find new rugs.

Well, the last batch of rugs, lasted about 18 months. Recently I went to pick them up to shake them out before sweeping the vinyl flooring. Incredibly everyone of the 4 rugs were STUCK to the flooring. Yet, I had shook them out a few days prior with no issues.

Even WORSE.

When I pulled them up, most of the rubber backing STUCK to the vinyl flooring leaving a huge ugly mess.

It took several days of scraping and lots of assorted products to finally remove the final residue. I was hopping mad by then. I folded the carpets in half so the rubber stuck to the rubber and stick it did!

My friend was going to a boat yard to work on his boat, so he took the old carpets with him to use in the yard, to wipe his feet before climbing his ladder to go up on the boat. He also very generously gave me a ride to Dollar General  to look at their latest rug inventory.

Earthly Angels and Santa Claus had left me some spending money, which I was carefully saving for RV parts and repairs. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Something is always falling apart around here cause my little old wheel estate is working on her 21st year. So I looked in my bookkeeping to see what I had spent on carpets before and what I might expect to spend now, set myself up a tiny shopping budget then prayed I might get lucky.

At the Dollar General, I almost bought a selection but suddenly changed my mind. I unrolled the carpets, then laid them down on the floor in Dollar General, much to the amusement of my friend. Once unfurled, I had an inkling I wouldn't like them so much once I got them home. So I rolled them back up and left.

Next we went to Big Lots. By golly, I found something much nicer, more to my liking that would coordinate with the existing decor. I unfolded the rugs there and roughly scattered them out the way they would arrange in my motorhome. I liked it!

Shoppers would walk by the end of the aisle, stop to see me with all these rugs laid out strangely down the aisle, then leave without coming down the aisle at all. One even gave me a frightened look, like I might be one of those unsafe people that had escaped from the asylum. Once I was satisfied I would like the carpets I added up the cost, realized I was under budget, so *ahem* I patted myself on the back, paid for the carpet and went home with the new look.

Bonus rug!
I've never had carpet under my dining booth before which is about 2 inches higher than the main flooring.
I was excited this flowery rug fit under there near perfect.
My feet are often cold in the winter, so this is a big help!

The entry stripes run one way while the bath and bedroom hall stripes run the other way.
The kitchen floral means I can make coffee and wash dishes without cold feet.

Standing aft near the bedroom, looking forward towards the kitchen, entry and living area.
The dining booth is on the forward left, but the kitchen cabinet is blocking the view. 

Right after I bought these rugs, I laid them out took the pics, then rolled them up and put them away. HUH?

It was so nice and warm, I enjoyed the thrill of just having the vinyl to clean and not having carpets to shake out or vacuum. But a few nights ago, the cold rolled in. I was walking around the wheel estate realizing my feet were cold, so out came the new rugs again. Wheeeeee!

Life is goof!

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

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Eternabond RV Roof Repairs

When the going got rough and tough a few years back, I ended up in this little old motorhome to finish out my days. I decided to quit worrying about all the awful things beyond my control and get back to simple basics. 

A roof over my head and some food in the cabinet. Wake up alive and greet the day with enthusiasm, optimism and gratitude. Over and over I remind myself to be super grateful for all my blessings and think of the stumbling blocks hurled down my path as just another day in the greatest adventure of a lifetime!

I quit all medical treatments, stopped all medications. I bought a cheap slow mobile plan on the internet and studied at all hours of the day and night for weeks and months about alternative treatments. I struggled to walk 50 feet. Words were trapped in my head, I couldn't get the brain in gear to do the normal things of day to day life. I had to sleep upright lost in a sea of confusion and pain. Life looked bleak but on the positive side of things,  I had a roof over my head and food in the cabinet. 

I was thrilled to be alive and I wasn't giving up without a gallant fight. 

Shortly after buying my wheel estate I discovered leaks. This lead me on a whirlwind tour the next few years of various RV repair places who picked my pockets, promising the roof was repaired, but it seemingly failed shortly there after each and every time. Didn't these guys know what they were doing?

It's extremely difficult to find quality work at a reasonable price. 

I struggled to walk, adopted the doggy and began roaming around in my leaky motorhome. I bought some Eternabond roof sealant tape in hopes of patching up the worst of the worst. But I had trouble getting up the ladder. The tape sat in the cabinet. I struggled with day to day chores. But I was alive, a leaky roof over my head and food in the fridge. Life was GOOD!

During a frightening storm in a campground near the beach, a huge tree branch came crashing down into my kitchen at 3am. The hole was small because ironically the branch came down vertically. I ran around with my ragged bath towel and a small pot, trying to clean up the widening mess inside while the thunderous storm raged outside.

At daybreak I walked to the campground office, soaking wet, inquiring about borrowing a big step ladder and explaining their tree was stuck in my roof. The ranger said he couldn't believe I was so laid back, just laughing and smiling. I was just glad to be alive! I was used to a leaky roof and now it was pouring rain inside my motorhome. But I was ALIVE, so I was smiling and polite, praying he might help me. Anything was better than waking up dead. Why not be happy about it all? He rushed to find a maintenance man and a big ladder post haste.  

Between waves of torrential rains interspersed with loud rumbling thunder, we cleared off the roof, cleaned out the hole, then laid multiple layers of roof tape to fill in the hole, until it was level with the rest of the roof. I put a final patch on the emergency bandaid. The nice man took his ladder and left. We were both soaking wet. I went inside to mop out the wheel estate and look for dry clothes. 

Someone said I was unlucky. I was aghast! What were they thinking? I was LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY, why couldn't they see that?  I woke up alive, I had the emergency roof tape on hand, the nice ranger sent out a willing helper and a huge step ladder, we patched things up and LIFE WAS GOOD! I felt very lucky indeed. 

At some point I became fascinated with Eternabond reading everything I could find out about it. The more I read, the more impressed I became. It was flexible and would flex with the motorhome bouncing down the highway. It was painted and coated to protect it from the sun's UV rays. 

Why had no one told me I could just tape up the roof in its entirety and be done with this leaky madness?

One wonders...

Speed forward. (Zoom!)

Hither and yonder as funds become available (A GREAT BIG THANKS TO YOU WONDERFUL EARTHLY ANGELS!) I buy up more tape and with a ton of help from a bartering friend, the roof is slowly getting complete coverage. The tape has an aggressive seal, it's painted and UV protected, it's thicker than my existing roof which has become frighteningly paper thin over the years. 

Thanks to earthly Angels, Framily and Santa Claus (you know who you are!) I was able recently buy a few more rolls of Eternabond roof tape. 

The repairs continue. 

The job isn't finished, but it's moving along at my typical snail's place. I have high hopes for completion in the coming weeks/months/years. 

Patience is a virtue.

Life is goof!

The roof has to be thoroughly cleaned and dried before the tape can be laid down.
To the left is dirty roof, the middle is roof tape and the right is the cleaned area ready for taping.

While the roof tape is difficult and somewhat unforgiving, it has a super aggressive adhesive.
You only get one chance to get it in place correctly.

New tape was applied months ago up front, it hasn't been cleaned lately, so you can see the dirt.
The strips are overlapping.
To the right is my opened awning.

If you are not an RV-er then you may wonder what all this stuff is sticking up.
Forward is the raised TV antenna. The big white box up front is the heat pump cover.
The heat pump provides heating and cooling. Behind that is an open hatch.
On the right is a rectangular vent for the refrigerator.
It can run on propane and needs a chimney.
The chimney needs a roof to protect it from rain.
At the bottom of the picture is the sewer vent. 

To my eyes, this is a work of art!

One of the numerous previous fixes was rubber paint applied to the roof.
I am not so sure it was the correct paint. I think the guy just slapped something on to make it look pretty and pocketed my money, probably laughing at me for being such a fool to trust him.
The repairman that did that charged me a fortune and it still leaked.
He refused to honor his warranty. Tsk tsk tsk.
But I am on a better path now!
Wheeeeeee!

Link: Eternabond Roof Tape Prices

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

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Doggone Bicycle

Life is goof!

Harley dog checks behind me to make sure all his stuff is going to the off leash bark park.

What would I do without him to help me along?

He takes up the entire front basket to ride in, on a pillow with his blankie too.

Plus he needs a big basket in back just to carry his toys, water, treats, sweater, poop baggies, coat, leash and whatever else the little pooch is taking to the bark park.

He checks behind me too, making sure I have it all for his comfort and enjoyment.

*SIGH*

Help support a little doggy...

Visit Amazon with this link.

Shake Wiggle Dance Wobble

It's 5:22am. I am wide awake.

Almost.

Waiting for sunrise.

The daily miracle.

Any day the sun comes up, it's going to be a marvelous day!

So I wait.
I watch in anticipation.
I smile.

The sun is supposed to arrive at 7:15am. I am sleepy, but if I lay back down, I might miss the start of this wonderful phenomenon. I hum to myself the tune to Morning Has Broken as performed by Cat Stevens. 

Every day look for something beautiful and photograph it. I have a friend who is very well organized, on top of the latest and greatest in technology gadgetry. She has a fancy phone and some sort of ap that saves a "Pic of the Day" every day on a calendar. So she takes one pic each day to save there.

What a cool way to write a nonverbal pictorial diary.

One distinct advantage to not owning a car, to using feet and bicycle to traverse the area I am camping in, is that I see beauty all around me. It's not just a fleeting moment in a speeding car to be rapidly replaced with the next scant view of paradise.

Harley is spoiled to have a campsite the past 2 months with grass he can play on. Here he is relaxing in the sunshine perfecting his baby crawl. Small wonder his sweaters and vest take such a beating on a cool but sunny day. I wash his stuff, but he is such a busy boy, he just gets it all dirty again. Luckily he has this chronic shake-wiggle-dance he does.

He shakes himself so hard many times a day, that one expects an ear or a tail to go flying off at any moment. I suppose he shakes most of the dirt off. I sometimes have to pull weeds and pine needles out of his fur for him. Often his fur resembles super long velcro with stray bits attached.

Harley lives his life full speed ahead.

Like I used to. Like I want to again.

Now I'm wobbling at about half speed, treasuring every moment as a miracle.

Life is goof.

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Funkadelic

Another fabulous day in paradise. Nights are cold but days are warmer. Harley was thrilled when I uncovered the bicycle to do some work on it. After all was ready, I put him in his little basket up front with his safety leash. This keeps him from flying out of the basket should I make a sudden stop. Also, heaven forbid, should we be in a wreck, it keeps him from running off scared, possibly under the big wheels of a passing car.

Cars are my biggest fear. You can tell the folks that ride or own bicycles. They are very careful in passing. Others are so distracted and uncaring, they sometimes nearly take my elbow off! It's a wonder I make it home alive with clean undies.

I guess my bike riding to the dog park has inspired a few people. They see Harley riding up front in his basket like he is a prince being chauffeured around. So another small dog owner decided when he saw a bicycle car rack for cheap at the Goodwill store, it was time he brought his bicycle to the park. That afternoon he loaded up his wife, his dog and his bicycle on his new-used rack to come to the dog park. He figured his wife would watch the pup in the dog park while he tried his luck riding his bicycle around the park. 

As they were unloading at the bark park, a dog toy came tumbling out of his car. He bent over to pick it up and heard r-r-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-p-p-p-p-p followed by a fresh breeze on his derriere.

Yep, You guessed it. He had a wardrobe malfunction. No bike riding today. But his pooch was wildly excited about the bark park, so he had to stand around carefully with a jacket tied around his waist, holding the fence up while his dog ran and played.

I am always cobbling something out of nothing. When I prop up my bicycle with the kick stand, sometimes the dirt is so soft, it falls right over. At the beach, I learned I could use Harley's red Frisbee to disperse the weight over the sand and the bike would stay upright. Harley of course was crestfallen because he loves to play Frisbee. He didn't like me using his Frisbee to hold up the bicycle. 

Next I tried using a large coffee can lid, but it was a might too flimsy. So I found another large coffee can lid that was a smidgen smaller than the other. I super glued the two together. Now I had a sturdy disc for parking the bike on dirt. Harley is thrilled to have his beloved red Frisbee (shown in rear basket) available for playing again. 

If the dog park is empty, then I treat him to endless Frisbee until he is out of breath. For a little guy, he can sure drink a mountain of water when he plays hard. 

The view from the rocking chair...

I may not have a car, but I have a beautiful view and a bicycle. 

Life is goof!

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

Visit  Amazon

Earth's Biggest Selection, Delivered To Your Door
Using this link helps a mermaid and her doggy
And we Thank You oh so much!

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