Moving Up or Moving Down, Either Way We Moved!

 I think my toys need a bigger chair!

 Harley dog waits anxiously with his toys outside while chaos ensues.

We are moving, well we moved.

Our mini motorhome gone bye bye.

Without us.

Sad day to see the new owner drive her away. 

We are living in a new old wheel estate now.

From 8 years in a 1994 Class C 28 feet long with no slide outs, to a 1992 36 foot Holiday Rambler Imperial Fifth Estate with not one but two slide outs!

It needs a little  AHEM a lot of work.

Not sure if we are moving on up or moving on down, but now we have room to dance. I must get a video of me and doggy dancing!

More on this strange turn of events coming soon.

Some Daze

I'm having a bad hair day.

Some daze I'm the fox and other days the hare...

This is actually a whimsical creature from a Florida State Park I visited in 2015.

Life is goof.

 

Amazon has many fascinating books for download or purchase

Favorite Road

Silly security questions asked by log in sites. 

I had received an "urgent" email message from a bank where I keep 3 cents. Of course the "urgent" email notification didn't tell me what the urgency is. I have to go log in to find out. Did someone deposit a million bucks there? Were they curious what I should do with it? Curiosity gripped me. What was this urgency?

Today while logging in I was asked to create answers to security questions. 

The first one was "What is the favorite road on which you like travel?"

Oh my gosh, who has a favorite road? I sure don't. Who thinks up these questions? What were they smoking?

Finally I put "bicycle path". Will I remember that next month or next year?

Probably not. 

If I write it down then what's the use of having a "secret" security question? Anyone could find that piece of paper, log in to my account and discover I have had 3 cents in that bank account.

I hope I don't get robbed. 

The next question...
What is last name of your favorite mentor or teacher?

I had many favorite teachers and mentors. I hardly remember the names of my favorite teachers and I had so many! A favorite? If I were 10 years old maybe this would be easier to remember or answer but at my age, it's a toss up. Does God have a last name? 

50 States, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do

Available at Amazon

 

Rv Having Fun Yet?

Internet went on the flake again.

Such a hassle to make calls, listen to the super LOUD music hold, which I turn it down, then when the human finally comes on the line, I can't hear them. Oops! Have to turn the phone back up again.

Is that LOUD hold music in hopes one will simply give up, hang up and go away?

A few weeks ago I listened to a documentary that was seriously scary indeed.I was only able to catch part of it, someone else was viewing it and I happened to hear some of it. I had other things to do, so I didn't stay to hear it all, but I heard enough to be scared.

It was talking about how internet and devices are now designed now to keep one "engaged" longer rather than being super efficient.

Ap and web designers were now being told not to make things speedy or fast but to do things like have pages that load with endless scrolling. So if what you are looking for is way down there, it's going to take you a good long while to get there and find it.

Efficiency is out.

The documentary was talking about the techno gurus wanting people to be "anxious" and check their email and text and social media compulsively. That children were  being taught to be in a panic if they couldn't connect to their social media and so on every few minutes.

I feel very frustrated because I have so many different things to try to get done each day. I like efficiency.

But that is out of style now.

Inefficiency is in.

Last spring I too a 2 week vacation from technology. No internet for two weeks.

It was heavenly!

What was so miraculous is the non-frustration of trying to do 10 somethings on the internet that should each take one minute each and be done in ten minutes. Instead it was taking two hours.  This was sending m frustration sky high.

Of course I had to plan ahead, to try to have auto posts on my blog and to anticipate and pay my bills, anything that might come due.

Billing is erratic. Recently I received a bill that is due in 90 days and they warned me, that would be my ONLY reminder.  Huh? A bill due in 90 days but in the next 90 days there will no reminders?

Another one that is due in 60 days. Holy cow, that is advance billing and the same warning that this would be the only reminder I would receive.

Yet on the other hand another company sends me an email bill 3 days before it is due. Nothing in advance. Pay this in 3 days or suffer a $5 late fee. Good grief.

A friend of mine who refuses to do internet pays all his bills by check and US Mail. This somehow confused his electric company recently and they started sending him refunds after every payment. Yet he still has electricity only now he is seemingly getting it for free. He sends a check, they send a refund.

Dang. I wish I had his luck!

My electricity company posts a stern warning on their bills that they will no longer accept any payments under $5.

Not sure why they feel the need to post that on the electric bill. Does anyone really get an electric bill for under $5?

Life is goof...

Maybe I will tear a few pages out of my coloring book to scribble notes on to some of these wacky companies. 

Here's to more foolishness!

 

Yes indeed this book is available for sale. 

 

 

 

Miracle of Life

Awhile back we had freezing weather in central Florida. Many of my new little plants died in spite of me trying to save them.

One morning this large bush on my property line (camellias?) pushed out a single bloom.

I raced out to study it. Yet it made me cry.

My dear friend wasn't here to see it and I knew he would be as delighted as I was to see this beautiful miracle.

A few minutes later, I was notified he had crossed the rainbow onto another life, somewhere else.

Angels had other plans for his future.

The bush puts out beautiful blooms every day now. Then they quickly fall to the ground.

Life goes on.

Amazon sells live plants and fresh seeds.

Delivered to your door.

Foggy

A beautiful day to be alive.
The fog is clearing outside.
Now if I can clear the fog inside.
Life is goof.

V Day

Happy Valentines Day!

A surprise secret admirer turned up with a rose and a teddy bear.

WOW.

Life is goof.

Harley dawg wants my teddy bear. 

Why does he think all teddy bears belong to him?

I am getting stronger day by day!

Soon I will be writing more and telling you lots of wonderful news!

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Heat Wave

Temps in the mid 80's in February!

It's a heat wave for sure breaking records.

Meanwhile I am breaking things and fixing stuff.

Mostly breaking.

Life is goof!

Photograph Your Wallet Contents

You may already know this but if you don't then you might want to do it.

Get out your wallet and photograph the front and back of everything in your wallet. File the photographs somewhere you can find them. Preferably at home. If you have a safe, then print the photographs and  lock this info up in your safe with other important papers.

Just tonight I received a sad phone call from my departing company.

An old friend has been visiting for a few weeks helping me out extensively.  What an angel!

Tonight he called to let me know he arrived alive, but minus his wallet.

He was driving down a highway when he suddenly needed a restroom. He pulled over at a little gas station, paid $20 in cash for gas, used their restroom, went out, pumped his gas then drove away.

Another 15 minutes or so down the road, he somehow realized his pants didn't feel right.

No wallet!

U-turn and zipping back down the highway to the little gas station. He searched the restroom, asked the clerk, searched the bushes then drove away again.

Minus his wallet.

He thinks it fell out of his pocket in the restroom.

Sadly, he had no emergency contact or even his own phone number in there such as the "If lost please return to... card" that comes with many wallets. I asked him if my calling card or anybody's business card was in there and he said no, he doesn't think so. He had $67 with him, fortuitously no credit cards and only one debit card and a stack of grocery discount cards. I've known him for decades and he does keep his life simple. He was able to reach his bank to cancel his debit card.

I asked him did he write down the gas station he was at, to keep calling them back every 8 hours or so (shift changes) in case someone found the wallet and turned it in as lost. It's possible  the wallet might turn up by a good Samaritan that might find it minus the cash. Sadly he didn't think to do that and he is vague about where he might have stopped.

Sometimes not so honest folks keep the cash then toss the wallet.

Others might take the wallet and try to track the owner down, but with nothing to go on, no phone numbers no cards and an out of state license, well that might be difficult unless they miraculously mail it back to him using his driver license address.

Stranger things have happened.

About a year ago he received an envelope in the mail with $35 cash in it but no note and no return address.He speculates that maybe the owner of a lost wallet sent it to him though it's still a mystery where the money came from. He said about a month earlier he had found a wallet then used the driver license address to mail it back to the owner with cash, license, credit cards and so on. He doesn't remember how much cash was in the wallet when he mailed it back but he just figured whoever lost it would want it all back again.

Twice when I was workamping I found lost wallets and managed to return them to the owners. Once by mail, since I couldn't find a number for the kid who was 16 and had just acquired his license the week before. His wallet was so new you could smell the leather and it wasn't molded, like wallets become after riding around in a hip pocket for so long. There was no cash and the lining in the wallet was so spotless, I don't think the kid had ever had a dollar in it. I've often wondered what he thought when his new license and wallet came back to him in the mail a few days later.

Another time a guy turned up where I was workamping asking about a wallet that he thinks was thrown out in a bag from a fast food place by mistake. He said while he was out boating, he hid his wallet in the fast food bag then later when he returned, he threw the bag out because it had other garbage in it. He forgot he had hidden his wallet in there until he got home.

I helped him dig through the garbage looking for it. We found the bag but not the wallet. Then I said "Hmm, there is a couple that comes by most evenings pawing through the garbage looking for aluminum cans to sell. Maybe they found it. I will ask them when I see them next." I got the guy's phone number and he was sure I was nuts thinking I would get his wallet back.

Well, the next day, the couple turned up looking for cans. I ran over to them and asked  if they found a wallet the day before. They had and it was at their home. Amazingly they drove home, picked up the wallet, brought it back to me, I called the guy and he drove 2 hours to come fetch it. He was astonished to see it again!

So we're hoping on good karma that some miracle might reunite my friend with his wallet. You just never know.

Amazingly my friend was in good spirits because he said  in 70 years, it was the first time he had lost his wallet.

Well I guess that is looking at the whole mess optimistically!

Now I've got to run, because I am going to photograph my wallet contents and stick a note in it "If lost please call this number."

My wallet is fairly simple too. One ID, one bank card and a stack of my calling cards. The rest of the wallet is those crazy discount cards for stores. I hate those things, but if one doesn't have them then one is charged higher prices on certain items. This is a shopping complication that drives me batty. I prefer simplicity.

Amazon sells fire and water proof safes in all types of sizes and costs.

 

 

 

 

Neighbors Make Weird Noises

The view out my window as I type.

Company coming over so I am busy plowing a path through the chaos so they can find me and actually have a seat to sit in.

Life is goof.

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Nomad or No Not

Where do I belong?

World Map at Amazon

That is a question I've been searching for answers since relocating to America.
My close friends are scattered around the world.

Having lived a nomadic life for so long, it's hard to think about putting down roots. But what happens when my body and finances can't keep up with a nomadic life?

The past 2 years I've contemplated and researched many scenarios plus shopped for bargains.

Last summer I found a steal of a deal on an RV lot in a rural area, so after a month of serious contemplation, I decided to snatch it up. I was fortuitous in getting it as since then I've met quite a few folks who stopped by to tell me they wanted to buy it or tried to buy it or were going to buy it. The former owner was extremely difficult to deal with but somehow I managed the purchase, but not without a great deal of unnecessary hard-ache. Not heartache but hard-ache.

I parked my little old wheel estate on the lot that came with a shed that had custom shelves and a workbench plus electricity. The lot also had extra water hookups and outside electrical outlets scattered around. I had no idea at the time how handy these could and would become.

At the time I had this grand idea to move most of belongings out of the RV and into the shed. Then I could give my motorhome a deep cleaning while still living in it 24/7. I was also trying to juggle running a small mail-order business out of the shed.

My body put up a fuss. I suffer from a rare disease with tons of complications and no medical care, just alternative treatments. Mostly I just try to be happy, grateful, positive and ridiculously optimistic.

Is my glass half full or half empty?

Who cares? I am just jumping up and down with excitement that I have a glass!

The best laid plans quickly went astray with illness, hurricane, running from hurricane, breakdowns, repairs and an eventual return to my lot.

Now I had a major mess on my hands. I had half moved into the shed and when packing up for the hurricane I would hastily move things from shed to rig and it was pouring down rain as I prepared. It seemed everything I needed was in the shed and now I had to move some of it back again.

I departed in a wet mess grateful to run from the hurricane when I did because it kept changing directions. By the time it decided to plow up central Florida, I was already gone. Many folks could not escape at that point because roads were clogged and gas stations were out of fuel.

The trip really took its toll on me.

Perhaps I would have to face facts and realize that continuing to travel alone in my wittle old wheel estate wasn't a viable option anymore.

I felt so defeated. The wanderlust just never seems to leave me.

8 years 24/7 in a tiny mini motorhome, what fun, what joy and what a shame I wasn't up to it anymore on my efficient budget. Maybe because I do so many repairs and maintenance myself and I am just not having enough time anymore to do all that and some days just too weak to keep up with it all.

The easy solution would be to hire the pros to do all the repairs and maintenance for me like many RVers do. But that wasn't in my efficient budget so plan B, take a break from a nomadic life and look at efficient options.

More on this later.

Thanks for stopping by!

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How To Change The Weather

Harley sleeps on a heated bed that was gifted to him, lucky dog!

I figured out how to make the cold snap in Florida go away.

The first cold snap I rode with a friend to Walmart. I looked at sweaters. The only one I sort of liked was cut really strange. When I tried it on, the weird hem just made me look like a washed up refugee wearing a sweater knitted by a 9 finger drunk with a severe astigmatism.
Not the look I prefer.
The sweater was so thin, it didn't offer any real warmth.
I left Walmart empty handed.
Boy was I glad not to have to wait in the tortuous cashier line I passed.
I don't understand how they can have 22 lanes with only 2 open and people backed up silly trying to pay for purchases.
Are cashiers that hard to hire?

I survived the cold snap with piles of clothes looking like a vertical blimp.
This was at a time when I was trying to get furnace repairs accomplished.
The portable heater I was loaned just wasn't up to the job of keeping a drafty RV warm in below freezing temps so I was having to pile on assorted mismatched clothes to stay warm yet still feeling like my blood was turning to ice.
Suddenly the cold snap was gone and the repairman came to fix the furnace.
Life was good.

Not for long.
Another frigid cold snap rolled around.
In spite of covering up my outdoor plants, many died.
Seeing that I was so cold and looking a tad ridiculous, unable to move my arms with so many shirts stacked on, my friend offered to drive me to a thrift store to look for a heavy sweater.
Searching the women's side, I found nothing except a beautiful dry-clean only sweater.
I live 28 miles from the nearest dry cleaner.
Dry cleaning is not in my efficient budget, even if there was a close one I could bike to.
A few dressy blazers and jackets but no sweaters.
So I checked the men's department.

Found a beautiful sweater, tried it on and bought it for $2.00
At home I felt so snug and warm in my nearly new sweater.
It was long giving me lots of warm coverage.

I walked the dog and received a compliment on my beautiful sweater.
WOW.
Never expected that!

The next day my friend noticed a new thrift store had relocated nearby, so we went there to have a look see.
Lots of prom dresses and pajamas. A few women's sweaters but none to fit me.
Over to the men's department and there was a gorgeous high end sweater that looked like it had never been worn.
It was a beautiful creamy color super warm and stylish when I tried it on.

Is my body built like a man's?
The fit was perfect for me, hanging long like a sweater dress.
Now my rump could stay warm too (this must have been one tall dude!)
The sleeves were a little long, but looked nice rolled or shoved up around my wrists.
No price tag.
Ut oh.
Party over, they probably want a princely sum for such a nice new sweater.

I took it to the cashier. She said "Oh it's senior day and you can have it for $1.50"
What? I look like a senior?
For $1.50 I bit my tongue and said "Thank you!"

At home I snuggled up in my new used sweater piled over leggings and a long tunic, then I took the garbage out by riding my bicycle to the dump.
The sweater felt awesome keeping me toasty warm.
I stopped to get the mail on the way home. At the boxes, another lady said "Wow, you look all dressed up! Going somewhere special?"
Holy cow, I wanted to give her a hug and a kiss. She made my day.
The next day I was fretting over which gorgeous sweater to wear, I felt terribly spoiled and supremely lucky.

Mother nature had other plans.
By noon it was 70F degrees.

So that folks, is how you get rid of the cold snap in Florida.

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Howling

Another gorgeous day in paradise.

Of course it is dark thirty now, nearly midnight.

Last night was the full moon, today is ground hog day.

Wednesday we buried my close friend.

It was tough but I somehow survived.

His family put together a beautiful send off based on his express wishes which included burial in the Florida National Cemetery with Military Honors located in the Withlacoochee State Forest .

It was a sunny but cold crisp day when the bugler played taps followed by the ceremonial shooting of three volleys in honor of the deceased.

Dogs know.

On an eerie note, just before the service began, my dog Harley who was waiting locked up in the RV, set off an incredible forlorn wail that was bone chilling. I had never heard him make this kind of distraught howling ever before. 

After a three incredibly loud plaintive howls that sounded more wolf like than that coming from a tiny 6 pound dog, he quieted down and was silent the rest of the ceremony.

When I returned to the RV after the service, he raced into my lap to lick my tears away.

 

Withlacoochee River