The Flip to My Flop

I woke up alive. The sun came up.

Thank you angels for making this possible.

Every day for me is a miracle and a gift.

Recently I went to the Florida Keys camping in a friend's 19 foot van. Loaded up two humans, one dog, two bicycles, a hammock, flip flops and well that pretty much filled the van.

We had flippitty flop weather too.
Lots of rain, lots of sunshine, lots of rain, lots of sunshine and... did I say lots of rain?

I didn't care. Mermaids don't melt.

I was near the ocean, so close I could smell it 24/7 for two glorious weeks.
 
Life is goof.

Dumpster Diva.
Stopped and camped at Savannas Recreation Area near the east coast of Florida (Fort Pierce/St Lucie County)  in route to break up the long drive. Spent two nights there soaking up nature. On the way out, I was carrying out the garbage and dog walking when I found a tarp and a reclining zero gravity chair.

Seems the dumpster angels are always looking out for me.

We had just discussed the possibility of buying a tarp to use as an outdoor camping mat. This tarp had a few tears and rips but we were traveling with gorilla tape, so easy-peasy, one semi new tarp cobbled together. The tattered but usable chair was a bonus and I was trying to sneak that inside the van when my friend said "Oh no, we don't need that chair do we?" I pulled it back out of the van to his relief.

But first I unfolded it, sat down, flipped it for reclining, stretching out with my feet propped up and made a contented sigh as I gave my arms a good long stretch. I yawned, pulled my hat over my face and mumbled "Just give me 30 seconds before I give it back to the dump... shame you haven't sat in it yourself, the price is right..."

Well the rest is history.
The chair was crammed in the van.


A dog in my lap and hats on the dash.
 

You're the flip to my flop. 
Thanks for stopping by today.

Smiling is Contagious

Another great day to be alive and give thanks for so many blessings.

Thank you to all my gentle readers for  plopping by today and the wonderful comments you leave.

I am the luckiest person alive!

Simple Pleasures

Life in the slow lane.

Sunset provided daily by our big beautiful world.

Doggy coiffure provided by prevailing wind.

Day 6 Bicycle, the most comfortable bike ever, feels custom built for this battered body

Wicker Dog basket by M-Wave

Rear Panniers by Nantucket Bicycle Company

Leather grips with fringe... for fun and foolishness

Super lightweight Pink Crocs for the escaped inner child 



Thank you for stopping by today.

 



 

 

Soon Come

I should be returning from my trip in a few days, give or take.

Learning Yoga

Yoga underwater is much easier than on land.

Visit Amazon

We sometimes earn commissions!

Thank you

Gas Prices

We RVers can often have sticker shock filling up that tank to go wandering about. Sometimes we're miffed that we didn't stop for as sooner, because several counties or states further along we find out the gas is much more expensive.

You've probably heard of Shell that sells gas.

I think they need to spend some of those profits on maintaining their lights.

But this is good for a giggle while it lasts!

Dearly Departed

LifeIn these days and times of escalating costs one doesn't want to saddle the loved ones with a pricey funeral. One way is to preplan and prepay for the funeral. In this case your loved ones can mourn and not have to look after details and finances.
On the economical side...

How about a motorcycle hearse?
Save on gas and enjoy one last ride.

Of course cremation is generally far more affordable than full internment.

So I'm thinking of a final bicycle ride to the crematorium... in style.

Thinking outside the box...

I never dreamed you could buy a casket from Amazon, but as of this writing they sell them from $949 and up, delivered to your door. I went to read some of the customer reviews and noticed there were exactly 13 listed. Most of them were listed as "verified purchase". Apparently you can save yourself a bundle by buying your casket online.

Interesting.

Rv and Camp Fabrics

For the past 8+ years I have lived in a super tiny home. I love it!

Recently I was able to upgrade to an older but larger tiny home.

From barely 150 square feet to a whopping 300 square feet. WOW.

I have company staying with me for a few months, helping me fix and repair and upgrade this old home.

Yeah. I bought another fixer-upper. I didn't think it needed much work, but as time goes on, I keep finding little things to fix and repair.

My friend has a vehicle so I am able to visit some thrift stores. Mostly I come home empty handed, but just looking at the stuff is entertainment enough.

Recently I found this decoupage plate to hang on my wall. It reminds me of my old rig, my new rig and the crazy lifestyle I have chosen.

I had to cough up 25 cents for this extravagant luxury. Proceeds went to a charitable cause. 

I have been looking for a source for this fabric without success. However I have found many fun whimsical camping fabrics at this link. 

Here's another vintage RV fabric:

A Sun What Woof

Speaking of Great Danes...

I missed a great photo op by walking my dog without my camera. I was camping in Ohio in a city park that also had day use areas besides the campground.

Now that I look back at my records, it was Ottawa Metro Park in Lima Ohio. It's a wonderful park, but they don't take reservations. First come, first serve. Rates are super cheap, park is immaculate, check in and payment is on the honor system with a workamper that comes along later to check to see if folks are complying.

Out for a walk I came across a soccer game for kids that had finished. One kid was waiting on the sidewalk for a ride. His parents drove up in a teeny tiny 4 door car with an open sun roof. In back was a huge black and white Great Dane with his head stuck out the sun roof!

It was such a comical picture like something from the circus rather than in a mundane park.

The kid got in the car. The Great Dane ducked down to give the kid some licking and loving, then as the car drove away, he poked his head back up and out the sun roof for the ride home.

As they drove away, I pondered if the cost of the food bill for said canine was the reason they owned such a teeny tiny car.

My 6 pound mutt eats an astonishing amount of food but he is high energy. Exponentially if he was bigger and ate as much, I would need a separate trailer to house his food. As it is now, he needs his own cabinet to store his wet and dry food plus his treats. On top of that if I am cooking anything meat or cheese related, he gets a small bowl of that too. Yet the various vets he has visited in our travels always wail "he is under weight!". He is a healthy dog that just burns up so much energy, he doesn't have time to get fat.

Now that I think about it, that kid is probably destined to be an only child.

Also the car did not have a sun roof.

It had a SUN WOOF!

Here's a similar picture in a bigger car to give you an idea of the crazy sight I saw that day.

My little healthy dog eats Newmans Organic Dry Food

Sold and Delivered from Amazon

One BIG reason I love this food is that it makes nice neat packages coming out the other end. 

For me that has to scoop the poop in RV parks, this is a welcome relief to an otherwise unhallowed chore. 

Life is goof!

Taking Lessons

First and foremost:

How to be grateful!

Secondly...

How To Live in Flip Flops

This charming book is for sale at Amazon.

Thirdly...

How to Live at the Beach

Gone on Walk About

Many of these postings since May something through May something else are automated short posts I tried to put together in advance.

I welcomed an invitation to take a break from renovating the old 5th wheel I bought to live in to go see the beach!

Incredibly it's been over a year since I was at a beach and I live in Florida. Duh.

So I packed up my backpack, leashed up the dog, packed his backpack and we climbed aboard my friend's RV to go to the beach!

We aren't expecting Wifi so I am not planning to do any internet stuff at all.

Harley loves playing beach ball!

Lucky Vise

After they moved their deceased father's belonging out of his tiny home and sheds located out back, they said "Take a look in the sheds and take anything you want!"

Hmm.

Had they seen me at the dumpster diving?

Who cares?

I went to look.

WOWIE!

They had left behind a heavy duty vise. It took some work to get it uninstalled moved and reinstalled inside my shed, but oh so worth the effort. I use it often! It is thru-bolted on my work bench desk.

It has blue tape on it because I was ding a delicate project and didn't want the rust to have a chance to touch the project.

It's a big sturdy vise that sells fr around $100 new. I am one lucky lady!

Even opened a cantankerous ketchup bottle.

I also grabbed a nearly new leaf rake from the shopping shed. But no way to hang it up. So I stuck it in the vise, drilled a hole in the top handle then locked a zip tie on it about an inch or two wide. This means I can now use a hook to hang up the rake.

I rake my leaves once a year whether they need it or not.

The oaks around me rain down leaves and twigs 24/7.

Life is goof.

Vise sounds just like vice.

Amazon sells Vises

And a billion other items too

Life's A Beach

I haven't seen the beach in a year yet I've been living in Florida.

Something wrong with this picture.

Last year I had great time at this Veteran's Beach in the Keys which allows dogs, so I am hoping by the time you read this, I am actually at the beach.

Harley dog loves the beach!

I need some healing salt waters.

It's all good.

I hope!

Last year I took this picture of Harley running by. Matter of fact, he ran so fast the camera failed to capture him! 

More about beaches in Florida. 

Cat Mischief

I called up my goofy friend who loves his cat.

His voice was garbled. 

"What are you doing?"

His reply:

"Can't talk right now. I am giving the cat a bath and my mouth is full of fur."

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

I so miss my cats. When I moved to America I had 3 cats. I rehomed one, a friend kept a second one and I flew with one. The airlines allow only one cat per person. My friend was going to fly up a few months later with my other car, who was the brother of the cat I was flying with.

Tragically my cat was lost while coming to the USA.
I searched for months t no avail.
It still haunts me to this day.

Next I found out the brother cat had been tragically killed by a car. I was devastated but still wanted to see my friend. Ironically she went to the emergency room about pains, and before they got around to treating her, she died.

That still haunts me too.

Maybe my do is a tad spoiled because by the time I adopted him, I was plenty lonely. I've tried everything to keep him safe. He will be 9 years old next Christmas.

In loving memory of Lil Bear.

COUPONS 

Available at Amazon

No Clipping

Turtles

Gone swimming. 

Back soon.

Amazon has 1000's of 

Bathing Attire

Mermaids are Real

Frolicking with my twin.

Visit Amazon

With My Links

Sometimes I earn a commission.

THANK YOU!

On The Road Again

On the road again -
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again -
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way

And our way
is on the road again.
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is makin' music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again

Thank you Willie Nelson!
 

If all goes well, I am on the road again as you read this. I've put together some future posts that should turn up here automatically.

I don't think I will have access to internet for a few weeks.

Frankly, it feels good to be unplugged.

Packing up my dog, traveling in a B-RV. (That is B for  borrowed RV. )

Life is goof!

New Name

I think I will call my new home

"Under The Oaks"

Rather fitting for a mermaid who belongs under the sea.

Well I guess I've traded ocean for oaks.

Life is goof.

Visit Amazon Today

Sometimes we earn a commission

Thank YOU!

Bye Bye Neighbor

I've lived here less than a year but no one has lived next door while I was here.Just an unoccupied trailer and shed.

A big oversized roof was put on the travel trailer at some point and attached to the slides on the other side, not seen in this picture.

Recently the park gained possession of the lot from the former owner. They sold the trailer, then sold the lot as empty. Kind of crazy because many folks wanted to buy it with the trailer and fix it up nicely.

I mentioned the lot sale to a friend of mine who snatched it up. She is moving in soon with her Class A rig and dog.

The rig was towed out to another spot in the park, then around 4am the new owner dragged it down the highway with the slides out and the oversized roof attached. Later he said he made it to his country lot without government interference 

Always good to have another dog in the neighborhood. I say that because non pet owners tend to complain about pet owners. So get a pet owner for a neighbor and chances are they won't complain about your pet.

My dog is well  behaved mostly,  he gets an A+ for providing top security. No one is going to sneak up on me. He is a good alarm. If he thinks there is danger he can surprisingly turn to a ferocious scary creature.

I believe if the need arose, he would fight to his death. He seems clueless that he is 6 pounds, not 200.

I am sure he has contributed to my own longevity. I deal with a rare horrible disease but somehow with my good buddy along my side, it's quite bearable and I just focus on the good stuff in life.

The crew that hauled off the trailer left such a mess that me, friends and neighbors pitched in to clean it all up again in anticipation of the new owner.

That's my 5th wheel on the left hiding behind my friend's visiting camper van. It's hard to tell from this picture, but my trailer is parked far back in the rear of my lot. My new neighbor will be parked up front on the right, so I will continue to have great privacy.

Shop Amazon

With Our Links

We Often Earn a Small Fee

Thank you!

 

Toot Toot

Harley stopped, put his ear to the ground then announced "A train is coming pulling 89 cars."

This gives new meaning to train your dog.

Family Reunion

Oh my!

Mermaids are shy. 

Anytime you shop Amazon

with any of my links

I might earn a small commission

THANK YOU!

Moo Over

So cool I have all these critters in my yard.

Birthday Hammock

Wheeeeeeeee!

It was my birthday, but the dog thinks the  hammock is his new swing.

Actually I've had the hammock fr a year now, but this lot didn't come with the right tree spacing. Now that problem is solved.

When I lay or sit in it, all my joint pain instantly goes away. It's like floating on air.

I dream I am loftily drifting by on a whimsical cloud with a doggy along for the ride.