Maiden voyage, first camp

Got Ody back after 6 PM last night. Too late to load up and take off. I did load up the stuff I had set aside and decided to get an early start today. Gassed her up, got the propane filled at Mings, and I should be good for a while.

I'm wishing I hadn't sold my weed whacker, the grass here is quite tall. But I will manage. I am setup. The screen house is perfect and still whole. Won't be using the awning here. Not sure if I am staying one night or two.

I have been for my walk, the last of it about killed me, it was all uphill..I don't have to do it again until tomorrow. I'm good for the day. Time for some lunch. Today it will be nachos.

It was another beautiful day. In the upper 70's. Got my walk in somewhat early.

Spent some time promoting the stuff I already have for sale, and trying to figure out what else I can sell so that I can pay the bills for another month or two. It is getting pretty slim. I have already sold so much. I guess if no one bites on the pile of stuff next door soon, I will have to start piecing it out on eBay. I really didn't want to do that, but I need to make some money to replace what I am spending on Ody this week. She is taking about half of what I have left and I don't know how long before the closing. It is getting very, very tight.

They came and put in the additional ground water test wells yesterday. One on this side, and a couple on the other. I'm hoping that means we are getting closer and closer. I really hate that my life's path is being determined by some corporation, and the never ending waiting.

Since Ody is finally going to be legal and the weather is looking pretty good for Saturday and Sunday, I am thinking about taking her out for the weekend. I'm gathering stuff, making a list...even tho I have loaded a lot of stuff, there isn't much for day to day necessities. The list is getting quite long and I have started a pile of stuff. She is supposed to be done some time tomorrow.

I'm going to spend some time today updating my Toshiba laptop and make her ready for travel. I haven't used it since last fall, and everything needs to be updated and I need to transfer my favorites and passwords and stuff. That will take up a good part of the day. I need to get my walk in before the rain starts too.

I made a decision

I decided that Ody was no good if I couldn't use her. I didn't dare take her anywhere with the ancient tires, without having the brakes checked and without a valid inspection sticker. Took her down to Brett's on Meadow Street after stopping in to see if he could do the work. Thinking more and more about selling the car again. Can come up with some other way to carry the extra stuff. It is a calculated risk spending that money now. Lets hope the closing is soon....very soon.

I did feel a bit of separation anxiety. A little concerned about her being out there on the back road at night all by herself. I made sure she was locked up and mentioned my concern to Brett. He said he would keep her locked. Brett says he can do everything I need done, and I should have her back by Friday. Then Kali Cat and I can take her out for an over night or two.

Since I was walking back, I took my water bottle and my camera. There wasn't really much to see, but I did get a few pics.

These are all on Meadow Street. Once I hit the main road there was nothing to shoot.

I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the walk. To me it seemed like a long way. But I started up Map My Walk and measured it. It is just about the same distance as my regular walks, just in one direction instead of a round trip. It was hot. 90 degrees, slightly uphill, and sun all the way. But I managed, made good time and I had the foresight to bring a water bottle. Although unscrewing the stopper on the aluminum bottle every time I wanted a drink was a pain in the butt. Especially while managing the bulky, hard to carry camera. I need to start carrying my pocket camera again.

It was a beautiful day. I spent most of the afternoon in front of the fan reading. Too warm to be in the sun for any length of time. I do feel like I am spending way too much time indoors tho. After the miserable winter and spring, I hate to be inside when it is nice out. But it was just a little too nice. 

We didn't get the severe thunderstorms that were predicted. Although today is going to be cloudy and a chance of showers. Pretty much what we have had all spring. Saturday and Sunday look good, that might be a good time to take Ody out for the first time. 

I thought we were making progress

I thought we were making progress and getting closer to a closing date, but yesterday I saw the site engineer marking spots to sink more ground water test wells next door  :(  To me, that is a step backwards. I'm beginning to think I am never going to get out of here, never get Ody road ready, and that nothing is ever going to change. It makes me want to cry. I am so sick of waiting and not being able to do anything about it. 

I need money to make Ody safe and road worthy. She needs all new tires, seven of them, her brakes need to be fixed, and she needs an oil change, hoses checked, and an inspection before I can take her anywhere. So here I sit, waiting, with a 25k rig that I can't even use. So I am now thinking it is time to break out a credit card and have the work done, and try to sell enough stuff to cover the costs or at least the monthly payments. I don't have much cash left, just what I made in my yard sales, so I can't use that, need it to pay bills since I have no income of any kind.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, in the 80's and sunny all day. I went for my walk around 11, the water was like glass. Lots of things to see and I didn't have my camera. I really should know better than to step outside the door without the camera, but it is so big and bulky and not easy to carry, so I leave it at home most of the time. I ended up grabbing my camera after I got back and going back out. Of course, by then, we had picked up a breeze and the water was no longer glassy and I had to go all the way to the end of the path making it a second walk. Still got some decent shots tho.

The loon caught itself a fish. You can just about see it in his bill. A couple of swallows and it was gone.

Thousands upon thousands of minnows along the shoreline, the whole distance.

And the geese have babies! Four little goslings. They were much closer on my first walk, but still half way decent pics. 

I try to keep myself and my mind busy. Quiet times lead to thinking and thinking leads to frustration and eventually depression. I try not to think how much I still miss Jake every day, I try not to think about the four plus years I have been waiting to get out of here, I try not to think about how alone I am. I just try not to think. 

Patience

Busy morning

Yesterday was a very busy morning. The day started out sunny, but clouded over fairly early. I started my day with month end data entry and paying bills. Was an expensive month, but I got all my plastic bins and a bunch of other stuff for Ody during the month.

Anyway, after I got the computer work done, I got showered and dressed and trimmed and filed my nails while waiting to go to the post office. When the time came, I did my walk along the shore. The only wildlife I saw were these geese.

My fan blade and motor were at the post office, so I grabbed those and stopped at Kingdom Market on my way back to buy a watermelon. Can you imagine..$9 for a whole watermelon, and it wasn't even that big.

I got the fan motor and blade replaced with a minimum of fuss. I did not replace the wiring harness, it didn't need it. But I did have to drill new holes to mount the new motor. I made a bunch of trips back and forth getting tools, etc. Cleaned the screen, tested and reassembled it. 

While I was in screen mode, I cleaned the Fantastic Vent Fan screen as well. I will be ordering the pop out screen as this one has eight screws that need to be removed in order to clean the screen. A little overkill? Only four screws went back in until I can get the new screen.

Since things seemed to be going so well, I moved on to the latch for the screen door. Several more trips back and forth to the house a trip to the hardware store, I had to make do with the drill bits that I had. I wasn't about to pay $17 for a bit that I would only use once. Success. I don't think it is the best solution, but it works. The latch handle itself needs a little modification to make things work a little smoother, but I don't want it to be a duct tape fix, so am pondering it for now. 

I had one more mod to install before I wrapped it up for the day. I have had the screen door bar for about a week, and it was only natural that I would install that too. So I did. Now there is something to grab on to when I want to close both doors, something to push when I want to open them from the inside. 

It's the little things that count. As for the watermelon, very disappointing. Absolutely no flavor. 

Reducing expenses

In my quest to reduce expenses, I have decided to try something new with my cell phone. For many years we have had service with AT&T, contracts, etc. Currently I am paying $99 a month for 300 roll over minutes, 5 gig of data and no text or messaging. Every time I send or receive a text, I pay for it. For the amount of usage, I am way overpaying, and have been since the beginning.

I hardly use my phone, and don't use all that much data because it is just faster and easier to use the wifi at home. But that will soon be going away and is a whole other adventure in itself.

After a fair amount of research and a lot of information and opinion gathering from my online friends, I have decide to try Straight Talk. It is $45 a month prepaid. It includes phone, texting, messaging and data...get this..UNLIMITED. Granted, you get choked after 3 gig of data, but there are no extra fees, and it will still work, even tho slow. Plus, I can keep my current phone and number and basically, just change out the sim and activate it.

Unfortunately I live in the sticks. The closest Wal Mart is almost two hours away. I ordered my sim and three months plan online, and am anxiously awaiting delivery so I can change over and dump the outrageous AT&T bill. I will let you know how that whole experience is.