My Amazon Wish List

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=P4B3KKMB0HQ7&C=340IQWU4TOHKZ&H=YYITVE9APDTJ7TSXHWIUUXFFL8QA&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fregistry%2Fwishlist%2FG3OJIBYU39AY%2Fref%3Dpe_830720_114783570_cm_sw_em_r_wsl_Kfzotb0TPRND6_wf

These are all things I still need. Some are pricey, some aren't. This list will most likely change as the time draws closer.

Time for a little break from downsizing.

Not much to write about since Thursday. I did do a little more upstairs on Friday and Saturday, but did not finish emptying the room. It seems that every time I go up, I have good intentions, but loose all motivation when I actually get there. Part of that is the fact that I don't have a closing date yet, the weather is still uncooperative, and I don't feel a sense of urgency. Yet. I'm kind of in a holding pattern until I get some more information. Plus, I still need to have some work done on Ody before I get her fully loaded up, and we are reaching that stage already, so I have to slow down. I have basically done what I can until the weather warms up and I can finish cleaning her and would be able to spend some time outside without freezing.

I'm not feeling all that great these days either. I haven't had a good nights sleep in a month or more. I'm tired all the time. I had changed my morning meds to night time meds, and I am wondering if that has had some effect on my sleep patterns. Changing the med time did not fix the night time cravings which is why I changed the time to begin with. So as of today, I am going back to taking them in the morning. See if I can get a little more sleep. It may have absolutely no bearing on it, but is worth a try. It could all just be stress and the fact that I know I have to move, just don't know WHEN. I can make plans, but can't do anything about them. It is very frustrating.

I did the last piece for the 30 Day Jewelry Challenge yesterday. I'm still doing the year long challenge. Got that submitted this morning. I'm glad to have the 30 day challenge done. It took up a lot of my time and energy, which is actually a good thing for the month of March. Nothing else going on while waiting for the weather to warm up, which it did not do this year. Here is the final piece in the 30 day challenge, which has already sold.

I have been playing with the lighting effects in Paint Shop Pro. I like it. Gives the photo a little something extra. The dragonfly was originally a bronze finish. I used the VerDay copper paint and patina spray. For some reason the dragonfly did not patina, but the copper took it quite nicely. Still, I am happy with it.

I think I am going to take a couple of days and just be. Sleep when I feel I need to. If I can. There isn't much I can do about anything until the weather breaks anyway. Now is the time to do it.

More progress upstairs

I am almost done cleaning out the upstairs. I hope to have it completely empty by Sunday. I'm not pushing myself too hard because I still don't have a closing date, and it still isn't written in stone. It could still fall through at this point. If that is the case, I will probably still leave here, but instead of having a couple dollars in my pockets I would be leaving here broke.

Yesterday was a difficult day for sorting. It was sad and painful as I had to sort through what little stuff of Jake's that I have left to see if I could reduce it down any more without sacrificing something important. Going through all that stuff hurt and brought back both bad and good memories. Sorting through my jewelry boxes I found pieces that he had given me and mean a great deal to me. I did achieve my goal and cut the jewelry by half. I am down to one box instead of two.  Jake's things are packaged up neatly and will be packed away in the rig somewhere when it comes time to move in. In the meantime, all of it will stay in here with me.

Today I sorted through the last of my clothes. My cold weather stuff. My goal with those, since they have a lot more bulk, was to get them down to two bins. I was successful in that, and I got rid of two large garbage bags full of clothes. Yay. :) This does not include coats and jackets, but they will have their own little closet, so I am good there.

Tomorrow's goal is to get my quilts packaged up in space bags. Hopefully that will reduce them considerably. The weather is going to be crap, so I will also go through the Christmas stuff and try to get that down a lot more. I guess the trees will have to go. Space is limited and I refuse to pay for storage. I have two of the six bins I put out in the rig the other day still available, and one of them will be for holidays. Knowing what I will have for storage is making the sorting a bit easier.

I was in a bit of a panic because my passport wasn't where I thought it was. I did find it this afternoon, in the only other place I thought it could be. All this time I thought it was in the tin box with important papers, but in fact it had been stored in the trailer with the rest of my stuff. Now it is safely tucked away in the tin box with the title to Ody and my birth certificate, where it should be.

Only three more days of the Fusion Beads 30 Day Jewelry Challenge. I have to say, I will be happy when it is done. This is the third year I have done this particular challenge and I am happy to see it end each year. Today's piece was to be made from copper. I use a lot of copper, so that wasn't any big deal. Deciding what to make was. I saw a tutorial online this morning that used pre textured wire. I didn't have the texture wire, but I do have texturing hammers and decided to try the ring and make my own textured wire. I'm pretty pleased with the results. It actually looks better on, and I might do this one again.

The next indoor yard sale is going to be April 18, 19, and 20. There will be new things added, prices reduced on older things. Watch for details. I'm anxious to get this downsizing thing wrapped up!

A little each day.

I have lots of stuff going on. I'm in the process of downsizing, doing two jewelry challenges, shoveling, and lots of little things that need to be done each day. Yesterday was errand day. Post office, groceries, etc. I did make some progress on clearing out the upstairs and moved some storage bins out to Ody. I did have to reconfigure them since they didn't fit with the mattress in place, but they will work for now. I do need to find some sort of lid for the top bin on the left. Only two of them have contents at this point.

Today, there were several things I did that weren't on my list. I considered sorting my summer stuff tomorrow, but I really want to do a little each day, so I bit the bullet and got it done. I cut two summer/dressy bins down to one. If I haven't worn it in a year, no matter how much I liked it, out it went. I do have to say that some of this downsizing really hurts. But in six months, I won't remember, right? I kept one dress, two skirts, and a couple of dressy tops. Out with the rest.

Tomorrow I get to sort my jewelry boxes. There are some things in there I will not part with even if I don't wear them much. These pieces aren't worth a whole lot, but have huge sentimental value to me.

I tested my router today to see if I had an internal wireless network without the DSL line attached. And that is a big yes. I won't have to buy a router any time soon for my network. I can print, use my net cam, see my storage drive and other things on the network. That will make the move quite a bit easier. I can figure out the internet part of it later. 

It is just about time to start making calls for tires, brakes and an inspection for Ody. I got the tire specs today and may make some calls tomorrow, or I might wait until next week when it is a little bit warmer. There is a fair amount of dry rot on the sidewalls. She made it 500 miles on those tires, lets hope she will do another 25.

I still need to shim the bed. That hasn't been done yet because I will need to climb over a snowbank to get to my scrap lumber pile. But I still have a little energy left and might just do that when I finish here. 

Kali Cat is liking having the bed downstairs. She can curl up in a comfy spot and still be near me. She sleeps on a shelf to my left when I am in my recliner. If I am not in my chair, she has a couple other spots she likes to catnap.

More snow...

Woke up to more nasty conditions this morning. Snowing and blowing, temps were in the 20's. Had to go out and start both rigs and warm them up, it had been a couple of days, and I turned on the heat in Ody to give her a bit of a whole body warm up. My plow guy came and cleaned things up a bit and we are now ready for the next blast that we are supposed to get on Wednesday or so.

Other than shoveling and warming up the rigs, I got some DVD's sorted. I kept the ones I couldn't bear to part with, less than half of the commercial DVD's that I have, and about 95% of the recorded DVD's are going. There are just some movies that I can watch over and over, and I also have several TV shows on DVD that I can watch again and again. I have moved them out to Ody, and they are taking up less space than I thought they would.

Since I have the bed moved downstairs, my new goal this week is to empty the upstairs. Completely. Then close it off. It has to be done, might as well do it now while I have the time. 

I almost got Kali Cat in Ody this morning. She was out with me and wanted to go indoors, so I called her. She got close enough to figure out the engine was running and decided that was close enough. Will try again, with treats, when it warms up enough to leave the door open so she can come in and investigate on her own. 

I need to shim one side of the bed that I brought downstairs. I slept five whole hours in it last night, but the whole time, I felt like I was going to roll off the bed. The floor here is that crooked.. Upstairs the bed was placed differently so the tilt was towards my feet, that was much easier to deal with. 

Kali Cat was pleased with the new setup, every time I woke during the night, she was stretched out beside me.

More snow

We have another winter weather advisory in effect, supposedly six more inches of snow. It hasn't stopped snowing from the storm we had three days ago yet. It isn't doing a whole lot out there today and seems to be running behind schedule, but we had an impressive sunrise this morning.

 

I wish I had a better view, but that will all be changing soon. Still don't know when tho.

This morning I hauled my bed downstairs. With all the issues I have had sleeping, I have been sleeping more in my recliner than I have the bed. Well, the recliner won't fit in Ody and I will have to give it up soon, so I really need to retrain myself to sleep in the bed. Once I fall asleep in the chair and I wake up, by the time I go to the bathroom, get myself upstairs, the blankets situated, the curtains closed, etc., I am wide awake and can't get back to sleep. I am hoping the short one or two steps from the chair to the bed will eliminate that.

Kali Cat is surveying the changes here.

There is another reason I brought the bed downstairs, there isn't much left up there since I started selling stuff, and it just doesn't feel warm and cozy any more. Plus, I need to adapt to a smaller space, one that is even smaller than this one.

I don't have a lot on my agenda for the day. Weekly chores...laundry, litter box, garbage, vacuuming, etc. I have most of them done. The rest of the day I am going to take it easy and maybe get in a nap and some reading. I have done my heavy lifting for the day. :)

KAYWOS Cloth

I have just added a new product to my online shopping cart, it is the KAYWOS Cloth. In my search to find a better cleaning method, something more in tune with the environment, easy to use, and taking up very little space, I came across these. I ordered mine on eBay. They WORK! I did my windows and any other shiny surface in one go because once you start, you just want to keep on going. I cleaned windows that had been covered up by shelving in the shop and hadn't been cleaned in years in just minutes, no streaks, no film. Those stupid little door lites that look nice but take forever to clean, just minutes. No streaks.

Mine have been through the wash a couple of times already and are just as effective as they were when I took them out of the package.

You really want to try these, you will love them. You can find them here... https://squareup.com/market/critters-and-creations/kaywos-cloth

Unfortunately, the shopping cart I am using doesn't allow adjustments on the shipping. It is a flat rate for the whole order so I would recommend ordering more than one to help defray the shipping cost. Anything else you might be interested in in my store would also be included in the flat rate shipping as well. Check it out. 

https://squareup.com/market/critters-and-creations

Happy Birthday Michael.

First things first. I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my brother Michael. This time last year he was recovering from a heart attack. It has been an eventful year for him. Happy Birthday Mike, and I hope you have many, many more! Great job!

So, the first day of spring in Island Pond, Vermont. Welcome to my world. And this won't be the last of it. We have at least another four to six weeks before we are out of danger of huge snow.

The temps at night have been -25 F and -18 F and anywhere up to zero, and the daytime temps have been in the teens and twenties if we are lucky. The reason I am telling you all of this is to remind myself when I start to get homesick why I left. Lets hope it works.

Here are a few more pics I took this morning.... https://plus.google.com/photos/118406578374225960662/albums/5992881882206377873 

I haven't accomplished much with Ody. I did get her mostly cleaned on the inside. I learn a little something new each day, and I moved the first few things in. My dishes and glasses are in. I need to spend some time configuring the storage in the bunk room which will actually be the storage room. I want to cut down one of my chrome wire shelving units to fit the bunk area for some of the smaller items. So much to do, and no weather to do it in. Patience is not one of my virtues. I have already been patient for four years. I don't know how much longer I will be able to pull it off. Cabin fever has set in and has a firm grip on my emotions.

No adventures today.

Cleaned and measured

Yesterday was chore day...laundry, vacuuming, the litter box, etc. So I didn't get out to the rig until late in the day. I spent that time cleaning out all the stuff the previous owner left in it, thinking she was being helpful. But I have all my own stuff, and have had to remove hers. While I was out there I measured and moved some stuff around. I created some additional storage space by removing the tube TV and the VCR.

Much needed storage space. I have ordered a swing arm mount for my flat panel TV and my DVD player is a tiny thing and can go just about anywhere. Also while I was out there I moved one of the bunk mattresses to the dinette area. That leaves the empty bunk for more storage, and I hardly ever use a table, so I won't miss that at all. One of the mattresses was shorter than the other and it fit quite nicely. Although today I pulled out the dinette cushions to lower the mattress a little. I still have my memory foam to put on top.

 

I also put together the adjustable height bed table that I had been saving for years. It will replace the dinette table. This raises and lowers and is on casters so it can be moved around. I won't be loosing any flat surface, and can be raised to the same height or higher than the kitchen counters and can be used for food prep as well as a computer desk. All I need to do now is rig up a bungee or something to keep it from moving around when Ody is in motion.

I have plans for this broken drawer. It is missing the hardware to put it back to original, so I have come up with an alternate solution. I ordered the hinges this morning. 

These are nice, solid wood drawers with a facing. I will remove the facing and reinstall it on hinges. The drawer will be placed inside on feet to raise it up above the pex line that is there. This leaves access to the pipes and lines under the cabinet without having to completely disassemble the drawer again. My guess is that that is why it is loose to begin with. This will allow more of the space to be used and less wasted.

Since I have the majority of the cleaning done, I think it is time I start hauling my stuff out there. Will start with the dishes and stuff for the kitchen, and the items I have bought specifically for the rig. 

All cleaned up and pretty!

Two thirds legal

Woke up to -18F this morning, ugh! I am so ready for this winter to be over. We have some dicey weather coming up in the next few weeks so I wanted to get Ody registered. Got myself showered and dressed and headed off to DMV in Newport. I had hoped the roads had had enough traffic that they would be in pretty good shape, but I was sorely disappointed. The only advantage was the fact that a lot of people weren't  out and about until I hit Derby/Newport. The roads there were an absolute nightmare, that brown slushy, slippery stuff that you can't get a grip on and can't stop if you needed to. Had one little slippy slidy because the car in front of me came to a virtual stop in the middle of the road, on a down hill slope. Thankfully I had it in four wheel drive and only slid a little.

This is what the roads were this morning, it was still below zero, and they weren't a whole lot better on the way back. But it was good to get out and about. Cabin fever has set in and I am tired of being stuck indoors. Got the registration done, a huge chunk of change on the sales tax and title fee, but Ody will be sporting a brand new pair of pretty green VT plates. Hit one of the big grocery stores while I was there, and the dollar store for some carpet cleaner and some of that rubbery shelf liner. I am always amazed at the selection the bigger stores have. Yogurt flavors I didn't even know existed. :)

I still need to get her inspected, but that will have to wait until I can take her out on the road. I will not do my maiden voyage on snow covered roads. I'm already panicking about driving her, add the toad to that, and it scares the crap outta me. But I will manage, just as I do everything else that is worth doing. Gotta "just do it".

Got the cassette deck adapter so I can play my modern appliances thru the cab radio. It isn't the best quality system, but it will do for now. I don't know how much I will use it, so will put off any upgrades until I decide I really do have to have it. I tested that out while I was running the rig to take the chill off. Was an inexpensive mod.

Day two of winter storm Vulcan

It is still snowing and has been since around 8 AM yesterday. It isn't supposed to stop until late today. We have over a foot of new snow already. I don't know exactly how much since it has started to drift. The temperature is hovering around 6 degrees Fahrenheit. I have done my outdoor chores for the day and am in for the duration. I took lots and lots of pics to remind me when I am feeling homesick, one of the major reasons why I left. Lets hope it does the trick.

The rest of the photos are here.... https://plus.google.com/photos/118406578374225960662/albums/5990271825641246385

It's a blizzard out there! (Or soon will be.)

Today is errand day, although not all of them will get done. I did get the vin number verified for the registration by the local law enforcement, required in VT when transferring a vehicle in from out of state, so I am ready to get Ody registered, but the snow has picked up and they are predicting two feet or so. I am not in that much of a rush to get her registered, it isn't like I need it by the weekend. So that will wait until driving 50 miles round trip isn't going to be a challenge. I was hoping to sneak in under the storm, but it started sooner than predicted.

I have some legal stuff I need to take care of and will be doing that this morning. The law office is just around the corner, within walking distance, as is the bank, post office and market. So anything I need to get done there, I can do in one trip around town on foot. At least it is 32 degrees. That is a vast improvement over the temps we have had all winter.

Once I get that done, I have two jewelry challenge pieces I need to do. One for today for the 30 Day Challenge, and one for this week for The Year Long Challenge. Will be interesting to see what I come up with. It will be a good day to work on them, and tomorrow I can do a few pieces ahead because I don't think I will be going out except to shove periodically. It will be a daytime jammie day. I haven't had one of those for a while. :)

She made it!

After a pretty much sleepless night, the second in a row, Ody pulled up out front about 9:30 AM. Tim drove from 5:30 yesterday morning until 3 AM this morning to go get her and bring her back for me. He stopped once in Vermont around midnight or so because the visibility was so bad he couldn't see. But he did an amazing job and Ody did the 500 miles like a champ!

This is the first time I have seen her in person. I spent a little time with the manuals, and spent some more time inside just checking things out and taking pictures. I am pleased with my purchase. She is going to need some new tires, a good cleaning on the outside and I want to do the inside just on general principal. You wouldn't move into a new house or apartment without doing your own cleaning. But she is very clean already, so it won't take long.

I want and need to spend a lot more time with her, learning the ropes. But it will have to wait until it warms up a little bit. It is just too raw to be out there for any length of time.

You can see the rest of the photos here...  https://plus.google.com/photos/118406578374225960662/albums/5989596314425462113

Now that the transport is done and I have actually seen what my money purchased, I am hoping that I will be able to get some sleep. Wish me luck!

crnbrryctg

Someone just asked me what the letters at the top of the screen meant. It is actually a vowel-less version of Cranberry Cottage, the name of my first house in Cumberland Maine. I sold the house after moving up here to Island Pond, but the name just kind of stuck.

 

Today is the day.

After four years of limbo, not knowing what I was going to do, how to do it, and where to go, things are finally falling into place. My building is under contract with a dollar store corporation, I'm selling off all of my stuff, and my new home is being picked up and delivered to me today. I actually won't see it until tomorrow, but it is still exciting knowing that it is in motion.

Four years ago, I couldn't even imagine a future without Jake. That wasn't our plan. We had intended upon selling out and hitting the road when his youngest turned 18. It wasn't all that long a wait, about another year, but Jake didn't make it to see his youngest turn 18, or the fine young man, husband and father he has turned into. I am so proud of him, and I'm sure his dad is too. Jake was my life, and I was happy with that.

Anyway, things happen, life turns on a dime, and here I am. Hopefully making the best of a bad situation. I don't have any major goals, or places that I just HAVE to see. The main goal is to get out of the six month long winters and hopefully find some place I can be content. Live a little. Jake may be gone, but I am still here. My current existence is just that, existing. Every day pretty much the same. Looking at the same thing day after day, nothing ever changing. And without family or close friends nearby, it is also pretty boring. I go days on end without seeing another human, and it is getting very old.

All I have seen of my new home is a few pictures, not very good ones at that. I'm looking forward to going over every inch of the RV and familiarizing myself with my new way of life. There is a lot to do before I launch, and am looking at possibly the end of June, mid July. I really want to see this old building come down and the new store started before I leave, as I most likely won't be back. Jake was the reason I am in Island Pond, and now that he is gone, there is no reason for me to stay.

So, even though I am still in limbo, with no closing date or target date, I will have plenty to keep me busy. Customizing and personalizing Ody (Odonata), moving in and dealing with the rest of my stuff, and adapting to an even smaller space, there is light at the end of the tunnel. :)

It is going to be a long day. Waiting....

Ody process of becoming like :  metamorphosis into (something specified) —chiefly in botanical terms <sepalody>
Odonata is an order of carnivorous insects, encompassing dragonflies

Symbolisms of the Dragonfly

• Maturity and a Depth of character
  The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. 
  
  The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaningto this amazing insect. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.


Power and Poise

• The dragonfly can move at an amazing 45 miles an hour,  hover like a helicopter fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side. What is mind blowing is the fact that it can do this while flapping its wings a mere 30 times a minute while mosquitoes and houseflies need to flap their wings 600 and 1000 times a minute respectively. 
  
  The awe inspiring aspect is how the dragonfly accomplishes its objectives with utmost simplicity, effectiveness and well, if you look at proportions, with 20 times as much power in each of its wing strokes when compared to the other insects.  The best part is that the dragonfly does it with elegance and grace that can be compared to a veteran ballet dancer. If this is not a brazen, lazy, overkill in terms of display of raw power, what is?

• Defeat of Self Created Illusions
  The dragonfly exhibits iridescence both on its wings as well as on its body. Iridescence is the property of an object to show itself in different colors depending on the angle and polarization of light falling on it. 
  
  This property is seen and believed as the end of one’s self created illusions and a clear vision into the realities of life. The magical property of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his/her own sense of identity. This again indirectly means self discovery and removal of inhibitions.

• Focus on living ‘IN’ the moment
  The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis. 
  
  This ability lets you live your life without regrets like the great dragonfly.

• The opening of one’s eyes
  The eyes of the dragonfly are one of the most amazing and awe inspiring sights. Given almost 80% of the insect’s brain power is dedicated to its sight and the fact that it can see in all 360 degrees around it, it symbolizes the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self. It also in a manner of speaking symbolizes a man/woman’s rising from materialism to be able to see beyond the mundane into the vastness that is really our Universe, and our own minds.

Testing 1, 2, 3......

I'm far enough along in the process that I really should start blogging. I have been meaning to for a while now.

The goal: To become a full time RV'er in 2014.

The original goal was just to get out of Island Pond and move someplace warm when my mate of 13 years died of cancer in 2010. It has taken me four years to reach this point, with lots of bumps in the road and changing of plans. I was initially going to move to Arizona since I had family there. It gets lonely up here with no one but myself and The Furry One. BUT, my brother decided to take a job in Wisconsin where the weather is worse than here. Not having any other target in mind, and no where else I really wanted to be, I decided to take it mobile. Drive around until I found some place that felt like home. So that is what I am going to do.

I spent a majority of the last six months researching and watching for just the right rig. In February I found one on eBay, but it was in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, I had friends in Philly, and they went and looked at the rig for me and negotiated a better price and I bought the thing. Since the weather has been horrible every where this year, it has been sitting at the seller's ever since. Tomorrow, it is being picked up and driven back here for me. By Tuesday morning (assuming all goes well), at the latest, I should be able to inspect my new home. I am so excited!

This is Kali Cat. Otherwise known as The Furry One. She is 18 this year and will be my travel buddy for as long as I am graced with her presence. I hope and pray that she adapts fairly easy and has a long and healthy life.

This is me. I hate having my photo taken, so this is one of very few pictures. Plus an article that was in the local paper a few weeks back. If you right click and open in a new tab, you can actually read it. 

I am going to try to keep this blog updated on a regular basis. I send emails every morning to special people and will try to add anything newsworthy here at the same time. 

Thank you for following and welcome to my blog!