Belfast Waterfront Walk

Good morning.

We took a long walk along the waterfront down town yesterday. It was a beautiful day for it. Sunny, slightly breezy, and very photogenic. I took lots and lots of pictures and inhaled the Maine coast scent. I had forgotten that smell.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet. I started alternating my heating pad with an ice pack, I just don’t seem to be getting any better, and the Aleve seems to have stopped working. Today I am switching to ibuprofen to see if that makes a difference, and will continue with the heat and ice. When we go out later, I want to see if I can find that new pain patch. It is called Salonpas and is supposed to be good. I have to do something, I am inches away from tears of pain and frustration. This has put a major damper on my first week, and it sucks. It has mostly moved out of my lower back and into my left butt cheek and down the back of that leg. Sciatica. I may have to have it looked at if it doesn’t start improving very soon.

I bought a couple of things in the two shops we went into. The Purple Babboon provided this cute little camping journal and the Howling Coyote provided a new little slim red wallet thing and a half price navy cotton button up sweater with funky buttons, a collar and pockets. My find for the day was one striped seagull feather. It went into the box with the dragonfly and turkey feather. I will have to figure out something to do with them.

Late in the afternoon, Jerry’s friend Aaron came and repacked both front wheel bearings for me and fixed the hubcap nut stem. We are back in business and ready to roll. It cost me $30, and that included keeping the ratchet  and socket that is big enough to remove the nuts in case I loose one and have to remove the hubcap. Was very interesting watching him work on it and what he did. I understand how it works now, and will be able to envision any issues in the future. I could do the work myself if I had the right tools.

Aaron working on the second wheel bearing.

Right now, the plan is to leave here Tuesday morning. It looks like I will be taking RT 1 straight into Falmouth. I will head for Wal Mart, find a shady place to park if I can. I will probably arrive mid to late morning. I want to buy a TV and an antenna to see if I can get some free television.  I have a whole list of things I want to look at and a few extra “camping” things I need to pick up. 

I am already finding that I need to rearrange some things, get rid of some things, and make some other things more accessible. But I will save that job for when I am in a location for more than a few days. Lighten up just a little and make moving around a little easier.

It is warm and humid here already and is supposed to be stormy off and on. Tuesday is supposed to be intermittent showers, so it shouldn’t be too bad for driving. 

Here are a couple of teaser waterfront photos. 

If you want to see more waterfront pics, there are just too many to post, you can go here…

https://plus.google.com/118406578374225960662/posts/YVUkk4s7vsq?pid=6053409535280240418&oid=118406578374225960662

Apples! Yes, it is that time of year.

Yesterday we went to Mainely Apples in Brooks and bought Jersey Macs, and then did the mile long nature walk with the dogs. I haven’t been walking much lately with everything that has been going on and the back issue, but the info I read online about sciatica says to keep moving, exercise is the best medicine. Couldn’t prove it by me this morning, I am very uncomfortable. I put on some fresh icy hot and took some Aleve before we left and I was ok. A little slow, but no major twinges. By the time we got back, it was about a half hour drive, my muscles had already tightened up.

Quiet afternoon. I did a website update, and then finally got around to changing the battery in my phone. Wasn’t too hard, but there was one tiny piece that came out I had trouble putting back in. I finally got it. I have better signal now, and we will see if it stays charged up better.  An eight dollar fix as opposed to buying a new phone. There is nothing wrong with the phone, but I may need to delete some seldom used apps. It seems to be staying charged up a little better, but it is hard to tell, hasn’t been long enough for a true trial.

Aaron, a friend of Jerry’s came over to take a look at Ody’s front wheel. The thing that was clanging around in the hubcap was the grease fitting cover. Not good, but can be fixed. He is coming back today to repack both front tires and will fix the stem extension that caused the nut to fall off. At some point, I will have to find an RV place that can take a look at her and see if there is anything else that might need some attention, and maybe pick up a few spare parts. The Ford dealership didn’t have the extension I needed, but we found later that I still had the old one and Aaron is going to try to repair it. He’s charging me $20 for the work.

Kali Cat has been out and about quite a bit. So far, she always comes back. She knows Ody is home, no matter where we are. She is such a good girl. She was just sitting beside me under the awning and purring. She seems to be sleeping less too. Maybe she needed some excitement in her life too. This pic is of her yesterday when the guys were standing around talking..

We got the tanks emptied yesterday too. My gray tank was full and there was standing water after I got done showering. So I am happy to have that done. I don’t know when I will be able to do that again. I will have to make sure my fresh water tank is full when I leave here as I will be dry camping indefinitely after I head Portlandy way.

Not sure what day I will be heading out from here. It is a holiday weekend, and am not sure what the traffic is going to be like. Plus, I don’t want to be driving in a lot of rain, which is in the forecast.

My sleeping seems to be getting back to normal. Sleep three or four hours, up for a little while then sleep a couple more hours. I think I got about six hours last night and seven the night before. But once the sun goes down, I am toast. Tried watching a little TV with Ellen and Jerry, but kept wanting to doze off, so I called it a night.

I think I am going to pick up a small TV and a high def antenna when I finally hit a Walmart. They get a bunch of channels here without cable. Would be nice to have TV to watch since it would be too expensive to watch online like I am used to. Plus, I think there is an adapter I can put on the existing antenna to bring in high def. Will have to do a little research.

A couple of finds yesterday. A feather from Jake and a dragonfly from somewhere.

And yesterday's demolition update. Photos courtesy of Jenn Hanlon and Bruce Rolfe. Thanks guys! :)

The Brighton Motorsports building is down and cleaned up. My building will go on Tuesday. I wish I could be there to see it.

Belfast Maine

Made it to Belfast safe and sound. Was actually a nice drive, not too much traffic. I did pull over once after stopping for some road construction and then hearing a nasty clanging in the driver’s front tire.  I had lost a lug nut cover in Linda’s driveway right before I left, and it was the same tire. I only stopped to make sure nothing had changed. And then I pulled over one more time because the turn sneaked up on me and I didn’t have enough room to slow down and turn, plus I really needed a pee break.

Jerry was outside waiting for me when I arrived and he guided me in. Was an easy process. Got the camp all setup, chairs out, sarongs hung (I'm basically right on the road, the sarongs are for privacy). Then we visited. I have water and electricity. Jerry also helped me mount the safety handle over the bed to help me get up in the morning. That is when my back is the worst, and I swear I re injure it every morning. That sure did help this morning! Plus it gives me a place to clamp my fan.

We are going to pop that hubcap today and see what the story is. Worst case, I will need to have a new lug bolt installed, but the existing one is still there, the cover just won’t screw on, threads are stripped. Best case is that I picked up a rock. Might have to go find a nut that will fit, but it is Friday and we should be able to do that.

Kali Cat travelled better this time. She did cry when I put her in the crate, we weren’t even moving, but only intermittently during the drive, and NO accidents! She is such a good girl. She is on her third outing here. I walked with her the first time late yesterday, this morning she is on her own and has checked back in twice so far.

Ellen made sandwiches for lunch and we sat under the awning and ate. She also made a very nice dinner and then some relaxing time in recliners. They even brought a third recliner into the living room just for me. 

The dogs seem to like me, but aren’t crazy over Kali Cat. They bark at her, but they are fenced in. I am assuming she is smart enough not to get too close.

Intermittent 3G on the phone. No wifi, so I am using my mobile wifi. It is working like a champ. :) That was definitely a good investment. 

This morning I downloaded a couple of exercises and a booklet for sciatic pain. It made sense. The day I sat on Linda’s couch cross legged and stretched was my best day so far. So I will start on those today. If I can’t eliminate it, maybe I can at least lessen it. 

It has been quite windy here, the result of hurricane Christobal. So I have had to bungee the open door to the mirror like I did in IP to keep it from slamming closed. I don’t want to be in the way when it does, and I fear for Kali Cat. She is back in now BTW. She knows where home is, no matter where home is. 

Today is garbage day here so I need to go gather my trash and clean the litter box. Then to figure out what to do about the tanks. I am parked right next to their well, so dumping isn’t a good idea. But the are both three quarters full and need to be dealt with. I wonder how long my hose is….

Photos are coming in on the 39 Alder Street demolition. I will post them as I get them. Here are yesterday's.

The above pic was Wednesday. Below, yesterday.

I'm anxious to see today's progress. Photos courtesy of Jenn Hanlon.

BTW, I don't miss it yet. Just a few people.

Belfast or bust...

Well I’m off to Belfast today. The plan is to head out about 9, after the morning commute and the school buses. Linda and I went out for a drive later in the day and she actually drove me thru the route that will allow me to avoid the construction on Western Ave. I have an hour or so drive in front of me today, and I have changed the ink cartridges in the printer and printed out the directions.

It was a quiet day again yesterday. Got a load of laundry done too. I thought my back was getting better, but it really isn’t. I need some sort of handle over the bed to help me get up in the morning, that is when it is the worst and I think I re injure it every time I get up. I’m going to have to look at that later today. I kept the safety handle that I had by the freezer in the building, so maybe I can find a place to mount that so I can pull myself up instead of straining muscles that are trying to heal. I’m sure Jerry and I can come up with some sort of solution. I have some ideas already.

I think I need to walk too. After walking around at Hannaford yesterday, I actually felt a little better for a while. I am also going back to the Icy Hot instead of the stuff Linda gave me. See if that makes a difference. The stuff she gave me worked great the first time, but after that, not so much.

We stopped at the new Goodwill yesterday. I got a pair of water shoes for $8. I looked them up online while I was right there in the store to see if that was a good price, and yes, it was. I love technology. I also got a new dish drainer, I sold mine and have determined that I need one. The dishes don’t dry on the drying pad I have. Plus, a great deal on a pair of stainless steel frying pans that I can use in the convection oven or on the stove top. The handle removes to make a nice round pan for the oven. My rectangle baking pans are too big. Half price, brand new. They are quite heavy. And I grabbed a couple more t shirts as I have gone thru all my shirts in this hot weather. This will give me a little more variety too.

I did throw out my current pair of flip flops. They weren’t helping my back any because I had worn them enough they were compressed. And today, the sewing machine and computer monitor will go, so that will fulfill the one in one out rule of motor home living. Maybe at some point when I settle in for a week or two somewhere I will do some reorganizing and find a few more things to remove. My goal is to free up the smaller bunk (the craft side) and put my bed back there so I will have the table and bench in the kitchen available again. A little more room. I did discover the storage bins I have are strong enough to hold a mattress and sleep on, so I will be able to put one row under the mattress for lesser used items. Winter clothes, etc.

We scoped out the gas station on the ride yesterday. Mulligans has angled pumps. Not enough room for a newbie to maneuver. So I am going to wait until I hit Rt 3 and find a place there to gas up. I probably have enough to get me where I am going and more, but the generator won’t work below a half tank of gas. Not that I need it.

I slept ok last night. Went to sleep around 9:30, was up at midnight for a little while and then slept until almost 5 this morning. Better than the past few nights.

I may not hit Falmouth until Tuesday sometime. Holiday traffic and all. I will know when it will be time to leave Belfast. I need to get myself a US map book somewhere too.

I drove nose in to Linda’s driveway, so I will either have to turn around on their nice lawn, or will need a spotter. It is a busy road. Hopefully that will be the worst part of the drive. As long as I am going forward, I am good. :)

Well, I guess it is time for a quick shower and then break camp. Make sure there isn’t something loose and will roll around. I forgot to put my little plant in the sink the other day and I found it on the step inside with dirt everywhere when I got here. The cat food dishes ride quite nicely. My cordless hand vacuum needs to be dealt with at some point. Either get rid of it or find a place it will ride without tipping over and coming apart. I haven’t used it in ages, maybe it is time to get rid of it.

Another Day

Was a nice quiet day yesterday. Linda and I sat and chatted and caught up most of the day. It was relaxing. The only thing that made me nervous was thinking about heading out this afternoon. So I decided to stay another night and head out early tomorrow morning. Linda is going to lead me around the road construction to 95. After that, I should be good. Pretty much a straight shot to Belfast from here.

Kali Cat is out with minimal supervision. She is hanging around Ody and not wandering too far. I hope this is a trend. I do try to know where she is most of the time, and if I am going to be away from the rig, I make sure she is inside with the door closed. Ellen says that I won’t be able to let her out there because of the dogs and the main road, but you can’t get much more traffic than there is here, and the dogs can’t be out all the time. We will work around it.

A nice salad for lunch, with feta and rotisserie chicken and pork tenderloin for dinner. I’m eating well here. :) Today is garbage day so I will be getting rid of some garbage, and am planning on doing a load of laundry. I have gone thru a lot of clothes with the heat we have been having. Plus, my clothing options are extremely limited. I am going to have to dig to find something to wear today. That closet is a nightmare. Can’t find much of anything in there. I need to do a little rearranging. I must have more things I can wear. Somewhere. I also need to clean the litter box, but since she can go out here, she isn’t using it much thankfully. I spotted her taking a dump in the middle of Linda's nicely groomed front yard this morning. (Sorry Linda!)

My back seems to be improving. I think I might have gotten the nerve released yesterday morning. It is still sore, but not like it was. Plus, Linda gave me some prescription pain cream that seems to work wonders. I will use that again today. I can actually get up and down from the chair now. At least a little faster than I was. Another reason to wait another day before driving. Hoping for a little more healing. I sat on the couch yesterday morning while I was working on Linda’s computer and made sure I did some stretching. At one point when I got up, I felt a small pop and things seemed to have improved since then. First thing this morning I was quite sore, but that seems to be mostly what it is now, soreness instead of pain. Maybe I can start getting some exercise again. 

My head has gotten a little clearer each day that goes by. I seem to have adjusted mostly to the thicker air. Of course yesterday was beautiful for sitting in the shade and catching up. It never got uncomfortably hot or humid. Although today is supposed to be warmer and more humid again. And I am still tired, but that seems to be my natural state these days.

This dragonfly came and landed on my computer yesterday while I was doing the map for Winthrop to Belfast. I thought it was appropriate. :)

I still don’t have a place to park in the Portland area. If I don’t find something, I won’t be able to stay very long. Unless I can find a cheap campground. But that will make it further away than I wanted from Portland and Falmouth. Without a car, I won’t be able to get around. Guess we will just have to wait and see.

Early Tuesday AM

Made it to Linda’s safe and sound. Linda didn’t actually get home until a little after three, but I visited with her mother for a little while, then fixed myself some lunch and chilled for a while. We have some shade here, unfortunately it is under a big pine tree. I will be fighting pitch for a while.

I'm sitting on the back side of Ody this morning as the awning side is in the driveway. Kali Cat is out and exploring. I think it is going to be OK. She hasn’t wandered far, and seems to stay out of the road. If I see her near a road, I discourage her. 

Yesterday I called and canceled my IP internet service and then called the insurance company about the car. I still have a couple more calls to make and some final bills to pay.

I am on Linda’s wifi now. I did get my mobile wifi up and running. It is so nice to be back online. Only problem is, I fell asleep last night watching TV…on my dime. I hope I didn’t use up too much of my 5gig. Will have to check and see if there is a usage meter online somewhere. Just checked. Used almost a full gig, so no TV watching for me. Sigh..

It is very, very noisy here. Lots of traffic and trucks. They ran all night, but at a lesser quantity.

Not sure what is on the agenda for today. We went to Hannaford’s last night and I picked up a few things. Still need to get some lettuce tho, although Linda said I could have some of hers.

Time for breakfast and a second cup of coffee. I bought some Icy Hot while at the store yesterday too, that seemed to help for most of the day. This morning I am pretty sore again, but a shower, some aleve and some Icy Hot should fix me up for a while.

One more thing. I got some information yesterday that Sunday, my building was stripped. Doors, counters, bathroom sink. That disturbs me. The person I got this from said that the people had my permission to do that. I don't remember giving them permission. There is a lot of monetary value there, money I spent and should get back. Not sure what, if anything, to do about that. Maybe I should just let it go and forget about it. But again, I am disturbed by it. I didn't expect that. 

Here are a few more pics for your enjoyment...

Me and Dan.

PJ, Dan's cat enjoying my camp.

Kali Cat's first outing at Linda's.

Dan's grapes. Beautiful!

Camp at Dan's.

This is how I started out Saturday morning.

Ready for lift off.

Kali Cat on the dash Friday night.

Me and Monica Saturday morning when I left. She came down to see me off. 

082514

A rough night last night. My back is still bothering me quite a bit. I am beginning to think I have a pinched nerve. Gotta figure out a way to get that fixed. I used Dan’s Icy Hot this morning and it actually does help.

PJ, Dan’s cat, decided he wanted in the RV at midnight last night. Scratching and climbing the door, crying, just being a pain in the ass. Kali Cat thought he was annoying too and hissed and growled at him. I ended up closing the outside door. Thankfully, it had cooled off enough that it wasn’t a problem. PJ has an issue with talking, he talks non stop and it does get annoying.

Dan has this thing called a theracane. It is for applying pressure to sore muscles. I may look into getting one. I tried his a little while ago, but can’t tell if it helped yet. Don’t think it hurt.

Today I am off to Linda’s for two nights. Hoping she is going to want to go shopping at some point. There are a few things I would like to pick up. Some doggie poo bags, Icy Hot, a lanyard (non floating) for my sunglasses, and a few other things. I am ready to move on. But it has been a nice visit with Dan. I hope I didn’t inconvenience him too much.

Even tho it is quite hot and stuffy, my head feels a little clearer today. I may be adjusting to the thicker air. I had forgotten mountain air was thinner. That explains some of my sluggishness. The rest can be attributed to being over tired, and pain killers. My stomach is a little funky due to the Aleve, but that should clear up soon. Huge adjustments.

Kali Cat DID go out yesterday, a couple of times. She would explore a little, then come back for a drink of water and a bite to eat, then back out. She did that three or four times. I let her out briefly again at the end of the day, but didn’t let her go back out when she came back because she and PJ spotted each other. She has been out this morning once, and is now snoozing in the shower. I cleaned her box, and found the feliway spray for the crate so that is ready for the drive. Using one kitty blanket this time in case of accidents. That way I will have a clean one to put down while I get the other one washed.

The dragonflies are incredible here. Watched this whole show at dusk last night. I even videoed some of it. There were a few out this morning, but are gone for the day now. I thought it fitting.

It is so quiet here you can actually hear the bugs from several feet away.

Will be breaking camp shortly. I have the inside pretty much squared away, now I need to do the outside. But it is sunny and hot and I am waiting until the last minute.

082414

082414

A few of my random thoughts sitting here at 4 AM in the dark under the awning. First night gone.

It seems surreal. I sold my home and moved into a motor home. I have no specific destination in mind, and no place to come back to. I am officially a full timer.  It hasn’t really sunk in yet. 

When I left yesterday morning it was damp and very foggy. Too busy keeping my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road to look and see IP in my rear view mirror or to really say goodbye. I left the place that has been home for the last 14 plus years. Where Jake and I made a life until he died. For me, it wasn’t much of a life there without him. Long winters, lonely. Not from lack of trying tho.

I tried to record mileage and state lines when I crossed them, but instacorder did not work. So I don’t have those sound bites of my first thoughts. I used a half tank of gas getting here, and by rough calculations, that makes about 10mpg. Will do an accurate reading when I fill it up again. It rode fine, so I don’t have to have the tires balanced. At least not right now.

My cargo area/storage isn’t working already. I ran out of paper plates, I have more, but they are in one of the bins under a bunch of other stuff. I am going to have to move a bunch of stuff to get to them. Will try to rearrange so that I have better access to my food bin.

I’m in Mt Vernon Maine. It is so quiet here I can hear the fridge in the rig running. Flies buzzing around. Lots and lots of dragonflies here. Only a few feet from a paved back road, but very little traffic.

I must stop at a Dollar General since they enabled me to make this journey.

The ride was very stressful for Kali Cat. She had accidents, liquid and solid. No barfing tho. She really smelled bad by the time we got here. She stopped crying after about two hours. I’m hoping she has accepted the fact that she is going to have to ride. She cleaned herself up, and spent the afternoon in the shower. About midnight she decided it was time to snuggle. I got lots and lots of purrs. I am not leaving her. This morning I have decided to let her out where it is nice and quiet to see what she would do. So far, she has explored, then come back for a bite and a drink, the went back out. She is on her third trip out. So far, so good. 

I also need to find my travel mug. Wanted it yesterday and ended up using my sippy cup because it wasn’t right at hand. Need to work on the clutter and down size some more.

I took a shower in Dan’s bathroom this morning. I didn’t want to get out. The water felt so good. But I will get to have another tomorrow.

My back is still an issue. I lost some progress yesterday with the drive. The next couple of drives are shorter distances, so hopefully I will start making progress again. 

I’m also very tired. Running on a sleep deficit. Hope to catch up soon. 

Cell service is horrible here. I am afraid to try and activate my Straight Talk mobile wifi with such crappy service. Using Dan’s computer for now. Better than nothing. Going to try to get rid of his IE virus. I already installed Chrome and it is working fine. Now I am going to uninstall IE and reinstall it, see if that fixes the problem.

First leg done.

One bar of cell signal where I am camped for the next day or two, so there won't be much from me until I get a better signal. Using Dan's computer now.

Arrived safe and sound. But had to have Dan come get me in Augusta about 8 miles away. My brain was toast and I needed to stop. I am still running a sleep deficit. A nap this afternoon helped, but am still a little hazy. I got myself lost because I printed the map to Linda's instead of Dan's, and once I realized that, it was too late to print the correct one. I could have used google maps on my phone, but I was just way too tired to function.

Kali Cat's crate is all cleaned up and her blankies washed and hanging off the awning. Not too many things bounced around, nothing broke. Not bad for a maiden voyage.

Thank you everyone for your good wishes. It still hasn't really sunk in. Feels more like a visit than a journey.

No pics until I get a better cell signal and get my mobile wifi working.

Monica came and saw me off this morning. It was really foggy for the first hour or so. No moose. Some roadkill. I think I am getting the hang of driving the rig. Went over some pretty rough road and some small roads. Road construction in Berlin was terrible. Was really glad to get past that. The roads there are always terrible.

Kali Cat had a rough time of it. She cried the first two hours, then occasionally the third, by the fourth hour she was quiet, but scratching to get out of the crate. She had had a couple of accidents and smelled pretty bad. Once I let her out of the crate when we arrived, she cleaned herself up and spent the afternoon snoozing in the shower. She was ready for her dinner by the time I went back out to feed her.

I have the network up and running so I can use the printer, the cloud drive and communicate between devices, but no internet. There isn't enough cell signal to try and activate my mobile wifi. Will try that Monday when I get to Linda's and have better service. In the meantime, I will borrow a computer. There won't be any pictures until I can get them uploaded. Sorry. I have several to post.

When Dan came to meet me in Augusta, he offered to run me up to Amato's for a sandwich. So I had an Amato's italian for lunch.

A nice little nap indoors after setting up the awning and my zero gravity chair for later. But am still a little groggy. So much has happened in the last few weeks, including my back injury, and I haven't been sleeping much. It is all catching up with me. I am glad I am staying here two nights, two at Linda's and then several in Belfast with Ellen and Jerry. Ease into it. Try to catch up on a little bit of sleep while I am at it. My back did not appreciate the long drive. 

If this seems disjointed, that is the way my brain seems to be working today. A lot of info to process, a lot of new things, and a new way of life. 

I'm being rude, so I guess I should go. I still have to reply to a couple of emails. Maybe more tomorrow.

Long day

It has been a very long day. I never got back to sleep before it got light, and no naps during the day. I have done my last load of laundry here, and got the last of the stuff out of the building and absorbed in Ody.

My back has been hurting off and on all day. I'm thankful for Aleve. :)

I moved the rig out into the driveway, facing out, ready to go. Kali Cat cried the whole time the rig was running. I'm pretty sure I am going to put her in the crate before we head out in the morning. The wagon is secured to the tool box, just need to secure the chairs when we are done with them tonight.

The money was deposited in my account a little after three. I made my last post office run, hit the bank for some cash and a couple of transfers, then dropped the Jeep off at Brighton Garage. Surprisingly, I almost cried when I saw them pull it into the garage. I will miss that car.

Monica came by in the afternoon, and she and Gary will be stopping by in a while. I guess I have said all my goodbyes.

There have been moments of sadness, and even some anger. Not even a good bye from someone that I thought was a friend.

Here are a few pics I took while waiting for my laundry this morning.

I'm shooting for a 6 AM departure. Daylight, but early enough to avoid traffic.

Emotional

I didn't expect my leaving Island Pond to be so emotional. Thought I could do it without tears, but that isn't happening. I already said goodbye to one good friend, and just now had a moment of extreme sadness that Jake isn't here doing this with me. He was supposed to be. I guess I won't ever stop missing him.

Tears!

I am surprised by my tears. I said my first goodbye to someone that has been there for me thru this whole saga and was with me the day Jake died, and long before. I didn't think I would cry, but we both did. I didn't mean to make her cry. And I didn't think that I would.
Iola has done so much for us and me, asking nothing in return, and continues to do so. It is very much appreciated. Thank you Iola. I count myself lucky to have as good a friend as you.

Last minute things...

This is my first and current camp. I have been living in my rig in the driveway for the last two weeks or so, ever since the water heater crapped out in the building. This is where it all started.

Kali Cat's new favorite place is in the shower at the end of the day.

During the day for the past few days, she has been hanging out here...

She has a nice little spot under the cedars on the property line that keeps her out of the sun and the weather. 

I really worry about her and traveling. I'm wondering if I should just crate her when we are on the road, at least in the beginning. I have been giving her treats inside the crate the last couple of days hoping she will take to it, but no luck so far.

I took the AC and some other assorted stuff to the thrift shop this morning so Toni can sell them for me. It really irritated my already hurting back. For some reason, it seems to be taking a whole lot longer to get better this time. I'm back on the Aleve today because I have things that need to get done and I can't sit around waiting for it to get better any longer.

Just a few more things in the building. My oven, ice maker and a few little things. I will move them out tomorrow. I would like to have Ody all ready to go by tomorrow night so I can take off early Saturday morning.

Woooohooooo! The papers are signed!

Yahoo, progress at last! The papers have been signed, now just waiting for the funds. I should be out of here by Saturday morning. 

I have a lot to do between now and then, but I think I am going to give my back another quiet day. I still have Thursday and Friday to get stuff done. 

I did walk up to the lawyers office around the corner, twice...had to come back for ID. It was a very slow walk and it tells me that I still have a bit of healing to do. This was without pain killers, so it is definite progress.

Close encounter

What do you do in the wee hours when you live in a small motor home and are wide awake? Go outside! But there are risks to being out in the wee hours, even in your own driveway. I just had another very close encounter of the skunk kind. This time it actually snuffled my bare foot, I could feel it's little nose, and stood up and put its paws on my leg. Obviously, I didn't move. It is a cute little bugger, more white than black, almost a reverse coloring. And young. Sorry, no pics, figured that was a risk I wasn't willing to take.

Still waiting...

No closing yesterday. :( No closing today. Maybe tomorrow. Won't know until then. WTF!? I have sold a number of properties and have never had this problem. Granted, they were sales to individuals and not corporations, I guess that is the difference.

I might get out of here this weekend. I won't know for sure until the end of the week. But I am tired of waiting and as soon as it is done, I will be hitting the road. I only have a few things left in the building now, and won't take long to finish moving what needs to be moved. Lash what needs lashing, and move it on out.

Yesterday and today were both fairly quiet days spent in my z-grav chair. No pain killers today, too many yesterday. I had a rough night with queasy stomach and woke up several times wondering if I was going to be sick. But I managed to make it thru the night without getting sick. Too many Aleve during the day.

We had sunshine today. It started out at 42 degrees this morning. I tested out the furnace. It was just too cold to get out of the shower in 50 something degrees. I had the little electric heater going most of the night too. This afternoon it got so warm I had to put the sarongs up on the awning to block the sun.

I still hurt and am moving slowly, especially getting out of the chair. But that was without any pain killers too. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better than today.

I had dinner at Kathy and Anthony's last night. Did a hands on tutorial for his new website that I put together for him over the weekend. He seems happy with it. It is http://www.pherrinsriverhomestead.net

I have had to listen to my neighbors stereo blasting ALL day today. I will be glad when I don't have to deal with that any more.

I bombed the building again last night. This time I set one off on the porch and closed the door. The other one went behind on the counter in the front. Seemed to be better today. I gave Kali Cat another flea treatment as well. I still haven't seen any live ones in Ody, and I am being very careful when I go in the building. I make sure I don't have any on me when I come back. Yesterday, every time I went in, I came back out with a bunch of them on my feet and lower legs.

I dusted the rugs in Ody yesterday and vacuumed them today. Of course, I needed to charge the vacuum, so it was a long drawn out process waiting for the vac to charge. But it got done.

Dreary weekend

The weather has been dreary, nasty, wet and COLD! The daytime highs have been in the upper 50's and lower 60's. Add to that periodic rain, mist and just general dreariness, it hasn't been the most pleasant weekend.

This morning I hurt my back again. I was just reaching to untangle the corded mouse from the arm of my chair as I was setting up the laptop outside. I felt it happen. I have been in pain all day, and can barely walk. I have been sleeping off and on all day. I even snoozed outside for a while this afternoon in my zero gravity chair with a blanket and pillow.

Since I sold my washer and dryer, I had to find someplace to do laundry this week. Anthony and Kathy were kind enough to let me use their washer and dryer on Friday. While there, we setup the webcam and then got to discussing the website that he wanted. I have been playing with that off an on all weekend. His new website can be found at pherrinsriverhomestead.net  I took his old site, updated it a little, added a photo album and a blogger for his weekly reports. Simplicity and ease of use were the goals.

Last night I cooked my dinner outdoors. I had already setup half of my little table for the computers, and took the other half out and put my little butane stove top on it. I had hash browns with onions and beets, and eggs. Was yummy.

Today, I turned on the propane and used the little stove in Ody to cook up a quinoa/tomato pilaf. I also used my wonderbag for the first time. It came out pretty good. Even though my glucose has been in the acceptable range, I need to get my food back to the lower calorie, lower carbs that got me here.

My quinoa came out fine, but it wasn't as hot as I thought it was going to be. Maybe I didn't boil long enough. Will try again some other time with something different. But it worked great for what I wanted today.

Also on Friday, I tried out the bike again. Determined that I could ride it. Actually went over to the senior center and back. My legs, even on the smallest incline, were not happy.

Then I got it hung up on Ody's ladder in the back with the bike rack. That was a pain in the ass. I had to lift the bike over my head. Had to do it twice because the first time the handle bars and the spare tire were fighting for the same space. Must be an easier way to do that. I'm getting to old for all this heavy lifting.

Signing papers tomorrow? Who knows? Will wait to hear from Dan the lawyer. In the meantime, I am going to try to get my back feeling better so I can actually walk around the corner to sign them.

Last minute To Do's

Got a couple of last minute chores done today. First I moved my license plate. With the tool box there, it wasn't visible. The law tends to get a little testy about that. So I moved it up to the spare tire cover. I didn't mind putting a couple of holes in that. Much better than holes in the back. I even managed to get the plate off the bumper without unloading and removing the box. Yay. :)

I have ordered an LED plate light that will go over the plate at some point...another legal thing. But most of my driving will be in the daytime, so I am not going to worry about it too much. Will need to run some power to it somehow. Maybe off the existing plate light harness. Will need a quick disconnect in case the spare tire cover has to be removed. But will save that chore for when I am parked for a while and can take the tool box off. And by offsetting the cover closure, I gained an extra inch or so to open the box lid. Bonus.

Iola visited, I got rid of a few more things. (Thank you Iola. :) )Absorbed a few more things in the rig and then decided today was as good a day as any to do the cargo nets. It took a while, but I got both of them done. Did some rearranging to make room for the last of the kitchen stuff - toaster oven, ice maker, etc. Got the LLBean folding chairs into the wardrobe in the bathroom so I won't have to keep moving them every time I needed something on that side. 

First side, the side with all my craft stuff.

And the second side - food, storage, etc.

I'm even trying some hook and loop tape on the ceiling carpet for my kayak paddle. We'll see how that holds up. I may have to do something else, some hooks of some sort, but it was worth a try. :)  I can access all the drawers and cupboards even with the nets in place.

The chamber's Friday Night Live storage bin got moved today. Still one bin left. Supposed to be picked up any time.

It didn't go far, just across the street.

I'm letting my phone battery run out. According to something I read online, you are supposed to do that once a year. I have had the phone for about three years and have never done that. I do have a new battery on the way and will change it out, but in the meantime, I will see if this works. 

Yesterday was rainy, windy and cold. Kali Cat and I spent the day in Ody just relaxing, reading and just generally chilling. I didn't even get dressed. I haven't had one of those days in a long time.

I have burger in the little oven cooking for my salad for the next couple of days. As soon as that is done I will be throwing a nice piece of haddock and spinach in for tonight and lunch tomorrow.

I had the seafood for lunch again today, but tossed the mayonnaise. I used a little packet instead, and I feel fine. So it must have been the mayo that made me queasy. I think I am going to stick with the packets for a while. I don't use enough mayo to buy the big jars any more.

Well, the burger is done and cooling, the haddock is in the oven. Almost dinner time.

I have been slacking off on testing my glucose in the morning. It is amazing how fast we can drop a habit. I do need to check it a couple of times a week just to stay on top of things, but not every day any more.

Postponed...again.

Just got the call. Was supposed to sign papers this morning, but that has now been postponed until Monday. I don't think this is ever going to end. I was ready! Am ready. But that solves the issue of when to leave. I can now slide out early some morning next week. I am so glad I waited to have the power and the internet cut off. 

Things are still being dealt with and removed. Even the cinderblocks around the raised bed garden have been removed. They went yesterday. Austins took the huge pile of trash I had out there and I then called and cancelled my service. Also called Blue Flame to come and get their propane tanks.

Kali Cat seems to be having some sort of conversation with the birds. Not sure what is going on, but after this initial chat, she has just ignored them.

Had dinner with Paula and Carol at Pasta and Pie last night in Derby. I had the mediterranean pizza. Was very good. Felt very strange being out in a restaurant. Jake and I used to do that all the time. It has been a very long time since I have eaten anywhere but the pub or the deli. Thanks ladies. Good company, a nice treat.

I did finally get the car cleaned out yesterday so that is ready to go when the time comes. I also spent several hours with my Garmin Nuvi 680 updating the maps and installing the southwest maps. Initially I started out on the mac, but that wasn't going well so I brought it inside and finished on the windows machine. I even downloaded the whole package so that I could just hook up the nuvi to the computer and update without internet access.

My stomach is having some sort of event. I was fine until after lunch yesterday. Bought some seafood and had a seafood wrap. The date on the package was fine, so I am kinda thinking it was the mayonnaise. I'm thinking Ody's fridge door might not be cool enough for the mayo. Time to switch to packets. I'm happy that I was well enough to go to dinner last night. Other than the underlying queasiness, I feel fine. No adverse effects. It could also be stress.

Today is supposed to be nasty and rainy and with the change in plans, I think it might end up being a jammie/snoozing kind of day. I haven't had a jammie day in ages. It is very windy. I rolled in the awning late yesterday and have the door bungied to the mirror. It slammed a couple of times. Thankfully Kali Cat wasn't in the way when that happened.

Time for another cup of coffee. Later!