After our wonderfully rainy weekend away with the cats, we found ourselves more than a little melancholy today. Maybe it was the reality of being back at work and missing our moose. Perhaps it was the time change. Or, simply being the eve of an election that, frankly, we're tired of. Most likely, it was a combination of all. Lately, on any given Monday we're both rather miserable at work as we long for the day of our great escape.
"I wish we were doing more to get ready," Natasha said today. "It feels like we're living in limbo - camping every weekend we can and not yet clearing our house of our possessions."
"But, we are getting ready," Boris replied. "Every trip out in the moose is preparation."
True. Even though it's lots of fun, we are getting ready. With each trip we've taken we've learned something: what to do, what not to do, what we like and don't like. It's been a rich learning experience.
With a couple of bigger trips planned for this month, we'll let the learning and preparations continue.
After the holidays, we'll get down to the big stuff.
This is a lot more fun.
Repeat
We left work a few hours early to make our way back to the Stockton Delta KOA. Here we are, sitting catty-corner from a site we were in just a couple of weeks ago. It's the first time we've made a repeat visit anywhere. And, it's nice.
No satellite, unfortunately, which means our chances of catching the KU-K State game have dropped to zero. But, other than that, everything is great. The cats are super comfortable, and we have every known hidey hole stuffed with something that makes it inaccessible. Tonight we enjoyed cocktails by the fire before the rains came. For awhile we sat out under our trusty awning, for which we have a new found appreciation. It's keeps us dry!
Pizza, salad and a bottle of fine chianti followed. After that, we're all ready to call it a night.
This has been the month of the cats. And, we are so pleased to report that with a couple of trips under their furry belts, they are doing great.
Happy weekend!
No satellite, unfortunately, which means our chances of catching the KU-K State game have dropped to zero. But, other than that, everything is great. The cats are super comfortable, and we have every known hidey hole stuffed with something that makes it inaccessible. Tonight we enjoyed cocktails by the fire before the rains came. For awhile we sat out under our trusty awning, for which we have a new found appreciation. It's keeps us dry!
Pizza, salad and a bottle of fine chianti followed. After that, we're all ready to call it a night.
This has been the month of the cats. And, we are so pleased to report that with a couple of trips under their furry belts, they are doing great.
Happy weekend!
Extra Hour
Once again we found ourselves wrestling with that now familiar question: Shall we go camping this weekend? This week, we went back and forth. We wanted to go, and the weekend forecast called for rain.
To that, we said: "So what?"
Our answer to our own question came quickly. "Like, it's not ever going to rain while we're fulltiming?"
Yeah, right!
Now we're eager to have a practice run with Bullwinkle in the rain. It all sounds very cozy: raindrops falling on the roof while we enjoy football, chili, our cats and a good book or two.
And, with the switch back to Standard Time, we get an extra hour of all that good stuff.
We can't wait.
To that, we said: "So what?"
Our answer to our own question came quickly. "Like, it's not ever going to rain while we're fulltiming?"
Yeah, right!
Now we're eager to have a practice run with Bullwinkle in the rain. It all sounds very cozy: raindrops falling on the roof while we enjoy football, chili, our cats and a good book or two.
And, with the switch back to Standard Time, we get an extra hour of all that good stuff.
We can't wait.
Ready to Tow
When we bought our motorhome, the thought of towing the Jeep behind seemed like a very far-off to-do. After all, maneuvering a 32-foot box on wheels was enough of a challenge for a couple of newbies. The idea of pulling another 8 feet or so of toad was lots more than we could handle. We pacified our need for added transport by adding a bike rack to the back. With our bikes in tow, that'd keep our need to get serious about towing at bay. Until today.
It's official. We are seriously ready to tow.
Having the Jeep around this weekend was great fun. It made wine tasting and geocaching a breeze. We shopped for groceries after we set up camp. It was definitely a treat to have an extra set of wheels.
Because we've yet to set up Rocky to be our toad, we caravaned there and back. Leading the way with the Jeep, Natasha spent 90 minutes or so each way driving with her focus and attention in the rear view mirror. And, while Boris had a friend on board on the way up, the drive back was a lonely one.
As we strolled around the campground this weekend, we eyeballed various towing setups. This morning Boris asked the captain of a Class A gasser about Bullwinkle's size about his experience towing his Jeep that looked a lot like our Rocky.
"We practically forget it's there," he said. "We don't go anywhere without it."
We have a feeling we won't go anywhere without ours, too. Soon. Very soon.
It's official. We are seriously ready to tow.
Having the Jeep around this weekend was great fun. It made wine tasting and geocaching a breeze. We shopped for groceries after we set up camp. It was definitely a treat to have an extra set of wheels.
Because we've yet to set up Rocky to be our toad, we caravaned there and back. Leading the way with the Jeep, Natasha spent 90 minutes or so each way driving with her focus and attention in the rear view mirror. And, while Boris had a friend on board on the way up, the drive back was a lonely one.
As we strolled around the campground this weekend, we eyeballed various towing setups. This morning Boris asked the captain of a Class A gasser about Bullwinkle's size about his experience towing his Jeep that looked a lot like our Rocky.
"We practically forget it's there," he said. "We don't go anywhere without it."
We have a feeling we won't go anywhere without ours, too. Soon. Very soon.
Calistog-aaah!
Today has been the perfect blend of business and pleasure. We had a fun business "thing" we had to do in Napa Valley today. So, we decided to book a site at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga and make it a weekend in wine country.
We caravaned in Bullwinkle and our trusty Jeep and toad-to-be Rocky. A co-worker rode along with Boris and the moose, and Natasha led the way in the Jeep. We checked into our spot and then headed off to our event, about 10 miles away. Hours later, the party was over. Our colleagues readied themselves for an hour or so drive back to the city. And, we happily made the 15-minute trek back to our home away from home.
So, here we sit on the eve of a weekend in wine country. We're camped, fed and watered. The stress of the week is far behind us. It's definitely time to chill. Ahhh!
Happy weekend!
We caravaned in Bullwinkle and our trusty Jeep and toad-to-be Rocky. A co-worker rode along with Boris and the moose, and Natasha led the way in the Jeep. We checked into our spot and then headed off to our event, about 10 miles away. Hours later, the party was over. Our colleagues readied themselves for an hour or so drive back to the city. And, we happily made the 15-minute trek back to our home away from home.
So, here we sit on the eve of a weekend in wine country. We're camped, fed and watered. The stress of the week is far behind us. It's definitely time to chill. Ahhh!
Happy weekend!
Snapped
Lunch time today revealed yet one more sign that it's time for us to hit the road.
Boris snapped.
We were dining in at a hole-in-the-wall deli near our offices this afternoon when we were approached by a panhandler in the restaurant. Now, understand that we work in a neighborhood where panhandling is common place. We've learned to ignore it, and realize in doing so it probably happens more than we realize. Usually, all this takes place on the street. It's a rare occurence to happen inside a dining establishment.
The panhandler approached us and asked for money. Natasha looked up from her lunch at him and said, "No."
The panhandler responded by calling Natasha something that would have anybody's mother reaching for a big bar of soap.
Boris simply reacted. He jumped up and chased the guy out of the restaurant and into traffic on a busy downtown street.
With no harm done, and the foul-mouthed panhandler at bay, we went back to munching our lunch. Once our collective blood pressures returned to something resembling normal, we shared a collective sigh and said together:
"We are so outta' here."
Boris snapped.
We were dining in at a hole-in-the-wall deli near our offices this afternoon when we were approached by a panhandler in the restaurant. Now, understand that we work in a neighborhood where panhandling is common place. We've learned to ignore it, and realize in doing so it probably happens more than we realize. Usually, all this takes place on the street. It's a rare occurence to happen inside a dining establishment.
The panhandler approached us and asked for money. Natasha looked up from her lunch at him and said, "No."
The panhandler responded by calling Natasha something that would have anybody's mother reaching for a big bar of soap.
Boris simply reacted. He jumped up and chased the guy out of the restaurant and into traffic on a busy downtown street.
With no harm done, and the foul-mouthed panhandler at bay, we went back to munching our lunch. Once our collective blood pressures returned to something resembling normal, we shared a collective sigh and said together:
"We are so outta' here."
Stash
While playing domestic goddess this weekend - with all that baking and quilting - I spent some time thinking about how these two activities might - or might not - fit into our fulltiming plans.
Baking requires time, space and tools. The time, I'll have. The space will be considerably reduced. The biggest tool is my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer with the mighty dough hook. And, guess what? It doesn't just take up space. It's heavy!
Truth is, I bake mountains of dinner rolls a couple of times a year. Other than that, the Kitchen Aid is idle. So, if I'm being realistic, this trusty tool doesn't make the fulltiming cut. We can buy mighty tasty dinner rolls on the road. That said, I have an emotional connection to my Kitchen Aid. After all, Boris gave it to me many years ago. And, my interest in it was inspired by my roll baking mother-in-law. Today, I'm the one the family counts on to make these crusty bits of heaven for a big holiday. While this mixer won't be joining us on the road, it will be placed in storage. I am ready to part with every stick of furniture in this house. But, I simply will not part with my Kitchen Aid. That's final.
Oh my! I can see how this is all going to go.
With the rolls freshly baked this weekend, I readied myself to make some progress on the quilt that's been four years in the making. As I assembled the tools for this project, I began to wonder what - if anything - might accompany us on the road.
I quilt a little more often than I bake. But, I can see myself spending a rainy afternoon sewing away at our spacious dinette table. I've read about other fulltimers who quilt. So, I wouldn't be alone. And, I can imagine poking my head into quilting shops across North America. Plus, there's a perfect storage in the moose for my machine, which probably weighs less than the mighty Kitchen Aid. So, it might come along, or spend time in storage. We'll figure it out. That's really not the issue. The real issue is all the stuff that comes along with it.
That's right. I'm talking about my stash.
If you quilt or knit, or have some other crafty hobby, you know what I'm talking about. Every quilter has perfectly folded squares of fabric stashed away for that "someday" project. And, I'm no exception. But as stashes go, mine is small. It all fits into a four-drawer rolling container...sort of. And, I'll confess, after sorting quickly through my stacks of fabric, I came to the conclusion that I'll give most - if not all - of it to a quilting friend. (Whew! That's a relief.)
The portion of my stash I decided I won't part with, though, is my notions. (I had to explain to Boris what "notions" are: they're my sewing tools.) Over the years, I have acquired a nice assortment of rulers, cutters, scissors, seam rippers, cutting mats and such. And, you know what? I like 'em. It took years - and many dollars - to find just the right tools. Whether I take them on the road with us or not, I want to keep them.
Really, just about everything else in our house I will happily part with. But, when it comes to mixers, sewing machines and notions, I think I'll keep 'em.
Baking requires time, space and tools. The time, I'll have. The space will be considerably reduced. The biggest tool is my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer with the mighty dough hook. And, guess what? It doesn't just take up space. It's heavy!
Truth is, I bake mountains of dinner rolls a couple of times a year. Other than that, the Kitchen Aid is idle. So, if I'm being realistic, this trusty tool doesn't make the fulltiming cut. We can buy mighty tasty dinner rolls on the road. That said, I have an emotional connection to my Kitchen Aid. After all, Boris gave it to me many years ago. And, my interest in it was inspired by my roll baking mother-in-law. Today, I'm the one the family counts on to make these crusty bits of heaven for a big holiday. While this mixer won't be joining us on the road, it will be placed in storage. I am ready to part with every stick of furniture in this house. But, I simply will not part with my Kitchen Aid. That's final.
Oh my! I can see how this is all going to go.
With the rolls freshly baked this weekend, I readied myself to make some progress on the quilt that's been four years in the making. As I assembled the tools for this project, I began to wonder what - if anything - might accompany us on the road.
I quilt a little more often than I bake. But, I can see myself spending a rainy afternoon sewing away at our spacious dinette table. I've read about other fulltimers who quilt. So, I wouldn't be alone. And, I can imagine poking my head into quilting shops across North America. Plus, there's a perfect storage in the moose for my machine, which probably weighs less than the mighty Kitchen Aid. So, it might come along, or spend time in storage. We'll figure it out. That's really not the issue. The real issue is all the stuff that comes along with it.
That's right. I'm talking about my stash.
If you quilt or knit, or have some other crafty hobby, you know what I'm talking about. Every quilter has perfectly folded squares of fabric stashed away for that "someday" project. And, I'm no exception. But as stashes go, mine is small. It all fits into a four-drawer rolling container...sort of. And, I'll confess, after sorting quickly through my stacks of fabric, I came to the conclusion that I'll give most - if not all - of it to a quilting friend. (Whew! That's a relief.)
The portion of my stash I decided I won't part with, though, is my notions. (I had to explain to Boris what "notions" are: they're my sewing tools.) Over the years, I have acquired a nice assortment of rulers, cutters, scissors, seam rippers, cutting mats and such. And, you know what? I like 'em. It took years - and many dollars - to find just the right tools. Whether I take them on the road with us or not, I want to keep them.
Really, just about everything else in our house I will happily part with. But, when it comes to mixers, sewing machines and notions, I think I'll keep 'em.
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