Who Were We Foolin'?

We thought we would get this all done while we were working fulltime?

I don't think so! 

Today's flurry of activity was driven by a Salvation Army pickup, which is scheduled for tomorrow. (We are definitely spreading the love.  Name a charity that'll take stuff you no longer need, and we've given to it!) It called for another level of purging, and we stepped up to the task. Tonight there are many boxes and bags stacked in the center of our garage, ready to be placed outside in the early a.m.

The office is definitely cleared out, for now anyway. We're saving dismantling and moving the workstation for tomorrow. 

When embarking on such intense purging, we've discovered it's vital to build in some breaks. I took another step toward finishing the monster quilt, which is now in just three (count 'em, three) pieces. We took a long walk midday, I squeezed in a few games of Bejeweled, and Boris took care of some important business by phone.

The most fun break was a couple of trips to mapquest to plot out a "very rough" route for the first month or so of our fulltiming journey.  Right now, we're thinking we'll head toward Lassen to visit a couple of folks, then meander up the Redwood coast of California into Oregon, where we hope to finally meet our "godfadda" if the timing is right. From there, we'll visit Crater Lake, see friends in Bend and check out the Columbia River on our way to Olympic National Park, which we be followed with a visit with longtime friends in Seattle.  I've always enjoyed looking at maps and planning trips.  Mapquest and I are, and will continue to be, very good friends. 

Though the day was exhausting, there is growing evidence that we are making progress quickly. (That can happen when you have the luxury of devoting your full time and attention to a task!) This place will be freshly painted and on the market soon. Then, our attention can shift to making these mapquest plans a reality. 

We can't wait. 

Now We're REALLY Purging

Forget what I said before about purging. I thought we were doing it then. But, truth is, we're really doing it now.

Painters are coming soon. And, one of the areas they'll work on is our office. That room is dominated by a enormous desk. (Actually, it's more like a big, heavy "workstation".) And, it needs to move away from the walls. (Oh joy!) So, my task today was to clear stuff out of the office so I could take a picture of the workstation (which I'll use for Craig's List) then we could figure out how to take the thing apart and move it.

No problem, I thought. After all, I've been purging for months. This job is about done. How long could it take? Hours later, it's still not done. I'll wrap it up tomorrow.

We have definitely reached a new level of purging. With the reality of fulltiming in front of us, this is serious. After all, our POD will be the size of a small walk in closet. And, after spending four fun days in the coach we are freshly reminded of how little space is really available to us there. We've reached the point where the process is pretty simple: This stuff must go.

I lined plastic tubs on one wall with labels: RV, Store, Sell, Charity. I had a big bag for recycling and another for garbage. And, the shredder was at the ready. I felt like I was on one of those organization shows on TV!

I know I've mentioned before that we're amazed at how easily we're parting with stuff that once had meaning. Well, today, I parted with a bunch of stuff that survived the first cut. But, not the second.

Maybe that's the way purging works. It's one of those things that needs to be done in levels. When you think you're done, you go back and do it again.

I think we still have a lot to do!

Because We Can

OK, OK.  We decided to stay!

Here's what factored into our decision: An absolutely stunningly sunny Sunday, with calm winds and expected highs just over 70 degrees.  Need I say more?  With plenty of cat food to get us through another day, and a grocery store a few miles away to get everything we needed to spend an extra night, the decision was an easy one.  In the end, what was the real reason we decided to stay? 

Because we can! 

As our friends loaded up their busses today, they were just a bit jealous.  We watched everyone load up and head out. We were the official "send-off" committee.  

And, we absolutely loved it.

So, what did we do with our Sunday afternoon, instead of heading home for Bullwinkle's parking spot? 

I worked a bit on the quilt that's been in the works forever and made real progress. Boris took a nap. The two of us went for a long walk where we tried to find a geocache or two but were unsuccessful. (We're rusty!) Boris ran the vacuum and tidied up our rolling home. We played with the cats, who have been unbelievably content on this trip.  (They are ready to go fulltiming!) And, the two of us sat out and watched the sunset on the Delta...so thankful that we don't have to go to work tomorrow. Right now, dinner is in the works.  Boris is ready to fire up the grill and toss on a couple of pork chops. After dinner, we may just watch a movie we've been toting around for awhile.  Then, we'll call it a night. 

And, tomorrow, long after morning rush hour, we'll head home. 

Yeee HAH!

A New Question

We're enjoying our long weekend in the Delta.  We'll get something on Bullwinkle's place as soon as we can. It was a real treat being able to arrive on Thursday rather than Friday, as originally scheduled. The weather has been simply perfect:  Sunny days in the 70s and cool nights in the 40s.

Tonight, we're entertaining a question we've never faced before. We're asking ourselves, for the first time ever, "Do we want to stay another night?"

We'll figure it out tomorrow. Right now, we're just enjoying the fact that we can even consider it.

Just one more taste of Freedom!

Our First Anniversary

What a difference a year makes.

One year ago this evening, Boris and I were pulling into a KOA near Visalia, CA on the first night of our maiden RV voyage.  We had no idea what we started that day.

We rented a 26-foot Class C for 10 nights.  Our mission: to make it to the Grand Canyon and back in one piece.  Though we had been "tent campers" for years, we had never spent a night in, much less driven, anything on wheels bigger than a car. But with a couple hundred miles under our belt that first night, we pulled in to the KOA and within minutes were enjoying all the comforts of home. Ten trouble free days later (well, except that one incident in the desert), we reluctantly returned that trusty Tioga and gave birth to a new obsession. 

Reflecting on the last 365 days, so much has transpired.  We created one heck of a list of bookmarks of blogs of current and future fulltimers (see right), created our own where we declared our intention to become fulltimers, and another blog to report on our on-the-road adventures.  We shopped for and found our moose, met up with a Winnebago owners group on our first night as Winnie owners, learned how Bullwinkle works (inside and out), discovered online forums, chat rooms and Camping World, found a new Winnie dealer to work with because ours closed, introduced our cats to the moose, hooked our Jeep to it, spent Thanksgiving in the desert and many weekends closer to home falling in love with this lifestyle. We've detached from our jobs, first emotionally and finally physically, and systematically begun a transition from a stationary life to a rolling one.  We've met so many wonderful, helpful and fun people - in person and online (and some both!) - whom we now consider friends. 

As we celebrate this anniversary, we're camped in the California Delta with members of our FMCA chapter. We have nearly half as much stuff in our house as we once did.  And, that's an especially good thing because it's going on the market in a matter of weeks.  The fulltiming lifestyle we discovered just one year ago and have dreamt of for months will be ours very soon. 

What a year!  We're definitely loving the ride.

Nutty Neighbors

Here we are, quite peacefully trying to assemble our belongings and sell many of them one at a time on Craigslist, getting the roof fixed, arranging for painters, and whatever it takes to get the heck out of here.  And, what do we have to deal with now? 

Nutty neighbors.

Last night we were sitting on our balcony overlooking the bay, taking in the view and enjoying a glass of fine California Cabernet.  Suddenly, we heard quite a bit of commotion next door. The pit bull dog was barking up a storm.  Natasha yelled for the beast to shut up.  Someone in the house next door shouted back.  Boris was up and out and knocking on the door in a flash. 

You see, we've had it with these people.  They have a really scary dog that barks ALL THE TIME. He has destroyed the screen door on their balcony next door. (Looks really nice in our top dollar neighborhood, let me tell ya.) And, we're not really sure who lives there anyway. People of all shapes and sizes come and go all the time.  Between them and their killer dog, they make a heck of a lot of noise!  They had their Christmas lights up until earlier this month (when we asked someone on the HOA board to check into it).  With that, the ripped up screen door and a beer keg tub that's been sitting on their balcony for a year...and not to mention the dead plant that's been on their front porch for at least that long, we're looking at a property that's doing nothing to enhance values in our neighborhood.  Though it may sound like we live "on the wrong side of the tracks", we don't...really.  It's a neighborhood where the average price of a home is at least four times the national average. 

Are you feeling our pain? 

Enough of this.  We have a call into their landlord, who is 3000 miles away.  Get the picture? This has to stop.  

After all, we have a valuable property to sell here.  And, it's going on the market soon. 

And, we get to deal with these nutty renter neighbors.

Significant Life Events

They say that, for us humans, significant life events - good or bad - cause stress.

Oh, really?

Time for a quick "life change inventory".  So, I checked the web and found the Holmes & Rahe Life Events Scale. I scanned the list, checked everything we've experienced in the last year, or are in the middle of, and discovered I'm a high achiever.  And, no surprise, so is Boris.

What's our average score?  308.

And, the interpretation of our results?

Your score means a significant amount of life change and a significant susceptability (about 80% probability) to stress-related illness. However please keep in mind that there are many variables that interact on health including positive factors such as support from family, friends or work associates. If you are concerned about your stress levels then you should seek the assistance of a qualified counsellor or health practitioner.

Us, concerned? 

Not anymore.

We know exactly what we need to do to slow down and get our stress in check.  

We'll be there soon!