Moving right along.....!

Ridding out, packing the RV, advertising the main high-dollar things to sell from the house, furniture and such.
Decisions, decisions!

Meanwhile, I had ordered a Berkey water filter, and the Nature's Head composting toilet. I had seen reviews on both over the last several months and studied up on them. The composting toilet would enable me to stay out in some highly desirable scenic painting areas without have to pull up camp and go empty my black water tank every ten days or so. I watched you-tube videos on how this works until I could practically recite them word for word!I thought my friend Kent would be just the person to properly remove the RV toilet and install the composting one,  as well as a couple other things I wanted to change in my RV to make it my "home".

                           

I still have plenty of room to get into my shower.

He also installed my best painting easel!

This was placed where the large dog crate had been which was no longer needed. I had room to set up my folding chair in front of the easel for days I need to paint inside.

Then a little extra touch was added, making it even more homey. I was going to be able to have a window shelf! The dinette would be transformed into a day bed/couch type fixture that would allow me to keep my under-bench storage areas as well as creating my space under where the lowered table is. Maybe Miss Izzy will want that for her hide-a-way place. She was always crawling under my bed in the house to go to sleep.

So I picked up some 4" foam to use for under the shelf, by which cutting the pieces in half lengthwise, gave the perfect fit 

In this next photo you can see the nice wavy edge piece that Kent made and attached to the shelf.

(He is very meticulous, and the changes he made for me could easily be switched back to the way it was if I decided down the road to sell.)

And this is what the finished couch area will look like....  I'm loving it!!

Back to packing and minimizing! 

Thanks for stopping to read my blog. Have a blessed day!

Just Izzy and Me...

"Miss Izzy"

My little Bichon Frise, Izzy, has been with me since she was 6 months old. A Christmas present to me from my late husband, she has been a faithful and constant companion through the years of my widowhood. Izzy will be turning 9 years old in July of this year. She is the perfect RV'ing companion, always ready for a new adventure. 

On my last RV trip, we had Sasha with us as well. She would still be with us except for the  deteriorating knee and badly sprained ankle I acquired last summer, resulting in a total knee replacement in the late fall. It was getting impossible for me to manage her, even the simple task of taking her out for a walk (run) and potty times. I finally faced the inevitable, and re-homed her with my foster son and wife who had recently lost one of their boxer dogs. Their remaining boxer was absolutely grieving over the loss of her fur-buddy, and so a trial period resulted in a permanent situation. I miss having Sasha around but I am able to see her as often as I wish, as she is only a few short miles away.

Izzy was absolutely fine with the situation as she had no one vying for my attention! Silly girl.....

So as we plan our upcoming trip for late summer, Izzy is more than ready to hit the road again, as am I. There is alot to be done in the meantime but I just thought I'd give an update.

Thanks for stopping by...

Leave a comment if you wish. I am always happy to read your thoughts!

Just The Way it Goes Sometimes (long post)

Ok, I've said it.... I've lost interest in blogging. Or maybe its just my interest in blogging about RVing.

I had intended to come back, clear out , and get ready to sell my house by fall. Not going to happen. The longer I was here the more I was having second thoughts. I really didn't need to sell ... and I actually was beginning to like being here again. I will probably never be a full-time RVer, although I had thought that was my goal. But, you know what? It's ok. I have the best of both worlds.

There is so much else that takes my time, like spending time with my pups, Miss Izzy and Sasha. Since I have been back, Sasha has had her big girl surgery and healed up nicely.

Lots of work here to be done.......  I started a fire in my chiminae one evening and sat there contemplating what all needed to be done, and what was not necessary to do.

I'm glad now I did build that fire and enjoy it, because a few days later I had put the pups on the deck (Sasha on her cable) while I mowed the yard. She had gotten her cable wrapped around the chiminae and down it went into more pieces than anyone would care to count. I did not scold her as it was absolutely my fault for not thinking ahead.

I have been working at getting the yard and gardens back in shape after being away for 7+ months. 

(I must mention here that My eldest daughter and sil worked very hard at getting those oak leaves raked up and the yard mowed a couple times before I got back, and I thank them so very much! It sure saved me alot of work!!)

I bought hanging baskets of flowers on sale. and put out my yard decorations,

 bought new cushions for the rockers and a mat for the deck; doing what I could to make the entrance an inviting place. 

Then there was the issue of spraining my ankle so badly that it has been very painful to walk and kept getting worse. I wish I hadn't been so stubborn and gone to the ER when I first hurt it. So of course things are getting done slower. Here it is the almost end of June and all my garden beds and flowers have not been put in yet, but I have made up my mind to do what I can and not stress about it. So I am just enjoying the process.....

However, I did get my second 3' x 8' herb bed planted (the older one still needs cut back and the anthill dealt with) I love working with herbs. The scents are so calming! I also dry them and use in salad or for cooking or potpourri.

Till next time....

Feeling Stuck but not Stagnating, In an RV Park

After a month sitting at Belly Acres RV park in Ajo Arizona, while my tow vehicle was having some major front-end issues that needed repaired, I am finally free to be out in the desert again! The campground was fine and the camp-hosts were very friendly and helpful, and people there were also. Its just my nature to be off by myself most of the time. I had meant to take pictures of the campground but never got around to it....
I did however find a park where I decided to let Sasha off leash and
see if she would run her energy off and come back to me without running off. That .... was a success! I am so proud of my girl!!

I loved watching her run for the sheer pleasure of it!!
I used my time at the RV campground to paint as much as I could and sold several paintings via a sign and paintings displayed in my front window. I even had new business cards made up while I was there and started knitting on another pair of socks. Something to keep my mind occupied and my hands busy. My daughter had sent me the yarn for a Christmas present

 The best part of staying at the RV park was that there was free cable and so was able to watch our new president and vice-president sworn into office. Yes, free wifi and free cable!

More later on. Have a great day!

Paducah, Historic Section and River Art Wall

This is the rest of the pictures from my local tour of Paducah the other day. i was disappointed to find out that the Truck driving school where I had taken my training had shut their doors permanently a couple years ago. I would have liked to stopped in and talked to the instructors. However, maybe they had just retired and had no one to take it over.

Anyway I went down a couple familiar streets that I had seen at the time. The old section of town with its small shops looked somewhat the same, bringing a smile to my face. They were already putting out Christmas wares. A little early for my taste, but thats the way they do things now

I would have loved to have the time to look around this antique store! I can just imagine the treasures they would have inside!

I loved the structure of this warehouse type building turned museum. I wondered if it might have been a train station at one time, as the train museum was close by,

and an old locomotive was just up the street and around the corner. I saw one young girl and her mother exiting the engine. Again, I just didn't have the time but to snap a few picutres. Thats the way it is when you have fur-babies , and one in training, waiting for you to get back to camp 20+ miles away. So I went on snapping pictures along the river wall.

And there is the train up ahead.

I can remember living by the railroad tracks growing up and massive engines like this one would come roaring past the house!

After seeing the train I had to circle back and get pictures of the rest of the river wall.

Glory days of the river boats!

And the barges that carry goods up and down the river

Beautiful scenes....

....of  earlier times,

showing the colorful history of this area

To see this wall completed with quaint streetlights and all, made my delayed stop in the area worthwhile. I'm glad I didn't miss being able to visit.

That is one of my goals on this trip; to slow down, take each day at a time , and enjoy the journey!!

Thanks for coming along with me.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything,

 and there is a time for every event under the sun....

The New Ride!!

I really didn't like letting go of Lady Blue, my class C Minnie Winnie, but as I had so many problems with it the last trip out and the following summer, I was just leary of taking her out again. I am not at all mechanically inclined. 

Meanwhile I had been leaning toward getting a good used Class A, preferably with 1 - 2 slides to give me a bit more space. I searched and searched but did not find anything i was comfortable with. Then in July I spotted this ad for a new 2016 Fleetwood Flair with 2 slides and a fabulous kitchen! It had all the main basics I had determined I needed. So I bit the bullet so to speak and bought it. It is only 33' long, 3' longer than my older Class C. Yes, it would fit in my driveway, YAY!!

Very spacious!

LOTS of kitchen space! with a micro/convection oven and no oven under 

the range top so 2 more drawers!

Full length Queen Bed! And lots of closet space /drawers!

Larger propane tank 

Larger water /holding tanks

Thermo windows

Heated under belly

Just what I need for long-term boondocking and months-at-a-time camping!

Also , a new pup joined our family, so we are now again a family of 3!

Meet Sasha!

Meeting with Izzy the day I brought Sasha home

Sasha being content while I put stuff away in the new motorhome

Sasha learning to sit and stay while I descend the steps first

More pictures later. Thanks for stopping and please leave a comment if you care to.

Have a blessed day!!

I did the winter in PA! Yay!!

I am so thankful it was an easy winter this year! I kept my woodstove humming, had a neighbor that kept me plowed out with his ATV and a plow on front, even the path to the hen houses and rabbit pens. I knitted and painted all winter. Spring came and I planted peas mid-April, and am now enjoying the fresh produce. My Kale survived the winter and I ate alot of that. I also was able to stay on my half-dose of celebrex without too much arthritic discomfort.

Aparagus, Blueberry bed, and Raspberry bed off to a good start for the year,

along with fruit trees. A Bartlett Pear i put in last fall, a Winesap apple ans 2 Plum trees added this spring.

My herb bed cleaned and expanding,

Yummy fresh green peas,

Eggs of several colors from my chickens,

Aren't they pretty??

Ok so now anyway wondering about this coming winter and getting the itch to go on the road again. Problem being I don't trust Lady Blue to not break down on me and being a single, thinking I should have something safer. She would make a great "week-end" camper for someone with a mechanically inclined husband :) I have been looking for a unit a bit more suitable for me, and think I may have finally found it. More on that later....

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Thanks for visiting

Gypsy Voice Calling....

I don' know what there is about fall that makes this gypsy in me get the urge to travel....

Hmmm, maybe this is the reason!

Actually 2 weeks ago I sent for Benchmark map books for Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada, as well as added the new "RV Camping in Corp of Engineers Parks" book to my kindle library. 

I had to have a new alternator put on Lady Blue this summer, as well as a complete new awning; and a timing chain repair done to my Rav4 toad. I need to get the brakes on Lady Blue checked out, and we should be ready to roll again. 

This year I am leaving half the stuff I used to pack at home. I found out I didn't need that many clothes, jackets, dishes, and several other gadgets that I had packed before.

Izzy will be going with me again. I think she will enjoy it. She always does.

No people visiting plans this year.... just travel and see whats over the next hill. Going to see if I can get some spark back into my life.

Going on the Road Again!

Yes!!  I will once again be on the road this fall! I am so excited!!

"Myself, my lovely Lady Blue, and Izzy too" are planning on leaving within a month for parts unknown! (did I tell you how excited I am??)

Scene near Otto Mill, in NY

Let me back up just a little.... last year I felt I was to stay home and spend Christmas holidays with my kids and families. I had had a wood stove installed and lots of wood on hand to keep warm. Besides I was enjoying keeping a couple milk goats again and some other critters, About the second week in January I was hit with an osteo-arthritus flare-up that was so debilitating I could hardly get out of bed. Some days I barely fed myself. It had gone through my whole body. It seems the extreme weather and the fact that it was my first winter back in northwestern PA since 2003, was taking its toll on me. All I remember about the rest of Jan and Feb is lots of pain and having to have my DIL come each day to take care of my animals and get wood in for me. Daughter #1 and #2 also came many, many times to help. To make a long story short I gave up all animals except my beautiful heritage chickens, which I thoroughly enjoy. My doctor put me on medication which took another 3-4 weeks to kick in. The only activity I could muster was knitting, and therefore developed severe carpeltunnel which led to surgery in April. That went well, the medicine was working fairly well, and I began recooperating and gaining my strength back. Just in the last month I have felt really recovered.

Remains of Otto Mill in NY

I took a 3-hr trip the last couple days in August, driving my little Rav4 to my sister's in NY to see how well I could manage. I am glad to say I did just fine. At the same time my RV went into a transmission shop to have the tranny replaced. I just need to have it inspected and the tires checked and rotated and then I can begin to pack. 

Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara Lighthouse

I have been out of the loop so long, probably no one will be reading this but that's okay. At least it is down for my record. But if you do chance by to read it, thank you and have a great day!! 

Niagara River that joins Lake Ontario to Lake Erie

 

Isaiah 41:10