Dog...Dog...CAT!

Our ever present, cute and cuddly traveling companions are an extra large Corgi we rescued and a Chihuahua inherited from my mother-in-law; otherwise known as Lilly and Abby respectively. We treat them like children. I know that sounds weird to non-pet owners, it still sounds weird to me, but it is true.

Come on, babies, let's go...Daddy has a treat...Woah, don't run your little sis over like that...Aww, it's okay, let me hold ya...What did you do...No, No, No...Talk to me...Want to go for a ride...Outside? Ya, let's go play...

Just as we had to adjust to our new home and schedule, so did our puppies. Since I can't really read their minds I can only guess at this, but, I would say that the biggest adjustment for them is not having a fenced in area to run free in as often as they wanted. That also means no more chasing cats and squirrels that may have wandered to close, out of the yard or, more aptly, up a tree. Without a doubt, this was Lilly's favorite pastime. Even now, a mere, 'go get 'em' and she is up at attention, ears pointed to the sky, alert, searching with her eyes for the intruder. If she doesn't see it right off she inhales a large amount of air, quite noisily, as if she could draw it out into the open simply by willing it.

It always amazes us at just how fast she can move her big, burly, short-legged self towards her sworn enemy. My personal favorite was finding her intently staring out the sliding glass door. Her body language was screaming, 'Let me out! There's a squirrel I have to get. PLEASE!'  I would slowly slide the door open just enough for her to get out. She would drop down into stalking mode looking much like a lion sneaking up on it's prey. One foot forward, pause, step, pause, step; head and belly low to the ground. This would take minutes that to me felt like eternity and then, BAM, she was off like a bolt. Abby never seemed interested until Lilly made her move and then she would join in yapping all the way. They make a great team despite acting oblivious of each other most of the time. 

The other night I took the dogs out one last time before calling it a night. They were nosing around the grass looking for that prime piece of real estate when I noticed a black cat sitting under a railroad boom truck casually watching my beasts, not more than 25 feet away. I reflexively laughed out loud while shortening and wrapping leashes around my hands. Miss Kitty seemed to understand what I was previewing in my head and she began to look for a place to hide on the truck. Alas, it was too late. Lilly spotted her first and lounged hard. Abby looked up to see what the fuss was about, saw the cat slinking away and began bunny hop pulling. I call it that because she tries so hard with all her might to run after it and pull me along but can only manage a big leap in the air. Since she can't get me to budge she just keeps on trying leap after leap. She is a smart little thing though and figured out that if she puts her head down and backs up while there is slack in the leash, she can wiggle out of her harness. That left me in a bit of a predicament: Goliath's little sister tugging me with all her might and the Tasmanian Devil's cousin running for all she can as I imagine her barks saying, 'I'm free! I'm free!'

And so it is; our version of 'Duck, Duck, GOOSE!'

Say Hi to a Stranger

My husband is a people person. He can't help but talk to people; especially people in need. I remember a time at 4 am on a nearly deserted Chicago street hearing a man's distant voice call out, "Brad! Brad! Hi!" Looking around we saw a man standing half bent over a corner trash can. Brad recognized him as a homeless gentleman he had befriended some time earlier. Someone he hadn't seen in over 6 months. They exchanged pleasantries and 'how are you's' and then we entered the car and headed to Michigan. A smile grew on the inside as I began to see the man I had recently married had a much bigger heart than I imagined.

We met in Chicago, drawn there from opposite sides of the nation by very different reasons. We left as one, better for our experience and friendships forged there. Still, it is ever obvious to me that his heart is bigger and more giving than mine. Even so, as we follow Jesus' example, we reach out to those we meet as we can.

Earlier this week, I noticed an older, stately women sitting on a bench at the far end of  the patio. She was always looking away. As I walked our dogs, I mistakenly thought she was out just enjoying the good weather. Brad came in from work and mentioned he had seen a woman presumably praying, as she was doing the sign of the cross, when he came into the hotel. He said she seemed sad and wondered what we could do.  We had both seen the same woman but from different perspectives.

He took a shower and then we went to the truck to leave for dinner. She was not to be seen when we went out. Brad asked if I didn't mind, he would drive around the hotel and if we spotted her we would ask her to go eat with us. That is the man I married. He doesn't stop thinking about people; if they make it into his head, they have made it into his heart.

We found her walking on the far side of the building. We stopped and spoke with her. She smiled with emotion filling her face. A tissue in hand, she dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you so much," she said, "We buried my grandson today...." Those are the only words I remember. What was imprinted in me was the pain on her face and the broad smile that washed across it. She politely declined our offer but accepted our prayers.

Never underestimate the power of friendly words to a stranger. A smile, a hello, even something as simple as a nod can make a difference for someone. I believe it makes our heart grow. It stirs up compassion, thankfulness, and brightens attitudes. I am looking forward to this, my heart expanding, as we travel and meet others.

Adjustment...Transition...Change... Well Worth It

When we jumped into this new to us way of living, we hit the deep end with all the gusto we could muster and still never touched bottom but definitely went way over our head. As the saying goes, 'go big or go home', well, we went big going home.

There have been so many different changes going on at the same time, it has been hard to focus on just one thing and see it through. The biggest obstacle in this is that, although we call ourselves full time RVers, we are in fact half time RVers. The weeks that Brad works are the weeks we stay in a hotel. That's just the way it is. His crew stays in the same hotel to be able to leave together for their ever changing job sites. On his off days we live in our Arctic Fox [that I love!]. Since our main reason for our new chapter was time together, this works well but has some challenges.

I believe that most of the challenges will be conquered once we are fully set up in the Fox, have rid ourselves of everything we do not need or love and have our transition to hotel routine down to a simple move. Sounds easy, right? Well.... Ok, we have significantly reduced the amount of stuff we own but we still have a nearly full 8 x 10 storage unit. Obviously, we cannot pack all of it into the Fox and it still be comfortable to live in and light enough to pull. So, what we did to begin with was fill the basement [large storage area under the bedroom] with tubs to go through. The plan is to go through them and then grab more when we are in town. So far, our plan has taken a backseat to other issues. Getting Brad's health back on track was the main thing but also spending time with grandkids. Now, we have the holidays quickly approaching but I am determined to get this done. Once we find our groove, we will be able to do more of what we really want and that is to see and do all we can together, while we can.

Two other major adjustments have been financial and time spent together. The first was expected since we went from two incomes to one. There is nothing to do but adjust to the change when your expenses stay about the same but your income is considerably less. It would be easier if we were both conservative with money but where's the fun in that? Opposites attract, so, together we learn to keep an eye on what, where and why money is spent. At the same time, we also get to brush up on our communication skills.

Among other things, the new amount of time spent together also has us brushing and improving communication. Up until my last day of work, Brad and I were only together on his off days [not counting weekends I went to see him or vacations]. I worked 8 hours a day for five of those days. He would normally get in late on Tuesday and then leave around lunch the following Monday. [I am not complaining, just setting the scene.] The time we had to spend together was when I was back from work and the weekends. However, [Again, I am not complaining and would not have changed this for anything.] we shared that time with my dad while he lived and Brad's mom until her recent passing. My point is, we went from little face time to 24/7 'you're in my space' kind of time and that was... well... an Adjustment. I am laughing as I write this because it is laugh worthy. Not so funny when you are in the middle of it but soon, we will look back and it will be hilarious.

We have done a lot of running around on his last couple of sets of off days but this one coming up will see us in one place for the whole time. I am looking forward to getting much accomplished while also letting Brad have an actual off day or two. The man needs to rest so a day or so of veggin' out will be good for him and in turn, good for me.

So, You Like It Cold??

If you like it cold when you are indoors, do not, [repeat: DO NOT] let your salesman convince you one AC is all you need for a unit that has a separate bedroom. It is not.

Due to our affinity to the cold, we were skeptical when our salesman said, 'Oh, this AC is all you need!' 'It is vented throughout the whole unit. It will pump cold air up into the bedroom no problem.' Hmmm, really?? I am from Michigan and although Brad is from Texas, he likes it especially freezing inside...even more than me! He does work hard out in the hot Texas sun so I will be the last to give him a hard time about it. :-)

Anyway,... our RV came with a 15K BTU low profile AC with condensation resistant ducting. I will tell you, it keeps our main living space super chill. As in frosty nose hair chill. No kidding! If we ever needed to, I bet we could use it as a walk-in freezer. Our bathroom, even though it is in the upper part of the fifth wheel, also stays cold. It is a small room with a full size vent. If at least one door is closed, it will stay cool. However, the bedroom just doesn't get cold enough.

The bedroom houses a king bed with just enough space to walk around it and a dresser. I'm not including the large [very large] closet as it is enclosed. There is only one vent in this room but even if there were more, I don't think it would be enough. On its own, it takes the edge off but it never really gets cool.

If you find yourself in this situation, we have a couple of solutions short of installing another AC unit. The first is temporary: one of us will grab the remote for the fan vent and turn it on until we feel the temperature drop. It doesn't take long but it doesn't last either. The second [and one we use now] is to set a tower fan on top off our dresser so that it pulls the air into the room and across us. This works quite well now. We will see how it goes once the 100+ degree days get here. Conveniently, there is a nice sized sky light that could be used for an AC if the fans prove to be no match for the Texas summer.

If you have any other solutions you have implemented, please post in comments below. Would love to see what others are doing!