Livingston, TX 77351
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RV:
I'm now feeling what retirement is all about, especially without the responsibility of a house. Cleaning is minimal in an RV, or at least it feels that way because we have all day to do it.
Scott washed & waxed HALF the truck yesterday. He'll do the other half today. That's just enough for him to feel he "accomplished" something (meaning a "honey-do"), but wasn't tired out from too much and has the rest of the day to himself.
About a week ago, Scott went through his side of the basement and also the front compartment. Amazing how much room we have if he would just keep things organized. He did transfer a lot to the bed of the truck to lighten our RV load.
I rearranged the "basement" yet again. I've condensed our toiletries carton to a smaller one. Eventually as we use up items, that box will be gone. When cleaning out our home, I couldn't throw out or give away new shampoo, face creams (I'm still looking old), body lotions, etc. We'll use it up eventually. Scott gets more foot rubs since I'm trying to use up body lotions.
RV MODS:
Just a couple of little mods we've added to find space for little items.
Bedside Shoe Holder from TINY LOFT.
This attaches under your mattress so it hangs from the sides. Package comes with two (holds 8 pairs each), for each side of the bed. Since the RV has a platform type bed, we slipped one under the mattress, and then one inside the platform. We attached with a staple gun instead of the velcro that came with the shoe holder. You can see from the photo below, we have a 2 tier system and it can be hidden by the bedspread when the bed is made.
Scott plans on using the other package of two on his side of the bed, which is very close to the cabinets. He will use the pockets for underwear, sock, pj's etc.
Scott had originally bought a more rugged type pocket system made for tent camping. This really didn't work well under the bed, so I stapled to the wall of the basement. I haven't filled it yet, but it's a great place for storing cleaning rags, bungee cords, small gadgets, etc.
There really isn't much of sightseeing here in Livingston, so we have a lot of down time. With the nice days lately, I've been spending it outside listening to podcasts and audio books, while cross stitching. Amazing that I can spend literally HOURS sitting at the picnic table and doing counted cross stitch. I'm having a difficult time accepting that it is OK for me to do this. We've been geared all our life to be busy, busy, busy. We work 40+ hours a week, then we need to do yard work, house work, volunteer work, socializing, etc. I had very little time to watch TV or do crafts while I was still working. So it seems wrong, to just sit around all day and have total "me" time. It's wonderful, but I feel lazy, selfish, less worthy. I guess I feel I'm not old enough to be "lazy". I somehow have to work through this, so I can truly enjoy my life.
And because of our travels and both of us not being outgoing, we tend to keep to ourselves, so even social time has been cut out, so we really have almost ALL our time to ourselves. It just doesn't seem right. I'm very grateful, that I was able to start my career early and keep the same job for 32 years and was able to retire early.
I still do volunteer work, although not as much. I believe I do a good job keeping records on the computer for our dog rescue. I guess now that I don't work and I've been doing this for years, it has become routine, & I have plenty of time do it now, so this volunteerism doesn't seem as involved as it is if someone else had to take over.
Here I am again, trying to convince myself of my "worthiness" of this wonderful life I have.
CRAFTS:
As I stated earlier, I've been cross stitching outside for hours, until it is dusk out. It's great for a diet. I don't think much about eating while cross stitching, but then if I do, I don't want to get my fingers dirty, and have that transfer onto the fabric, so I tend to not snack while cross stitching.
A true sign of getting older...I started this "I Love Dogs" counted cross stitch project probably almost 10 years ago. As I also said previously, while working, I did not have much time for crafts, so this was put aside. About 3 years ago (my last year working), I decided to start working on this project during my lunch and breaks. Well, was I in for a surprise, when I pulled it all out and set up the chart and I couldn't see it!!!! So not only did I have to start using reading glasses for the actual cross stitches, but I needed a magnifying glass to read the chart! When I started this project, I could see everything with just my younger eyes.
I've also started a cardigan, called COMFY CARDI.
The adorable dog & cake stitch holders are from WEE ONES
It was very difficult to get rid of so much yarn when I was clearing out our house. When I started crocheting & knitting again about 5 years ago, I was crocheting many items to raise money for A&B ENGLISH SETTER RESCUE and ADOPT-A-SETTER. So I bought lots & lots of acrylic yarn for children's ponchos and doggie sweaters. I had so much yarn still that I just had to give most of it away. I couldn't bear to part with the neutral colors though. So I have enough black acrylic to make a sweater. This cardigan will hopefully be a workhorse and be worn often without worry of washing care. Just throw in the washer and dryer.
Below are a couple of items I made to sell to raise money for rescue.
BOOKS:
Audio:
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Sci-Fi:
This is not what I expected. Although the book seemed silly to me, because of the alien character, I did enjoy the sarcasm through out the book.
Also the concept of how to introduce and promote an unknown star (alien), was interesting.
I would not recommend this.
This is not what I expected. Although the book seemed silly to me, because of the alien character, I did enjoy the sarcasm through out the book.
Also the concept of how to introduce and promote an unknown star (alien), was interesting.
I would not recommend this.
Audio:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Victorian Erotic Romance:
Audio book narrated by Susan Ericksen: Excellent narrator. Beautiful English accent and also performs men's voices well without sounding odd.
1st in series: "Ruthless"
2nd in series: "Reckless"
3rd in series: "Breathless"
This was refreshing after the trashy 2nd book, Reckless. The story line is still based on romance, sex, marrying the "wrong" type of person etc.
I enjoyed it and of course the erotic sexual conquests were narrated excellent and left me "breathless".
I'm ready to take a break from this series and will return in a few months.
Audio:
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Audio book:
Maybe this would have been better read than narrated.
I was looking forward to this book because of the description about modern American family life and it's stages.
There was so much detail about the mundane activities of life. On and on and on about all the little things that go on in the day in the life...
Stop! I read/listen to books for entertainment, enlightenment, knowledge, excitement, which this book provided none.
Hi Debbie - I stumbled onto your blog just cruising around. I noticed that you posted about your Alaska trip getting canceled and that you were considering taking a guided trip. That might have been helpful years ago but going to Alaska now is pretty simple -paved roads , places to camp and lots of room. All you have to do is fill your gas tanks when you spot a station and realize that everything will be more expensive. Going on your own will save you a lot of money and also allow you to go at your own pace.
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