2nd Thoughts

FOUR PAWS KINGDOM
335 Lazy Creek Dr.
Rutherfordton, NC 28139
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV LIFE:  I was very saddened to learn that David & Terri of Flip Flop Vector & The Zen of Sweeping are turning in their RV keys. Admittedly, they stated from the start, 1 year or until we run out of cash. Neither happened, but their hearts were missing the camaraderie of in person family & long time friends. So they are heading back to TX to settle down. But they do have the life experience of their travels. They may never have that freedom again. To each their own.

Terri wrote in HER BLOG, "I love my online friendships... I really do. But nothing replaces "face time". The real face time and not on an Iphone! =)"

That is just the opposite of how I feel.  I am so much more friendly with my on line acquaintances. And get great satisfaction from our on line communication. I had few close friends while living in one place. While in face to face contact with people, I tend to shut down. I don't want the conversation to revolve around me, me, me, so I keep quiet and listen. But....when I blog, or email, or facebook, I can express what I think! If you don't like it, or are not interested, you can just delete and no offense taken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING, GIRL TALK:

Blogs: I've finally caught up on all the RV blogs I subscribe to. Haven't even started the food, craft and pet blogs! I truly enjoy many of the women bloggers who do open up their thoughts to their readers. I relate to many and learn from some also. After reading some of the women's blogs, I feel like I've just had a night out with the girls. Some wine to loosen up our inhibitions and say what's on our mind without worry of hurting other's feelings & still remain friends.

I'm going to refer back to Terri again. This is from a RECENT POST...

" I love wearing clothes that I love and some of them aren't "fashionable" and a bit eclectic... which causes me to stand out. I'm trying to get more comfortable in my own skin so I've been forcing myself to wear them in public...  

I struggle with being noticed though. I want to reach out to people, but being around people I don't know is stressful for me and drains my energy fast... I want to be friendly and social but I also want to be invisible and watch...I want to be my authentic self but I don't want to stand out or be the center of attention... I want to be liked but I want to be left alone too... I don't want to be left out but don't want to be included in everything either...I like observing and the freedom that being invisible brings but I also want to be a part of something." She explained the introvert personality so well.

I love wearing items I've knit or crocheted. They are beautiful items that takes time and talent to create, but, they may not be the most in style or flattering items to wear. I've decided, I don't care. It makes me feel good to wear them. I believe unless you are a naturally secure person, this "I don't care" attitude comes with age. I love the freedom of being over 50 and feeling comfortable in the like me as I am attitude or it's fine to leave me alone.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More thoughts from another fellow blogger: PHOENIX ONCE AGAIN was talking about saving things for special occasions. 

For the fellow FT RV'rs, I think maybe a lesson is learned when we purged items from our house. All the things we have and were only used or worn for special occasions. So how many times were these items used over the past 10-20 years? 

I have a gold bangle gifted to me 30 yrs ago.  After only wearing it for special events, I realized I hardly ever wear it. I started wearing it 24/7 about 10 yrs ago. Yes, it's banged up but I'm enjoying this piece of jewelry every day.
I assess my life quite often to make sure I'm doing what I want as if these were my last days. That includes NOT saving items for special times. Life itself is a special time. Enjoy your precious things NOW.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our time at the Kingdom is almost over. Only 2 to 2 1/2 weeks left. Only 1 week that the campground is open. I'm so excited to head to new areas, but it is sooooooo easy just to settle down. We have a great workamp site with a fenced in yard. I will miss that! We know and enjoy our neighbors. We are always somewhat anxious arriving at a new RV park. Will we have room for the dogs to be tied out while we're relaxing outside? Are there places to walk the dogs? Are we in a parking lot? Will we be able to get satellite and cable? Will our neighbors be too close and annoying?
But on the other hand, what gems we may find also. New friends, fellow bloggers, new hikes and biking, new restaurants, beautiful sights and so on. We have the health, means and freedom to do this right now. We can settle down....later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I spoke in my post of Nov. 11, 2012, about my forgetfulness & my need for making lists and writing notes and then not losing those notes. Do you think these will help??

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This past weekend was the annual leaf clearing weekend! Four Paws Kingdom Campground offered Friday and Saturday sites for free if you'd spend the day helping clear out the leaves at the park.
What a day!!! We had about 30 people helping us out. Leaf blowers filling the normally quiet campground with the noise of work getting done. The smell of gasoline to fill those hard working blowers. The sound of aluminum can tops being popped. Ahhh, a beer sure does taste good when working so hard! Husband and wife side by side working together. New friends being made.  A real sense of accomplishment at day's end. I give Four Paws credit for thinking of this great idea. We all win.

Back at our campsite, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on my shoulder. It looked similar to a lady bug, only bigger. Well, that was just at a glance. I swiped it off my shoulder and it landed on our garbage bag. No, I didn't scream. I just swiped and it was gone. But now getting a better look, I had to call Scott over. He was getting creepy chills and I was very curious.  Can anyone IDENTIFY this spider that was sitting on my shoulder?

Meik made delicious potato leek soup for us all. And the one day workampers brought desserts for a dessert pot luck. The cool weather, the hot soup and bread, the propane heaters all made for a cozy, rewarding dinner.
The desserts were phenomenal! We had spice cake, nut bundt cake, cheesecake, crock pot molten chocolate cake, crock pot apple spice something with whipped cream on top. There were cookies, kool aide pie, mini eclairs and a few other items. I think that was my favorite pot luck so far!
---------------------------

RV MODS: Our fiberglass flooring for the RV has arrived. We haven't seen it yet. Between the flooring at a price of approximately $800.00 and the labor for $1200.00, this is an expensive RV mod.  And yes, I'm having 2nd thoughts, but it's too late now.  I've come to realize that I'm thinking of our RV as if it truly is our "house" for the long haul. I forget that we have no idea how long we will be living this lifestyle. Sweet Scott doesn't like to make waves so he didn't question my want of vinyl/fiberglass flooring instead of carpet.
Our RV is already 5 years old. We see all the beautiful newer models and maybe someday. Well after investing $2000. into the RV in one shot, I think we'll hang on to our current home on wheels. Which is really par for our course. We are not one for change, yet we travel to new places all the time. What I mean is while in our home, we did not rearrange the furniture, we did not buy new cars, etc. So even though we'd like a larger kitchen area, we will most likely just stick with what we have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WINE REVIEW:
Burlwood Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Calif. 2011 $4.99 @ ALDI'S
My rating 4 out of 5. 

If it were more expensive, it would be 3 out of 5.
I'm finding that I'm enjoying Cabernet Sauvignon somewhat more than Merlot that I've been drinking for many years. Maybe my tastes are changing. Cabernet seems altogether smoother.
This particular Cabernet starts with a tart, spicy taste, but as it swirls in the mouth, it ends fruity and almost bland. It goes down very easy and fast. I am usually a very slow wine drinker, but this is very easy to go down. Maybe too easy and needing a stronger after taste.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PETS: Devin, our Irish/English Setter mix is just 1 month shy of 2 years old. I've noticed in the last 3 months that he is still growing. He has gotten taller and filled out nicely. He's losing his puppy physique, but still runs, lopes, gallops like a puppy.
Both our dogs are definitely "couch potatoes", or in our case, "easy chair potatoes", since we don't have a couch. I've posted numerous photos of the two of them hogging our chairs inside. Well now they hog our chairs outside also!