Day 16.... RV verses House

Ever since making this monumental decision to pack up the house and put everything in storage and move into the 5th wheel, I have had some moments of .... let's say..... Panic !!! Moments where I say to myself, " What the hell were you thinking?'  Have I totally lost my mind??
Well, I had the day off work today, and decided it was a day to get busy and do some cleaning that I have been putting off, for far too long. My kitchen floor just looked so neglected. You know...the built up old wax along the edges, the discolored spots thru-out...just really looking bad. So...out came the bucket, the scrub brush, the SOS, the heavy duty cleaners, the scraper and the sponge. I got down on my hands and knees (which anyone who knows me, knows that is almost an impossibility) and started to scrub. I got up once or twice while working but soon realized that made the job worse, because each time I got up, I really didn't want to get back down there. I scrubbed and scraped and cleaned the floor, and then washed it again and then finished it off by waxing it.
Wow....what a difference. It looked so good, it forced me to then go do the same thing to the bathroom floor, and after that I felt bad that the living room wood floors looked dusty and forgotten as well, so....guess what :(
Now, the day is done, and every bone in my body hurts...every joint, every muscle. I feel like I have been run over by a truck. But...the floors are clean.
So, back to my original statement... Have I totally lost my mind, deciding to move into a 23 foot 5th wheel, with no slide out, and 1/2 the floor is covered in carpet.
NOT AT ALL !!!!! I can hardly wait to have a kitchen floor that measures maybe 5 square feet... (maybe 10). Yup... I can hardly wait. :)

Day 15.... Good Ideas can pop up anytime or anywhere.

First off... I think that spring is finally here. Two days in a row of beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine. I worked a morning shift yesterday and today and both days I spent the afternoon mostly outside. It just feels soooo good. Everyone is happier when the sun shines. There are more smiles, more happy people. Everyone sheds the black and brown drabness of winter and dawns their bright cheery summer cloths. Peoples normal coffee habits change to iced coffees and frappaccinos. When the sun shines... everyone shines.
When I was leaving work today, I ran into a wonderful lady who has become a very dear friend. She is someone I really feel I can relate to and it was good to see her today. It had been awhile. We chatted a bit on the way out to my car and we talked about future walks, photo shoots and the up and coming summer. I told her about our planned adventures for next summer and even managed to send her a link to my blog right there in the parking lot. "Don't you just love technology "
Well,  the matter of our little house that we love so much, but will be giving up when we leave, kind of came up in the conversation. She mentioned that her and her husband might be interested in taking over as the tenants when we left. Wow..what a wonderful idea.
We have been here for 15 years, and have lovingly cared for, improved and transformed this little house into a home to be proud of. The yard is wonderful, big and full of trees and shrubs, some of which I have no idea what they are, but can tell you they are as old as the house. Over the years we have built up a wonderful little population of local birds that pretty much live here...that have their babies here and come back here each year.
When we decided to give up the house, I have had this one very sad feeling that someone would move in here...that just didn't care about the yard, someone who would never feed the birds or harvest the rhubarb that we have planted. Someone who wouldn't care about the house or feel about it the way we do.
But that all changed today. I can't imagine a better person to take over this place. I know that she would love it as much as I do. I know that her and her husband would enjoy it as much as we do. And I know that my wonderful Landlord would be able to relax and never worry about this old house that was once his Grandmothers.
Well......who knows if it will work out, but what a great thought. For this next 13 months of waiting and planning, it will be one less thing that I will be "stressing" about.
Hope everyone has had a great day and if you are here in our neck of the woods, hope you have been out enjoying some of this sunshine.

Day 14... Something I will miss

OK, so mostly everyday so far, I have talked about all the positives !! I have hardly talked about the things I will miss....well, besides my family. My daughters, my grand kids, my Mom.... the people I love the most. That is a "given". That is something that can't be shaken off, or changed. I can't even take it into consideration when making this decision to go and spend this time up north. I just will miss them.... Totally....Completely....and everyday !!!! But I know I will survive it, and I will call them all the time (thank heavens for cell phones), I will skype, instant message, facebook etc... just to stay in touch on a regular basis. And.... I will be coming back. I'm not going forever.
So... today something came up that I have to admit needs to be added to my "MISS LIST".

When we give up our house next year, we also give up stuff like this :( Over the past 15 years here, we have planted, harvested and enjoyed lots of Rhubarb, and this year.... so far.... is the best harvest we have had yet. I know that it grows up there too... but this is OURS. This is plants that we started...first with one, then splitting it, then a few years later, splitting again, to where we are today, with about a dozen plants.

I will Miss this.

Rhubarb Pie anyone??

Day 13... yard work

Sorry for skipping yesterday, I just sort of got side tracked, doing nothing. Sometimes that's a really good thing tho. Today however....Saturday and sunshine, a combination that dosn't happen ofter around here, got us motivated to get outside and work in the yard. Our poor patio pots were empty, no color in the yard, not a single flower. We decided it was time to spruce things up. Now, normally that means spending about $100 and UP... on all kinds of flowers to plant in the "numerous" pots on the patio. This year however proved to be a different experience.
We started by first removing all but the big pots..if we had used all of the pots, it would have required more new dirt, more good potting soil, and more plants. So, we eliminated all but the 4 big one. Aha !!!! just saved ourselves a few dollars there. Good Planning :)
We had one pot that still had some healthy Mexican Feather Grass in it from last year, so that eliminated cost there as well.. hmmmm, things were looking up. We even discovered that a blue tufted grass that we had pulled out of one of the pots and discarded in the back corner of the yard, was still growing, so.....yup....we dug it back up and re-planted it. Just saved ourselves a few more dollars. Now we were left with basically just 2 pots to fill.
We headed to Walmart... cheapest place in town. We found some healthy pretty yellow and orange marigolds and some deep purple petunias. Spent less than $20. Not bad.  When we came home and planted, turned out there was enough to ad to the to grass filled pots to give them color as well.
$20......... 4 colorful filled pots......a successful day !!!!
I think the entire time we were preparing, planning, buying and planting we were both thinking... this is so cool... we saved $80 that can go in the savings for next years trip. ( I know that is what I was thinking ).
Next year we won't be planting, next year all the pots will remain empty, or maybe we can give them to the girls and they can plant something fun and colorful.
Next summer I am going to be looking at a whole different patio... Natures patio !!

This is the yard I will be enjoying :)

Day 11... Remember what Bilbo used to say

““Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.””

JRR Tolkein



Life is an adventure,
Made for an adventurer.
Made just for the boy who can,
Grow up strong and become a man.
Nothing will bother you,
You will do what you want to.
Laughes and loves and hopes and dreams, 

Violent Femmes
Life Is An Adventure lyrics

Life is short, so we should do things that make us thankful to be alive.  Our mortality is something we are born with. Sometimes, I think we ignore the fact that this lifetime will not last forever. We get so caught up in routine and obligation that we are often oblivious to the beauty and wonder of the world around us. We become disheartened and apathetic, or frustrated and angry, so gratitude and appreciation seem irrelevant.The world is full of adventures, miracles, blessings and delights. Embrace life and each other. Laugh long and hard and often.

And Go to ALASKA :)

Day 10... Morning visitors

I realized today, that it could become quite challenging to find something to write about every day, since this is only day 10 but... I am going to try. Somedays might just be a quick hello, or a picture from the past, but most days I hope to be able to put my thoughts down on paper. So... I thought, what is something else I love about the north??

Who wouldn't want to wake up to this :) Just one more reason to love the north. Here in Port Angeles, we wake up to the neighbors dog, or maybe the sound of birds, ( if we are lucky )... or garbage trucks banging cans around, or the guy down the road reving up his motor as he heads out to work. Up in Soldotna you wake up to quiet, to the loons on the lake, or an occasional visitor like this Mom and her Baby out for a morning stroll.
Sounds good to me :)

Day 9.... it's a small world

It's strange how ordinary conversations, with ordinary strangers can lead you to discover the connections we all seem to have in one form or another. It seems we all know someone, or somewhere, or have been somewhere that someone else has been to. Isn't it "Kevin Bacon" we are all supposed to be related to..ha ha.
 Well, it seems no matter where I am, whenever I get involved in a conversation with a complete stranger, we wind up having something or someone in common.
Today our ice machine was broke down at work, and a guy from Gig Harbor came to fix it. We chatted a bit during the process, but when he was pretty sure it was fixed, but still needing to wait to be 100% sure, it was during a slow time at work, so we spend a bit of time talking...passing the time. As usual, my train of thought ended up in Alaska. And guess what...turns out my ice machine repair man spends all his summers in Alaska, in, of all places...Soldotna, fishing the Kenai River. How coincidental is that :) Turns out, he has been going for years, loves the area, and loves the simplicity of life, the awesome fishing, and to top it off...loves digging Razor Clams on the same stretch of beach that we love to dig.
What are the odds of a Barista from Port Angeles, and an Ice Machine repair man from Gig Harbor, loving the same amazing place, and doing the same fun things that we do. Even has the same plans of taking his Grandchildren to Alaska someday and showing them it's beauty as well.
 When he left the store, we both said, " Well, next summer maybe we will run into each other along the Kenai River someday or wind up digging clams on the same beach, the same day" ... And, realistically , there is a good possibility of exactly that !!!
Yup.... Its a small world.