Category: Uncategorized

Yes, stopping not shopping. Although I do that, too.

One of the reasons I like to shop at Walmart is that they are RV friendly. You are even welcome to stay overnight in their parking lot unless local ordinance forbids it.

In addition to that many of them have oversized van handicapped parking spots. In these spots you park parallel to the driving lanes instead of nose in. They have extra width and length so those of us traveling with personal mobility devices have room to unload them to use in the store. My van fits in those spots. But, so do compact cars. Whose drivers have no idea how nice it would be if they didn’t take those spots unless they had absolutely no other option. They just see them as easy in-easy out. Which they are.

For me, those spots are close enough to the doors that I can walk inside, then use one of the store’s carts to do my shopping. I can buy a lot more stuff using their carts than I can using my Scoot. My basket is not so big.

If I have to park in the back forty, I unload and ride my Scoot into the store. If I work it very carefully I can buy about $75 worth of groceries per trip on my Scoot. Nowadays, that’s not many groceries when you let your supplies get down to four meals worth. So it takes lots of trips on my Scoot to restock.

But shopping that way is tiring.

So what I am now doing is taking my Scoot in and buying about three bags worth of groceries. I do it by stacking two bags between my feet and filling my basket. Then I haul that out to my RV where I eat a meal or take a nap or drive on down the road to the next Walmart. Where I buy another three bags of groceries.

I figure about the time I get my fridge and pantry restocked I will luck into one of the good spots and have to decide how much more I should really buy.

Right now, though, it easy to tell my GPS where I want to stop next: the next Walmart down the road.

TTYL,

Linda

Two weeks appears to be the time I can live in my RV between grocery trips. I got down to four entrees before I decided I really did have to go to the grocery store.

Now you may remember that I am traveling without a car. My van, which is also my house, is the only vehicle I have with me. So to go anywhere requires packing up the house.

For those of you who have never packed a house for travel that means:

1. Dumping my black and grey tanks.

2. Filling my fresh water tank.

3. Bringing in the hoses used to do those two tasks along with my electrical cord.

4. Removing all temporary window coverings.

5. Stashing everything that is loose. Remembering to get my doormat while I am at it.

6. Locking all cupboards and putting bungie cords around everything not in a cupboard.

7. Tying closed the garbage bag so it doesn’t deposit its contents in undesirable places while driving.

8. Picking a destination

9. Setting my GPS to direct me to my desired destination.

10. Checking to see that my mirrors are still aligned and that I have enough fuel in the tank.

11. Walking around the outside of the rig to be sure I didn’t forget anything.

and 12. Walking around the inside of the rig to be sure I didn’t forget anything.

Now, I’m ready to go to the grocery store.

Or anyplace else I decide to go.

It seemed a waste to make all that effort just to go to the grocery store and back.

So, I decided to go to Arizona.

TTYL,

Linda

I wrote this as a response to Captain Fritter’s blog then decided I needed to share it here:

Christmas is not supposed to be a consumer holiday. If you are not celebrating the birth of Jesus what are you celebrating? If you are celebrating the birth of Jesus, what would he think about your style of celebrating? I think Jesus would encourage you to give as gifts only those things you already own–like your second coat. Jesus was a minimalist.

TTYL,

Linda

ps. One of my commenters sent a comment that somehow went into moderator limbo but I got a copy of it in email. It included this very appropriate link: http://content.cartoonbox.slate.com/?feature=ed12318d6a88702db3d55a3d0294a95c&resize=no

My response to that cartoon is that, if you follow that advice, you may indeed end in poverty.

My first no-family Thanksgiving ever. I’ve always had at least Dave around and we’ve always celebrated with food. Those of you who know me well know I have some hermit tendencies. So without even Dave here this Thanksgiving what are the odds I would stay home alone? They were high.

Until my next door neighbor pushed me to sign up for the Thanksgiving potluck here at Rainbow’s End. The way it works is this: you sign up to join a table of ten people for a semi-potluck meal. You pay $2.50 for the catered turkey and gravy then everyone at your table donates the side dishes. I offered to bring deviled eggs because that’s all I had on hand that would provide ten servings.

So, yesterday I boiled eggs and today I made mayonnaise and deviled the eggs. At the appointed time my neighbor picked me up and we went to dinner.

It’s hard to remember to take pictures at gatherings so I only have these two to offer you. One is our table before we ate all the food and the other is part of the larger group.

 

We had ten tables with 10-12 people at every table. Quite a large Escapee family gathering. Good food and good conversations. What else could a person want? Besides real family?

Leftovers? Well, I do have one deviled egg left. And there will be another potluck tomorrow of all the leftovers from this one. I think I’ll eat my egg tonight, though. I can bring something else tomorrow if I decide to go to that one, too. After all, tomorrow’s meal doesn’t require me to bring enough to serve ten people, right?

TTYL,

Linda

I didn’t realize until people started asking me that I never told you guys that I did make it safely to Rainbow’s End in Livingston, Texas. I’ve been here long enough to make new friends and visit the activity center a couple of times.  I don’t know how long I’ll stay here but it will be at least through Thursday since I signed up to join a table for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m to bring deviled eggs and pay $2.50 for my share of the turkey and gravy then I get to eat my share of what my table mates brings. Sounds like a deal to me.

I also had my RV weighed. They have a program here that uses portable scales to weigh all four corners of your rig. Then they teach you how to compare those numbers to the manufacturer’s maximum weight ratings. I am under the maximum for each axel and under the gross vehicle weight. Yay!

They also teach you how to read your tire information to figure out how much air you should be carrying to support your load. And to determine how old your tires are so you can determine when you need to replace them. RV tires need to be replaced every five to seven years no matter how many miles you have, or haven’t, driven. My tires were manufactured in week 17 of 2012 so I’m good to go for a long time.

Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving. I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

TTYL,

Linda