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Have you ever built a sand castle? Did you build it close to the water only to see the tide wash it away? Did you build it far from the tide line only to see it dry out so the wind blew it away? If so, why do we continue to build sand castles? What is it about them that makes us want to build another one?

Did your sand castle have a moat? If so, was it because you liked the look of it? Was it because the castle felt done but you weren’t ready to quit building? Or was it to protect your castle from marauding waves? Or from imagined enemies?

Have you ever been to a sand sculpture contest? Did you participate? Or just watch? Were the builders making castles? If not, why do you think not?

Did it ever occur to you that sand castles could have so many questions that could have philosophical implications connected to them?

While I have helped build the occasional sand castle I don’t remember ever starting one. I was much more likely to build cottages than castles. I guess I was a minimalist even as a child. I’ve always preferred the small and simple to the large or ornate.

Except when it comes to stuffed animals. I do like large stuffed animals. Mostly because I am into soft and cuddly and it’s easier to cuddle large ones. But they don’t fit well in small RVs so I currently don’t have any. I have to settle for cuddling some of my throw pillows instead. And other people’s grandkids. And that’s OK.

TTYL,

Linda

 

I sure hope the person who designed this multi-use container has no idea what it says to someone like me.

TTYL,

Linda

ps. Down another 2 pounds this week in spite of going way over my points allowance by eating Cheetos two days with one of those days being a BIG bag. How am I supposed to stay motivated with results like that? Think it might have something to do with the extra walking I did this week?

I’ve just been reading the blogs of some friends talking about what Memorial Day means to them which started me thinking about what it means to me.

As a child, my family called this Decoration Day and it was the day to go tend family graves. My Mom and my Grandma did that. We kids were not involved. Those graves are in Illinois so now my step-mom and my step-sister tend them along with their own ancestors’ graves. Dave’s parents were cremated so the closest we can come to them is to go sit by the river in which we distributed their ashes–a peaceful thing to do.

As a youth, Memorial Day was the weekend camping began. My parents packed up our trailer and we headed off to some state park for the long weekend. We usually went with a group of friends so had lots of cookouts and long hikes. When Dave and I started camping together we declared Memorial Day to be too crowded so we stayed home that weekend then went camping the next weekend. When we became full timers, Memorial Day became the weekend when we couldn’t get into any of the good parks–or didn’t want to do so because all the amateurs were there. 🙂

Now we are settled into an apartment in the Minneapolis area and are feeling a little lost. The family had a huge picnic Saturday to celebrate the marriage of our niece so there is no family gathering today.

So what I am doing this year is sitting here counting my blessings that all the soldiers and sailors in my family came home. And that we live in the Home of the Free because of those who have, and do, serve to keep it that way. Thank you.

TTYL,

Linda

Some of you have been asking how I can get a whole house into a Sprinter van. Here’s my answer.

As you can see the driver and passenger seats swivel so they can become seating in my lounge area.

The sofa bed is twin size and comes with three seat belts for those who are drinking because they are not driving. If Dave should change his mind about going with me the sofa can be replaced with one that opens nearly to the cupboards opposite but this one is big enough for me and should provide better daytime seating than the larger one. I also plan to buy a folding ottoman that I can use to turn the passenger seat into a recliner.

That “custom cabinet” next to the sofa is a desk. I tucked a passenger seat under it in the drawing to indicate that my office chair will fit there. This is where I will do my computer stuff and also where I will eat. There will be several 110 volt and 12 volt outlets here for plugging in my various electrical items.

Next to that is a full height cupboard. It will contain a microwave/convection oven at my eye height with a storage cupboard above it and a hanging closet below it. The hanging closet door will be hinged on the right so when it is open it provides privacy to the dressing area.

Next to it is a full height pull-out pantry. Who knows what I’ll choose to store in it but it fit the space so why not?

Then the bathroom with its tiny corner sink. The faucet of the sink pulls out to become a hand-held shower.

Behind the bath is a five-inch space where I will store my broom/vacuum/duster handle, etc. Yes, I bought a vacuum that will fit in that space. I may have to open the back doors to get everything in and out of there, though.

Opposite the bath is an empty space where I will park my Travel Scoot. There will be an outlet here for recharging its batteries.

Next to the Scoot space is a full height cupboard with shelves for storing lots of stuff.

Next to that is the refrigerator cupboard. My frig will be a 7 cubic foot electric frig with a compressor so I don’t have to be as particular about parking level as most RVs have to be. As long as my space is level enough that I don’t roll out of bed I should be fine.

Then I have six-feet of upper and lower kitchen cupboards. This area will have several outlets including one with a separate 15 amp circuit for my induction hotplate. The sink has a pullout faucet that can reach through the door to rinse anything I might not want to bring inside otherwise.

There will also be upper cupboards above the Scoot space, the sofa, and the cab area.

Most people also have storage under their bed but I’m having a custom-sized 40 gallon fresh water tank put there so I’m not sure how much space will be left for storage. To offset the weight of all that water things like my diesel furnace and the charger/inverter will be in cupboards on the passenger side. My black and grey water tanks will be 20 gallons each. I’m hoping that’s enough to let me camp without hookups for at least a week at a time.

For energy while boondocking I’m having four solar panels put on the roof at the front with the equivalent of 4 AGM batteries under the floor at the rear.

My three big windows are awning windows which means I can keep them open in the rain if it isn’t blowing sideways. The two smaller windows are sliders since it is not a good idea to put an awning window behind the sliding side door. Add the ceiling fan to draw air through those windows and/or my little 12 volt fan which can sit on or hang above my desk and I’m hoping to seldom need the air conditioner. I also have the option of putting screens in both the big side-door opening and the rear door openings if I really want to bring the outdoors in without the bugs joining me.

No, you don’t see a TV anywhere. I never watch TV. The closest I come is checking the weather and I do that on my computer.

So, there you have it. All the comforts of home in a 24-foot van.

TTYL,

Linda

 

“…an intentional poverty to arouse a depth of the spirit that normally lies dormant…But you can’t do that and claim to be minimalist while checking Twitter on your Macbook Pro…or can you?” Julien Smith.

“…about stripping away life’s excess in favor of what’s important, which is different for every person.” The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn.

“…[things you own saying], ‘Appreciate me. Take care of me. Do right by me and I will do right by you. Treat me well and I will be the only one you will ever need.’ ”  a philosophy professor.

“…[a way] to make…day-to-day existence easier. To save money, to save time, to focus on what’s truly important.” Kristin Glenn.

“…not only about white walls and empty spaces. It’s about eliminating the distractions that keep us from fully appreciating life.” Miss Minimalist, Francine Jay.

“…an experimental tour into the nature of attachment… or some would say detachment.”  Minimalist Packrat, Tanja Hoagland

“…There isn’t anything wrong with owning stuff. The problem is when we give too much meaning to the stuff we own without questioning why we own it.” The Minimalists

“…You don’t own things just because you can afford them, and you don’t own more cars, clothes, gadgets or gear than you need for the kind of simple life you desire. You loosen your attachment to things and cut clutter from your home, your brain and your life in general.”  So Much More Life, Gip Plaster

“…the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” Joshua Becker

“…making room in our lives for the things we enjoy.” Sandcastle, Linda Sand

So here’s some of the things we enjoy in our current apartment:

Dave’s piano with the funny little lamp he bought to light his music. He moves the lamp up onto the piano when playing. He keeps his music collection and his headphones in the cabinet.

Our favorite photos from Dave’s college photography class final. He got an A but that’s not why we’ve kept these.

A thank you gift I received for being there for family in an emergency. I love the colors of this vase.

A picture painted by my mother using all brown tones which her class instructor said would never work. 🙂

Our bathroom scale which weighs exactly the same as the ones at my Weight Watchers meeting and which makes visitors wonder why there is a clock on our bathroom floor.

And the sandcastle our daughter gave us that became the theme for this blog.

Yes, that’s a candle sitting on the kitchen counter behind the sandcastle. It can burn for many hours if (when) we have a power outage here where there are winter storms. Some things need to be useful as well as enjoyable, you know.

TTYL,

Linda