The Sandcastle

When your vehicle is also your house and you are plugged into all the utilities (water, electricity, and sewer) you think twice and ask lots of questions before going out to run errands.

How many more meals can I make with the groceries I have on hand before I have to go to the grocery store?

How many changes of clean clothes do I have before I have to go do laundry?

How much fuel do I  have to run my furnace before I need to go get fuel?

Are there any other errands coming up I should wait for so I can do them too while I am out?

I have some of everything. So I wait.

But today is Sunday, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and the next day is New Year’s Day. What things will be open when?

And how much did I say I have?

Suddenly, I don’t get to decide.

My furnace decides it is done keeping me warm. And the nighttime temperatures have been in the 30s lately which is colder than I like to be. So I go out to get fuel. And groceries. And to wash my clothes.

In the rain.

TTYL,

Linda

Wonder if I’ll ever remember to take pictures? Hauled my camera around but still forgot. Anyway, today was a good day.

I went out with my license plates to see about installing them and a neighbor promptly asked me if I needed help. I said, “No.” Then added, “But I never turn down offers of free help.” So he came over and installed my back license plate and told me I needed to get washers to install the front plate. Then he replaced my broken electrical connector. Then he rehung my backup camera monitor which had detached itself from my windshield and added a safety strap to it so if the suction cup lets go again it should at least stay up there.

Shortly after he left, two new friends arrived. Sue I’d been emailing with and she’d met Diane just a week or so ago. As women traveling alone in vans we thought we had enough in common to make a visit worth while. We walked down to the bar/cafe’ here in the park and had lunch. And talked. And talked. And talked. We had a lot of history to catch up on and a lot of tips to share with one another. It was a very good visit.

But no photos of any of that activity. Sorry.

TTYL,

Linda

Many years ago I learned to crochet.  Since I could never learn to keep all my stitches the same size I needed a project that didn’t care about gauge. I was happy to find one that was also useful. Carrying bags made of string. The ones I make store in their own pocket.

When stored they look like this:

This makes a soft-sided ball good for keeping young kids entertained for a while.

Eventually, they discover they can pull the middle out like this:

Most young kids get stuck at that point. But us big kids soon learn that if we keep pulling we can turn the pocket inside out and get a double bottom on the bag like this:

then we can stuff it full of all kinds of things. Here it is holding my iPad, a full-sized box of Kleenex, and my 20-oz water bottle:

Yes, it is strong enough to carry that weight. And it’s not yet full!

I am constantly amazed at what all I can carry in one of these bags. Recently I used one to carry out my food and beverage from Boston Market. You just pack it so that everything will stay upright when you pick it up, grab a handful of the top of the bag, and head on out. The bag changes shape to accommodate whatever you want to carry.

Which is why I seldom carry it by its handles. I’m short. If I don’t stuff the bag in such a way that its load is wide it would stretch its length until it scraped the ground. But by sticking my fingers through some loops I can make it be any height I want it to be.

Another thing I like about these bags are they are machine wash and dry-able.  So if the lid pops off that beverage I put it in or I sit it down in a poorly selected spot or  some baby drooled on it I just throw it into the laundry.

Which brings me to another use. You can put your dainties in this bag, tie it shut, and use it to protect them in the laundry. Untying it can be a challenge, though, so I only did that once.

I keep one or two of these with me most of the time. You just never know when you are going to need to carry more than you could otherwise handle.

No, I don’t take orders for them. I make them when my mood strikes–usually when Dave & I are watching TV. But, if you want one, ask me the next time you see me. I might have an extra one hanging around. And there’s only so many of them I can use myself.

TTYL,

Linda

I met a group of people who call themselves Rubber Tramps or Van Dwellers. What a wonderful group of people!

I had only been here a few minutes when people started helping me with projects.

You already know I broke the cover off my electrical connection.

Here’s Phil figuring out what to do about it.

First he straightened the one bent prong. Then we went looking for a temporary cover to protect it from the elements. The best we found was the lid from my Klean Kanteen. It was the same dimensions as the outlet. So Phil used his electrical tape to attach it.

Now I don’t have to worry about today’s forecast of rain.

Then Lesa helped with a different project. My daughter had told me I could use a space blanket to make covers for my windows that would let me see out while others couldn’t see in. This would also cut the solar heat that beats on my back when sitting at my desk. Lesa is interested in doing this to her van so she was more than willing to help me experiment on my van.

Here’s our materials.

The space blanket, obviously, scissors to cut the blanket to approximate size, water to spray on the window to make the blanket adhere, and a cloth to smooth out the wrinkles.

We decided to cut the pieces oversize to be trimmed later. That make the installation a bit more challenging but it feels safer. So here’s the first round of cutting.

Looking out.

Looking in.

I need to do some major trimming so I can smooth things easier but I think this will work just fine.

Here’s the circle where we gather to chat. People come and go very much at will.

Today I am going. On to Parker, Arizona, where Dave can send me my new license plates. It is important to stay within the law when you live in a van.

TTYL,

Linda

 

 

I woke early this morning which was fine because I went to bed early last night. Everything outside was wet but the rain had stopped. So I cleaned house, packed everything up, said my goodbyes, and headed out.

About an hour from Phoenix, I stopped to call my brothers who live in Phoenix. I don’t like to give them much warning I am coming because then they try to do too much to get ready for me. The result is they make themselves too sick to visit.

Apparently they got rid of their land line phone since I last visited but I had a cell number so I called that. Got voice mail. I left a message and said I’d call again when I got into town.

No one got the voice mail. I had offered to take them both to lunch but that didn’t work. The oldest has been waiting since October for the VA to schedule his knee surgery and they called him last week to say it would be this week. In Houston, Texas. So he’s on a van trip going the opposite direction to that I just came. The brother I talked to said he’s too sick to drive. His powered wheel chair won’t go into my van. My van won’t fit in his parking space. So swapping my van for his with the lift was not possible. But we had a nice chat on the phone.

Then I headed to Trader Joe’s to buy some of  their heat & eat food. Having that on hand makes boondocking much easier. Bur first, I took a short nap in their parking lot. I love having my bed with me everywhere.

Then it was time to buy fuel. I hate buying fuel. I tried Flying J again. Nope. too high a percentage of bio-fuel; I should just give up on them. So I did a search for Valero which has become my vendor of choice. Found one just a mile back down the road. Except it’s no longer a Valero so I didn’t turn in. Now I’m going the wrong way so I turned into a neighborhood intending to go around the block. Except there are no blocks. The street curves back and forth through the neighborhood. But it eventually comes out on a side road that lets me get back to the main street I was on earlier.

So I headed back to a Shell station I had passed that had diesel to see if theirs was bio- or not. Oops, wrong pump. Need to be over there. Then an incoming driver decided we should play dodge-em. Made me cut a corner too sharply. Broke the cover off my electrical connector. I hope I can still plug in. Finally get to the right pump and can’t make my card work. Pump says, “See cashier.” So I go inside and he can’t make my card work there either. Maybe because I gave him my Flying J discount card instead of my credit card? So I give him the right card and he rings up $40 worth of diesel. Back to the pump which pumps exactly $40 worth. As that is finishing a guy came out of the store to tell me I left my credit card in there. Back into the store to get my card. Finally back on the road again.

I have lots of entries in my GPS for potential places to camp tonight. I don’t feel like doing any of them. So, I just head west on I-10 until I get tired and hungry. Pull into a rest area and have another short nap then supper. Decide I don’t want to sleep there so head on west.

So, now I am in Quartzsite but it is too dark to find the people I came here to meet. I just park on some BLM land to wait for tomorrow. Then I have to decide whether to go look for the people here or head on to a park where I can get mail. I need to order a new cover for my electrical connection. And I need to get the license plates for this vehicle before my temporary permit expires on the 28th. Dave has the plates but I need to park somewhere long enough for him to send them.

As one of my internet friends would say, “What a to do.”

I don’t like having days like today. But they sure do make for easy blog writing.

TTYL,

Linda