Home

The first thing the dog did when we got home was plop down and sprawl across the kitchen floor. Not sure what that was about. Maybe she was afraid that the little Gnome Home camper was going to be the only home we ever had for ever more?

In any case, home and half unpacked already.

Brought the bed back into the house from the camper. It will do until I get my permanent bed built. I could have slept in one of the beds upstairs, but I like my little bed. It's comfy and fits me very well. It won't take long to build the other one, now I know how I want it.

But not today.

Today is a catch up day starting with a dentist appointment at 0815, swing by the store to pick up groceries, and the post office to get the held mail...

Once home, then the garden...I'll have to get pictures of that. My throw away garden is now an edible jungle. LOL!

And I need to finish the unpack to find the souvenir thank you gifts for the neighbors who looked after the house for me.
Laundry, of course.
And some bills to pay.

Tomorrow I'm going to unplug and catch up on my computer friends and watch a couple of movies and not move. :)

It was a full fun trip.

I got pictures.

And I'll share them, later this week.

LOTS of woodworking projects to get done in the next month or so.
Hence, 'The List'.

But that's for later.

Enough for right now to know I'm home, with things to do.

Fingers crossed Lady J can figure out my pattern. So blessed to have someone willing to test it for me so I can get it up for sale!! Thanks J!!

Alrighty then. Enough update for now. More later. Today's a wastin'

So, off I go.

I think I'm done camping in April, maybe

I've tried twice camping in April and both times I've fought high winds.

I thought camping in my little camper would be better than a tent if it was windy, and it is, but I'm not sure it's enough better for me to want to do this any more, at least with a dog along.

I have to get out in the high winds, braving dust and sand blasting for her to take care of her 'business'. We both have dust in our ears, and in our hair, that no amount of washing or brushing will take care of for long.

As soon as the camper door opens, we're right back where we were as if we hadn't bathed.

I know that this dusty high wind is probably a southern Spring thing. It's warm enough for camping, but the winds, oh the winds.

I think I'll try one more time, next year, and head north. Where maybe the high winds won't go. But it will be colder. So...

Before then I'm thinking I'll add a bit of insulation to my little Gnome Home, and do some more permanent type building inside it so things don't shift so bad on bumpy roads.

And while I'm at it, I'll explore options for being able to stand up, at least in one part of the roof if not all the way. Something along the lines of a pop-up tent would be nice, so I could have it down to tow, and up when camped during the day, and down during chilly nights or high wind storms.

I also want to add a pop up table and attach it to the door. That will make fixing coffee in the morning or meals during bad weather so much nicer!

Well, that's the plan.

And you know they say the third time's the charm.

May it be so. :)

For now, I'm holed up in my bitty camper, avoiding the screaming winds, and knitting.

Tomorrow I drive to my last campsite. It had poor Internet connectivity last time. Fingers crossed it was a fluke.

For now, I'll try to post this.

Thinking about you, J. You be safe, too, K?  You aren't the only one who worries. HUGS

Such a great visit

and over too soon as all wonderful vacations always are.
No trouble with the little camper on the trip across on it's shakedown cruise,
and so many pictures to share when I get back!

Beginning the return 'voyage'.
"second verse, just like the first" :)

According to the forecasts, the worst I should see is a couple of breezy (not high winds) days,
and one day with some light showers, and one day of high temps (but that's what the a/c is for!)

So it should be smooth sailing.
I'm going to keep this short as the internets is acting uncertain and I don't want to lose this post too.

I'll be good. I'll be safe. I'm having fun.

So, off I go!

blog post

well i had a nice long blog post written for you but just as I was saving it my antivirus decided to freeze up while updating and I couldn't post or save. I tried copy paste but in order to shut down my antivirus I had to turn off my computer, which lost the copy past. crap.
So I'm alive and thinking about you but out of time. I'll try again tomorrow.
Off I go...

Dar be mountains to be seen

between rain showers, at least. They're really beautiful, and constantly changing with the breaks in the clouds, as the light changes. Nearly black, dark and gloomy, when the dark rain clouds pour over; grey and misty in the cloudy light, and sage green in banded patterns when the sun breaks through and fingers of light touch the sides of the hills. Even in the wet, it's beautiful.

I got some pictures. I'll post them when the journey's done. Too hard to do it on the road with uncertain wireless.

Half way through the trip out, and the coldest day so far. Woke up to mid 40's, rain and very windy. So glad this little camper is built tightly and easy to warm up. I'm looking forward to my destination where I hope it will be dry and warm.

As the showers roll past I have a couple of good books on my Kindle, and am sitting in comfort on my cot (the dog on her thick bed beside me). In between showers we walk around the grounds. No sight seeing really on this trip. Just relaxing in camp, reading, knitting and walking. Trying to make the best of whatever weather Mother Nature decides to throw at us.

I'm eating good. I had cashew pancakes and scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast with hot coffee, and just about to have spam on toast with lasagne leftovers for lunch, and for dinner? I'm thinking a nice bag of dehydrated beef stew, rehydrated, of course. Pretty fancy fare for camping. :)

And it's raining again. I'm a happy camper, yes I am. :)

I've put it off as long as I can

but I'm really going to have to set everything else aside for a few hours and clean this house! It's spring and I have whirlwinds of dog hair trying to get into everything. Plus I like to leave a clean house so I can come home to one.

I'm down to the last minute packing, so it's a day for cleaning and final errands, gassing up the car, doggy nail trim, etc.

The trial camp went well in spite of the thunderstorms last night. The garage was dry and toasty. :) And I've finally got the bed at the right height. Very comfortable. And the dog is settling in well, too. That will really help with the trip.

I'm glad I got the raking done yesterday. Not only would the leaves be wet today, but it's supposed to be near 90 with matching humidity. Not good weather for yard work.

Oh, and more thunderstorms scheduled for today, so I'm really glad I'm not leaving today.

I'm sure I'm ready for weather, but I don't see any point in practicing to be miserable.

The strong storms are supposed to be well south of me before I leave for my little trip. So I should have maybe a little rain but nothing serious. Yay!

Okay, lots to do today so off I go.

Catching up ...

... from the past two days.

I've mowed all the grass. The neighbor is going to keep it up for me while I'm gone so I wanted to get it in shape so he doesn't have as much to do.

I've raked nearly all the leaves. Live Oak loses leaves and acorns in the fall and even more leaves in the spring.

I rebuilt the bed/couch in my little camper. I tried it out last night and it was too high; I kept hitting my head.

I'll try it again tonight. I think I have it right now.

Tomorrow I plan on packing, and if the weather cooperates, hooking up and spending the night in a small nearby campground, just to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.

If the forecast calls for storms, and it's possible, I'll just camp out in the garage tomorrow night. :)

I hope the dog sleeps better tonight than she did last night. She was pretty unsure what was going on last night. Her own bed, and familiar smells helped, but not 100%. She kept pacing and sniffing, and kept waking me up.

If she's half as tired as I am tonight, though, she'll sleep like a log!

Well, I still need to pack an overnight bag, and check weather, and then hook up the little camper and pull it out into the driveway, so I'd best get busy.

Off I go.

Easter

I hope you are having a nice Easter day.

It dawned chilly here with promises for rain. We had a nice soaking rain overnight and a little thunder, but not the hail they thought might happen. Rain is good. Texas can always use the rain.

I have a visitor staying with me from yesterday, one of my knitting students I met in Germany. It's nice to have a bit of traditional fun. I don't bother usually with Easter decorations and such, but it was fun to put together a basket to surprise her with this morning.

She wanted me to teach her to spin yarn on a spinning wheel, so after a ham and egg breakfast we spent two or three hours getting her up to speed and developing the muscle memory it takes to spin yarn.

It's like driving a car. You can't do just one thing. Well...you can, but you won't go very far very well. To drive a car you need to pay attention to the steering wheel, the gas and brake, the mirrors, turn signals, where you are in the lane, the road signs,...

When you drive a traditional spinning wheel, you need to move your feet, pay attention to the direction your feet are spinning the wheel and how fast, how much twist is going into the yarn, control the tension so the yarn doesn't feed onto the bobbin too fast or too slow, control where the twist is feeding into the fiber, make sure the yarn isn't twisting around the guides, thin out the wool roving so you get the thickness you want, keep all of that consistent so the yarn you begin with is the yarn you continue to make,...

It's a lot to pick up all at one.

But this gal? She's one of my best ever students. She managed to get the hang of it within two and a half hours of effort. She's good.

It was a fun, full week.

And I'm tired.

I'm looking forward to a couple of quiet days before I do a short trial camp before my trip.

Tomorrow I might not do anything.

Except breathe.

I think I'll take a nap and start tomorrow, today.

So, off I go.

Clouds...

...eclipsed the Lunar Eclipse. Caught a glimpse of the beginning and then the clouds moved in. Everything needs to be just right to see these sorts of things. Today was not the day.

Heard that my Dear Friend J is home and doing okay. That was scary!

It's difficult not knowing. Harder even than going through things. Waiting, Wondering,...
And praying. It helps knowing, like she said, that He is holding her. Not supposing, Not hoping.

Knowing.

I love that gal. So glad all is okay.

Today's the last day of my visitor #1, with a grilled catfish breakfast planned before the dreaded trip to the airport.

I can look forward to visitor #2 on my way back home. She only gets to stay overnight, but we'll do some spinning wheel work and have Easter Morning together.

(I already have her Easter Basket prepped and ready. She'll be surprised!)

It's a bittersweet day, so I'd best get it started.

Off I go.

Ain't no sunshine when you're gone

Woke up to this song in my head.

One of my bestest friends in the whole world had to go into the hospital this past week, and I've been worried about her. Finally heard this morning that she is on the mend, and it's the best news.

I hate being so far away from family and friends. I wish I were closer so I could have visited her, taken care of her cats, and had a nice warm supper ready for her when she came home.

All I can do is tell her I love her and want her to get well fast by electronic digits.
Just not the same thing as a real, full body hug.

Love you, Kiddo.
Get all better soonest!

Last full day of my visitor. So hard to stay in the moment and milk the time for all it is, and not project into tomorrow when he has to leave.

Yesterday he met the neighbors who look after me while he's gone, and we put a ramp on the garden shed, and moved the rest of the furniture up to the guest room, and managed to play a bit of basketball (he won, of course, but I gave him a run for his money!).

It was hot and sticky (I know, I know. Y'all in the north don't want to hear that. Sorry), so we took plenty of water breaks and worked slow.

And we took time out to visit our favorite barbecue place. They still make the finest smoked brisket I've ever had, bar none.

Today we'll... well, we'll play it by ear and hopefully enjoy the day. This evening a mutual friend arrives for a visit, so I'll have company for Easter. That will be very nice.

Keep thinking about my far away friend, and wishing she were here, too. Sending love to her and her fur kids. Hope all was okay at home while she was away, and looking forward to hearing from her as soon as she feels able. Go slow, Love, and take good care of yourself. There's the most important thing. Everything else can wait. Hugs!

So, a new day. Off I go.

Time's speeding up

As my visitor's time here grows shorter, time seems to be picking up speed.
If it were a car, it would get a ticket.

It makes the last few days together bittersweet.
Sweet to have time together doing not much of anything special;
bitter because the end of the visit keeps rearing it's ugly head, taking up our time and thoughts.

But as normal, better to have time together, however short, than not have it.

Yesterday we found a couch he liked. They'll deliver it today.
And we'll probably also do some wood working on my little camper.
And I'll drag my visitor over to meet the neighbors who will be looking out for the house when I'm off on my camping adventure.
And I'll let him beat me at basketball. (like I even would stand a chance! HA!)

But right now, coffee is calling my name, so off I go.