Thursday, October 29, 2009

October 29, 2009 Thursday

Changes changes changes - sort of - Chuck's last fulltime day at work is Friday, tomorrow, and then he'll go part time and be on-call so to speak, like before. It doesn't change our target date for leaving on Thanksgiving.

We've developed a small problem that is baffling even Chuck, who is an expert in this sort of thing. Our furnace it seems, is not made for this weather and not liking it anymore than we are. Guess it's a heat pump so should get that right. Anyway the temps drop into the 30s at night and it causes "no heat" syndrome and it gets a little bit chilly in here. If the room drops 5 degrees below the set temp, the gas will come on but 5 degrees below is 60 degrees! The poor heat pump is rebelling and wants to head south to warmer climes, too.

This morning it was a little chilly in here I got up about 10 am, so checked the thermostat and it was 65 degrees in here! I switched it over to gas till it warmed up in here and the furnace went off; hence being satisfied as they say in the industry. Then I switched it back to electric heat or the heat pump. Waa Laa the electric furnace kicked in and is now working and doing it's job again.

When it's sunny, not often here, this is Western Washington, I open things up and let the sun shine in. That really helps but we don't see the sun all that often around here. Not enough, anyway. This'll be the last week I'll be on my own during the day to keep this place running alone.

Rent is due so I will be giving notice. We only need to give a 2 week notice but will anyway.

Today we have 29 days till we leave. My laptop is still being worked on. This will be it's third keyboard. One more time and they said they'll just replace the laptop. But the next failure has to happen before April 20th, 2010 while it's still under warranty. I just can't wait to get it back. I miss my games, my connection to the outside world on a daily basis; minute by minute, basis.

That's it for this time. Back to my creative plan to design more "stuff". Check my other blogs to see what I've been up to and what's been keeping me busy.

www.knitandcrochetpatternchat.blogspot.com
www.artsandcraftsdotcom.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 24, 2009

October 24, 2009 Saturday

Photos will have to come later. My laptop decided to be stubborn again so it's back in the shop. Funny how you need a keyboard to even use one of those things! LOL This is the second time and it's only 6 months old! Won't tell you the brand.

Anyway, it's Saturday, October 24th. We have finally made a decision. We will be leaving this park November 26th, Thanksgiving! Woo Hoo!! I can't believe we even made a decision. I can't tell you how thrilled I am. Living in this park is pretty boring. There's no clubhouse and no place to work on a puzzle or just sit and chat with someone over a cup of coffee. I really miss that little bit of socializing.

Chuck is still working but his two month commitment is winding down. He is going to hang around till they tell him to leave! Are we used to that extra spending money? Uh ha, you bet! And it was nice to pay the property taxes without touching the saving account. So he will hang on there for as long as he can.

The plan could change, but I don't think so. We left Thanksgiving last year for our Odyssey south and what an odyssey it was! If you followed our blog last year, www.andersontravels.blogspot.com, you know how much fun we had. What wonderful memories.

So I'll make the pies again and we'll set forth to Ridgefield, Washington to our daughter's home for Thanksgiving dinner. After pie and doing dishes, we'll be on our way. Stay tuned.

I'm planning on a small budget synopsis when soon so those that wonder if living this way is really cheaper, can see that it can be.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

October 18, 2009 Sunday

I'm having a Tastefully Simply online catalog party if anyone is interested in fast, easy and exceptionally tasty foods along with wonderful recipes.

The ordering is open till November 14, 2009.

SHOP HERE
OR HERE OR HERE OR HERE OR HERE

Have fun shopping and KNOW that you will be amazed at all the wonderful tasty treats and recipes
you'll find.

Kathy

Sunday, October 4, 2009

October 4, 2009 Sunday

Life is very weird! Chuck's been working long hours; most days 12 hours. He's been gone all weekend and all last weekend. So many hours and it makes this lifestyle very interesting for both of us.

I still am keeping busy with line dancing, shopping, cleaning and just keeping this place going, cooking, knitting, reading, blogging, playing scrabble and other games, and facebooking. Is there such a word?

This park is really nice. I'm getting used to this lifestyle rather quickly. The small size of this motorhome doesn't seem to bother me and for sure, it makes cleaning a breeze. Now, to figure out how to clean the white leather couches. Well, off white, but is picking up dirt and/or dyes off clothing or something.

I've kept Frank's nails short so he doesn't scratch the leather. That started to happen, so if I promise him treats, he lets me clip away for a little while at least.

One big thing I've learned about living like this is not having an address. I do happen to have one here for this month and next but when you are really on the road and don't have an address, believe me, it feels weird.

I'm glad we tested the waters last winter before jumping into this. That's a really good idea. Even maybe it would be a good idea to rent a rig or a couple different ones and try them out before you buy. We're not sorry we bought this rig but it took a couple before this one to get the one we like.

We didn't buy into the myth that living in an RV or on the road is cheap. It sure is saving us some money and does cost less than living in OUR house. It's something you need to figure out for yourself. Everyone's expenses vary greatly. You still have a lot of the same expenses and don't forget to include insurance, yearly license fees on your rig along with the home expenses. You could sell your house but if you're just testing the waters, I wouldn't recommend doing that for awhile. It feels good to know that if you don't like this lifestyle, you have a home to go home to. We kept our house, put lots in storage and got rid of lots. We rented it out . Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, because of the economy right now, we couldn't sell.

We're still here and our plans haven't been decided on completely. Chuck will continue to work, his commitment was for two months, and then we'll see if we can head south around mid November or maybe even Thanksgiving again like last year.

More later..............