Joan on the Road...of Life

Yesterday was a busy day, especially for Jim. He completed the TV cabinet replacement, upgraded two computers and got all backups done. Whew! Last November I wrote about our "aha" when we saw a motorhome with a TV on the dashboard. Within 24 hours we had a new LCD TV. What a joy it is to watch it a eye level and have such a beautiful picture! But it took a couple of months to get all the ideas in place and the juices flowing to complete the cabinet project. It seems much more spacious without that black-eyed TV staring at us from on high. Here are pix of the project as it progressed.

The empty space had no bottom so the first task was to build that.

Then the front support for the door was attached.

A thin oak panel is put in the top and molding is glued to the bottom; we couldn't find the gold striping so chose a simple molding which works pretty well.

Two coats of clear varnish are applied and a matching door ordered from the factory complete with hardware is installed. Voila!

It was like a chinese puzzle to complete and all the work had to be done from inside the cabinet space. Once again, Jim feels like master of the universe :). Next step is to route the TV cable out of sight with a quick connect.

We considered what a buyer might think of this remodel project and then figured...life is short, let's enjoy it the way we want it.

No pictures of the computer upgrades but I have a faster hard drive, more RAM and a 500 gig LaCie hard drive to backup about 6000 music files and 8000 pictures. Everything is running faster and better. Also we have a complete "clone" backup of both computers on a hard drive in the car. We'll do this once a week. Now we just have to be fanatical about maintaining the backup schedule.

Posted by Joan at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SleepyTime
One of the joys to me of this retired RV life is being able to sleep until I wake, not having to respond to an alarm or a schedule. Used to be 6 AM I was wide awake and it took months to get past that. Now I can easily sleep in until 9 AM. Laaaazy! But sometimes that sleep-in comes after a restless night. So I've been trying to put together in my unscientific fashion what makes a good solid nights sleep.

Here's my new formula: go to bed at about the same time every night, no Hershey's chocolate minis or mixed nuts after 8 PM, drink a large cup of Celestial Seasoning's SleepyTime Extra Tea, sleep on a SelectComfort Mattress at your best number, lower the temp of your bedroom (65ish), snuggle up to someone or something (a body pillow if there's no special someone), block out all light (room darkening shades). It's all in routine and digestion :).

Back Up Your Files To Your Old Hard Drive and Smile....
Well, another lesson learned, over again ;(. Yesterday my external hard drive died. This held the backup for all our music and pictures. Backup means that it is a copy of something held someplace else. Bummer! I had been scanning old slides and because of space issues I was scanning directly to the hard drive so there was no second copy. Recovery? Several hundred dollars for a data recovery expert to get the lost slides back or several hours on my part to rescan about 400 slides. Let see? So I figured out where I have to start my rescanning and after I take a deep breath I'll get going again. A new hard drive and a new back up plan are in process. In this digital life the rule has to be.. ALWAYS, everyday, have a second copy of vital data.

Posted by Joan at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're in the middle of three days of wild Santa Ana winds. Here's Jim trying to get the door closed, fighting the wind :). Seriously, it's blowing gusts at 50-60 mph which causes a bit of rock and roll in the motorhome. At least the temp is cool so I don't think there's a fire danger.

The birdies are getting an E-ticket ride on the bird feeder. They hang on for dear life while the feeder is slanted at a 45 degree angle. A lot of the seed got blown out so one adventurous finch darted at the window to let me know his unhappiness.

For some reason this wind always makes me nervous. Rumor has it the winds make people crazy. Well, I'm not that bad but it sure is unsettling, even though the sun is shining I feel like some disaster is pending. This is when I like to keep the music playing to muffle the sound of the howling wind and the rattling awnings....or take off to the mall and get away from the crazy wind entirely! See ya!

Posted by Joan at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent yesterday afternoon with my friend, Wendy, sampling wine and eating delicious food in the Temecula Wine Country. We caught up on mutual friends from the Women's Center and of course she wanted to hear about our life. You know, it was great for me to relate to someone the hilights, even lowlights of our lifestyle. Sometimes when we settle in a spot for several weeks we get real used to the area and the stores; we fall into a routine and get sort of lazy. We forget the excitement and adventure that awaits us on the open road.

I came home with a renewed love of this life and the freedom it affords us. Then I discovered a new fulltime rver website and got lost in reading about a couple in their early forties who hit the road just a few months ago. They have developed an extensive website and are exploring a myriad of ways to make money on the road. What a courageous step! Our only regret is that we didn't start this life sooner.

We've visited 30 states in our travels, tasted wine in many vineyards, photographed hundreds of spectacular scenes, met dozens of interesting people, toured battleships, air museums,national monuments and national parks all in the comfort of our cozy little home. Lucky us!

Posted by Joan at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We spent Saturday collecting memory deposits for my family bank. Then when we are gone for several months I can reach into the bank and fill my mind with the love and comfort of family.

First event was Grandson Bryan's baseball game where he was the starting pitcher. He allowed one hit, no runs in three innings.
He christened his new "liquid metal" bat with an RBI hit on the first pitch. Great weather and a winning game....then on to burgers and dogs at Renee and Tom's.

Over the afternoon we were lucky enough to visit with everyone in the CA family except Evan's daddy, Brad. Of course, we had to spend time watching the latest antics of baby Evan who displayed his 'rolling over' skills.

It was a wonderfully relaxing day and I especially enjoyed one/one talks with several of the kids about school and careers. While Renee put away Christmas decorations, the guys talked computerese and I fed the baby and chatted with kids. Very large deposits in the family bank!

Posted by Joan at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a difference a little decorating change makes! We've always had beige throw rugs on the carpet to protect it. They drove me crazy because they would never lie flat...always bunched up in the middle. I was continually bending over to pull the rugs straight.

I went online shopping at Penney's after searching all the Bed and Bath stores we could find with no success. I ordered 4 rugs to fill the major living spaces in a color called Ocean Blue. I figured braided rugs are heavy enough to lie flat. Only problem is that they don't come in neutral beige.

Well lucky me! That forced me to choose a bold color but I needed it to coordinate with our teal blue chairs. So I took a chance on the Ocean Blue. When we picked up the rugs all I could see was the red and I was sure the color would not fit. But shazam!....the color is beautiful. Actually it's like the sunsets here at Vail Lake. Depending on the light I see blue, red or gold. AND they look great with everything else AND no more straightening! I love 'em.

Posted by Joan at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I hope that the first day of your New Year has been a healthy and happy one and that 2006 for you will be all you desire. To me the new year is the turning of a new page. I don't bring with me anything that happened last year. Whatever was...was and whatever will be is up to me. A new year is the time to post a new calendar and sketch in the things I want to happen and the places I want to go. It's all psychological but to me, helpful and meaningful.

So...I have a few things in mind as goals. I have an electronic keyboard under the bed that will get played more this year OR go in storage/be sold next year! I will make a huge dent in the 35mm slides that we have to be scanned. I need new picture fodder for the family calendar next year. I want to give more homemade gifts next Christmas so I need to make some decisions and be working on things through out the year. (This will be a major change for me.) I want to expand my weblog into a website with more options/buttons and do more writing. OK...that's my statement to myself and the world. Will I do it?....it's up to me!

Posted by Joan at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)