Getting Closer to Our Launch

Although it may still be a couple of months until the official launch of our move, we feel like we're actually going to make it happen! We had another yard sale today, and we'll do it again Saturday. Today went very well! We feel that the stuff is getting sufficiently diminished, and we are starting to think of taking the remaining things to the Salvation Army. We'll have another yard sale or two first. I rearranged the stuff on the tables today to focus on Christmas decorations, games, and Winter items. It was sweatshirt weather and nippy enough to put people in the mood to think about preparing for Winter.

Roy has been very busy with the camper, house, and yard. He has revamped the bedroom of the camper to accomodate a king sized mattress. Wow! That's nice. The kitties are out of the camper, and up for adoption at the shelter. I'll start officially moving us into the camper this week. We'll finalize moving everyone and the things we'll be taking with us out of the house. We'll just use the house for shower facilities. Cooking and sleeping will be in the camper. Moving into the camper is a major step forward! We'll finish up the interior primping of the house, and then be ready to get the realtor to move our listing and showings to full speed ahead!
We're reading another travel book, but more on that later!

Getting Smarter

We've completed another excellent book called "Survival of the Snowbirds". It is written by Kay Peterson. It came highly recommended in the previous book. It is a source for everything you could possibly want to know about boondocking. Boondocking is the term used to refer to camping for free. The one drawback to this book is that it was published in 1982 before cell phones, the internet, improvements in RVs, and businesses making dump stations readily available. It definitely showed how much easier RVing is today. We chose to read this original version of the book, as revised editions of things aren't always better. After noting the integrity of the author and the amount of information packed into this 221 page book, I feel I can recommend their 1997 revision. It is called "The New Revised Survival of the Snowbirds". Roy and I were joking today that when we start to read our next RV book called "Complete Guide to Full-Time RVing" that we'll be saying "HoHum, We know that. We know that. We already know that!" We'll let you know. I guess to sum it up we're feeling pretty smart, but maybe another book or two wouldn't hurt.

Kitten Room Officially Closed

Many of you know that for the past four years I've fostered kittens for the Chippewa County Animal Shelter. To be exact I have about 80 or more kitties a year come through my kitten room. Kitty season starts in March and goes strong until around Christmas! This week I sadly had to close my playroom down. House showings are picking up speed and it's time to do a room freshening. I'll miss those little furballs. On a happier note, there are lots of shelter volunteer opportunities across the country. Marilyn

Okay, so I have four of my babies in the camper!!! Did you really think I could stop before we hit the road!!! Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!!!!!

Charles

Charles is the third of our furry traveling companions. He was about 6 months old, and part of a feral colony being trapped for spaying and neutering. There seemed to be a special connection between us during his stay at the shelter. He seemed comfortable enough with me to look deep into my eyes and verbalize his woes. I decided like I had with Sugar to take him home, and see what I could do to socialize him. He has made many gains, but seems stuck between being too wild to adopt out, and too domesticated for my soul to accept putting him out as a barn cat in this cold northern climate. He's made it clear he's had enough of the outdoor life. Whenever the door opens he runs the other way!!! Charles and Prin struck up a special friendship, and that cinched the deal. It seems crazy even to us to take him traveling, but I can't imagine life without him. He's such a character and an integral part of our family. With Charles and Sugar we realize that they have enough wild in them that they may choose to run away, but also that they seem drawn to stay with us (or Prin). Recently Charles has made another major breakthrough. He is jumping on to our laps, following us around meowing for petting, and practicing his best begging skills. It seems as though he is making up for the petting lost during his time outdoors as a wild cat.

Sugar

This is our sweet girl, Sugar. We weren't planning on getting another dog, but Sugar made her way into our life through her adoption of Prin. I volunteer a lot at the Chippewa County Animal Shelter in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Prin came from there as a young pup. As Prin got older I was taking her to the shelter with me. Sugar came to the shelter as one of a litter of wild 4 month old pups trapped by the animal control officers. The pups were kept at the shelter 4 months in attempts to socialize them. Sugar's two brothers were able to achieve a level of trust in humans to where they were described as shy. They were eventually adopted. Sugar as a reluctant pack leader with stronger wild instincts couldn't seem to get beyond a fearful tolerance of being in close proximity to people. She was adopted twice, however, and both times quickly returned to the shelter. During this time Prin (who is very domininant) and Sugar (who is very skittish) had been playing together at the shelter. Prin's dominance bolstered Sugar's confidence in the world of people, and Sugar's wild sense of pack orderliness seemed to regulate Prin into a calmer state. I decided to bring Sugar home to see how she behaved in a home, and gain some insights as to why she was being returned to the shelter. I quickly learned that she was like living with a coyote! She paced nervously from room to room almost constantly. Everything was new to her and scary. She tried to cram herself into the smallest spaces to hide. Approaching her was an exercise in caution. Despite this, there was something wild and beautiful about her interaction with Prin, and she captivated our fascination as in watching any wild creature. It's taken us awhile to earn her trust, but we've been adopted! We look forward to our life with her, and her unique perspective during our travels.

Adventure In Print

We're reading up on our great adventure into the world of RVing. An excellent book called RVers "How Do They Live Like That?" was recommended to us. After completing it, I would say it is a must-read for anyone contemplating the lifestyle! I'd also recommend it to those who want to understand why anyone would live like that. Beyond the RV information, the book talks a lot about dealing with the challenges of aging. Yea, Roy and I are in our 50's and what I've heard called the "youth of old age". My brother (age 60) has come to the conclusion that if he's blessed he has about as many good years left as he has fingers and toes! That's a good way of looking at life at this age. So, a big adventure it is!!! We've ordered a few more books. We'll report on them as we get them read.