The Sketching of Ren

I Must Confess

I Must Confess

…that most of the things that make me want to give up are my own fault. I purchased this Grand Design “Imagine” travel trailer in mid-March. In May I forgot to tip one end of the awning and a heavy downpour of rain while I was at the vet with my cat, broke my awning. I returned home to find it hanging down and I was terrified. Was this already the end of my RV life? I have no photo of the damage, because I was so mad at myself that I didn’t think of taking a picture. The good news is that I was with several friends and one of them was able to replace the motor, unbend some bends, and all was well.

Just last weekend I returned from a trip to Ohio. I’m currently staying in a campground in Pennsylvania because I have a summer job at the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park here. It was a long drive and, to my relief, I arrived 20 minutes before dark. My campsite here is very difficult to get into. The roadway in front of my site is only wide enough for one car and the RV across from me is also here for the summer and has four vehicles. I attempted to back into the site myself. No luck there. I walked around and spotted someone outside and asked for assistance spotting. Even with help, I still couldn’t get into my site. No room to swing due to the vehicles opposite me. The owner of the vehicles arrived and was able to move the biggest one. Also a man who is a professional truck driver arrived and he volunteered to back in my RV. By this time it was fully dark and I was exhausted after ten hours on the road. I’d have broken the drive into two days, but I’d told the other RVers I know here that I’d be back around eight o’clock Saturday. I knew I’d need help with “spotting” as I backed in.

The kind truck driver backed me in successfully and I thanked him, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

BUT THEN!

But then I, myself, got in my own way. In unhooking from the truck, I forgot to take off the stabilizer bars. Thinking I was fully unhitched, I started to pull away. Something wasn’t right. Perhaps the ball on the truck wasn’t clearing the receiver on the RV. So I backed up a little. More “something isn’t right” premonitions crawled up my spine. Getting out of the truck and going back to look, I was horrified. The stabilizers! Yes! I’d pulled the whole RV forward and then pushed it back with the stabilizers still connected. The RV hitch was leaning and the RV tires were completely off the blocks I’d had under them. I was too scared to figure out what else I’d messed up. More “this is the end and I give up” thoughts raced through my mind. Pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what to do, the woman in the RV next door saw me and sent two people to help. They were kind and quickly had things made right. By the time I went into my RV, everything was done and I had made new friends. We laughed and agreed that, for the next couple of years, they were going to sit around campfires recanting the tale of the woman who forgot to remove her stabilizer bars. It would probably be titled something like “See what happens when…” Sunday evening I sat around a campfire with several new friends, thinking to myself “this is what makes it all worthwhile”.

And so it goes. Things happen and you want to give up. Then whole bunches of somethings happen and you are happier and more content than ever in your life. Am I talking just about RV life? What do you think?

Is RV Life Worth It?

Is RV Life Worth It?

In the years that I have full time RV’d, I’ve been following many who do the same. I learn from their “lessons learned” and “tips” videos and I rejoice in reading about their wonderful adventures. However, I’ve never seen one where they talk about what I’m about to talk about.

Things happen. Things break. Sometimes its a small thing. A piece of trim might come lose due to a bump in the highway. The exterior trim on the outside of my slide-out started to come off. I used long command strips to hold it on until I could get it to a service location. One day as I was walking my dog around the front of the RV and something fell to the pavement with a crash. The latch mechanism on the hood to the engine compartment had come off. At first I thought it was part of the engine and I panicked. What to do! What to do!

I’ve had people tell me that they could never RV at all, much less full time, because of things breaking. I ask you. What things go perfectly all the time? Can you live in a house and never have something break? Little things and big things. How about your car? Life is just like that. Things happen. Are you of the mind that you’d rather never have a pet, because it might get sick? Might die someday? So you deny yourself the unbelievably huge joy and companionship of a pet?

Full time RVing has been the greatest part of my life. I’ve lived a life of blessings, miracles, adventures, and have experienced a great deal of kindness from others. Not just while RVing, but sprinkled all through my life. However, RVing had a few extra bonuses. Vistas along the drive that absolutely took my breath away.

Crater Lake, Oregon

Unexpected new friends in places I’d never have looked twice at previously. Moments of quiet. Not only quiet from the world, but from the anxiety and worry within me. My friend Tracy would probably call them front porch moments. Many days brought me time to relax and do whatever I wanted. Time seemed to be as it was in my childhood when days were endless.

Imagine seeing a vista like Crater Lake and turning to your traveling companion to say, “Would you look at that? WOW!” I travel alone, but am able to share those amazing experiences with people like yourself.

I wouldn’t trade my experiences for any amount of money. I enjoyed it so much, I’m back at it again. Living in a travel trailer. Is it worth it? Absolutely! How else would I have gotten to experience the world’s largest box of chocolates?

Hat Nights

Hat Nights

Oh, maybe a dozen years ago…dear me! It was more like fifteen. I started something called “hat nights”. Dinner guests were required to bring a hat to dinner or pick one of the many I’d collected. A person might end up wearing ski goggles, a monkey hat, ski mask, straw hat, cowboy hat…

Somehow, sitting around a table where everyone is wearing silly hats makes it easy to relax and enjoy the evening meal. Try it!

June 6th, 2022 – Comforts of RV Life

June 6th, 2022 – Comforts of RV Life

The last house I owned was a log home; large with a wonderful studio, where I spent a good portion of my day. In that room, I edited film, did photography, read, painted, taught art, hosted Bible Study groups, framed finished art projects, watched movies, and spent a lot of time entertaining friends and family. The cabin was also a bed and breakfast. Many of the guests gravitated to my studio, where I often invited them join me at the long table and handed them some paper and colored pencils or art pens. “Lets do art”, I’d say. The room was comfortable and occupants immediately felt at ease. While learning some little art task, they would tell me about their dreams in life. I loved being there. I loved the people who visited. I was comforted by the place.

Now I’m a grey nomad. I didn’t decide to do that on a whim, although, once the decision was made, it was put into action quickly. A lot of thought, over many months, went into my decision. Thought and research. I talked about all that in previous posts.

When you get a good idea, it just sort of refuses to leave. Especially if it’s a great idea.

Here I am now, two and a half months into my adventure; my idea turned into a little home for myself.

Right now I, my little home, and Sophia are visiting friends in Ohio. This is our first trek and I admit I was a wee bit anxious at first. Okay. Maybe for the entire drive. Would I be able to find a gas station I’d fit into with my rig? How long would it take? Did I miss a turn, because it felt like nothing was familiar? Oh, look. I recognize that. No missed turn. Would I be able to back into the driveway at my destination, in the dark? But here, at last, we are.

Sophia

I’ll spend a week here, heading back to Pennsylvania Saturday. From then until early November, life will become a comfortable routine of campground life. I have a summer job in the office at the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Campground in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Yogi is a large, busy place with lots of amenities and guests. At one time or another every single guest passes through the office. The RV is parked at another campground nearby. Both locations are nestled in the woods, surrounded by Amish farms and roadways are shared with horse drawn carriages.

The comforts of RV life? I’m comforted by this small environment. My art/computer desk faces a large window that looks out on summer scenes serenaded by a plethora of birds. My art table itself is a comfort to me. It’s made from a table I bought from a second hand shop. The legs were discarded when it was put in here, but it fits perfectly.

Lately I feel ready to change the way I do art. In this limited space its more practical to work on small projects, using perhaps colored pencils, pastels, and watercolor. What I’ll do with the little projects, I have no idea. Art has been my voice, a way of communicating my heart to the world around me. The message has changed and it isn’t clear what new messages I’d want to paint. The bigger question – do I have anything to say that anyone would want to hear?

In the meantime, here I am. Cooking meals for myself in my little corner kitchen.

Spending time in my corner art studio

and gazing out the window at whatever scene is there at the moment

Comfort is a process; a niche to find and settle into. The sentimental, comforting things I keep must be settled on, keeping in mind the weight they add vs the joy they bring.

In the kitchen my mom’s recipe box sits next to the a favorite basket, on the counter by the window.

My rolling cart of favorite things
My library
My photo gallery

So there you have it. No matter where you live, you can be comforted by the little things in life.

April 24th, 2022 – noon on Sunday

April 24th, 2022 – noon on Sunday

Saturday at Yogi Bear Campground – full of life, laughter, campfires, and golf carts

People are packing their cars to go home, ending a weekend at the Yogi Bear Campground. RVs are being left here, because its the spring special where you bring your RV here, leave it for a month, and come camp weekends. You don’t have to drag your RV home and bring it back each weekend. On the other hand, you can’t stay in it any time except the weekend. Other campgrounds do the same thing at the beginning and, sometimes, the end of the summer season. I guess I get it. My campsite at Ben Franklin, in York, is about $500 a month while this place is $600 for the month and you’re restricted to occupying your RV only during weekends. However, there’s definitely more to do here. Lots more. I’ve had a great time here this weekend and can’t wait to get back here.

I will be working here, in the office, soon. They’re going to let me know when I can do the training. Next summer this campground will be part of the Workamper program, which would give me a campsite in exchange for my working. I’d love that. For this year, I have my current campsite until May 26th. In the meantime I’ll check out a couple other campgrounds close by for a month by month site.

Apprehensions? I was going to spend the weekdays at my apartment, getting it emptied out and cleaned by May 31st. Now I’ll seldom be there. I can make it work, but it’ll be a little different than I expected. It means I won’t get to go to Washington this summer at all and I’ll miss getting to see Robert (my son) and his son Robert. I may not have another chance as they’ll probably going back to Japan soon. I feel sad about not getting to see them. I can’t justify driving to Washington with so many unknowns. It would cost me about $600 for gas going there and its not on the way to any other place I’m going this year. So then it would cost another $600 to go from there to the next place. I’m paying $5.25 a gallon in Pennsylvania.

This year is too soon to be able to do all I hoped. I bought my RV in mid-March. A lot more people are camping these days and campgrounds are filling up faster. It means doing a bit more planning and making reservations farther ahead. I didn’t have time to do that this year. Some of my plans have worked out, but they’re a bit further in the future. In the meantime, I like the idea of working here in the office for the summer season. It’ll give me a chance to save a bit of money. It’ll also give me time to re-adjust more to RV life and to prepare for possible next steps. I may just have to adjust my plans for summers. This is a great campground and a good place to work each summer. It would just mean going to Washington at a different time.

Yogi Bear Campground in the Spring
April 22nd, 2022 (Thursday)

April 22nd, 2022 (Thursday)

Well.

Just like that I changed everything. Small things in my life opened my eyes.

For one thing, I love playing Minecraft with my grandson. I noticed that I enjoy building cool places to call home, but once its built, I’m restless again The realization hit me that its the exploring and searching for the next place that I love about the game.

I also have to admit that I can’t keep from craning my neck to see passing RVs or RV dealerships. I loved my little apartment, but found I was accumulating too many things. Perhaps it was to replace lost treasures. Maybe it was to make me love it here or love living in a stationary place. Whatever the reason, I could see that buying things didn’t accomplish any of that and it didn’t make me happy. Not really.

Previously, my life in an RV was simple. No furniture. No collections of things. No dusting under and around trinkets. There seemed to be more hours in the day and going around corners or over hills brought me to scenes that took my breath away. I’ve missed having my breath taken away.

Finally I realized that I’m lonely for other RVers. Nomads. Road Warriors. My own kind.

Discovering all that about myself turned on a light over my head. Ding. I want to go back to nomad life rather than stay in one place, accumulating material possessions that begin to own me rather than be owned.

So that’s exactly what is happening. It wasn’t a decision made lightly or quickly. I know me and what makes me happy. There are many things I can’t control and aren’t in my power to make happen, but this one I could. After doing a lot of research on RVs that would be right for me, it was a matter of finding an available one. Beckley’s RV in Thurmont, Maryland had it. I drove there on a Saturday. The salesman took me to the section featuring the Grand Design travel trailers. The one I thought I wanted was sold, but he let me look at it. If it was the one I wanted for sure, it could be ordered and I would just have to be patient.

After looking at the ideal one and at several other Grand Design Imagine floorplans, I actually eliminated the one I thought I wanted. It had a desk, which was a must-have. It also had an island, which I didn’t need. Also it was bigger than I needed. The 2600RB floorplan was 26 feet in length (living space), with a very large bathroom, and lots of storage for my art supplies. I felt like Goldilocks. This one was just right. Turning to the salesman, I said, “I want it” and I got it. Within about two weeks of making up my mind to go back to RV life, I had a travel trailer and a truck to pull it. I named the RV “Patty” and the truck “Patty Puller”. I brought the RV home on St. Patrick’s day.Some of the details have worked out splendidly.

Picking the RV first made it better for knowing what truck I needed. If I’d have bought the truck I almost bought, I’d have had to buy a much smaller, lighter RV. I know that would not have been good. I had a campground site reserved near where my apartment and work are. That was smart. When the date for paper signing was set, I asked to have several things added to the RV. Having that done before signing gave me a good discount and ensured a safer and more comfortable experience with life as a nomad.

I ordered three Fantastik fans to be installed where there were originally default fans. Good choice. I had a surge protector built into the RV so I would have peace of mind. Surge Protectors are quite expensive and easy pray for theft when they’re outside at the pedestal. It also protects my RV from damage due to power surges. The rig was pre-wired for a back-up camera, so I had one installed. A monitor comes with it and I can stick that on the windshield and easily check for obstacles or traffic behind my RV. I ordered several other items, but those were the biggest changes.

Sophia, the cat, and I moved into the RV right away. I would have two months left on the lease of my apartment, but several things needed to be done. Sophia needed to decide if she could live in a travel trailer. I needed to know if she would run away when the door opened. She often ran out the door of the apartment, but the hallway was not really the escape she hoped for. In the RV, if she ran out the door, she’d be free and I’d be Sophia-less.

Another thing I wanted to accomplish was moving things into the RV slowly and as I discovered a need for them. Some things I brought here turned out to be impractical, so they went back to the apartment.

There was one thing I was anxious about. The dinette. The cushions were lovely, but when I sat on one, they proved to be little cushioning at all. Perhaps instead of being called cushions, they should be called cushion-less or uncushions. The table was too high. It felt as though I were a little child, with my food mere inches from my mouth. I could find no redeeming quality about the dinette even from the start. Well, maybe one. It was color coordinated nicely with the rest of the RV.

BEFORE
AFTER

I had my friend Steve drill three holes in the back. So far I haven’t been able to decide whether to bring all three of my electronics. I have a desktop computer, which I love. The other two items are printers. One prints fabulous everything. The photos look amazing. The other printer is for printing art work and it prints up to 13 x 19 on almost any paper surface you could want.. However, that would be the ultimate and make my life great, but it adds weight. Not just to the RV itself, but to the slide-out which has a weight limit of 600 pounds and that includes me. There is storage space behind both upright cabinets. The purpose of that is to store my suitcase solar panels and the small solar generator. That means even more weight and it’ll be weight not just on the slide-out, but on the forward half of the slide-out.

Its a common concern with full time RVers. We enter into this life because its a simpler life. I’m all in for that. Its more of a minimalist life and it brings life’s focus to more important things. Do I want to be known for “she lived simply and wisely” or “she wanted what she wanted, no matter the weight”? Arg! Its so hard. Choosing to give up things that have been important in my life. Never a favorite thing to do.

I suppose that’s enough for now. By the way, it’s my birthday. I’m sixty-seven today. I’m shaking my head even as I say it.

February 26th, 2022 – Saturday afternoon

February 26th, 2022 – Saturday afternoon

Yes, I made this 🙂

When I moved to York, Pennsylvania, I did it on a whim. Arriving with what fit in a 4×6 U-Haul trailer, over the past year and a half I’ve moved to a second apartment, acquired possessions, and made a life for myself. Most of what I own came from a second hand shop on Carlisle. A few things were in boxes and required serious assembling. Each time I purchased something I had to ask myself if the accumulation of yet another possession would make it necessary for me to remain in one place. Having little, as before, made it easy to travel and move about. I loved that part of my life and miss it more than I have words to describe.

I often have little arguments with myself concerning my tomorrows and my nexts. I’ll probably have more tomorrows, but what will they look like? Unplanned bills keep cropping up. Dental work. Cataract surgery. Can I be more thrifty? Continue working at minimum wage jobs? What do I WANT to do when my current lease runs out? Stay? Have I settled in too much, making a move more difficult? I convince myself I’d probably better stay put. Then a couple days later I’m drooling at the sight of a travel trailer or the thought of getting to visit friends and family again, taking my cat and my own bed. My turtle shell. Its nice getting to visit people. I love it. Yet I love having my own little turtle shell to rest and recharge in. So my little arguments never get resolved, because both sides of it are good.

My life is like my refrigerator

My fridge contains Greek yogurt, organic milk, homemade apple butter, organic eggs, a casserole, Mission BBQ leftovers (salmon and half a chicken), a variety of teas, spinach, brussels sprouts (did you know its spelled like that – I didn’t), and Pepsi. I suppose it represents my desire to eat healthy, sensibly, to succeed quite often, yet fail all in the same day. So my life goes. Trying to do the right things. Exercise. Lose weight. Get plenty of sleep. Earn a little money to save a bit or spend on surprise bills.

I have two rooms. I’m kind of sandwiched between apartments above, below, and on two sides. I like that. The windows are very drafty, so the more walls that don’t face the outside the better. My floor looks like a big patchwork quilt. The lease states that tenants must cover the majority of the floor and it helps insulate.

The cat’s room

My half of the room (yeah, right)

The other end of the room is my computer room and art room, kind of. I separate the two spaces with a tri-fold partition. In just the short time I’ve been here, I’ve rearranged things several times. Most of the time its because of the cat (Sophia). She demonstrates how clever she is. Curtains have been pulled down half a dozen times. Anything on any flat surface (no matter how high) is fair game. In her eyes all things are toys or places to explore. I’m teaching her that the art table is my domain. I know she gets it. She just choses not to remember. I invited her to nap on the top shelf of my art cart and she likes that.

Sophia aspires to be an artist, too. While studying pens and colored pencils at this time, she hasn’t decided how she’ll fit paper clips into her projects. Perhaps after a nap, it’ll come to her.

The other room (you can see the closed door) is the bedroom. Its very small and gets very cold, so I keep the door closed on winter evenings.

The kitchen is in the main room and its the most beautiful kitchen I’ve ever had, even though its quite small. The cupboards don’t go all the way to the ceiling, so I put my prints up there and light them up with strings of white lights. The view warms my heart and cheers me. I don’t have room to store the prints, so displaying them up above works very well. No one will ever see them anyways. I have no way to sell them and no one comes to my apartment. So it works good to have them where they are. I enjoy them.

What would Mom think?

What would Mom think?

I’m wondering what my mom would think about how my life has gone these past six years since she passed away. Sometimes I wish I could sit and talk to her about it all or call her on the phone. If I could talk to her, I’d probably cry and I don’t think she ever saw me cry as an adult. Well, maybe the time she accidentally brought the car hatch down on my head and made me see stars. I think tears might have sprung to my eyes that time.

She’d be happy to hear that, after 46 years of marriage, my husband and I are divorced. She would be surprised to hear that he’s the one who filed for the divorce.

“Did you have an affair?” she’d ask.

“No, Mom.”

“Oh”

She’d be excited (and a bit jealous) to know that I spent three months in Hawaii this year. That was where she wanted to go more than anywhere else. I don’t know if seeing my photos would make her feel bad or make her feel as if she’d actually been there.

She wouldn’t be jealous of my trip to Japan. I don’t think she was interested in going that far away. She definitely wouldn’t want to go if she heard that I spent 25 hours on planes and 27 hours in airports trying to get there. She hated to fly. But she would have flown to Hawaii…once.

She might be interested in the story about living in an RV for three years.

“Three years! Why so long?” she’d ask.

I’d have to say “that’s a story for another time”.

I’ve always been a dog person

I’ve always been a dog person

Not that I, personally am half human, half dog. I love dogs and have had one in my life as far back as I can remember. So it surprises me that I have a cat now. Part of me is resigned to the fact that my life will be alone. I think I’m a great person. My life has been filled with adventures of all types. Yes, many of the things I’ve done have scared me, but I did them anyways. About three years ago I went to Japan and went Scuba diving and zip lining. The zip line was a confidence course with nine parts. I don’t think I even made it through half. The one that did me in was a segment where I had to keep my feet on a cable and hold on to a higher one with my hands. It was an uphill trek and took a tremendous amount of arm strength. Before that I’d been very proud of my arm strength. In college I was the arm wrestling champion in my ROTC class. In later years I did so much photography and filming that my shots were extremely steady. I helped build two log homes in recent years. So when I got to that part of the zip line trek, I was so discouraged. Age seemed to be catching up with me after all. I did complete that trek uphill, but when I saw that the next segment required you to climb a pole to reach the line, I went and found a place to sit down. Enough.

Scuba diving. I did go. That first and only time was right in the Pacific ocean and the bottom was beautiful with colorful coral and many species of tropical fish. When we got out far enough that we could no longer touch the bottom, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t for me. Tremendous fear washed over. I doubled back to shore. Never again.

My life has been an adventurous one. However, I’m an introvert. Enough so that it takes time to get to know me and I don’t think many people are willing to give it that long. Just making friends has not come easy. Once people get to know me though, we are life-long friends.

My life consists of a small black Jeep Wrangler, a two room apartment in the city, a few books, a lot of art supplies, leather portfolios filled with artwork, a bin full of stories I’ve written, a couple bins of photographs, a few pieces of very comfy furniture, and a cat. I’m scanning the photographs and one day those bins will be gone.

Since Sophia was with her siblings her entire six months of life, I was warned that for a couple weeks she would miss them. She did indeed cry for a while on the drive home. Once in the apartment, I was prepared to open the door of the cat carrier and leave her be until she was ready to come out on her own. I opened the door and she slipped right on out. She walked a bit hunkered down, like she was on a dangerous mission. Once she had checked out every inch of the apartment, she searched me out to be petted and talked to. I felt as though I’d been given the stamp of approval. I took the photo above at that time. I think she looked a bit weepy.

Night time was probably hard for both of us. I went to bed and during the night when I stretched my legs out, I bumped her with my feet. She leaped away. The next time I awoke she was laying at the head of the bed, where a second pillow would be. That seemed to work well for her.

Today Sophia figured out favorite places to spend her time. She likes the window seat, but only for a little while at a time. A young couple was down below, trying to befriend one of the three cats that hangs around down there. My Sophia plays quite a bit. She has a flat round disc that has a circular track for a ball that goes all the way around. She bats at it and it goes shooting around the track. When she’s tired or bored she just plops down somewhere and takes a nap. Usually she does this on the floor near my feet. A couple times she’s gone to the door and cried a bit, then returned to find something else to do.

So here I am, a cat owner. Our first whole day together was good. I took lots of opportunities to talk to her, which brought her to me for petting. She’s very affectionate, but enjoys her alone time as well. Maybe she’s an introvert, too.

This is where she spent one of her naps. She laid on my art table, underneath two lights, as though she were sunbathing. Perhaps she’s going to be okay here with me.

Here Comes Sophia the Cat

Here Comes Sophia the Cat

Sophia is one of five kittens in a litter being lovingly fostered by friends of mine. I heard about these kittens three months ago. I moved to a new apartment earlier this month and found out that the tenants can have a cat. Last Saturday I got to see the meet the kittens. Sophia melted my heart and yesterday I signed the adoption papers for her. Today I will drive the hour to where she is and bring her home. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. My new apartment is very small. It has something she might like though. The windows have huge sills. If they were just a bit bigger, I could climb up and have a nap there myself.

This morning I’ll go to the store and buy a few necessities for Rose. For now its nice to spend a little time by myself. I want to remember how it felt, being alone and how welcoming it will be to have her in my life. She’ll be my companion for the rest of her life and since I’m sixty-six, maybe the rest of mine. Today is day one.