Time for an Update

Photo by Markus Winkler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-white-paper-in-a-vintage-typewriter-4052195/

There's been a whole lot of nuttin' going on around our household. I had surgery 2 weeks before Christmas and was limited to only walking around the house for a couple of weeks. Then I was able to walk for 20 minutes but no lifting or bending over. I swear I dropped 50 things a day and had to call CH or MS to pick them up. There was no cooking, which meant no Christmas baking or candy-making. One of my sisters was sweet enough to send a care package with baked goodies for us.

We weren't able to go anywhere during my break. I have to say, it was really weird

Having those 2 extra weeks off before Christmas Break made it extremely difficult to go back to work, especially knowing that soon I'll be retired and will get into a brand new routine. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do have some options.

CH worked on some improvements to the van to get her ready for some adventures. He had the padding done so that we can sleep in the van if we need/want to. I was looking forward to the improvements he's making. But then something incredible happened...

During Spring Break we camped at FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA. We knew there was a chance it wasn't going to be warm; the weather the 2 weeks leading up to the break were incredibly nice and warm. We (and by "we" I mean "CH") loaded up the Delica with our tent, gazebo, cots, sleeping bags, and everything else we needed. We figured if it was too cold we could always sleep in the van. Once at the campsite, we unloaded everything and set up camp. Luckily, there was electricity at the campground so we plugged in a space heater. It worked well until 7:00 a.m. the 1st morning. I was walking back to the tent from the bathroom and saw a flash of light from inside the tent. Fortunately, it was only a fuse in the heater, and nothing caught on fire. We were able to find another small heater in town that worked well for us for the next 2 nights. We actually stayed pretty warm with the heater going. CH thought ahead and put a quilted blanket over the top of the tent to keep the warm air in, and he bought some padding for the floor so we weren't walking directly on the cold ground. 

Having the blanket on top of the tent helped keep the warm air inside

Here's the incredible thing that happened: I think that trip convinced CH that if we are going to continue to camp like we want to, and if we are going to travel and camp, we need to make a change. We began our search for a campervan. To make a long story short, we narrowed it down to 2 vans: 1 was a 4-wheel drive and the other was a front-wheel drive. The front wheel had a TON of storage and a lift kit could be added to it so it would have the ground clearance CH wants. But...we wouldn't be able to camp right on the beach or off the beaten path. We would be limited to where we could camp. So we decided to go with the 4-wheel drive. 

How stylish do I look with leggings, socks, and crocs!

To find out more about our journey to find our van, read The Journey to Find Maeve Anne on our camping blog, Flyin' the Coop. The path to find her wasn't filled with roses. We can't wait for our adventures to begin. 

That's our big news. Well, aside from my retirement in just a few short weeks. I've looked through my materials, made a spreadsheet of what I want to sell and give away, and have started boxing some things up. It's unreal to think that it's almost here. But I'm ready. Without a doubt, I'm ready. 

Hopefully I can revive this blog, but if not, catch me over at Flyin' the Coop. 

Jumping Back Into the Hodgepodge

 

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. Tell us anything you want about your January. 

January is over??? It went by like a flash, for sure. I didn't work a full week in Jan. between an "inclement weather expected" day, appointments, and another round of COVID.

2. Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2023 list includes GOAT, inflection point, quiet quitting, gaslighting, moving forward, amazing, Does that make sense?, irregardless, absolutely, and it is what it is.

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? 

I use 'amazing', 'absolutely', and 'Does that make sense' on a regular basis, but I don't hear them overused. I've never heard of a few of those words/phrases but I  think GOAT and gaslighting should definitely go away.

3. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. What's something that feels repeated in your life right now? 

CH's appointments every other week, asking how his numbers are, and seeing him have a few days of feeling bad.

4. What's a food you love that's named after a place?

Right now it's Dubliner Cheese. It's super good on toasted french bread.

5. What's the best season of the year to visit your city or your part of the country? Tell us why. 

I'd say fall, especially when the colors are at their peak.

Picture in the park next to our house this fall.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Retirement is beginning to be a reality. I received my retirement forms to fill out for the school system a few weeks ago. They, along with the State forms have to be turned in by Spring Break, which is mid-March. I've started looking through my school materials and throwing away some things, plus marking some things as giveaways to other people. It's getting real!

Back in the Swing Friday Fotos

 

My last first week of school is in the books. 8 more until my last Fall Break. It's been an exhausting week and I haven't even started seeing my students yet!

I made scones from a King Arthur Mix and they were delicious!

Looks like I wasn't the only one tuckered out by the end of the week!

My stuff is back in the room but no flooring. I'm hearing over "break" but I don't think what break was specified. I'm glad they polished the floor, but the concrete dust was everywhere. 

After over 2 weeks the Mystery Machine is back! CH took her to a place for routine maintenance on the brake line but the people messed it up so he had to have it towed to another place to have it fixed. It was weird not seeing her in the driveway. I missed her!

Gurl Dogg was just too tired to chew on the chewy one morning but she kept it close so Laika wouldn't snatch it from her!

On Election Day I drove over to this restaurant in the mountain town to grab a sandwich.

It's right on the river so you can sit outside and enjoy the sound and the view. 

How cool is this? When you walk in you walk through the chapel to get to the bar area to order food.

As I said...1 week down, and 8 more to go until Fall Break. I'm really making an effort to be in the moment and not take pictures. With school back in session, there's not just a whole lot else going on!