Monthly Archives for January 2017

Thoughts in the Dark

I woke up around 3 am this morning. Too many thoughts going on in my head interfering with my sleep, probably.  But it’s warm in here thanks to my little heater and the abundance of on-grid electricity,  so I got up, made some coffee, and read some blogs written by other people already living the life I’m soon to dive into myself.  Not a bad start to the day.
I’m not afraid today. Not yet, at least. Instead, I have that nowadays rare thing called peace of mind.  Even a tiny bit of confidence.   Used to be I had that in spades.  I miss those days. Refinding that confidence, in myself, that things will work out, that I’ll handle whatever comes up, is my primary goal for the foreseeable future. How I lost it is a long and winding path of a story, and probably not of much interest to anyone, so I’ll just say life got really tough and I couldn’t take it any more.
But it’s been several years since most of those difficult situations had any bearing, and my present status is all of my OWN making.  “I” made the decisions that got me to this reality. That realization and distinction is important. See, it means that I am steering my little ship, not someone else, and especially not the someones who cared not a bit about me or my life or my needs. Or even a someone who does care, but doesn’t understand me, so makes things much worse by their attempts to help. That wouldn’t have been such a problem except that control over my life was part of the caring package.
So. I’d say I’m at a crossroad,  except I come to them so often that they are just another intersection. Nothing momentous in this moment, only when looking back, if I do make a profound change. Won’t know until  the dust settles.

Plumbing the Depths of Inexperience

I think it’s high time to document some of the inner workings of Oliver’s Nest, starting with one of the things that took the longest to fully assemble: the plumbing.
Being a simple system, without water heater or electric pump, I thought it would go together quickly, once I decided on all the parts. Not so!

It took at least three visits to the local big box store and several reworkings  to get it assembled. The issue that caused the most problems was not having a normal drop between the sink drain and the waste water holding tank. I was determined to have as standard a system as possible, which included the p-trap to capture odors. The inclusion of the p-trap lessened the already shallow drain slope, but not enough to keep water flowing the right way. The big problem was getting the semi-flexible tube to run properly. It was at an angle that caused the end to want to pop off…once it was even coaxed/forced onto the piping to begin with. I’d read that others had the same problems with this tubing. It’s difficult to work with, but once attached is durable so worth the trouble. I finally searched out my extra hose clamps left over from rerouting the fuel lines and used a couple of those to ensure the tubing would stay put even through the rockin and rollin of the house on bumpy roads. Problem solved?
Well, yes and no. After using one gallon jugs for a couple months for fresh water, I finally stumbled upon the perfect sized and shaped five gallon jug at Fred Meters. Sturdy and cheap too, so I snapped one up with joy. Until I tried to fit it under the sink and realized with horror(!) that the plumbing I’d sweated over would have to be redone to allow the new addition to sit in the right place. Ugh!
So yeah, being me, I put it off for about a week, working up the courage to tackle that damn tubing again. Yesterday I finally confronted it, and wonder of wonders, it went together relatively smoothly. Thankfully, Amazon only sells this tubing in ten foot pieces so there was plenty left to cut the longer piece needed, and is now in its new configuration. Here is the pump I have.  This is the water jug I found, and quite a bit cheaper at Home Depot.

Proud pictures follow….

All tight and tucked away.

Everything back in place.

Fear Management

There have been so many aspects of this new life to get a grasp on in the last three or so months, that noting them has to take a back seat.  Unfortunately that means that some things I’d like to remember in the future will probably be lost, but I do what I can.  Combine a piss-poor memory with anxiety, a complete makeover in lifestyle and helpful/unhelpful medications, and you lose things along the way.  It’s ok.

As of yesterday, I have marching orders to vacate by February 20th of this year.  That puts the move out squarely in the uncertain weather category.  Around here, snow and ice aren’t unheard of through the end of March. Given, understandably I think, that I don’t want to attempt mountain passes under those circumstances, I’ll be looking for a safe place to hang out til it seems certain that roads are clear.  

Luckily, I was steered towards going to the Long Beach (ocean) area, where there are several year-round RV parks.  Paying to park is not my first choice, but options are limited and hopefully I only need a month or so there.  Honestly, staying by the ocean sounds wonderful! This rig has weathered several windstorm with barely any indication inside that anything exciting was going on outside…other than the incredible booming BONK when a pine cone hits the roof, or especially the skylight. It’s impressive how high both Leo and I can jump when we’re startled.

In any case, the ocean beaches will probably be our home soon. Leo will be learning how to walk on a leash there. Sort of throwing him into the deep end. I figure there shouldn’t be many people walking their pups this time of year, so he can get his freak out on with only me and the gulls to witness.