North vs South - #131

I wasn’t sure how I felt about coming home this spring. Over the past several years, the South has come to feel more comfortable, more like home. I love our simple life, tiny living, access to fun activities, the weather and the natural beauty all around. But it was time to go north…family, friends, doctor appointments, and other commitments beckoned our return.  

And then I walked through the door of our apartment and a big smile came across my face. Wow - I love this place! 

Everything I love is here; my people, memories, the space itself and special possessions. I had forgotten how wonderful this place makes me feel! As much as I enjoy our travel trailer, our apartment is great! I missed my stove and oven, my dishwasher and space to cook! I love my giant photo canvases of wonderful places we have visited, my retro kitchen set, and our adjustable bed! Deena pops down with a big hug for me every afternoon when she returns from her daily activities and I’ve been available to hangout with the kids while Brooke and Rakib pursue their evening activities and meetings. We enjoyed family dinner together as well. I have started to reach out to friends to get together and am looking forward to restarting my regular activities at the senior center and library- plus taking part in new. 

Charlie has been so busy working on his shed, radios and antennas; he has a particular problem with one antenna he’s been trying to resolve. I have hardly seen him since we returned home and I have to say it - it’s been wonderful! After 6+ months of togetherness, it’s good to have some alone time!

A lot of things in our lives are showing signs of age. I have been dealing with leg/foot pain on my left side. I’m trying to do what I can to help myself - ice, heat, stretching and walking. It does feel like it’s improving but it does curtail some of my activities. Charlie’s back has been bothering him; he probably did too much physical work between putting the cover on the trailer, moving things in and out of the truck and then spending 6 days driving in the truck where we didn’t move around a lot. My car, which is 11 years old now - required a new transmission just before we returned home, and though our truck gave us a wonderful, reliable ride home- now needs attention to the power steering. At 16 years- issues are expected. Minnie at almost 17 is holding steady and seems to be doing well! 

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In the week we’ve been home I’ve been reacquainting myself with our northern life. Firstly, I have been cooking every day and really enjoying it! I’m making some really nice meals but the key to my renewed interest is definitely my dishwasher. It’s the cleaning up I hate and being able to put my used pans and utensils in that wonderful appliance out of sight is truly wonderful! After 6 months of hand washing in a tiny sink… well you get my drift. 

The weather has been decent during the day - 50’s mostly and certainly warm enough to be outside, especially with some sun. I started working on our yard - raking to clean, edging all the beds, weeding, spreading the mulch, sweeping, cleaning out all the potted plant containers. A little everyday and I’ve really gotten a lot done. I ordered new cushions for the outdoor furniture; Brooke and I have been discussing flowers and adding some new features to the garden beds. A lot to do! This year will be interesting having the new pool - installed late last summer; Charlie and I never actually got a chance to use it then.

I’ve been at the senior center a lot this week. I played Rummikub on Monday. Tuesday, Charlie and I played Bingo and I actually won a game! Wednesday I participated in a chair yoga class, played Scrabble afterwards and then drove over to the “Y” for the Fair Food veggie bag.  A full day!  And other upcoming plans are going back to the gym, a volunteers’ luncheon Friday.  We’ve registered for wine bottle painting and a painting class at the library and then my annual Mother’s Day Tea. There is no doubt we can keep ourselves busy if we want to! 

 

Well - off to Planet Fitness, breakfast out and then a small food shopping! Yeah, it’s nice to be home!

Canadian Geese - #130

It’s that time of year again when our feathered friends migrate home, flying north for the summer months. This is always a sure sign the seasons have shifted. Lately, we have noticed flocks of Canadian Geese stopping over in our lake for a brief respite before continuing on their journey. 

We too are like the Canadian Geese, waiting for the weather up north to warm up for our return home. I have been watching the weather and we are getting ready to leave on 4/16. 

I started slowly going through drawers, cabinets - getting rid of items I no longer needed or used.  

Yesterday, we packed up Charlie’s radio equipment in the truck storage box. That made room in our under camper storage to pack away chairs and Minnie’s playpen ( she’s just using her stroller outside). Today, I plan to sort through clothes and make room in our shower-closet for storage containers. 

I am trying to use up whatever food we have and will buy only what we need for a day. I will have to defrost both refrigerators (inside and out). 

Although it’s seemingly a lot of work, there is a certain rhythm going through this process. 

As the days move forward, we complete more of our chores and some minor repairs. 

Last week I took advantage of a heavy rainstorm during the night that continued as intermittent showers throughout the morning (though much less severe). Since it was warm out, I decided to wash our camper using the rain as my water source. Worked out well!

                                            

Being organized allowed us to enjoy our last few days at the campground, going to the casino, lunching with our camping neighbors. On our final night at the campground we moved into the glamping tent. Everything was done and covering the trailer was our final task on the day we left. It was a warm, sunny morning and no wind which made the chore a little easier - though in the future, I think we will have to get help to do this. It’s not easy to admit that aging does work against your abilities. 

                                            

And by 10:30 am on Thursday, 4/16 - we were on the road again, headed home to Massachusetts. Our first stop was a short leg - only about 160 miles to Meridian, MS. We just needed to put some distance between us and the Gulf but also knew we would be tired after the final chores that morning. We stayed at our favorite hotel chain; had dinner delivered and relaxed. Home ETA is Tuesday, 4/21.

Traveling several hundred miles everyday and staying overnight in a different location is like being in a time warp. You kinda lose track of what day it is. The mission is just to move further across the country. Charlie and I both shared the driving; it’s a relatively easy drive - just long. Minnie really takes it in stride. She sleeps the whole way, occasionally popping up to look out the window making sure we are going in the right direction. 

And voila! We are home! 

March-ing On -#129

It is Friday, March 6th - a warm, cloudy morning. The sun has unsuccessfully been trying to poke through a solid white sky.  A lone duck is skimming the surface of the lake and a slight breeze ruffles branches of the pines edging the water. It has started to mist; I’m sitting under our wonderful new awning. It’s quiet in the park.  I’m drinking my coffee. 

Just chatted with a couple of camper friends as they passed by. 

We have been down in Bay St. Louis for over 5 months now. At this time, we are scheduled to leave 4/15 but that is dependent on how weather conditions are at home. 

We had a wonderful visit with the kids a couple of weeks ago! They loved the park and really enjoyed staying in the glamping tent right on the property. We bought kites for the kids ( and ourselves) as it gets pretty windy here and is the perfect venue for kite flying! They had a ball! They also loved the pool, hot tub and playground. We visited the aquarium and model train museum.  The time was short but we did a lot together. 

Although we’ve been trying many more different restaurants we’d been curious about (rarely do you find a place that isn’t good) I am trying to cook more; the downside is I hate doing the dishes! I am getting so lazy! 

Friday was a full day. I attended a diamond art class in the morning. I bedazzled two small magnets which took me no time at all to complete. I chatted with a couple of really nice ( younger) ladies as we worked on our projects. 

Then, I drove back to the park and picked up Charlie. We headed to the casino for slots and lunch buffet.  We always enjoy our time at the Silver Slipper! Back to the park and I did a couple of walking loops as I distributed books to our bathhouse “libraries” .  I’ve been picking up free books and magazines our local libraries have been giving away and stocking up for the campers to enjoy.  And finally, in the evening - a rousing game of Rummikub with Jo and Mike.  This is a typical day in our lives! 

It is now Saturday. It’s is raining a bit, but we took a chance and headed out to the town wide yard sale in Diamondhead.  This is a neat little town. It is a planned community developed in the 1960’s and the highest point of elevation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast hence given the name Diamondhead. Streets and businesses also follow suit with Hawaiian themed names.  We stopped off at half dozen yards; not really anything interesting though I did find a craft material I needed and the homeowner gave it to me free! We decided to head home just as the rain started - good timing! I made us eggs and toast for brunch and after digesting, we drove to Planet Fitness to exercise. The rest of the afternoon was relaxed- Charlie on his HAM radio in his newest tent ( #3) and me crocheting. Still working on pillow cover - also #3. 

It is now Sunday. The clocks jumped an hour forward early this morning. It rained and thundered all night long though with our a/c on - we didn’t hear very much. We are well into spring/summer weather now. The azalea are blooming, trees filling out. We are about 2-1/2 mos ahead of Massachusetts, season-wise. The temperatures are consistently in the mid to high 70’s - stretching to 80. It just started pouring again; this will be an on and off wet day. I’m in desperate need of food so a trip to Walmart is planned for later. A good time to defrost my refrigerator (an outdated chore I have with my TT). I’ll probably work on my taxes again a little later. Many things planned for the upcoming weeks again - including St Patrick’s Day parade and activities, a Souper Fest in town ( you buy a bowl and taste soups!) painting classes, an Audubon program, bingo and a dentist appointment. 

I think about returning home. The kids, my apartment, my poor car that now needs a new transmission, my dishwasher, my bed….I’m not quite ready to leave here yet.