Looking For Balance, Love in the Rally

 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Apologies for waiting so long to post…..there’s no good excuse, except the continuing emotional rollercoaster of downsizing.

Not wanting to reenter the world of depression, we start working on the basement soon after returning from the Townsend rally.

There’s another room to the right where most of my energy is being spent.  It’s almost empty of my possessions….can’t say the same for the hubby!  Thus the roller coaster.  On this particular morning, don’t know if we will be able to sell the house.  Is it worth going through all the conflict?  When trying to push (him), our relationship suffers.  Life is too short!

I’m trying to remember how to live, happily, in a house, in a town, in the same place.  Trying to reconnect with people I enjoy and it’s challenging after being away so long!  Taking more effort than available.  Looking for balance between the travel world full of bloggers and fiberglass rallies  and the home world with family and old friends.  Must also find a way to balance the downsizing work with exercise and socializing.  This hermit stuff is not working for me!

Subject change…….

Townsend 2014

It’s a rainy Tuesday when we arrive at the Townsend/ Great Smokies KOA.  We enter a pull though and don’t unhitch.  Our 4 night stay on the river starts tomorrow. 

Pleasantly surprised that many good friends are already here.  Find a whole row of old friends with new trailers, some moving to Escapes, some to more traditional S. O. B.’s, (some other brand).  One of our favorite couples arrived 4 nights ago! We walk, frequently stopping to chat and catch up with our buddies.

And the rally begins……non-stop visiting and eating for 4 days!  

We are getting braver with the Dutch oven, preparing a breakfast casserole for the morning pot luck.  Black Forest dump cake is a success the following night.  (Notice, below, the bottom spoon scrapings.)

Our site on the river

The Little River

Difficult to describe a rally….it’s all about the energy of the people….their love for each other and their trailers.  Going to parade just a few of our friends…..

This is our third rally in six months and I find myself enjoying the events more and more.  Each one better than the last.  This time I feel so much love in my heart….are the people here more loving?  Or have I changed and can accept the love that was already there?  Whatever!  Loving the feeling of being loved!

There are 64, maybe more, trailers here.  Many friends are not in the pictures as it is Saturday before I remember the blog and the need for documentation.

A few trailers:

Kentucky Burro

Most of the campers, as usual, are Casitas….from the old to the new.

The high spot of the rally is always the Saturday night pot luck.  Hungry folk wait patiently for their turn.

One of the reasons the pot luck is so appealing…..this is made in a Dutch oven!

The music begins after dinner.

And it is over!  Time for goodbyes and plans to meet again!

We decide to spend another night in the Smokies as a few friends are heading to Elkmont campground.

Another night of tale swapping fun.

Finding wildflowers along the river at Elkmont.

Celandine poppy

Showy orchid

Large white trillium

The weather forecast is ominous with several days of storms, possibly tornados, coming.  We are anxious to get home but a trip to Cherokee, NC is necessary. The Tacoma pulls the Chatta-Egg up and over Newfound Gap, elevation 5,046, without a problem.

Happy Holiday RV Park has had a few changes with a new pizza and breakfast addition.  We check out the covered pavilion and central fire pit.  Discuss some details with the manager and everything is good.  The 2014 Cherokee rally is just 5 months away!

 

Flame azalea in Cherokee

Birthdays and Rabbit Holes

 

Foster Falls: Marion County, Tennessee

Last weekend was beautiful, full of warm sunny days, birthday celebrations and time in the woods.  My family has 4 birthdays in April, my step-father, my niece, my sister and me.  Mom, who’s 86 and likes to cook, entertained the family at the 64 year old home place.

Great fun to visit with all the relatives and spend the next day hiking in the Cherokee Forest.  A Happy Birthday!

What a difference a week makes!  Sometime between last Sunday and this one, a rabbit hole swallowed me up.  Can’t seem to get the happiness thing back.  Spending my time eating poorly and lying in bed reading, finishing a 500 page suspense novel in 24 hours.  Not wanting to call anyone or even send emails or texts.

The difference?  Starting to work in our basement and feeling so overwhelmed at the monstrous task that lies before us.  I tell myself that it is the thoughts I choose to think that makes me happy or sad.  I tell myself that all of the other “full timers”, those that permanently live in their campers, had to go through this purge of possessions.  I tell myself to pick up one thing at a time and dispose of it.  And nothing seems to help!

So what do we do?  Run away!

Today is about blogging away these negative feelings and starting to pack for the Townsend rally.  Called and reserved an extra day so we will be leaving in about 48 hours.  The weather looks good and we can’t wait to get back with our Casita (and  Escape) family.

Plan to put all the stressful thoughts of property disposing behind me for the next  10 days.

Changing the subject, slightly……this was a big birthday…65!  And I know I am only as old as I think, but the oldness is creeping in.   Navigating the Medicare obstacle course started as soon as we returned from Arizona.  (And I learned later that it would have been so easy to have applied online while in the southwest.)

Turning 65 also make me eligible for my permanent Tennessee fishing license.  Since we rarely fish, it’s nice not to spend the big money for the yearly license.  For $10 I have this nice little card that makes me legal to throw in a line.

The new license and a new pole are being packed as we have reserved a river site for the rally.  This is the 7th annual Eggscursion, our fifth year to attend.  Love the Smoky Mountains in the spring!

The following are random pictures from the past month.  (Can’t have a blog without photos.) 

The leading picture of Foster Falls was taken during a hike this month.

Late March snow!

Sylvester and Princess enjoying a (rare) moment of tranquility.

Hiking on the Cumberland Plateau.

Backyard, Kwanzan cherry tree.

Dogwood

Crested wild iris found in the Cherokee National Forest.

Benton Falls: Cherokee NF

One Month Home…

Backyard in June 2011

(Home from winter in the Southwest)
I’m in bed with the laptop resting against my knees, looking out the open window at a dogwood and Bradford pear.  The pear has an abundance of green leaves, the dogwood’s buds are just opening and I am contemplating the upcoming changes in our life.
We met with a realtor yesterday…did not make any decisions or sign any contracts… just wanted to see what needs to be done.  Little was mentioned that we did not already know.  The kitchen wall paper with it’s brown and blue theme must be covered with paint, the paneling, (that I always wanted to paint) must be painted.  The dishwasher that has not worked in years must be replaced.  And there is more…but not a lot!

Kitchen

It always feels strange to return home after months of being gone.  The first week is wonderful…marveling at hot water coming from the faucet, long showers, constant internet and a stream of news from the TV.  We even binge watch our missed shows on Hulu Plus. 
Then boredom sets in….not real boredom as we stay physically active with walking, the gym and bike riding but kind of a mental boredom.  Kind of a “I’m not living life to the fullest” type of boredom.
So the journey begins.  We are not trying to downsize into full timing, part timing works well for us.  Love the southeast spring and autumn.  Just need to rid ourselves of what’s not working in our lives; the yard is part of what is not working.

Our home after returning from our almost 4 month Alaska trip.


February 2010

The realtor says one must let go of emotion surrounding one’s home.  It would be so much easier if someone else came in and took everything away….maybe while we bask on a beautiful beach!
So we have been working on the house, sowing grass in the front, raking leaves, pruning, mowing.
What else?
Our annual visit to Townsend is less than three weeks away! This is our fifth year to attend this Annual Eggscursion (sorry, it is full!) and we can’t wait to see our old friends!  (Townsend, TN is called the sleepy side of the Smoky Mountains as it very quiet compared to Gatlinburg.)
Not much else going on….doing some planning for the other Smoky Mountain rally which is in Cherokee, NC in October.
And the only other new thing is RVillage.com.



A dear friend sent me a link several weeks ago and, after joining, I’ve been having fun playing with this….just for rver’s….. new social media group.  It is fun to see where my friends are staying and helping travelers as they visit my home area.   Also very exciting to be on the ground floor of something that going to be very BIG!  There are 4278 members as of 4/4/14….only a few weeks old!
Look for me in the Bloggers group, led by Eric and Brittany of RVWanderlust.  Hope to get enough confidence to change/improve the blog.
Closing with flower pictures from last May……getting nostalgic before we even move!


Peony


Wild Geraniums


Iris


Azalea