Home Sweet Home!

 

I knew it had been a long time since the blog had been updated but did not realize that it had been this long!  So out of practice writing…could not even think of an appropriate title!

Don’t know if we’ve adjusted to stationary living.  Noticed that I am drawn to looking at pictures of Montana, Wyoming…hoping next summer we will find a way to be in big sky country!

There is progress being made on the whole downsizing adventure!  In the past few weeks Craig's List has become a friend and surplus sporting gear, a refrigerator and our old solar kit have found new homes.  We can see space between the stacks of stuff!

David has dissembled his shop…it’s still in boxes….but, hey, it’s a start!  And we have a new past time, flea marketing…selling, not buying.  Each Friday morning we take a load of “stuff” a few miles up the road and proceed to unload it on the buyers looking for bargains.  Almost give it away but our possessions need to go somewhere…might as well get a few dollars!  And it becomes a social event…swapping tales with some of the old codgers.   We are not working at it…just trying to enjoy ourselves for a few hours.

We could be working harder at the purging of possessions….but believing that one must enjoy the process we open one box at a time, looking, remembering and (mostly) discarding.

While surfing one night I stumbled across a video by the young full timing couple known as Technomadia.   In this video Chris is broadcasting from his storage unit in California. He talks about the process of clearing out his old treasures and how he does not want them to just go to anybody…..just those who will value them as he has done.  video.

I realized that is exactly what I have been doing. Holding on to precious memories and wanting these items to go to special people.  Watching the video shows me how this is impeding the process; now my possessions are moving out the door much more rapidly!

We have been home without a camping trip for 5 weeks!  Some days time stands still, other days…it flies!  Still struggling to have fun at home but it’s getting easier.  We’ve cooked in the Dutch oven for the family a few times…every dish turning out perfect! 

On Memorial Day weekend the Pro National Bicycling Championships were in Chattanooga.  Thrilling to watch the elite bicyclists tear down familiar streets a just a few miles from home.

 

During the race I became fascinated with this drone….taking numerous photos.  Someone suggested that it probably had numerous photos of me, taking mine as I was taking his.

Think I’d like to have a pet drone!  Don’t you think it’s kind of cute?

Back to the life at home update!

We are going to the gym, walking regularly and riding our bikes infrequently.  There’s been some talk about paddling but it’s gotten hot, humid and sticky.  Not sure if it will happen.

The three cats are getting along better.  Princess still screeches like a banshee when Sylvester gets too close…very annoying!

We are hoping to shift into phase two within a few weeks.  Phase two is painting the kitchen walls, removing wallpaper and painting in the back bathroom.  And I hope phase three is listing the house!

Outside our “dead” plants are showing green.  My fig tree has new growth at it’s base and the completely brown gardenias are sprouting tiny leaves.  The yard still looks pretty from a distance…where one can’t see all the weeds.

Well, that’s all I got!  A long hot boring summer stretches out before us!  Very thankful for our blogger friends who are in Canada, Washington, Oregon (by now) and Colorado….(you know who you are!)  Keep us entertained and informed!  We will be making lists of more places to visit…once the downsizing hell is over!

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

Sightseeing on Veterans Day With Vets

 

Last August, while trotting around the northwest and Alaska, we spent a few days in Colorado with Ms. Casitaescapes and her spouse, Jeff.  This past weekend we had the opportunity to return the favor.

This was our first time to entertain  fellow Casita owners due to our challenging parking situation.  To park in our driveway one must back in, downhill, performing an 180 degree turn and stay off the hand built wall and flower garden.  But the ex-truck driver was up for the task.

That’s Kira, the Keeshond, lower left and the Chatta-Egg, all winterized, center.

Sight-seeing was top priority….along with catching up!

Decided downtown to the Tennessee River was the first place to visit.  As a native, we have endured Chattanooga before it became the place to see and live……. smog and backwardness, years ago, made it a place to escape.  At least for me!

It’s a beautiful warm, sunny day and the Market Street bridge is reflecting in the blue river.

Glenda poses for me on the Walnut Street Bridge as I fill them in on the old span’s history.  It was Chattanooga’s first bridge, built in 1890, now a walking bridge.

From there we traveled up river to the Chickamauga Dam searching for blue herons to photograph.  (That sounds like we paddled up the river….no, we drove the van!)

Not as many birds as usual but got a picture of our friends.

Tennessee River just below the dam.

After lunch we are heading to one of the mountains overlooking the city, Signal Mountain. 

 

 

The first day ends with me promising a trip to the tiny mountains in the distance…….the Cherokee National Forest!

Veterans Day is another gorgeous sunny day!  We make a lunch and get an early start as we’re heading about 55 miles east to Polk County and the Whitewater Center, home of the 1996 whitewater Olympics.

The water in the Ocoee River is calm today as TVA has taken it out to generate electricity.

And the Visitors Center was closed for the winter.  David and I got married here 13 years ago…brought back some nice memories.

Next stop is an overlook climbing the mountain to  Chilhowie campground.

 

This is Parksville Lake created by Ocoee Dam #1, the oldest hydroelectric dam in TVA system.   Completed in 1911, before TVA was established. 

Love this view!  This is sacred territory for me!

On top of Bean Mountain we picnicked at this old CCC structure set on the western brow.

Back in Chattanooga by mid-afternoon, Glenda, with her boundless energy, decides that a trip up Lookout Mountain will complete the tour.  Off to Point Park…a Civil War sight.

 

Exactly 150 years ago, during November, the Battle Above the Clouds was being fought.

The views from the park are amazing!

Downtown and parts of the Tennessee River winding through the valley.

By this point we all are ready to collapse and veg with the TV.

Great fun with fun folks who both served their country!

This was our first attempt at being tour guides and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Our friends have headed east toward the Great Smoky Mtns…..hope they are staying warm!

And we are still cleaning the house and getting the casita baby ready for her January western trip!

biking the river park

 

Three weeks and two days, that’s how long we have been home from our epic trip and we are still adjusting to the luxuries of hot water, electricity and space….

The past 3 weeks have not been much fun due to a virus that invaded my sinuses and lasted over two weeks.  Then allergies started making me ill.  I’m taking allergy medicine for the first time in my entire life!  Is this what I get for leaving the area for three months? 

Chattanooga is situated in a bowl with mountains and ridges on all sides….this year we have the honor of being the 9th worse city for fall allergies.  Since I have lived here most of my life, never experiencing allergies, figured there was some type of natural immunity inhabiting my body.  Alas, no more!

On the positive side, the over the counter meds are working and wellness is returning.

Still struggling a bit in putting our lives back to order.  Exercising has always been a high priority for both of us, but our trip was a disaster for elevating our heart rates.  (Mine did get elevated a few times when I was not driving and someone else was!)  We did a little hiking, here and there, but overall we are returning home with much poorer physical conditioning than when we left.  This was our first trip, ever, to leave the bikes at home.  And it will be our last!

So now that I’m feeling better, we are walking, hiking and riding our bikes.  Last week I grabbed my Nikon as we were heading out to the Tennessee River Park.  The park, opening in 1989, is 10 miles, running along the Tennessee River from the Chickamauga Dam to downtown Chattanooga.

After a few miles I am finding the SLR too cumbersome, dangling on my shoulder while bike riding and ditched it back in the van.  Will need to depend on the cell phone for any additional photography.

The sidewalk is wide, we always pass people who are walking, saying “on your left” as we come upon them.  This is THE correct protocol, or sounding a bell to let them know a biker approaches.  The walker should bear to the right giving the biker space to pass.  (It is not pretty when the walker goes left into the bike path!)

This is the bridge over the South Chickamauga Creek…the TN River can be seen below at the very end of the creek.

Another view of the bridge.  Now imagine flood waters more than halfway up the exposed tree trunk in the center.  This is what the park endured last July while we were traveling in AK.

Another picturesque tree with a tell tale water mark.

Great blue heron fishing on the Chickamauga Creek.

Civil War history found at this site…. the Northern army crossed the river here, heading south toward Chickamauga Battlefield.

Wildlife crossing our path!

Our ride is perfect until we leave the pavement and hit the boardwalk.  Unfortunately that is exactly what we did…hit the boardwalk!!!   It is wet and slick from previous rains.  I started going down the instant my rear wheel left the pavement.  Hubby, five feet behind me, could only watch me fall as his bike went out from under him.  After going down, I am sliding five feet or so on my left hip and shoulder before coming to a halt.

Bystanders ran to our aid, one identifying herself as a nurse.  I am hurting, bad, but so worried about David and his artificial hip. But he has landed on the other hip and is OK.  My shoulder is hurting and I am wondering if a trip to the ER is necessary but we ride back to the car.  And, after a day of icing my shoulder and two days of pain meds, the body is ready to go again.

 

This smiling face is NOT how I was feeling at the moment!  Notice the blue sign!

We were very lucky….will not be riding on wet paths again.  Too old to fall that hard!

For my readers who want to hear about the Casita…..two weeks from today it will be on the road again!  Heading to the Cherokee, NC rally!