22 years

October 9, 2022

That chapter has closed. 22 years in the same home raising our family. The moving process was a bit chaotic so it was hard to have time to reflect. It was a wonderful home with tons of memories and will be missed dearly, but the memories aren’t as much about the places where they occur but rather the people you share the experiences with. And all those people still surround me. It’s time for a new place to make memories, and oh how the first few weeks in the RV have been memorable!

It’s taken me several attempts at getting things put away in every nook and cranny that exists. Our Honda pilots are still acting as storage units for a few things that we haven’t figured out how to fit in the RV. On first glance, our cars make us look like we are homeless… and we kind of are. Why is this happening? Well because the barn is still not started…permits have caused delays. Let’s hit the highlights from the first three weeks.

Moving day was insane. We were out of the house at noon but pups didn’t go to the kennel until 4, so we brought them to the land for a short getting acquainted visit. They didn’t tip the RV over so we will call that a win! We had very little sleep the few days prior so we were wiped out, feeling pretty grimy from the move, and hungry without much food in the RV yet. Thankfully Andrea called with an offer of soup for dinner that she wanted to drop off. I asked if we could trade the soup for a hot shower because I really didn’t want to figure out the RV shower on the first day. Of course Greg laughed when I got off the phone and said it really wasn’t a trade if she was providing both the showers and the dinner. I’m tired so my brain is not fully functioning.  It was much appreciated none the less. ❤️

While the pups were at the kennel for the first week here, Greg put the fence up around the sod we laid for the pups to run. The dogs love it here. The weather has been beautiful so they are getting lots of outside time We have found that they are not fond of the coyotes however.  The coyotes have been pretty active in the middle of the night.

We also got the floating deck built with a much larger step to the RV. This was a necessity, not just to provide some outdoor living space, but for safety.  Mom did a bit of a dance down the smaller standard RV stairs the first week. Luckily she didn’t break anything! Dad helped us especially with the stairs as those were out of our pay grade. And we enjoyed a night at the fire pit with some snacks and drinks…..much needed.

The septic tank was in process for the first two weeks so the pink potty was in full use. Also learned that if you don’t read the levels of the water tanks, you will begin to hear gurgling in the shower when you are doing dishes in the kitchen as the dish water drains and then comes up through the shower. Just lovely. We’ll be glad when the septic gets done.

Are you old enough to remember when you had rabbit ears on your tv and only a few channels to choose from? The good news is the rabbit ears on the RV are pretty strong and pick up a few more local channels than the pre cable days. Greg only lasted about a week before he was missing Sunday night football.  I purchased a hotspot device. Like a new toy, we used it a bit too much the first 10 days so now Greg is having to conserve the data so he can make it through the next few weeks of football. And why is this happening, the constant theme… the barn. Until we get the barn done and the electric complete, the internet company won’t run the lines. Funny the things we take for granted.

The weather has been pretty great, but there have been a few cold nights that have caused some havoc. We haven’t found a propane company that will hook a larger tank to an RV. Twice now Greg has had to get up in the middle of the night to switch the propane tanks so the heat will run. Good thing the pups love to sleep on the bed with us…they produce a lot of heat!

The latest things we’ve learned,

Three things you can’t do without an address: have trash service, get internet and have Amazon delivered. And we can’t get an address until we break ground on the house. I wonder if me putting a shovel into the ground where the house will be will suffice?

We drink a lot of water, we are going through a 5 gallon jug a day between us and our “farm” animals.

Well water with no treatment or softener is great to water sod but turns your shower walls quickly a beautiful yellowish brown color.

It only takes me six tries to get the oven lit. And none of my pans really fit the stove top without turning all three burners on. The crockpot and instant pot are going to be my best friends.

The sunrises and sunsets are beautiful when you don’t have any houses or buildings in the way.