Wow - An update! Yes it really is true!

Moving out of my house and to Northern Ohio this past December was beyond overwhelming.  I never would have gotten out of my house in time without the help of my amazing brother.  I'd still be there today laying on the kitchen floor in tears.  Yes, I know I'm not supposed to be moving north for the winter, but that is where I had a place to stay, so northward I was bound.  It is also where I grew up so I was essentially coming home.  My amazingly generous friends took me in and let me stay with them on their farm.  They didn't have much space for themselves, so adding me and my 2 cats to the mix was beyond what most people would have put up with.  (I had to have my 3rd cat put down just before I moved due to an illness and the stress of the move being too much for him). 

RIP Yoda

At my friend's cabin I had my little corner to sleep and lived out of a bag and my car and was content.  It was good practice for my future simplistic life in the tearbaby and a useful lesson in flexibility!  We eventually got into a routine and aside from frozen pipes and the most wicked winter I can remember, we managed pretty well - as long as I could Bogart their gas fireplace heater round the clock!  

But due to many setbacks this past winter - specifically the WEATHER! - and a great loss in my life this spring (the sudden passing of my brother), my travel plans have been put on hold for now.  Once life for me and my family adjusts to a "new normal" I will be hitting the road. It seems that 2014 hasn't been a good year for many people I know.  I hope the second half is spectacular for everyone, to make up for the first half.  I'm counting on it!

I also don't have regular access to internet so have to grab it at the library when I can - thus the lack of posts.  However, I have several that I plan to get up soon with some new developments with the tearbaby.

So this summer I have been working on developing my online business to hopefully fund my traveling and helping my family as we transition to life without my brother. This summer my dear friend invited me to spend a day with her and her family at their cottage on Kelley's Island in Lake Erie.  I used to go there as a kid with our neighbors, but it has been more than 30 years since I visited.  What a MAGICAL day it was for me. Any time I can be on the water is magical, but this day was extraordinary in what it did for me.  I really needed it too.  We had such a fantastic day.  I am so grateful for such dear friends.

Ferry ride to Kelley's Island, Lake Erie.  Any time on a boat on the water is pure heaven to me!

Hanging out at my friend's "Cottage by the Lake" on Kelley's Island.
Boy did I need this day!

All great days must come to an end.  Taking a moonlit ferry ride back to the mainland.
Cedar Point Amusement Park is lit up in the background.
(picture is grainy - sorry)

I have also packed and repacked and repacked the tearbaby and car so many times trying to cut down my pile to what I think I will need, and trying to figure out how everything will fit.  It isn't easy trying to figure out what you might need while living on the road - especially if you are very limited on space and funds.  If you already have it then why re-buy it later if it might be helpful?  (Have to let go of that mindset.)  It reminds me of my backpacking days - talk about living minimally!  My first backpack packing experience was rather pathetic - I'm really quite embarrassed to admit to the giant pile of stuff I thought I couldn't live without that I tried to fit into that poor backpack. Thank the powers that be that I had a knowledgeable friend who educated me on proper backpack packing etiquette and amazingly I still survived, quite happily, without all the extras.  I tried for many years to keep to a minimalist lifestyle, but can’t believe not only the amount of stuff that you end up with, but also the speed of accumulation of said stuff when you have a house: "If you build it, STUFF will come!"  Like ants to a picnic or scandal to a politician. I'm sure I'll continue to purge as I adjust to life in the tearbaby.  If you've never watched the movie "The Story of Stuff" you really need to.  It really hits home.  I used to do a lesson very similar when I taught Environmental Education.  Here it is:  http://storyofstuff.org/movies/

One thing I've been enjoying is decorating my little trailer.  Zelda the tearbaby is getting decked out in an ocean theme.  You'd think decorating something that's less than 50 square feet would be easy, well . . . it's not.  Limited space means you have to be creative.  But I love the challenge!  The ocean theme and a few small personal items that were special gifts from loved ones will make Zelda feel like home to me.

My "totally awesome, coolest little nephew ever" & his mom visited and checked out Zelda.
He and "puppy" gave Zelda their Seal of Approval!
Actually he loved playing in her - just his size. 

Things are moving along!

The Weight of My World

One of the things that has been weighing heavily on me about my plans to hit the open road has been the strain and stress on my car - I'm worried I'm going to kill her hauling the tearbaby and all my stuff.  I really like my car - "Tawanda" (Ford Focus Wagon) - she is sleek, comfortable and easy to drive, has a large cargo area that is easy for a shortie like me to load / unload and even access the roof.  She's not too big, not too small.  She's just about right - the Goldilocks of cars.  All very important things for my physical, mental and financial well-being!  Except when it comes to being a tow vehicle.

"Tawanda"

One of the many reasons I wanted the teardrop that I got was for it's weight.  Egon knows how to build not only a GORGEOUS trailer, but a light weight one too - about 650 lbs. - light enough for my car's 1000 lbs towing capacity.  Since I was going to be towing the teardrop constantly, I really needed a light weight trailer. Yes, I knew I would be adding weight to the tearbaby when I started packing her, but thought I could easily keep it right around the 1000 lbs.  Easier said then done.  Sometimes you don't realize how much something weighs or how fast the weight adds up (Oh, how I can relate!).

In preparation for a trip north to visit family and friends (introduce them to the tearbaby and haul some things to be stored), I needed to know what the trailer weighed so I would know how much I could pack in it and the car (I had my new mattress and a few other things added).  It was time for a trip to the CAT Scales!

I had called ahead the week before to the Pilot Travel Center to ask about using the CAT scales.  I got a very nice and helpful young man who graciously answered my questions.  "Was I allowed to use the scales for my little trailer and car?" - "YES!"  "Could I get a weight for both vehicles individually?" - "YES!"  "How did the scales work?" - "You just pull up onto the scales, making sure each vehicle is on a separate scale, then push the CALL button and give them your tractor number and come inside to get your printout!"  Seemed easy enough.  (I really should know better by now).

I get to the rather busy exit, about 25 - 30 miles from my house, turn left and head to the Pilot Travel Center.  I pull in, but don't see a sign for the scales - I am in the "car" refueling area.  I drive through to the other side and then see way in the back behind the building the sign for the CAT Scales.  I wait for traffic to clear for what seems like forever and pull back out and head down the access road.  By now I am a bit frazzled by all the traffic at the travel center so am glad to get to the Big Rig section where everything moves much slower.  I find the scales (have to go around to approach from the other side), and pull forward onto them.  I open my door to check to see if I have each vehicle on a separate section - not quite - so I pull forward about another foot and that does it.  I hop out of my car and start looking around for the CALL button I was told to push.  It's not there.

Who took the CALL button????

Now really, how far could a CALL button go?  I look and look, and then the light in my brain goes on - I look UP.  Way up high in the clouds above me is a big yellow and black box on a pole with instructions and the CALL BUTTON!

Not my car nor my picture - I forgot to get a picture of my car on the scales, but you get the idea.

You've GOT to be kidding me!  Yeah RIGHT!

How the heck am I ever going to reach it?  I think for a few moments then go digging in my car and come up with my crumbling 18 year old compact umbrella.  I climb up on the concrete piling that the sign post is bolted to, then tippy-toe up onto the giant bolts, and holding onto the post I stretch as far as I can and just barely touch the CALL button with the end of my umbrella and push.

Did it push?  I can't be sure.  I wait.  

Just as I was about to push it again a young woman's voice comes over the speaker asking for my tractor number.  I give her a made up number (like the young man from the week before told me to do) and she then tells me to come inside to get my printout.

Now, I would have LOVED to know how many truckers were doubled over laughing at me through this whole CAT scale "initiation".  Of course no one came over with an offer to help - how could they, it was probably all they could do to keep from peeing their pants laughing at me.  But I was happy to do my part and provide some lunchtime entertainment to those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to view the "show".

Oh, I did get the weights (minus me - remember I was up on the pole!  Thank the "Powers That Be" for small miracles!).  The tearbaby came in at 740 lbs. nearly empty!  Yikes!

'WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT!'

"Rainy Night (and Day) in Georgia"

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted.  I had promised myself that I would do a better job at posting more often and I've done an even worse job than before!

To catch everyone up. . .

I went camping with the Dixie Chapter of the Tear Jerker's September 20 - 21 at Cloudland Canyon State Park on top of Lookout Mountain in Georgia.  

Cloudland Canyon State Park  (Note: Not my photo)

For those of you who have never camped at a Georgia State Park, they have what I consider to be a rather unusual and frustrating reservation system.  You can make reservations in advance, but you can't pick your campsite - those are on a first come, first serve basis.  Now normally if I were camping alone like I will be doing in the future that wouldn't be a big deal, but when you are camping as part of a group like we were, it makes it very difficult to get campsites close together - at least for us later arriving folks.  Cloudland Canyon State Park is a beautiful park and very popular, so by the time I arrived on Friday afternoon around 1:30 (check-in was at 1:00) there were only 4 open sites left in the loop I needed to be in (the more favored loop too!).  I had made my reservation in advance, but that didn't guarantee me a site in that loop.  Needless to say, I ended up on the far side of the campground from the rest of the group, but that was O.K. at least I got in the loop I needed to be in and it was a nice walk to the other side to visit everyone.

However the challenges didn't end there . . .

Heavy rain fallin', seems I hear your voice callin' "It's all right."

A rainy night in Georgia, a rainy night in Georgia

It seems like it's rainin' all over the world

- Benton Brook

Yep, you know what's coming. 

Friday was a lovely day which I spent visiting with folks I hadn't seen for a while, but I knew rain was in store for Saturday and Mother Nature didn't disappoint.  The rain started lightly about 4:30 a.m. and continued through the afternoon on Saturday.  I had my awning up, knowing I would have to take it down when I woke up Saturday, before it really started raining hard, and I almost made it too.  Of course as soon as I went to take it down, Mother Nature thought it would be fun to see how wet she could get me in 5 minutes and let er' rip!  

I love my awning - Egon (the man who designed, built and made everything on the tearbaby) created what I consider to be a most ingenious awning.  The only problem (for me) is it can be hard to hold the long pole that feeds through the loose end of the awning while trying to bend the first tent pole to fit through the hole to attach and detach it.  This is made even more difficult when you have buckets of water pooling in the awning. I had to continually empty the water off / out of the awning to try to get it detached.  Unfortunately this created a waterfall over the exterior light by my door.  I knew I'd be lucky if I didn't have any leaks from all that water. Luck was not on my side that day.

Later that day when I returned from my outing I found the carpet pretty soaked by the door.  Since it was damp and overcast out, I couldn't really hang the carpet out to dry, so I left it inside with the fan blowing on it to try and dry it out - but to no avail.  Every time I got up during the night I had to step on cold, wet, squishy carpet - Ick!  And it was a chilly night too - and you know I had to get up more times than normal!  Of course Sunday was beautiful, sunny and warm and I had to leave.  I did get the carpet hung up when I got home and all is good now.  I resealed around the light and will be adding an extension of the rain guard over it to help with any future times that I can't get the awning down fast enough!  Guess I need to practice more with connecting and disconnecting the awning tent poles.  

In honor of the rainy day I give you "falling water" at Cloudland Canyon State Park  (Note: Not my photo)

It is a good thing for me to have to learn how to fix things with the tearbaby.  Living on the road on my own I will have to rely on myself to take care of minor repairs.  I am grateful to have a dad and brother who are not only knowledgeable about how to build and repair things, but also for their making me have to learn how to use tools and repair things myself - though I do get nervous about screwing things up.  All in all, it was still a great weekend with great folks!  

(Sorry, with being gone most of the day Saturday and all the rain - I never got out to take photos of the park - the ones of the park posted are from the Park's website).

Welcome to My Teardroppin' Life

After receiving an overwhelming response to a guest posting on the Tiny House Listings blog and the interest people had in what I was about to do with my life, I decided to start documenting My Teardroppin' Life now.  Though I haven't started my life on the road in my teardrop yet (that will be later this fall), I am however, doing a lot in preparation for the adventure and thought others who want to embark along a similar path might find this stage helpful.  So, after a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to create a blog, what I wanted to call it, and how to design it, I am finally getting it together and posted.  This has been my toughest challenge yet!

So, what have I done in preparation for this big change in my life you might ask?  Well, first off I had to grasp the concept that yes, I could live in a 5 x 10 ft. rolling home.  Then I had to figure out what this teeny house would need to look like.  I did entertain the thought of building a teardrop myself, but after about 2 minutes, realized that was insane!  Now, there are MANY designs for teardrops out there on the internet (many of which are free) and many people have built their own from simple to luxurious, so it's certainly not impossible.  The insanity of my idea was in what I wanted vs. my skill level (I can't cut a straight line to save my life!) and time alotted (within this decade).  I am very creative and can come up with unique ideas to solve problems, but executing those solutions is sometimes another story.  So, I went shopping for a teardrop that came as close to what I envisioned as I could find.  I did a lot of research and searching and finally found the teardrop of my dreams!  I truly believe we were meant to find each other.  The timing was perfect and within two months I was off to pick up my tearbaby and bring it home.  I will admit that those two months were bit terrifying - everything happened so fast - but I was sure of my decision that I needed to follow this path I chose for my life, and a teardrop was the way to make it happen.

Since then I have been trying to figure out what I will need (or think I will need), how to organize things in the teardrop and how I will survive financially while on the road - oh yeah, and how I'm going to make all this work with 2 geriatric cats riding shotgun!  So, stay tuned to find out how I plan to achieve My Teardroppin' Life.