Moving

Tomorrow is moving day!  We are heading closer to Phoenix to stay in an urban RV park closer to my new job.  It's bittersweet.  Florence has been our home for over seven years.  Our kids have only known this area as their home.  I have participated in the community in many different ways over these past many years.  We made many friends.  We routinely saw friends and caught up on each others' lives.  Our kids grew up together.  I will miss many friends and neighbors.  Trying to remain optimistic....we are only an hour away where there are many fun activities and places for us to meet up!

Tonight we went for our last walk around this beautiful desert RV park.  The sky was magnificent.  I will miss being close to the desert.  If you have to endure the heat, you might as well endure it in all it's glory!  Being in the city, the concrete jungle, will not be nearly as beautiful.  Our spot is significantly smaller and the park significantly more crowded.

 On the flip side, brother is enrolled in an awesome school that will start next week.  We will live on the light rail line and I think that is how I will commute to my new gig.  We can embrace the simple life, use our vehicles less, and rely on public transit more.  I've never tried to rely on public transit - I've mostly lived in rural areas which are severely lacking such services.

One last look at our amazing, shaded site in the Sonoran Desert

Goodbye Pinal County.

RVegan Sweet Meat Squash Soup

The main thing I miss about having a house is my garden.

My kids miss it too.  Brother was three when we first planted a garden and he has grown up enjoying the produce year round.  So when a friend of mine brought over some garden produce we were excited to cook it up!  Also, she brought a variety of squash we had not heard of "Sweet Meat Squash," so I turned to Pinterest to find a way to cook it up.  Voila! Sweet Meat Squash Soup was made!  It tastes like an Indian soup, rich in curry and spice.  I cooked this while we were up in the mountains so that I could use the stove and our bread maker inside the Hideout.  It was wonderful to cook inside and being back in the heat, I am really missing it!  The recipe made a lot, and we had leftovers for two days.  I actually made a second loaf of bread the second day and we ate the leftover bread from both days on the third day.  

Photo from "Feasting not Fasting"

In addition to squash, my friend gave me some okra.  I had never cooked okra before but learned from conversations with gardeners that microwaving it is the best.  Apparently okra can get a bit moist and slimy if not prepared correctly.  Enter Pinterest for ideas on how to prep okra!  We made Spiced Okra Chips, also flavored with Indian spices.  My only critique of this recipe is that it had too much salt.  But we all ate them and the kids even said they were pretty good!

Okra "chips" before being cooked in microwave

There and back again, the rookies' tale...

Where to begin?  We took our maiden voyage up, up, up the mountain.  Up 7000' in elevation to the Flagstaff KOA and then back again.  It was nerve-wracking.  I was nervous and anxious both on the way up and on the way back.  Overall the five days and four nights we spent up north were excellent. The weather was cool, the campground was beautiful, the amenities for the kids were excellent.  We were outdoors for five days and it was brilliant.  With that said, there were many lessons learned.

1.) Sway. We had some sway on the way up.  We stopped frequently to tighten the sway bar and eventually thought we had it right.  But in retrospect, I think it was still too loose.  On the way home we made a realization about how to set the starting "tightness" and it worked much better down the mountain - which, from many accounts - is when there tends to be more sway.

2.) Weight!  We stopped at a truck stop and weighed our rig about an hour out from our current park.  The whole ordeal took over an hour in the blistering heat and we learned we are maxing out the capacity of our truck with the trailer tanks empty.  In other words, we have no room for carrying water for a future boondocking expedition.  Also, the tongue weight seemed too high by over 150+ lbs.  I felt that the weight in the trailer was not distributed well - too much near the front and too much at the back instead of centered on the axles.  Prior to our trip down the mountain I organized the weight better over the axles in the trailer.  I also started lightening the load.  I know we can do better.  When you are living in a trailer FT, you tend to bring too much stuff.

3.) Campground issues. Total rookie mistakes.  The campsite was NOT level.  We had to back up a hill.  We forgot to remove the sway bar.  We were burning up the clutch as evidenced by the smell. We didn't realize the sway bar was on until we finally got in position.  Late the first night after we were all set another camper pulled up and the guy was walking around outside ours all confused....he pointed out we were parked in his spot....DUH!!!  Yep, I parked us in the wrong spot.  I could provide a defense, but it is a poor one.  I blew it.  He was so totally cool and was only staying one night.  He said he would take our spot and no worries.  We swapped for the night and then had to move the trailer the next day.

We were packed in pretty tight, but the neighbor was so cool about me taking his site

4.) Dumping.  The site we booked has electricity and water but no sewer.  We had to dump for the first time.  Since we had to move the trailer on day two, we decided to try the dump station.  I accidentally parked too far away so we had to dirty our sewer hose extension for the first time.  Then the hose was too long and the incline was all jacked up so hubby had to lift the line to drain it even with the inclined hose support (which we have been very glad we have, even though it didn't exactly do the job in this situation).




To ensure we only had to dump one more time, on the last day, we used the public showers and toilets when possible.  I found the KOA campground to be very clean and well kept in terms of the ladies facilities.  Apparently the men's facilities were not quite as nice.  This morning, on our last day, we used the dumping station for the second time.  We were much better.  I pulled up closer, the hose support was very effective without the extension for the hose.  We completed the black tank flush effectively and then dumped the gray tank after the black.  It worked out well.

Beautiful view from our front door

5.) Laundry.  The laundry facilities were excellent.  I am VERY much looking forward to only staying at parks with laundry facilities from now on.  I took full advantage and ensured all laundry was caught up before check out.

6.) Amenities and outdoor space.  Like I said, the weather was awesome.  It was in the 70s during the day and it sprinkled on and off during our time there.  Despite the rain there was ample opportunity for the kids to play outside.  They especially loved the bounce pillow and playground.  There was also a club house with games.  Having outdoor activities and nice weather allowed us to enjoy the outdoors for the first time since we have owned the Hideout.  We left the windows open almost the whole time, except when the temp dropped at night.  There were hiking trails and lots of opportunities to enjoy the pines.  Being out of the oppressive heat of Phoenix was very welcome.

  

7.) Leveling blocks.  Like I said, not level.  The whole campground was one huge hill.  I bought leveling blocks on a whim before we left and I am glad I did!  The front of the camper looked like it was floating compared to the back.  I didn't get a good picture to show how bad it was, but it was bad.  It was so bad that we didn't even have enough leveling blocks to meet the stabilizer jacks in the front.  We tried to run to WalMart and get more, but they were sold out.  Clearly we were not the only people with this problem.  

We will be ordering a second set for future travels.  We managed this time by finding a relatively flat rock and using that in conjunction with the remaining blocks, but it was not ideal.

8.) Campground friends.  I didn't really prepare my kids for the temporary joy of campground friends.  At one point brother broke down crying because I would not collect the contact info from another family.  Sister cried this morning saying, "but I don't want to leave my friends!"  I felt bad because they had such a fun time with the campground friends, but on the flip side, I know there will be many more fun times.  These experiences teach us to live in the moment and appreciate the here and now. I tried to explain that to brother and I think he did understand by the end.  He said a very nice goodbye and we wished the friends happy travels.  I think we overcame a number of barriers on this trip and we put ourselves and our rig through many tests.  Was it all pretty? No, but we came out on the other side stronger and more experienced and ready to face the next adventure!

Serendipity

"Follow your bliss..."  -Joseph Campbell

When I lose faith and doubt the magic or mystery of self-actualization, or following one's bliss, or taking the left-hand path, or whatever you want to call it I will remember these past two months.

The day that we received an offer on our McMansion we also received notification from one of our three tenants - who had rented from us for over four years - that they were moving out.  Because we have been wanting to sell that house a door opened.

We had two and a half weeks from accepting the offer on our McMansion to downsize and move into a 200 square foot travel trailer that we didn't yet own.  Everything went smoothly.  We purchased the trailer, we sold and gave away everything we intended to, we moved all of our flaming stuff and relocated to a local RV park.

After we moved into the Hideout I renewed my efforts to find a job.  My dream has been to use my newly acquired degree to find somewhat flexible work as a college teacher (with summers off for traveling).  I have been applying and interviewing for jobs for almost a year.  Within this past month I applied for, interviewed for, and obtained a full-time university instructor position that affords me the opportunity to telecommute regularly and has the summers off.  

We listed the rental house for sale and in the first week we received an offer and accepted it.

I located a new RV park central to my new job and my husband's existing job.  I put a deposit down on the lot today.

I feel swept away by the currents we created in the past.  Long-term decisions are bearing fruit. To be in this moment after all of the worry and planning and concern is almost surreal. To my future self I say, "trust me!"  I am making the decisions that will sweep you away to your next adventure! This reality - which is certainly a bit crazy by many standards - was dreamed into existence.  It resolves some problems and may create others, but it certainly forces us to live in the moment.  To make deliberate choices, to act consciously instead of running on autopilot.  Today, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could slow down and enjoy the fruit.  I looked with wonder on how things are coming together exactly as I dreamed they might - except the reality is much better than the dream.

"Let me fall.
Let me fall.
Let me climb.
There's a moment where fear and dream must collide.

Someone I am is waiting for courage,
the one I want, the one I will become will catch me

so let me fall, if I must fall
I won't heed your warnings
I won't hear them.

All I ask
all I need -
Let me open whichever door I might open....

I will dance so freely,
holding on to no one.
You can hold me only if you too will fall away from all those useless fears and chains...

Let me fall.
Let me fall.
There's no reason to miss this one chance
this perfect moment
just let me fall."

- Cirque du Soleil, Quidam, Let Me Fall

RVegan Slow Cooker Red Dal

I've totally been on an Indian food kick lately.  This morning, in the spirit of using up my stock of legumes, I am making Slow Cooker Red Dal with Red Curry Paste When I searched Pinterest I entered 'vegan, slow cooker, red lentils' and this was one of the recipes that came up.  My requirement besides being based around red lentils was that I didn't have to buy too many other ingredients.  To my joy I had everything for this recipe except coconut milk, onion and ginger!  I am always looking for ways to use up my unique spices as well.  I was glad to see this one calls for asafoetida and garam masala - which I have.  I also just happened to have exactly 3 Tbsp of Thai Red Curry Paste in the fridge!  This recipe was meant to be!

I am quite sure that Thai red curry paste is not the same as Indian red curry paste, but I made this substitution to use up what I had.  Also, everything I have made with this curry paste has been amazing, so I am pretty excited about this!  I bought some naan from the store, but it has milk in it and I have been avoiding dairy for health reasons.  I miss making my own naan, but it is pan fried and that would be too hot an endeavor for this summer heat...I will probably make a loaf of whole wheat bread in the bread maker with almond milk.  Plus, having a loaf of fresh bread around is always a good thing.  I have been very happy with the simple WFPB meals I have been making at the Hideout!

Monsoon lessons learned....

Monsoon storm in the distance

1.) Never leave the Hideout assuming the weather will remain constant.  This is a lesson I should know having grown up in the Midwest.  But clearly I have been spoiled by the generally excellent weather in AZ and by previously living in very comfortable, weather-proof homes.  On Friday I left the Hideout after lunch for a play date with friends and did not expect to be gone beyond 5pm. However, the afternoon turned into an evening and I left the awning out when a dust storm and subsequent monsoon rain were rolling in.  When my husband got off of work he ran home and put the awning in, but it had been in the wind for a bit.  This was not the first time we forgot to put the awning in - one night last week we went shopping and left it out.  I found myself rushing back in a panic during that dust storm.

Dust storm coming towards us

2.) Don't leave the outside area full of things that will blow away or not handle the rain.  As a side note, also on Friday our new solar shades were installed!  Thank you Sun Dancer Shades, we love them!

Before

After

As a result of the installation the reflective material was lying outside on the patio and picnic table when the storm came and we were away. Unfortunately we were unable to find two of the seven pieces - I feel bad about littering in the desert.

Dust storm blowing away

3.) Don't bring damp laundry to hang out in a monsoon.  Seems like common sense, no?  At 3pm yesterday it was 108, sunny and cloudless as we arrived at the laundromat to wash bedding (...nighttime diaper fail).  At 5pm it looked like tornado weather.  Not to mention there was actually a tornado warning in Pinal County - not near us, thankfully.  The mattress pad - which is amazing at keeping the mattress dry - doesn't dry well in the dryer.  Oh, which brings me to another point, don't get all excited to hang out your laundry when the rain stops.  You may leave your drying rack in a position where a gust of wind will blow it (and your clean mattress pad) over into a muddy puddle. Whoops.  What a cluster...  In the middle of all this the power went out for about an hour - so no A/C - it was high 80s and humid!  In the end all worked out - of course (hand washing notwithstanding).  This lifestyle is certainly a lesson in how to roll with the punches.

During the rains a faint rainbow!

The pictures above are from today's monsoon.  Thankfully we were home as it blew in, hence the pictures.  We were prepared - the patio was clean and everything was put away.  The awning was in. The kids were in.  The laundry was in.  I was free to take pictures and enjoy the storm.  So far we've only lost power today for about 10 minutes - much better than yesterday.  Life is good!

RVegan Pantry

One of the main problems I had when leaving the McMansion was downsizing my pantry....here is my "before" shot:

You can't even see the shelves around the corner to the right...SO MUCH SPACE!!!

So now, I have this..

Main pantry to the left of the fridge

Above the kitchen table

Spice overflow below pantry

Beans, grains, rice & legumes stored in outdoor storage

Flours & sugar stored in outdoor storage

Outdoor storage

It's been difficult - I don't want to throw away good food and I like to make food from scratch so I like a well-stocked pantry. Right now it is total chaos and I am simply trying to use up my stores.  I took an inventory of everything I have and continually am returning to my Pinterest pages to find recipes suitable for using things up.  Mainly I have relied on my slow-cooker thus far, but I am thinking about baking some fresh bread soon.  I made a good corn chowder recently and it would have been excellent with homemade bread.  As I use up the excess I also clear out our storage space.  I have already used up quite a lot of dried beans and have been able to condense my outside stores from three container to two.  Meal prep takes planning, organization, and time.  I look forward to using up all of the stored up food and reclaiming our storage space!

Artsy Hideout

One of the challenges of going FT RV is losing the ability to display more inspirational art on the walls.  For years I have enjoyed visiting antique shops, thrift stores, and art galleries and picking up pieces that spoke to me.  It was one of the few things the 4000 square foot house offered - lots of walls upon which to hang things!  We had to get rid of tons of it.  I tried to gift much of it, but much also ended up in boxes in storage.  Only a few choice pieces were chosen to move with us into the Hideout.  There was really no discussion about which ones because the most obvious choices were some of the pieces by Laura Wacha.  Her social commentary expressed through struggling cartoon monsters tells the dangers of excessive consumption, the dark drama of political theater, and the daily grind of parenthood (among other things).  From the first time I saw her work I felt like she was a kindred spirit who was able to capture the madness of life.

For years we have talked about getting the pieces we purchased framed, but it seemed like a necessity when talking about hanging work in the Hideout.  So a couple weeks ago we took four pieces to Hobby Lobby and were assisted by a very excellent and competent framing professional.  We wanted simple frames that would accentuate, but mainly protect, the paintings.  Three of the pieces were small and we opted for plain black frames.  The fourth, entitled "Want Not," is special.  The representative suggested a number of choices before presenting us with a simple goldish frame that is mounted with a gap between the painting and the frame.  It is certainly hard to describe...so here are some before and after pictures (I only have my phone camera - please excuse the quality of photos).

Day In, Day Out

With a plain black wood fram

Want Not

Framed with a .25" gap to the frame

So after getting them framed, the question has been how to hang them!?!  The walls in this trailer seems to be made of a pegboard-like material and are just as thick.  There are few studs - we were able to hit one to mount a TV - so the goal was to mount Want Not in a stud and find another solution for Day In, Day Out and the other two of the same size.  The frames certainly added weight to the paintings.  I was thinking command hooks or strips at first until I saw these Monkey Hooks at the store...

Holy hanging, these are excellent for places without a stud.  They are made to work in drywall but they also work in crappy wallboard in trailers!  Here are an assortment of various kinds.

Thankfully we were able to hit the stud for Want Not and the Monkey Hooks work great for the little ones.  We would never leave these hanging when we are moving - we will lay them on the bed.  But while we are parked, having these on the wall makes this little Hideout is feel much more like home!

RVegan Bean and Oats Burgers

While my timing in cooking this meal on the first day of the monsoon rains was not ideal, the burgers were excellent!

This was not a one-pot meal...it actually took a pot, a frying pan and the grill...so I was outside with the camping burner for a while.

While I cooked the beans the clouds started to roll in dark and ominous.  Then the wind started blowing dust up all around my campsite and I was glad there was a lid on the pot. For a while the wind was blowing so hard it was blowing the flame away from the pot and it took extra long to boil the beans that had been soaking all morning.

When the beans were finally done, I had to fry the onions, garlic, carrots and spices.  Again it took way too long due to the wind.  By this point there was thunder and the sky was full of dark grey clouds.  On the up side the wind and clouds had cooled down the temp from in the 100-tens to the 90s.

Finally everything was cooked and I headed into the Hideout to mix everything together and make the patties.  At that moment the thunder was overhead and the rain started coming down.  I ran out and started the grill and slapped four burgers on while I feared for my life as lighting flashed. Drenched I came back into the trailer and stood at the entry dripping all over the floor thinking about RV living in wetter climates.  I waited five minutes and then ran back out to the grill in the rain only to find that my propane had run out and the grill was cold!  I replaced the cylinder and grilled the burgers, five minutes on each side to perfection.

So that was an ordeal and was only possible because it was the weekend and my husband watched the kids while I cooked.  The best part about it was that everyone ate them without much fuss (I mean, there is always a little fuss from sister whenever something is new).  But they tasted excellent with combinations of ketchup, mustard, veganaise or hummus.  We topped them with Diaya cheese, fresh spinach and tomatoes on whole wheat buns.  With all the fuss I forgot to take a picture of the final product.  The recipe made enough for 8 burgers.  We ate them for two days.  I will likely make them next when the weather allows cooking indoors!

Melodies at the edge of our comfort zone...

Pushing the boundaries of what is comfortable can be scary, but is also very exciting.  This is where chance encounters, serendipity, and opportunity are found.  Looking back over the past month makes me very proud of our family and how we pulled together to embark on this adventure.  I have spent a great deal less time on Facebook watching other people live in favor of living my life to the fullest.

This past week was a crazy one.  Many months ago I had signed brother up for a summer day camp located in Tempe, AZ.  Each day we drove over 150 miles round trip getting him to his camp.  Each day I did something different with my time in the big city.  The highlights of the week were related to spending time with friends. Sister and I dropped in on a long lost friend I haven't seen in, maybe, five years and it was so much fun to reconnect - it just happened that she was on vacation and available for a visit!  We also spent two days with another friend and had a wonderful time swimming, hanging out and catching up.  

One of my requirements for trailer living was that we had to continue brother's piano lessons.  The digital piano we have owned for the past 10+ years was too big to fit in the Hideout, and so I sold it before we moved.  This past week we visited Guitar Center and found a Casio CDP-130 marked down for a 4th of July sale to $300.  It can be stood on end to save space when not in use.  

In our McMansion the piano was upstairs in the loft...

I always felt that because it was out of sight, it was generally out of mind and didn't get played as much as it would if it was more centrally located.  This theory is being put to the test.  Last night, for the first time ever, brother said, "Can I play piano?"  YES!!!!  Yes you can! So I set up the stand and put the piano on top (that take about a minute) and voila, we had a music session!  I was so happy that having the piano in sight and handy promotes its use.  Also, since the piano was set up, I seized upon the opportunity to play as well.  I think we will all be playing our instruments more.  

Of course you can buy anything on Amazon...

So here we are, out of our comfort zone - reconnecting with friends, enjoying our small space, and spending time on music!  It is such a blessing to have my kids close to me and to share in simple joys like music and books.

Organizing the kitchen

A new item has been acquired and it will make life in the RV just a tiny bit more manageable!

It's a two-tier drying rack that fits on my tiny counter!

This baby is a welcome addition to a four-person family used to a dishwasher.  We've been working with a towel for a drying rack for the past couple of weeks and this is just so infinitely better.  I ordered it on Amazon...




Anyhow, I can't say enough good things about it, I was so sick of having my pile of dishes fall to the floor on a regular basis...I mean, I have an 8.5" wide counter with which to work!  So this thing had to be tiny, but to hold a lot of dishes because I cook a lot.  Another item that is excellent is these Nordic Ware microwave safe, BPA free plastic bowls and plates! (as shown in my picture above on the rack)




I have very few glass kitchen items left...I kept a three set of mixing bowls with lids that are my favorite - but glasses, bowls and plates are all plastic now, which suits me fine and meets the needs of our family.

TV woes...

It has now been a week and a half since we had access to a TV.  It's not cable or satellite that we miss, we've only had local channels for years - it is the video games - specifically the PS3!  Also being able to cast YouTube to a larger screen...

So today we called Keystone and asked about their recommended size of TV to mount in the trailer. There are two places for TVs to be mounted.  We are interested in tackling the one in the main cabin first.  They said 32" max, which was larger than I thought we could have.  My parent's trailer came with a 19" TV, so I was thinking smaller.  So today we set out to purchase a TV and swivel mount.

It turns out, as most things do, that we didn't get it right on the first excursion.  Did I mention that our trailer is an hour from all decent stores and services?  It's a lot of driving for shopping.  So we got back today and realized that the pre-wired place for the TV in the main cabin is in a really crappy spot.  It's crappy because the TV has to extend 13.5" past the cabinets and then turn 90 degrees so that someone sitting on the couch can see it.  There is absolutely no way a 32" TV will fit there and be watchable.  On the up side, a 32" TV can fit beautifully in our room...so we will probably keep it and get a more simple mount for our room. We will run back to the various electronic stores tomorrow and see if we can find a smaller TV and a better option for a mount.

Do you have a bathroom?

It's a question I was asked. Yes, we have a bathroom.  It's a very small bathroom, but the things that need to be done in a bathroom happen there.  Sister can take a bath in the small tub and we can shower.  We have a porcelain toilet (not a plastic one like many trailers have) and it flushes by a foot pedal.  When we are hooked up to a sewer (as we currently are) the gray tank valve can be open - meaning we don't have to worry about filling up the tank.  However, we purposely fill the gray tank when the black tank is nearly full and that is so that we have a tank of soapy water to rinse out the sewer line after the black tank flush. Maybe that is more than you wanted to know, but it is rather standard practice in the RV world.

Dumping tanks is as easy as pulling a lever - literally.  I have flushed both tanks and it is really not a big deal.  I have heard some full-time RV women talking about how they never touch or deal with the tanks, but that is silly.  If you are going to live in one of these things, you need to be able to manage all the systems.  Notice the label above the valve for the grey or blank tanks

Speaking of systems, you know what we have not needed?  A hot water heater.  It has been over a week since we turned it on.  After the first week I wondered, "why exactly are we heating water when the cold water comes out hot?"  The water out of the "cold" tap is so damn warm its almost too warm for showers - it certainly is not refreshing.  It's a good energy saving strategy.  As a side note, the hot water can be heated with propane or electricity by the push of a button. It makes me wonder how many people in the valley of the sun are heating water for no reason this time of year.