Harvest Host

 We never can seem to leave early. Today we left around 10. The earliest so far. We needed to find a dumping station and there was one about a half hour away. This was our first time having to do it so we were a little apprehensive. We pulled up to the office in this large rv park and after Christine told the owner our story, he sent someone out to show us how to do it and gave Christine a bag of m&ms cause he felt bad! We couldn’t believe how simple it was! A load off our minds! One more thing checked off the list!

We were headed to our next Harvest Host in South Carolina about 3 hours away. Of course it took us longer! But we got to see some amazing back country on our way. Usually shooting down 95, there is not much to see. But leave that expressway and there is so much more! Cathi’s Farm in Lillington, NC was one of those places. A huge chicken farm. We stretched our legs and walked about 2 miles checking everything out with it’s beehives and cattle. Farmers these days have to do so much to keep their farms working. Selling honey and jams, specialty food and yarn among other things.This farm had an amazing Christmas light show for the locals. It is a big event and this farmer was putting it all up himself. There were tractor rides and games kids could play all over the place! This guy worked way past dark.

Since we were boondocking for the first time, we were a little nervous, but we had plenty of water and propane so we knew we would be alright. It’s really amazing how good we have been sleeping every night. We are so dog dead tired at the end of the day we look forward to bedtime! There always seems to be something to do! And the driving can be stressful!

On the Road Again

 Our next stop was Honah Lee Vineyard in Gordonsville, VA. As we are finding, everything takes longer than expected. We were going to do a painting at the Alpaca farm but decided to move on. Thank God we left! It took us 5 hours to get here and we arrived just as the sun was setting.We drove through some great scenery to get here. I always wanted to see the backroads! Glenn would have loved it! Now we had water and electricity but no internet. I didn’t mind, I was really tired and passed out around 7pm. I couldn’t keep my eyes open!

The next morning we took our first shower in the rv. It felt so good even though it went from hot to cold to hot again! We are truly roughing it! We decided we needed provisions. The locals said there was a Walmart down the road. A half hour later we found it. Christine went shopping while I waited in the car with Darla. After what seemed like an eternity Christine came back. She said it was one of the largest stores she had ever seen! People had there carriages loaded, probably cause it was the only store around, so it took a long time. When we got back and unpacked our stuff, we took a walk with Darla through the sleepy vineyard. It was good to use my legs! Figuring we deserved a little treat after our walk, we headed for the tasting room. I bought a nice bottle of Chardonnay and Christine got a delicious Sangria slushy. We had nice conversation with the owner who was a retired police officer and a very large man. I would’ve hated to be pulled over by him! But he was really nice and told us what was around there. Since it was a little warmer down here, we enjoyed our wine outside to scan the hillside and sunset. It is starting to feel almost normal to retire in the rv. My job tonight was to figure out how to upload our videos for our documentary. Fortunately, I have a patient teacher and finally figured it out.  Now we just have to remember to take the videos!!!

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A Learning Experience

Our first night was exactly what one might expect. Not a lot of sleep. We went to bed kind of early. We were very stressed from our first day on the road.  And everything we did made noise. We have to take care of Darla who needed water and needed to be taken out. Just using the bathroom was noisy. The door has a magnet that slams it close. The pump on the toilet was loud. It seemed every time I fell asleep I was woken up by something. It was a long night.

The next day we got up and tried to organize everything. We threw everything in the rv when we left so we didn’t know where anything was! Since we didn’t have any water we had to do our business outside. But we got to see the place and it was quaint. I would love to see it in the summer. 

The next place we were headed to was about 3 hours away. We got on the road and the traffic was moderate. I was pretty comfortable driving the rv except when there was a truck on both sides of me. It was white knuckle driving for sure! We got on and off these small routes many times carving our way through a lot of back country. The scenery was gorgeous. I’d love to come back here in the summer to paint. Lots of farms and old buildings. We were near Reading, PA.

We reached our destination around dusk. It took an hour longer than expected. I’m so glad we didn’t get there when it was dark. We had to go down this big hill with not much of a road. It certainly was something to see! An Alpaca farm. Our Harvest Host let us hook up even though they normally didn’t do that here. We had no water or battery power so it would had been a rough night otherwise! We visited their store and bought some fresh meat and eggs. Christine bought some alpaca yarn and I bought an alpaca doll for a souvenir. I stayed next to an Alpaca farm in Wyoming as well, so it was a nice reminder. Our Host gave us some feed for the animals, so we went off to feed the animals and take pictures. It was so beautiful out. The light was golden and it wa fun to see all of the animals. Even though alpacas aren’t known for their spitting, one of the larger ones spit at Christine. Unfortunately I didn’t see it. I would have loved to see the look on her face, lol! It gave her a hefty spray! 

Having water and electricity again seemed like a luxury. It’s amazing how fast we learned to appreciate such simple things. Again we went to sleep early. Our days took so much energy to get through we had no problem getting to sleep. I slept so much better knowing what to expect this time. The next morning we got a better look at the farm. We took some great footage of a momma pig feeding her babies. She had a lot of patience! Her cats Anthony and Cleopatra followed us around as we took pictures of all of the chickens goats, pigs and alpacas. The woman who owned the farm took care of most of it by herself. It’s nice to meet another strong woman.

We had a nice breakfast of farm fresh eggs and sausage with veggies before we left for our next destination.

And Off We Go!

We were supposed to leave on our new adventure Saturday, Dec 11. 

Saturday, Dec 8 my nephew Michael, who is housesitting for me, came to my house to help me put a Tonneau cover on the back of the truck. What should have taken 20 minutes was taking so much longer. He managed to put it on with no trouble, but we couldn’t get it to shut tight. After trying it different ways, it began to get dark and we quit. I tried readjusting the screws the next day and I couldn’t figure it out. My sister and brother-in-law came over and for another 2 hours we were about to throw in the towel when I saw my neighbor getting his mail and I called him over. With his fresh mind, he simply opened the tailgate and it immediately closed! Unbelievable! Something so simple was overlooked! One disaster averted…

I spent the rest of the week delivering my commissions, making canvases and packing what I needed.

Christine came to my house On Friday and we packed up our stuff…..lots of stuff!!! When we were done, I went to lock the truck and nothing happened. The battery was dead! I called AAA and they were coming at 7:30 pm. I was exhausted by this time.The serviceman told me the battery was completely deleted so he put a new one in for me. Thank God we didn’t leave before having that done! Another disaster averted.

Saturday rained all day. It was supposed to clear all day but it never did. I was hoping to leave my house around 11. I had to unwinterize the RV so I could add fresh water to it. I read the manuals and watched the tutorials on it, but our rv was just a little different. I had to call Airstream and we figured it all out. That took some time. Then I told them that I had read that the lugs on the rv have to be tightened after the first 50 miles and they agreed which meant I had to buy a lug wrench. Instead I went back to Town Fair Tire where I bought my new tires and they were great! They tightened all the lugs on the truck and rv and checked the tire pressure too! By the time we got back to my house we were so stressed. I was supposed to pick Christine up at her house by 11 so she could finish packing and could leave her car in her garage. It was already 2pm. I was supposed to boondock at my friend Claudia’s house that night but it was getting too late. We had to cancel. We decided to bring the rv to Pinehills and leave the next day. That evening We ran into Maryanne Galvin who will be doing a documentary on us and she said she would meet us at 10 to show us how to make and save files…

Sunday, Maryanne was prompt. We immediately could see that my computer wouldn’t do so we had to run to Best Buy and invest in a new computer. Thankfully we were in and out. The Christmas rush didn’t get in our way. Back at Christine’s we got our tutorial from Maryanne. Again, it was getting late fast. 3:00!! Christine quickly threw what was left to pack into the rv and we were on our way to our first stop at the Aquina’s Nest Winery in Ct. 

What was supposed to be a 3 hour ride took us 4 hours and we had to pull in in pitch dark conditions. We managed our way into the lot and tried to set up. We realized that the water latch was open so all of our water drained out while we were driving. Then we noticed that our batteries were dead. What the heck!

Thankfully the winery let us use their plug so we were ok for the night. We wouldn’t be freezing that night. We enjoyed some delicious lobster bisque, clam chowder and shrimp tacos and a flight of wines and watched the comedy show. We slept ok that night after learning what temperature we would be 

comfortable with.

And So it Begins!

 Yesterday was my last class for the season and maybe forever...I decided to take on a season of teaching thinking covid was clearing up and after a year of grieving, I thought I needed to get back into it. I am so glad I did. I love to teach and I love the people I am teaching. It filled my day and kept me from thinking too much. I needed to be around people and they lit me up. So it was a melancholy feeling, my last class. 

This morning I took my time getting up. Trying to conjure up positive thoughts. We were picking up the Airstream today! I was terrified, but kept my feeling at bay. I went through my morning in slow motion. Christine was on her way and we were to take a class to teach us how to use our new home. When she came to the door she looked excited and asked if I was too. At this time in my life (because of grief) I don't get too excited about anything. I try to be open minded and not think too much about what's next so I don't worry myself too much. But deep down inside, I really was terrified about hauling the RV. I did everything I could think of to get the truck in tip top shape. I have never done anything like this before so I had no idea what was in store.

We arrived in Nashua a little late, but the guys at Airstream were wonderful. Jason took us through the entire outside and then the entire inside. He was very thorough. At the end he took me for a test drive around the building giving me helpful hints on driving. It felt great! And with as much courage as I could muster, we took off. It was like nothing was on the back. We didn't have a lot of traffic and we made it home with no problems. The Airstream is a magnificent RV and the engineers thought of everything. It was dark when I got home, so I left it on the front lawn and Christine took some packed bags and put them inside. Tomorrow we will unpack and set things up. 

We were hoping to take a few short trips before leaving but with the weather getting colder, the RV is winterized, so we will wait till we are ready to go. I have my nephew staying at my house while we are gone and we have to check the weather, but we are planning on leaving in the near future. 

Stay tuned to see us begin our new adventure! We are planning on doing podcasts, blogs and a few other things to keep everyone up to date. We have lots of things planned, but mainly to paint, paint, paint!

Art Saves Lives

 Looking back on my posts made me sad. The last three years have been brutal. But I am slowly moving forward. I have done so much since September to move on past this grief. With the pandemic, it has been an Olympian feat! I have traveled with my recently widowed friend from Florida all the way up to Maine. Trying to paint away my sadness. I have often felt like a criminal escaping jail.

I haven't painted as much as I did before all of this happened, but I feel that my work is more meaningful or deep. I'm not sure if what has happened has anything to do with it or I am just growing, but I have had a major response from people and most of it is selling rapidly.

Painting is the only time when I feel like myself. I have to think about what I am doing, so I am not dwelling in the past. It is a relief. People stop by to look and have no idea what I've been through so I can have normal conversations. It gives me purpose and forces me to leave my home. I can paint without crowds so I don't have to worry about covid. I think the worse thing about the pandemic is that you have to hibernate from people and that is completely depressing to someone who loves to be social.

I can definitely say that art saves lives. It is saving mine... It has made me friends, paid my bills and kept my sanity,(for the most part). It forces me outdoors and comforts me. It has inspired me and humbled me.

And then....

As I look at my last post, I see how naive I was. One minute I was a traveling fool, the next minute... tragedy emerges. After intuitively knowing my husband was sick, there was no more ignoring it. He has cancer. The next few months my life was thrown into a cauldron of emotions and trauma.

I had just come from a vacation in Florida where I was painting with my friends. We were laughing and carefree. At that time, I had an intuition that Glenn was sick. I had been trying to get him to a doctor for at least three years. I had related this to my friends at the time. It was abstract. I couldn't imagine what would happen next.

When I got home, after Glenn had gone to the doctors for what they thought was an average UTI, they discovered that he had a tumor in his bladder and they wanted to take care of it ASAP. This begins one of the most traumatic times of our lives.

As he goes into his surgery to remove this tumor, a one day, outpatient event, we begin our journey into the world of cancer. A place I never thought I would go.

When they remove the tumor with none surgical procedure, they discover that he has a bigger tumor in his colon. This is the original tumor that has grown into his bladder, spread to his abdomen and has created 3 inch legions in his liver. A death sentence. This tumor in his colon has burst through into his bladder and causes a fistula. It is a door from his colon into his bladder. Bad news. The colon is filled with bacteria and can not get into his bladder, and if the surgeons let this go, he would be dead in hours. So he has to have another surgery to close off the colon and they had to put on a colostomy bag.

This wasn't so bad in it's self , but what he went through in the next two years was hell on earth.

He passed away September 9, 2020. It was the worse year you could ever imagine. He was told he had a month to live and managed to go 19 months more. My Dad passed away that December. After moving into my house for only 3 hours, he decided that he was going to "croak here or in the hospital". He was right. We sent him to the hospital and he died the next day. That year I lost 3 friends, a cousin, my godfather, my husband and my father. Everything in my house seemed break or expire during that year as well. And lets not forget the pandemic. So I guess 2018 was my gift from God to get through the next three years.