WELCOME also to Gail and Rick of Gypsy Turtles - great name! I'll read along with you as you get started full-timing. (Glad you got the red wine stain out of the carpet - lots of good suggestions in your comments, too.)
Remember I told you when I give Katie a treat she puts it in her mouth, gets a ball and walks around with them for a while? She always has to show me and will stand there like this until I tell her what a lucky girl she is.
She's so proud of herself and her treat!
It's the funniest thing - I've never seen a dog do this before.
Yesterday I went out to shop - groceries, etc. Went to Costco first and got the sweetest strawberries and grapes. They also had blueberries - not so sweet but not bad. Then went to the grocery store for the things I didn't want to buy in bulk. My Dad's birthday is the 10th, so I got him a present to mail today, and made him a birthday card.
I decided to look later for camping things. I've gotten so frugal I'm not sure I want to spend the money on equipment I won't use in a year or so. I used to be a shopaholic - whatever I wanted I got. Now that I've reversed things it's hard to spend money on something I don't NEED. I have a tendency to get into activities, buy everything I need and then some, and then not really use them. I did that with skiing, backpacking, fishing, crafts. All expensive hobbies and although I really enjoyed doing them, I didn't do enough to justify the money I spent on the equipment. Last time I moved I had a huge garage sale, and sold most of the backpacking and skiing things, but not the fishing and crafting stuff - I still have those and hope to use them when full-timing.
Last night I did some research on-line for some of the things I'd need to camp. Comparing prices, re-thinking if I really need them. Stove, headlamp, tent (I LOVE the SUV tent, but a standalone is 1/3 the price). Other things in the "camping" section of Costco, Walmart, Target, REI.
I'm thinking now that I should take Katie for an overnight at first - just in the car. I can bring food and drinks, we can do a little hiking, see what's what. I've always done this kind of thing with a boyfriend or husband. Love the outdoors, but haven't gone alone. I am never bored - I've always enjoyed my own company, but that's at home where I have all my stuff to keep me occupied, and the TV the rest of the time.
I don't know what's holding me back - I think about it, and plan where I'll go, make lists of what I'll need, do all the research, got the CampBook at AAA, printed out hikes nearby, etc., etc., etc. Then I put it on my desk and let it percolate in my brain for a while.
I think I'm going to wrap my Dad's present, drop it off at the post office, and take Katie to Julian - a nice drive - and we can check out some things on the way. At least it's a start.
Opps - thought I posted this before we left - We DID go to Julian. I got some interesting photos, which I'll post tomorrow.
For now, I've ordered takeout Fish House Vera Cruz for dinner and I'm going to pick it up and have a fabulous dinner at home and upload my photos. A nice dinner to top off the day.
Opps - thought I posted this before we left - We DID go to Julian. I got some interesting photos, which I'll post tomorrow.
For now, I've ordered takeout Fish House Vera Cruz for dinner and I'm going to pick it up and have a fabulous dinner at home and upload my photos. A nice dinner to top off the day.
From Me and a very tired Katie, have a super Saturday evening, everyone! : )
I went camping for a week end in Julien in 1967, what a long time ago!!! what memories you brought to me!
ReplyDeleteI've never been much of a shopper, but our house seems full anyway because we have never moved on our own ticket and never "lightened the load."
ReplyDeleteI like to look at things I might want in an RV, but have disciplined myself to look and not buy yet.
Love the photo of Katie, you should submit it to http://toadilypets.com
ReplyDeleteWe went to Julian 3 times I think, when we were boondocking in Borrego Springs, CA last spring (late Mar, early Apr - several blogs and photos).
That's a great photo of Katie. Who knows what dogs are thinking??
ReplyDeleteWe visited Julian last February but it was a freezing cold day up in the mountains. We want to go back when it's a bit warmer.
Glad to hear you changed your mind about the camping stuff. I too used to be a shopper and I can still get going if I let myself but life is so much better without any debt, trust me, I know very well!!
ReplyDeleteI used to travel and hike with family and friends, but now I find if I want to go its just me alone-I like to travel as light as possible...I drove to AZ last spring and visited a friend who now lives there. We are both "broke" so we camped. I've been an avid traveler and camper all my life...MOST of my stuff needs to be replaced..but I will stitch it up, patch it up and keep using it. I recently gave away a tent to a young fellow I ran into who was biking from Florida to Maine, his tent got ripped so I gave him my newer 3-person dome and he took it to Maine! I have a single backpacker tent, 2 pop tents, an old smelly 3 person tent, thats the one I took with me this past yr and a pup tent-!
ReplyDeleteThat picture of Katie is priceless!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya. I have spent my share of $ on crafts and backpacking etc... too. But I'm in a very frugal frame of mind these days. I'm so focused on my RV savings that any $25purchase is evaluated in terms of how far that gets me from my goal. Hope I can maintain it ....
Kim
Your puppy is so cute!! Thank you for following our blog. We visited Julian in March when we were staying at the SKP Park in Aguanga. It's one of our favorite areas and loved the pie shops!
ReplyDeleteLove the Katie picture. Can totally relate to not buying stuff we don't really need. Since we down-sized from over 1600 square feet down to aroud 350, there just isn't room for much anymore. My only big splurge is books. Can't live without my books.
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