Celebrating the Holidays

Living in a 5th wheel presents its challenges but with it comes the simplicity of the RV lifestyle.

Obviously we won't retrieve the 6' Christmas tree or 7 totes of decorations from storage. However, we will decorate. Just on a much smaller scale.

Our 24" optic tree will fit perfect on a small table between the recliners. Garland and a few lights will adorn the windows. We might hang a few lights outside. And there is even a place for our stockings above the electric fireplace.

We'll cook a turkey or ham in our RV size oven on Christmas Day. And bake a few other goodies to go with it.

I will be estatic on January 1st when I don't have totes of decorations to repack and a tree to take down. It will be a breeze!

A Fireplace in an RV?

People laugh and give me a funny look when I mention a fireplace in our RV. One person even asked if we had a chimney! Now that would be a sight! :)

I have to admit, a fireplace did seem strange to us at first. And to be honest, if we'd ordered this RV we probably would have chosen the cabinet for storage rather than the fireplace.

With dropping temperatures, we've used the electirc fireplace several times this week. A flip of a switch lights up the logs, creates flames and makes the embers glow. Another switch turns on the electric heater.

Not bad....puts out pretty good heat.

We Moved Again!

That's the great thing about living in an RV....it's fairly easy to move.

Steve wanted to move to higher ground in case of flooding. (I wondered about his reasoning since we're in a drought but decided against it. A few years ago he insisted on moving for the same reason and later I was so glad he did. A wind storm hit soon after our move and the canopy of the RV in our old spot was destroyed by a broken tree limb.)

So we moved up on the hill and I started thinking we'd made a mistake. The small concrete pad barely held our RV, truck and car.

Two days later we noticed the motor home two spaces up from us pull out. Steve immediately called the park manager and found out the space was available. We moved again several days later.

We love our new spot. This pad holds a 16x80 trailer and we have plenty of room for our fifth wheel, one ton dually truck, and car. There is even an extra concrete space behind the fifth wheel for a storage shed.

We feel so blessed!

Organization

Organization takes priority when living in an RV.

Small baskets work wonderfully in the large, deep drawers. Plastic containers keep CDs, VCR tapes, and smaller misc items in place in the larger storage areas.

When the shower is not in use, it is a perfect place to store the laundry basket!

And when travelling, the shower creates a secure place for computers, plants and other items.

Content

It's been a few months since we became fulltime RVers.

I wondered if I would miss our house. To be honest, I really haven't. Except for the basement and garage, this RV contains everything we had in the house, just in a smaller space.

We've learned to make some adjustments. Since the TV/entertainment center is next to the computer, hubby and I have worked out a schedule.

If I am working on the computer, he watches TV in the bedroom. Or I work on the laptop in the bedroom if he wants to be in the living area.

All in all, I am happy here.

Such a busy month

I thought life would slow down when we moved into the RV. Less to clean, less to maintain, less to do. But wow, this month escaped in a whirlwind.

I hope October slows down and I get some serious writing done.

Trip to Wisconsin

We took our first trip last week with the new fifth wheel.

We were so impressed with the "MorRyde" shock aborber on the hitch. Wow, it made a world of difference. With the smooth ride I wrote in my journal and amazingly, I could read what I wrote! LOL

We parked at Pattison Park, a WI state park about 10 miles from Superior. The clean, secluded sites gave privacy from other campers. One morning we took a 3 mile hike to the "Little Manitou Falls". Beautiful! But I'll admit, I felt a little nervous hiking through the dense woods. My imagination worked overtime with thoughts of bears and other wild animals rushing out at us!

We Survived the Storm

Yesterday a powerful storm blew through with 60-70 mph winds. We were at work and wondered how things had fared at home.

It took a while to find out because our normal 10 minute commute turned into 45 minutes. A power outage knocked out three traffic lights...what a mess. As I crept along I kept thanking God that I don't drive in that kind of traffic every day!

When we arrived home things seemed to be okay. Our canopied swing survived (I had imagined it would be blown to the next county LOL). We found out later it had blown over and our park manager set it and the sattelite dish back up for us. (He is such a good guy!) I found my plants blown clear under the RV. I rescued three of them and still trying to reach the fourth.

Little Bit seemed okay and wasn't too upset. I always pray for protection and thank God that He was watching over us and our home!

Our New Home

Last month we sold our home and became full time RVers (for the second time around).

After several years of looking, researching, dreaming and praying we purchased a 2008Carriage Carri-Lite 5th wheel and absolutely love it! With 5 slides it's amazing how much room we have!

In two weeks we're leaving on our first trip....we're going to Wisconsin. We don't even have to pack, we just take our house with us! LOL

It's a Frog!

Another story to add to our RV blog....

At 3:30 this morning my husband yells "there's a frog in here!"

I thought I was dreaming until he turned on the light and jumped from the bed.

Seems there was a shadow on the window blind above our bed. When he reached out to put his finger on the blind, a small frog jumped on his pillow. Thank goodness he scooped it up, ran for the door and threw it out in the yard.

We are still trying to figure out how it got in here. And hoping it didn't bring any friends!

You Did What?

Many people don't understand our way of thinking. They can't believe we sold our house, live in an RV and actually plan to live this way indefinitely! They smile at us politely but I'm sure they roll their eyes as they turn away and think "you did what"???

Steve and I love the simplicity of the RV lifestyle. No grass to cut, no upkeep of a house and best of all the entire RV can be cleaned in an hour. LOL We have all the comforts of home including sattelite TV, fireplace, full size kitchen, queen bed, nice shower, washer/dryer combo, central vaccum and so much more.

My desk is my favorite place. I have a place for my laptop, books, writing materials, etc. What more do I need?