Glorious Fun

Oh, it has been a glorious week so far, and it is only Wednesday!

I’d love to just blurt out all the goodness that God has been bestowing on us as of late, but I will take my time and parse it out properly over the next few posts.

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day. I spent it with my daughter, doing not much of anything, just mom and daughter stuff. We made gluten free peanut butter cookies (recipe to follow) and she highlighted my hair . . . wait for it . . . wait . . .

PURPLE! And so now with my natural silver/gray, I’m sporting the Sacramento King’s colors! Too funny. That one’s just for you, Dale! (Okay, so it doesn’t show up all that well in this picture, but my hair is tinted purple on the ends.)

Those of you who know me personally might notice something else about the pictures. I’m losing weight, although I am not sure how much because I have not stepped on a scale since Portland. Needless to say, I am down a few sizes. Yea! And it is simply melting away without all the usual starvation and torture. What’s my secret, you may ask? Well, when we started our journey, we basically changed our entire lifestyle. That, and I give thanks to God for this, another blessing in my life.

Okay, so I am blurting out an awful lot of the goodness all at once.

On to the cookie recipe. It is the simplest and most delicious cookie recipe ever. Even if you are not gluten intolerant, you may want to try these. They are amazing.

GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla

That’s it, unless you are hankering for chocolate with your peanut butter, then add some chocolate chips and you are good to go.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and I promise they will disappear right before your eyes, even before they have had a chance to cool. Better double the recipe, folks, it is that good.

Love and blessings to you all,

Jenni and Ken

Costume Ball

If we had known that staying at RV resorts could be so much fun . . .

. . . We might have pushed a little harder to get on the road sooner!

Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort is one of the best resorts we have found to date. Though we hear there are even better ones out there, I cannot see how!

Every weekend, Cherry Valley serves awesome meals, at prices seniors can afford, though not all who live this lifestyle are seniors, I’m finding. I am talking steak dinners for seven bucks or BBQ chicken for six! And that’s complete with salad, sides, and dessert. Breakfast is comparably satisfying and economical.

Plus, several weekends a month, Cherry Valley hires a band, and the party really gets going. It is an awesome social atmosphere, without all the creepy strangers, drunken brawls, and smoke-filled rooms. We know most everyone whom we are partying with, and it is like a big, happy family fun night. It’s great!

This past Saturday night was the Halloween costume party, and Suzy and the Cruisers was the band. Lots of great oldies songs.

Ken dressed up as a headhunter. I simply went all in orange, “The Great Pumpkin,” I proclaimed myself.  My daughter and her beau joined us for the evening, too. It was great fun.

A typical family photo, I caught my daughter, Nina, with her mouth full! Patrick doesn’t look pleased I’m snapping pics while he’s trying to eat, either. Oh, but that’s what moms do best. Smile, baby, love you bunches.

 

These “shrunken heads” are actually dried apples.

Blessings to you and yours,

Jenni and Ken

Juggle and Dance

For Sale: Older family home on the outskirts of Beaumont. This is a must see and will not stay on the market long.

Years ago when Ken and I were in the market to purchase our first home together, we scanned the newspaper and we relied on friends to give us the scoop on choice properties they had heard about. This was before we had a computer in our home, mind you. Back then, we used the old-fashioned style of networking.

We saw some beauties, as we traipsed around every weekend from one open house to the next. Most of these beauties we could not afford, of course. But we dared dream big for someday’s sake.

(Wouldn’t this be lovely. Actually, it is Pittock Mansion in Portland, Oregon.)

(Trevor and I washing our feet, above, after working outside in our garden, below, Spring 1999)

The house we settled on was not my first choice, but it was in a good neighborhood, top-notch school district, and it was on a cul-de-sac and was fully fenced. All these were important for my children and so trumped, for instance, a larger kitchen or a basement. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage.

In the thirteen years we lived in our home, I longed for a larger one. I longed to have an office and a guest room and maybe even a family room, instead of all those rolled into my daughter’s old bedroom. I grumped and grumped about it only having about 1200 square feet of living space, yet in the end, when illness took over, I could no longer even keep that small of a home clean without help.

Then we lived in the tiny duplex for three years. This was a major adjustment, being so  much smaller than even that 1200 square foot home. But we did it, and I grumped about all our junk, day in and day out, until I could grump no more.

Now we live in a 32 foot Firan Raven motor coach with no slide outs. It is crowded. We cannot seem to get rid of all our junk. I guess it’s human nature, our junk, our mess. We all have something hidden in our closets, or spilling out as the case may be.

Even though it’s crowded and we have to juggle and dance more often than not, I love living in this confined space. Most everything I need is close at hand. Our bedroom is wall-to-wall mattress and pillows. Most nights I sleep like a baby tucked safely in a crib.

I am claustrophobic, but this arrangement does not bother me. I have the whole out-of-doors as my living space. At most resorts, we have a pool and a hot tub a short walk away, and with all the beautiful, new surroundings, I am eager and willing to walk Tinker Belle every day, too.

Sure, I would like a large house some day, but I can clean this one, end to end, in under an hour. How could I ever beat that, without hiring help?

Blessings are where you look for them.

Love,

Jenni and Ken

The Long Haul South

Ken and I weighed our options. We tossed around many different scenarios, on what we should do and where we should go next. We thought about staying in Chowchilla, but then opted against it because, frankly, there’s not enough of interest in that area to keep Ken out of trouble. He would have gotten restless, waiting for me to get through my next round of artemisinin, which I take three days out of every fourteen, to combat the babesia infection (a Lyme co-infection).

Now, artemisinin is not for the faint of heart. It is brutal, and it takes the rest of the two weeks to build myself back up to withstand the next round. Being caught in what has become a vicious cycle, it came down to either waiting it out a week on the valley floor, where it was forecast to be really, really hot (and boring), or spend two nights on the road, holding off on the artemisinin for those two days, so that we could then settle in down south, where we really wanted to be.

So, the first night we spent at Buttonwillow rest stop, which is still in the valley, and it was a miserably hot night with little sleep for either of us.

Speaking of Buttonwillow rest stop: The farther south we traveled along I-5, the more we saw signs about the government causing a draught and subsequent dustbowl because of the enforced water shortage. Plus, there’s signs at each rest stop about conserving water. Well, at Buttonwillow, they have not gotten the message. The sprinklers ran and ran and ran, and at least one sprinkler head was broken and poured water full force. The grass was positively soggy and the dog area was a muddy mess.

All this at a public/government run rest stop, during mandated water conservation? All this, while not ten miles away, crops are drying up and blowing away?

Somebody doesn’t have their priorities straight.

Then again, I question my own priorities, when I push myself on long hauls like this. Each move and all the driving take a lot out of me. But I wanted to be near my daughter, whom I have not seen since she came home for my dad’s funeral.

It took every ounce of strength and prayer I could muster to get us here in one piece. You know that song, Jesus Take the Wheel? Well, He was definitely the One driving yesterday.

If only I could have tapped into one of those wind turbines that seem to have sprouted up on every little hill in the Mojave Desert . . .

We spent the second night in Victorville. Being in the desert, the day may have been hot, but the night was gloriously cool and breezy.

After exploring Victorville and Hesperia a bit, we finished our long haul, arriving at Fisherman’s Retreat in Redlands, in time for lunch, then a nice shower and a dip in the pool before falling, exhausted, into bed before eight.

I slept like a rock. Twelve glorious hours. Can you believe it? Sleep priority has been met.

Love,

Jenni

Busy as a Bee

Life on the road is busy, busy, busy, despite my assumptions to the contrary. I thought I would have plenty of time to write, to paint, to do whatever my heart desired.

(Hey! We finally spotted another Firan Raven. This one’s a 1995. Ours is a 1996.)

Well, maybe life wouldn’t be so busy, if I hadn’t suddenly developed a gregarious attitude/outlook on life. There are so many interesting people out there, and I want to hear all of their stories. I crave the laughter and sharing that happens amongst family, friends, and new acquaintances alike. I cherish each touch, each word, each gesture given or spoken with compassion of heart and honesty of soul.

Among the full-timer set, I thought I might not fit in. I’m considerably younger than most. Though many are more spry than I, in body.

Even so, there’s a unity, a bond, a special cohesiveness, within this ever-changing body of elders with whom I spend my days—and they accept me as one of them. One leaves, another picks up right where they left off. Conversations and laughter ebb and flow with the comings and goings of old and new friends.

We have all chosen this life, though our reasons may be as varied as our personalities.

Ken and I have chosen this life, and I love it. I am grateful to my husband, for without him, I could not have all these new adventures.

Thank you, Lord, for placing Ken in my life and placing us on this path, this journey of a lifetime. Amen.

Love and blessings,

Jenni

Revisiting The Rodeo

I thought I might share more of the photos from the St. Paul Rodeo.

 

 

 

 

Peace, love, and blessings,

Jenni

Home Sweet Home

The past month has seemed like a blur, we’ve been so busy. When we arrive at a destination, I have all these great notions to get all this writing done, plus tons of other things. But all my body wants to do is sleep, in an attempt to recuperate from traveling.

Different elevations and different weather patterns have also worked their unrelenting “magic” on my oversensitive joints and bones, my oversensitive body. After spending the last week at 6,000 feet, I now know that that is not the elevation for me. There’s not enough oxygen up here in the crisp mountain air.

One good thing this past week has been that the humidity has been very low. There is so little moisture in the air, but then that has led to daily nose bleeds and contending with dust, dust, and more dust.

This is our last evening at Snowflower Lake Thousand Trails Park. We had a nice dinner of steak and sautéed vegetables. The coach is in relatively decent shape, almost ready to roll in the morning. So I actually have an hour to spend on my writing.

Even though we are not organized, yet, and my body complains so, I still love our home on wheels and the life we have chosen.

Love and blessings,

Jenni

Not So Out of Touch

The Internet has been down, here at Neskowin Creek RV Resort, but it really hasn’t been an issue. Not for me, anyway. I see some people acting like addicts in search of their next hit, as they ask in the office and then ask random people if they’ve gotten on lately.

For me, it has been so peaceful. I have wanted to log on and write a post or two. It just wasn’t in the cards.

In the time I’ve not been spending online, I've had many actual conversations with real flesh-and-bone people and I've learned so much about myself and others in the process. Plus I haven't laughed and smiled this much in a long time.

I’ve also had time to work on editing my book. In a few weeks’ time, I should have the final edit finished, and my manuscript will be ready for publishing. Yes, I realize I’ve been talking about this book off and on for the past several years. I thought I had it finished two years ago. I really did. I had Office Depot print copies, and I handed them out to a few friends, family, and trusted others. I really thought I was ready. But God said, “Not yet.” He was basically telling me the book wasn’t finished because I had one more Major, dare I say Super Major, test to go through. Having now finished that trial, I feel the peace that I believe means I can now finish and publish.

Plus, Ken and I have had time to just relax without stressing about anything other than not being organized full-timers yet.

This past week has been good, very good. Maybe God’s been using this time to reinforce the last trial He put me through.

Thank heaven for limited internet!

We should all go net-less once in a while.

Peace, love, and joy to you all!

I'll be checking out again!

Change Is In The Air

I have been rather restless as of late. All these stressors have gotten to me, true, but as I peel away the layers, I discover something different at the core. It is scary yet oddly comforting at the same time.

This newly discovered core is really not so new. I have a habit of putting my wants, needs, desires, dreams on the back burner while in pursuit of another’s goals and desires. I do the typical mother thing by putting others before myself. This is all well and good, normally, but it must be monitored. It must not take over one’s entire life.

When in an airplane, we are instructed to put our oxygen mask on first, before helping anyone else. I have forgotten my own oxygen altogether.

Lately I have been very restless. My goals and needs are not being met.

I thought at first maybe it was all the turmoil with Ken and Trevor both needing surgery, and me being caught in the middle as caregiver. I thought it might have to do with our travel plans being postponed, again and again. I thought many things--

--Before I came to a realization. There are things I must do for me. There are things I must do to fulfill a promise I made years ago, to God. His calling calls me again.

So it isn’t really about clutter or space or surgery or finances even. (Though finances are a worry in any situation.) It is about me working toward my life’s goals. It is about me going back to school and serving and caring for others.

And herein lies the problem: I need to talk to Ken about this and I do not know if he will hear me or poo-poo me. I don’t know how he might feel about traveling less than full time. Still travel, but not constantly. Vacations and snow-birding.

Pray for us, please, that I can make him understand how important my mission is to me and please also pray that I might find a way to carry out my mission.

Thank you for listening, and bless you.

Busman’s Holiday

Have you ever wondered about that phrase—busman’s holiday? I always imagined that when a bus driver (or any other person employed full time as a driver, for that matter) went on vacation, he would naturally prefer NOT to drive at all. Funny thing is, my busman, my dear sweet hubby who is recently retired from being a city bus driver, actually likes to drive.

That is part of the reason behind getting the Raven and planning to live five years on the road. He doesn’t mind all that extra driving one bit. And I am more than happy to let him do most of the driving, while I sit back and navigate our many adventures.

That’s the talent I bring to our chosen lifestyle—navigating and planning interesting and unique adventures. I love planning, mapping out our routes, and watching eagerly, anticipating each new vista. In fact, I have usually done enough research while planning our trips that I recite tidbits of history and trivia as we go. This is me checking my notes at a stop today.

In this way, my busman and I make a great pair. Opposites perfectly matched. Not two peas in a pod, but maybe peas and carrots, if I may stretch the metaphor a bit.

Yesterday we had to head north to Seattle to see my Lyme specialist. We make this trip often during the year, and we usually spend one night in Seattle and then head home, or worse, if we are strapped for cash, we turn around and head home the same day. That makes for a grueling trip, which puts me out of commission for several days following our return.

This time, since I have been so stressed because both of my guys needing shoulder surgeries, we decided to finesse our way into a few extra days away. Why not, I say. My son can watch the dogs, and there aren’t any pressing matters keeping us in Portland right now, until next week anyway.

We would have taken the Raven, but she is needing a little more work. That’s the pitfall of buying a used rig. There’s always something popping up. This time, though, I think the issue arose because of the roof replacement. Maybe a crimped wire or something, because there hasn’t been any power in the bedroom since the repair. We’ve just been procrastinating again, otherwise it would have been fixed by now. Silly us.

As luck would have it, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It even reached 71 yesterday afternoon in Seattle. Why, we haven’t even reached 70 in Portland yet this year. God is definitely shining His love on us this week. As luck would also have it, we managed to secure a beautiful suite in Victoria—for four nights!

And so, drum roll please, after spending one night south of the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, we crossed over into Canada this morning.

As Ken sees it, it isn’t such a big deal, crossing an international border. He’s been to Canada and Mexico many times, not to mention he lived in Germany for a while when he was in the Army. But to me, I have never been out of the United States, ever. Never in my 44 years on this earth have I left my birth country. Until today.

So I had to get a picture of me on Canadian soil as we waited at the ferry terminal.

By the time we boarded the ferry, I was awfully excited, positively bubbling over. We made our way to the top deck, for a better view as we departed.

The vibrations from the ferry engines, as it chugged backwards and out of port, reverberated through my  heels. The vibrations then mingled in my abdomen with the energy from my excitement, and climbed until it glittered brightly in my eyes and electrified my tongue, causing me to chatter away about the beauty of the surrounding waters and all the possibilities this trip would bring.

After sightseeing topside awhile and having a bite of lunch, we wandered back to the car for the tiniest of siestas.

I am so exhausted and in pain from two days in the car, but I am too excited to rest. I tried to nap once we checked in to our hotel, but it is no use. As soon as Ken is rested a bit, we will be off again, searching out Chinatown for dinner and a little sightseeing before the sun sets.

More on Victoria tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the view from our balcony. I know I do. ♥♥♥

There’s a large pool and two hot tubs one floor down from us. This one must be the “party spa.”