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.”

Still Looking

My eyes are all buggy and hurting. I have been on this computer for way too long. But such is life when you are trying to accomplish a goal.

I honestly tried to find those negatives of Suzie as a puppy so that I could continue the furry family album series, but I started in the wrong box and got bored with the whole process. No wonder they charge a ton of money to digitize negatives professionally. It is a tedious job. And boring. But at least I got some reading done. I just love my Kindle.

Anyway, three days ago, I set aside the negatives, so that I would not get negative. Ha ha. And then I started in with the whole editing and compiling process to finally get my book ready for publishing.

Talk about a tedious job. When I attempted the editing and compiling a few months ago, it was horribly complicated. All my files are in Word, and there is just no easy way to get them all together without going crazy. And trying to make sure I am maintaining good flow and continuity from page one to the end, well, that is very difficult in Word.

A fellow writer, however, turned me on to an awesome program: Scrivener. I absolutely love it. I can switch back and forth between chapters quickly. I can see everything all at once. I can make notes on the side that will not end up in the final draft but which are important to me now. It is just the greatest thing since sliced bread.

If you write, I would highly recommend checking it out at this link.

Have a great day, and maybe soon I will get those negatives scanned in. Meanwhile, I am quitting for the evening before my eyes bleed.

Life’s Little Obstacles

“Whether we’re prepared or not, life has a habit of thrusting situations upon us.”

Lucille Ball

 

So, it is probably no big news that someone who suffers from depression, anxiety, and a major illness (not that depression and anxiety aren’t major illnesses) would seek out counseling services. I am not ashamed to say that I need help from time to time. We should never be ashamed to ask for help when we need it.

We should also never be ashamed to take time for ourselves, to carve out of our day whatever it is we need to not only survive, but thrive.

Each one of us is valuable and deserving of our own compassion, our own goodness. I am worth the effort it will take to get my own “stuff” taken care of. And part of that “stuff” is getting my book finished.

My main excuses have been that I don’t have space. I don’t have the freedom, with Ken home all the time now, wanting my attention. I don’t have the time, with all the other things that need to be done so that we can get on the road. I don’t feel good. I am tired. Blah, blah, blah.

Yesterday, I confessed to my counselor my real reason for not finishing my book, which is so close to being finished. I fear it will fail. I fear no one will read it. I fear my message will not be heard, despite all my efforts.

My wise counselor asked one simple question, which put everything in perspective. (He has that habit.) If you could help just one person with your story, would it be worth it?

Yes, of course. If I could save one person from suffering the torture and abuse I have been through. If I could help one woman to find the courage to love herself enough to walk away. If I could help one person, of course it would be worth all my effort and all my tears bringing this book to fruition.

Yes, I need to finish my book. Now. Not someday.

So, I need to tackle some of those obstacles that are currently standing in my way.

Today, I took step one to create my own workspace in this small home of ours. The living room is not a viable work area for me because of the television. There isn’t an adequate space available in the tiny bedroom to set up a desk and chair, and I cannot comfortably work on the bed.

And of course, the Raven isn’t back yet. So I cannot work in it. I did talk to Trent today, though. It is going to cost more than I had hoped, but less than I had feared. So, I guess we will be okay, so long as there are no more surprises, like the catalytic converter I found out about today.

I have chosen the utility room in the basement. It may seem like an odd choice, being in the “dungeon” without windows, but it will give me a quiet space of my own. Since Trevor works during the afternoon, it is perfect because he won’t be making noise down there either. His bedroom is right next to the utility, after all. If I really want daylight, I can just open his door, and peek through to his window. There is a way to get around everything, if you try hard enough, even sharing space with the food larder and the washer and dryer.

My furry family album had to be put on hold for a while, too, because of my lack of space. I realized after starting that line of posts that the majority of pictures taken during Suzie’s younger years are not digitized yet. For some reason, when the stores started offering CDs when you got your pictures developed, I forgot to check that box at least half the time.

But never fear, I bought myself a Christmas gift to take care of such a problem: A negative scanner.

And as soon as Trevor gets the power cord for me and takes the scanner and a few boxes of photos downstairs, we will be back in business!

And look here, he did it already! What a sweetheart.

Yes, Dear

“If you are writing every day, why aren’t you working on your book?”

I have complained that I have nowhere to work. I have complained that I don’t feel good. I have complained that there is too much else for me to do and that I feel guilty spending time on my book. Obviously, none of those reasons is the real excuse. Lyme leaves me sitting on my rump more often than I like, so why don’t I work on the final editing process? I am so close to being finished, it is ridiculous.

Frankly, my book is emotionally charged and I am drained. I know me and I know I get worked up every time I start editing again. I cry. I say way too many why me’s. I connect my computer to the TV, yet again, to watch Netflix, instead of working, and then I blame it on the guys, when they enter the room to zone out with me. “Well, if you would let me use my computer . . .”

Enough excuses!

My husband is right. If I have the time and ability to write my blog and play on the computer every day, then I can spend at least an hour a day working on my book. I can carve out a workspace in the house. The table is always cluttered with junk, so why not clear it and claim that space as my own? Get rid of my pill basket (I wish). Get rid of the bill box (oh, how I wish). Get rid of all the stuff that just seems to end up there. The Advil really isn’t homeless. It belongs in the medicine cabinet. That growing stack of medical receipts? Take care of it once and for all. What happened to my New Year’s resolution to enter them into the computer and file them monthly? That went out the window way back in February. Oh, I fear tax time will be upon us in the blink of an eye.

Quit complaining and just do it. And don’t do like your Big Dogs sweatshirt says (tomorrow).

So, my list of things to do today, (as soon as I am done procrastinating on the computer, anyway):

1.      Go through all the mail that has been piling up, pay the bills, file what needs filing, and get that box off the table.

2.      Gather all the medical receipts, sort them, and enter them into the computer for taxes.

3.      Clean out the mystery basket on the far corner of the table. How do you have a far corner on a round table? I don’t know, but there is a hideously huge pile growing back there, nonetheless.

4.      Delay the editing process a little more by making a fabulous dinner for my guys. Maybe we will actually eat at the table, since it will be cleared by dinnertime.

5.      And finally, set up my makeshift workstation so that it is ready for Monday morning. There can be no excuses if everything is ready and waiting for me.

So, honey, yes, I heard you for the thousandth time. I know I need to work on my book. I know I am wasting time on nonessentials. I know also that I need to figure out how to balance working on my book and working on the RV remodel. Hmm. Sounds like another way for me to procrastinate.