Cooling Our Heels

We knew this day would come. We knew we would run out of money before we ran out of month. Why wouldn’t it? It happens to everyone, everywhere, who lives paycheck to paycheck. Being on the road doesn’t make us immune from these everyday woes. It actually makes us more vulnerable.

Our home is one wheels. When it breaks down, we become, essentially, homeless, as happened back in July in Yreka. This was a major financial setback, but (knock on wood) we have not had any problems since.

Over this past month, every semi-annual bill that could possibly come due, did. Therefore, after our valiant push to get down here to Southern California, we now must cool our heels. Kick back and relax. Stay awhile.

As for my mission, God has me working on abiding right now. That’s a word we in this modern time rarely use. We tend to want everything right now. Microwaves ruined us in the kitchen. And on the computer, we get frustrated if a page takes longer than two seconds to download. We cannot even wait to make purchases anymore. If we cannot afford it, that’s what credit was invented for.

With everything available at our fingertips, simply for the asking, we’ve really gotten into a me-me-me attitude, and it sucks. Sorry, but it does.

Stop and smell the roses, already. There’s more to life than the tip of your own nose.

So here we sit, biding our time. God has me in a wait mode right now with my mission, anyway. Maybe that was in response to me complaining that I was so tired and needed a rest, for when I prayed for answers about my Hesperia dream, I was told to be patient and to wait.

When we drove through Hesperia two weeks ago on our way to Beaumont, I was so tired that God could have placed a neon sign directly in my path, and I would probably have missed it.

Friday is moving day again. We will be traveling a whopping six miles down the road to Cherry Valley Ranch.

I like this waiting mode. Besides, it gives me more time to spend with my daughter and, after payday, we can also travel westward to the Los Angeles area, to visit other family members. Seems we’ve got family everywhere and plenty of time to visit!

Love,

Jenni and Ken

Techno-Savvy? Not Me

I thought it might be useful to others who may be on a similar journey (or are contemplating such) to go over some of the things we have found most helpful.

First, when it comes to blogging, I cheat. Gasp! Yes, it is true. I use a Windows program called Windows Live Writer. It allows me to write, edit, and publish a bunch of blog articles all at once, and then they get neatly doled out per my scheduling. So, it may look like I am writing daily or almost daily (I know, ha ha, right), but I can get three or four posts done in one afternoon, and then spend the next three or four days thinking about what to write about next. So, it really isn’t cheating. It is time management.

One major problem we had to overcome was the availability of reliable internet. At first, I tried to just use what was provided by the resorts, but the deeper into California we got, the more expensive it became to “rent” the internet, even for one afternoon. Besides, then we ran into another problem due to the nature of public internet sources. One resort had their router set so that no downloading could be done. I can understand this. They don’t want people tying up the limited internet for everyone by watching You Tube videos or Netflix all day long. But they also stopped me from uploading to the blog server.

So we gulped hard and called AT&T to turn my i-phone into a hotspot. So far, so good on that front.

A guy at Canyon Creek tried to sell us a cell booster of some sort (it is what he does for a living). He proved it worked for his Verizon phone, but he could not guarantee results with AT&T. We did not succumb, but maybe if we found one that did work with our service, then maybe.

For photo editing, I use Photoshop Elements 9. Though some things in life need no help at all in the cuteness department. Photoshop seems to do what I need without too many headaches. Then again, nothing is as user friendly as I used to believe everything was. You know, back when my brain was young and elastic, and not full of disease.

The one thing I have not been able to replace since leaving Portland is the fount of technical knowledge I had at my beck and call—my son.

I miss you, Trevor. Don’t laugh next time I call you because I cannot turn my hotspot on. Unless I am already laughing, of course.

Love and best wishes,

Jenni and Ken

The Birds of Southern California

Ken has been snapping to his heart’s delight, all the unusual birds of this beautiful desert oasis. Okay, so they aren’t so unusual, unless you’ve lived an otherwise untraveled life, such as I have. It has been great, seeing all the new wildlife, birds, and plants.

Here are a few of the birds. I have identified them where I could. There’s one elusive bird, who refuses to pose for the camera—The roadrunner! Yes, we have seen them, but our cameras have not been quick enough to capture this delightful creature. Maybe before our journey is through . . .

Here, we have a lovely Blue Heron, but we have those up in Oregon, too.

A little difficult to see here, this is a Killdeer. Yes, we have those in Oregon, too. I hear them calling, even in the night. They compete with the trains that go by almost constantly right outside the resort.

So, yes, we have ducks, too. I don’t seem to be making my point about unfamiliar wildlife. Hang in there.

This little guy has some strut and a long tail, but his flock mates seem to be missing their tail feathers.

This is a Great Egret, notice the yellow bill. The Snowy Egret is smaller and has a black bill.

This little flycatcher appears to be a Western Wood-Pewee. Somebody needs to tell him that that is a lure, not a fly.

This goofy bird I saved for the finale. It is an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron.

Thank you for following our adventures. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Love,

Jenni and Ken