Self induced Stress (09-20-12)

   Even before we arrived in the Novi area of Michigan, Paul and I had a list of things to get done, and several appointments already set- from doctors to haircuts. We set all of those appointments for our first week here, just in case there were any issues that needed to be addressed before we leave again. There were other things that were “time critical” to get done in the first week, such as bringing my sapphire ring to a jewelers to get it fixed and finally framing the cross stitch that I was supposed to have finished.  Oops.  Well, since I didn’t quite get it done, I guess we don’t have to worry about getting it framed quite yet, although I am determined to get it done soon!



"the kids" start right in with their bickering



   Our daughter has a new  full time job, and hasn’t left her old job yet, so between work and school, she hasn’t had much time available to visit with us, but we are spending as much time as possible with her.  She does have next weekend off finally, so we might get a whole day together!

We have done our “fall” clean out of our trailer, taking out things that we have decided we don’t want to keep anymore and either putting them in storage, or giving them to Good Will. 

       There are many ways of “fulltime” RVing.  Some people sell absolutely everything, and only keep what they can fit in their rig, some sell most things and give mementos to a family member to keep, some keep a home or a cottage as a base, and travel most of the year, and some, like us, keep a storage unit filled with things they might want some day.   Many people have questioned us as to whether it is worth keeping all the “stuff” we have in storage- after all, we are paying a fee every month, and it does add up over time.  But, yes, to us, it’s worth the price, at least at this point.  We both agree that we will want to settle down again someday, even though that day seems to drift further and further into the future, and we’ll want at least some of our stuff.  Paul builds furniture, so many of our best pieces were built by him, and we’ll want them when we stop moving.  He also has all the tools to build more furniture, so we don’t want to get rid of those either.  That being said, there definitely are some things we can weed out and we’ve spent some time over the last few days doing that.  On the Upside, I got to go “shopping” in our storage unit.  I grabbed some “new” clothes, figuring that they’ve already sat there for 3 years- so what I don’t want now I am giving away (mostly).

In addition to all of the above, Paul is spending some time working on Jess’s car, as well as the truck.  He has been very unhappy with the chips in the fenders of the truck, caused by flying rocks, and took the truck to the dealer to get it looked at.  He came away much happier, as he discovered that there is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) on it, so we’ll be getting a new paint job on the fenders, in addition to new, larger, mud flaps, courtesy of Ford Motor Company.  He also ordered new shocks and airbags for the truck, and has already installed the new shocks.  The F450 does an amazing job of towing our trailer, but the front of the trailer, the part that “sits” over the truck is very heavy (pin weight).  It causes the rear of our truck to sag a bit, and the ride to be rougher than we would like.  The new shocks and airbags will help smooth out the ride, and keep the rear end from sagging.



Gary and Leeann

      We are also trying to squeeze in some visits with friends, but honestly, we’ve been so busy getting things done, we haven’t had much free time.  We did finally meet Gary and Leeann, who are also fulltimers who used to live in Michigan.  We've read their blog and chatted with them on forums, and it was nice to meet them in person!