TAKING STOCK & GETTING THINGS DONE

December 30th: We spent the day sorting through stuff. Holland spent the afternoon outside making the truck ready, sorting/tidying the basement stuff, and straightening the backend storage; I sorted, rearranged, and tidied the in-house stuff. We'll be on the road, Monday morning.

Both of us have lived in RV's for extended periods of time, before (Holland, when he was going from job site to job site as a contractor - and me, when Bob was going from job to job as a logger, and later on, after the kids graduated); so this is nothing new to either of us.

Space is limited when traveling in an RV - an RV (home on wheels; constantly in motion) is NOT he same as a stationary "tiny house". While it is true that both have limited space … space in an RV is a bit trickier - things will not stay put unless you make sure they stay put. Also, there are pushouts to consider, and this poses an entirely different scenario when considering {space} modifications. Everything inside the home needs to be easy to transfer and store when the push outs are pulled in - and everything has to securely stay in place enroute, so nothing gets jammed under the slide outs, throwing a monkey wrench into the works.

That's what I was doing this morning: the back bunkroom has, until today, been the catch-all room resembling a bachelor's quarters … but since it will now become my hideaway room (aka: Babe Cave), it needed tidied ;-)

It took a couple hours to pull everything down - go through it, rearrange some of it - and put it back up there. Some stuff was ditched … some stuff was stored elsewhere. But, it's not a chaotic mess, anymore ;-)

Sorting through this mess & straightening it up …

Bought these bins a few days ago - they will work perfectly ;-)

Tidied up.

And the birthday gifts Holland gave me came in handy :-)

Cargo net clamped tight with my BD clamps …

When Holland came in for a break between his tasks - I nabbed him before he went back outside, and asked him to store the oscillating tower fan atop another bunkroom bunk (I would have had to climb that short bunk ladder, and wasn't comfortable with that): he just wrapped the cord around the base, grabbed it with one big hand … and set it secured in place, up there.

It cracks him up how enthusiastically thankful I am for his extra 11-inches in height over my my 5 ft. 3-inch height: "Thank YOU Yeshua, for my tall man!!!"

It makes a difference!

He laughed, wrapped me in a big bear hug (I like that: I can kiss and hug his generous loving heart ;-)), and went happily back outside to wrap things up out there.

It's not as messy as it appears to be, up there; bulky things are secure.

And I thank Elohim every day for my tall man :-)

Maren Morris - Tall Guys/Official Audio: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngeAMlj5ouU)

Afterwards, I hung my birthday LED Lantern, and took stock of my flip-flips stash. I hadn't realized I had so many … but, that's okay: this way, I have a pair to match with every outfit, and every State we'll be visiting before they wear out and need replacing ;-)

My bright BD LED lamp works real fine under the upper bunk; & a quick ct. of my current Dollar Store Thong Stash ;-)

Then, all our moving-day-tasks completed, Holland juiced up a tasty power drink to enjoy before Supper. It was delish :-)

Holland's tasty power juice - carrot, tangerine, pineapple, lemon, & ginger: YUM!

MAVERICK WAVES~Coastal CA

DECEMBER 29th: Holland used to surf the california coastline, with his uncles and cousins - one cousin (Jim Redmill) was featured on the cover of a surfing magazine in the late 1960's and again, in the 1970's; he had a custom made board, too, that Holland says was "really something to see".

Dangerous waves, some as big as 40 feet, wreak havoc along Pacific coast:  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ieaVDZnKvM)

Just north of Santa Cruz (Holland was born in Santa Cruz; lived there for a while when he worked in construction, and played up and down the coastline), Maverick's is for hard-core surfers who like the risky adrenaline rush that comes with high intensity danger: only professionals are allowed to surf there. The waves are moving so fast, the surfers have to be towed into the swells by wave-runners or boats.

Visitors from all over the world flock to Mavericks as surfers brave massive waves: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzuGQJu4HG8)

Maverick's Surf Rally Underway: https://sfist.com/2023/12/28/mavericks-surf-rally-underway-as-nearly-30-foot-waves-pummel-half-moon-bay/

These waves should be settled down by the time we head that way in the Spring of 2024.

I don't know if we'll be visiting any of these coastal areas (I'd like to see where Holland was born, and spent some of his adult life) because Holland says the roads are tight and winding - no way we could be taking our 45-foot RV down there.

MY BIRTHDAY~67 Years; Yuma-AZ

December 29th: This morning dawned beautifully … and colorfully 😁

And when the cobwebs have been chased away by several cups of joy juice, we'll be getting Betsy & Independence ready for road travel on the 1st 👏

My two eldest granddaughter's texted me Birthday greetings and love, while I sipped my hot coffee 🥰

I love it when beautiful things happen, and life rolls smoothly👍😉

Today is my Birthday; I bought this flamingo crown m.o.n.t.h.s. ago to be worn today 😉

Bleu enjoying personal time with Mom ;-)

I glanced out the window - and saw Yeshua's BD Kiss to me; a beautiful colorful sunrise; Yuma~AZ

All my days are numbered by Elohim; He alone decides how long I'll walk this Earth … He apparently has graced me with another sunrise. I am greatly loved, highly favored: and eternally thankful :-)

My tribe is carefully chosen. My inner circle is very small. My 'peopling' time is short-lived; otherwise I am a very good person to know, outgoing, and friendly … toward people who behave in my space 😉

Today - LAST YEAR - love had snuck up on me, and caught me up in a whirlwind of epic proportions.

LAST YEAR'S POST FOR TODAY: (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/12/unquestionably-loved.html)

These 11 months of "wedded bliss" have been a wild bronc ride … but that's okay; I'm partial to cowboys 😍 and mustangs - and I'm a bit of a wild ride, myself 😉

My bull-headed Taurus; Highs or lows … and head butting's aside; this man 🥰 Elohim blessed me with is the best gift I have received this year. Things can only get better 🤞❤️ ;-)

In a few days we'll be celebrating our 1st Anniversary 🥰

I think we two headstrong and very independent hard-heads have {it} figured out, now 😘

Shania Twain - 'You're Still The One' song: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMmqh4Ut_Uo)

We had to go into town this afternoon to Harbor Freight, to grab some things needed for our upcoming road trip; I stayed in the truck with Bleu. When Holland came back out to the truck, he handed me 2 bags, and said, "This one's for me - the other one is for you; I was thinking of you, too." 🥰

Inside my bag were several goodies that are PERFECT for this Road Gypsy 😁👏😘

I have plans for the back bunkroom that Holland is aware of: when we set up long enough again, that back part of our 5th Wheel Home will be revamped into my {Babe Room}, where I'll be doing my ✂️, 🏋️‍♀️,💻,📺,📀- and generally giving Holland breathing room for a few hours 😉

I bought an extra-long TV Tray, step exerciser, and a few adhesive LED lights: and a few "she cave thingees" the other day while in town - and yarn is being squirreled away for my creative designs; so the revamp is already taking place 🤔 But the flip-switch LED lights Holland gifted me with today are super-duper, and so much brighter than the smaller one's I got! Now, every time I am back there doing "my thing", I'll be surrounded by Holland's love light 🥰💝

And the spot light LED's are perfect for Bleu's early morning forays 👍

Thank YOU Baby! You know me so well … and you do righteous by me 😍😘💓

YOU MATTER! You were purposefully designed, created, and placed on the Earth for a very specific reason. YOU matter 👍

My BD Gifts from Holland - it is the PERFECT gift combo for this Road Gypsy! **kiss-kiss**

NEW YEAR TRAVEL PLAN

New Year Travel Plan Goal; Key West, FL  ;-)

December 28th: We'll be leaving here Monday, so after Holland got up, we drove into town to do some last minute shopping: TV cable for local news hookup, garbage bags - bulk packed, clear bins for the top bunkroom bunk - to corral the loose stuff, and keep things neat and tidy … Dollar Store flip-flops … and some grocery shopping, a TV tray, and an exercise stepper at Wal*Mart.

Bleu; feeling a brief siesta coming on, after breakfast.

Hark - I hear Daddy stirring!

A wrong turn landed us in 'Old Yuma' ;-)

Bleu loves the Wal*Mart shopping forays: he is the official furry Star Of The Day when he makes his appearance - everyone oohs-n-awe's over him; lavishing him with smiles, pats, and belly rubs: adults, as well as kids. He eats it up, and basks in the adoration ;-)

The Star of Wal*Mart; LOL

BD gift to myself ;-)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

December 27th: This morning, Holland took Beast Betsy in for an oil change - and I did wifey things around the house; we're getting stuff done before we pull stakes here, and head Betsy's nose towards Texas. We're hoping for Key West too … but that Bucket List item is still ify.

I shampooed the carpet while Holland was in town, getting the 4x ready for travel; using the space heater to dry the carpet before Holland returns home.

We had planned to be there, in Yuma until the end of February; but, we will be leaving here, January 1st. Del Pueblo RV Resort was a nice stay, until it started filling up with 55+ to 70 year old party animals: they don't sleep and they party all night … and then, the Park Manager rented our space out from under us and wanted to park us in a much smaller space (we had put a 3-month down payment on it a few weeks ago … money that we will never recoup) - AND on top of that, they informed us that they would be charging us for "electric used". We are renting this space for $750/mo. freaking dollars, and they feel free to bump us whenever they decide to, and charge us electricity separate!

 WTH

This is an upscale RV Resort - one expects better consideration and treatment.

When Holland told me that, I said, "You don't want me to go into the Office to pay that electric bill, because if I do, they will hear about this!" And he agreed, saying, "No - I do not want you to go to the Office; I've been living with you long enough, to know I'll be bailing you out of jail if you 'settle things'".

So, we laughed to defuse the absurdity - made a List of what needs doing before Sunday evening … and decided that the resort personnel can take the electricity charge out of the deposit they bilked us for.

And we both wrote and posted a scathing review on the Trip Advisor app. asking us what we thought about our stay at Del Pueblo RV Resort.

We will not be coming back here: and we will not be recommending it to anyone else :-(