More to life than hotdogs....

Nothing quite says camping like roasting hot dogs over the fire. Every time Allan and the kids and I would go camping, that would be our first meal. We would set up camp, gather firewood, and start the fire. Once there was a good set of coals burning in the depths, out came the hotdogs. Everytime. Except...now that we live in our RV.

We are on week three of full-time RV living and we haven't had a single fire. We don't have any firewood gathered...and we haven't eaten a single hot dog. Not one marshmallow has been consumed either! I know... I think we may have committed a camping crime. I'll keep an eye out for the Fish and Wildlife officers. I'm sure eating hot dogs while camping is part of their jurisdiction right? Eating fish and deer and moose are, so that makes sense.

If we haven't been eating the normal food of camping, what have we been eating? The simple answer is, "Whatever we want." If you're looking for food ideas for camping, this may be a strange site to be at. We have eaten spaghetti, lemon and dill salmon, lasagne, couscous, etc. How do I cook these things in an extremely small kitchen? Careful planning. Lol.

For example, tonight we are having meatball chill and fresh baked bread. I did the chili in the slow cooker at 11am, and then did the bread in my toaster oven at 1:30pm. I did one at a time, and cleaned up completely after each one so that I would have the room for the next one.

Our Meatball Chili cooking

The risen bread dough, just put into the toaster oven. It just fits.

The bread fresh out of the oven, cooling off and filling the RV with mouthwatering goodness.

The RV kitchen in action.

It is a bit of a juggling act, I admit. It's not impossible though, and as far as I'm concerned, it's totally worth it! As soon as the bread is out of the oven, and the oven has cooled, it goes back into our bedroom closet, freeing up the sink space. Once the bread is cooled, it is wrapped up and put into the microwave. Yes...the microwave. I use it as a bread box, haha. Why not, really? Then I have 2/3rds of my counter space back in time for supper, when all I need do is dish up. 

While all of these high-wire acts are going on, William is doing his homework at the table, and the dogs are moving from sun patch to sun patch soaking in the rays and napping. It's quite peaceful most days, and I'm really enjoying it.

William hard at work while Manny lays in the sun on the couch.

The real test for me will be next week. We are planning on possibly taking the RV back to our hometown for a week while we finish up all the details on the old house. It's currently riding on whether or not our new truck passes it's inspection, and if we can get the 5th wheel hitch into it in time. If all goes well, the RV will be moved for the first time since we brought it to this spot. It's a little scary for me because I've moved a lot of stuff into the place since we first got here. I think I have it all in such a way that we can easily pack up and go, but I don't know for sure. Perhaps I'll let you know nest week ;-P

Settling in

Gunner hanging out at the front door.

It's been two weeks since I last wrote. So much has happened, I have no idea where to begin, or what to include. I can't include it all, or I would be here all day and I barely have the time for this as it is. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.

On Saturday, August 25th, we went and signed our lives away on our future home. It was super exciting to finally see the place after all of the waiting and the planning. Part of me was scared that it wouldn't be as wonderful as I remembered it, that I had somehow put it on a pedestal for which it didn't deserve.  I needn't have worried. It was everything I remembered and so much more!

Left: Our old RV ; Right: Our new home

That Sunday was a long day. Allan and I drove the 300km north to pick up his boss's pick up and then drove 300km back to the dealer to pick up the RV. Why would we do such a thing? Well, even though Allan's truck is a 3/4 ton, it's still not big enough to pull our RV, so we borrowed a 1 ton. It was a 6 hour drive, then we hooked up to our new home on wheels and took it to the Wal Mart near our house so that we could load it up. Between family visiting to see the new digs, and loading everything in, we were going until after midnight.

Following my 'house' at 7am on Monday

The following day, Monday, we were up at 4am. We packed what we had left into the truck, car and RV and hit the road north. We knew where we wanted to put the RV when we got there, but we still had no idea if the campground was full or not. The last time we had talked to the owners, the place was completely full. We really had no idea where we would end up, but Allan had to work still that day, so off we went.

Monday was a very strange day, and a story in and of itself. Perhaps I'll write about it later. Long story short though, the dogs locked us out of the car half way there, we ended up at a horrible campground by a golf course for 4 hours, and in that small amount of time, I nearly practiced infanticide on someone else's kids (does it still count?). We also learned the joys of RV living. Number one joy on my list....you can change your neighbourhood any time you want, and we did! By 10 o'clock that evening we were exactly where we had wanted to be. God smiled on us and a spot opened up at our campground...and we are still here as I write!

The view from my dining table tuesday morning. The building you can

just see through the trees is the laundry. I walk a dirt path through the woods to do my 

washing...it's kind of cool.

Tuesday morning I woke up totally refreshed and feeling great. Our bed was super comfortable, the temperature was perfect in the RV, it couldn't have been a better sleep. I made Allan lunch and coffee and sent him off to work, then sat at the table and thanked God for the amazing blessings He gave us. 

As you can see from the above photo, this is the view from the dining table. It's not for everyone, but I love it. I love the woods, the smell of the woods, the sounds, the animals. It's great! It's not an ocean view, or a mountain one. It's not anything real 'woohoo' that would make it on a calendar....but it's also not my neighbour's house, or an alley, or smog. I don't wake up to the sound of car alarms and vehicles running and people yelling at each other. I wake to the sound of squirrels chattering and birds singing. There are magpies, ravens, whiskey jacks, blue jays, and a million different small birds...it's perfect.

There's a cutline behind the RV that leads to a farmer's field. I checked with the campground owner and she said that we are welcome to walk there, just no atv's. I take the boys (Gunner, Manny, and Willy) on a walk down the cutline and through the field every morning. It's been great. Everyone is tired by the time we get home, and then the dogs sleep all day and Willy isn't talking my ears off (he does that when bored, lol). So for anyone who may think that my Lab or my 12 year old boy will suffer living in an RV...you may want to look at these pictures before you judge. They are all getting more exercise than they did before we moved here. I think they have more space too *wink*.

The view from the top of the cutline looking into the field.

The view from the field looking up into the campground. You can just

see Willy's bedroom window. He has the best view!

Gunner, tired and covered in morning dew from the grass in the trees.

Willy and Gunner, looking handsome and rugged.

Gunner and Manny. Manny had troubles keeping up the first few days. He's nearly 7 years old, 

but he's leading the way some mornings now.

We are heading into week three soon of RV living. There is still much to do. We need to finish cleaning out and fixing up the old house so that we can put it up for rent, we have to skirt the RV before winter hits, organize the RV basement, and...and...and a million other things. We are loving our new life though. So far...no regrets.

Starting to panic....1 week to go.

I meant to post this yesterday, but it was my daughters 17th birthday, and well, I had better things to do, hahaha. Presents and dinner at the Keg were wonderful, and my mom was there as well, so it was a nice family moment. A bitter sweet one though, as we are leaving in a week, and Sam is staying behind.

Packing for something like this is so difficult! I have to think about so much, what we need, what we can store, what we can sell, and what to give away. There are so many details that I have to figure out, it's crazy. I just realized the other day that I hadn't even thought of what the heck I'm doing with our 60 gallon fish tank, complete with fish! I can't exactly take 300lb of water and fish into our RV. Luckily, I figured something out for them....it flushes. I'm KIDDING!!! Don't worry, they are going to a good home, *giggle*. I couldn't resist.

Now, normally when I move, I throw everything into boxes (yes I go through it), then we move, and whatever we haven't unpacked after a year (yes, I have that stuff), I go through again, and sell or donate. I don't have the room for that stuff this time. I have to make sure that we are only taking what we need because we don't have the room for all the extra stuff that I won't use for a year. I also have to think about our VERY limited storage capabilities, as well as weight limits. I'm so glad our 5th wheel has a large basement though.

I'm pretty sure this is the one that we will get.

Then there is the kitchen stuff. OH MY WORD. How to decide what to bring and what not to? I need it all I swear! I have to weed a well stocked kitchen down quite far. I need to find what is dual purpose and what I simply can't use in an RV...like our large pizza stone. That won't fit in an RV oven! I love our home made pizza though...sigh. I will have to figure out some other way. I'm thinking of getting a convection toaster oven. I should be able to bake bread and buns still, cookies, a cake maybe...and do small personal sized pizzas in one. Maybe small casseroles? There is only the three of us now. I will also save on propane that way if I use a toaster oven instead of the propane stove in the RV. I have never owned a toaster oven, but I'm thinking it will be a life saver in all of this. Besides, if it's hot out, I can take the oven outside and bake out there! Save on the A/C!

I also bought a silicone bakeware set from Canadian Tire. Reason? I can mash them up and shove them in a drawer if needed. I don't need all the room I would with regular muffin, bread, cake and bundt pan, or cookie sheet. It also says on the package that they can be folded and stored and won't lose their shape. I'm counting on it!

I also bought the above collapsable measuring spoon set, and the set below.

Those are some of my space saving ideas and solutions so far. I'm also bringing my crock pot. That's another amazing device that I think will save on propane as well as make life easier. I'm leaving in storage my Kitchenaide Classic countertop mixer and all of it's amazing attachments. I'll be sad to leave it behind, but my toaster oven and my crock pot are the only large kitchen items I'm allowing myself. I can make do with a hand blender. I did for years and years.

So, that's some of what we are going through right now. I'm trying to downsize and plan and organize, and in a few days we should have the RV. Then we will be moving into the RV, out of our house, and putting our stuff into storage. Then we need to fix a few things in the house and put it up for rent. Hopefully I will be able to post again next Monday, but if you don't hear from me in for a while, it will be because we are very busy. I will post as soon as I can.

Cowboys and Indians, 2 weeks and counting.

An awful picture of the three of us, but there aren't many, so I thought I would post it, haha.

On Friday morning, Willy and I got up bright and early and headed 3 hours north to see Allan. If you look closely in the above photo, on the left hand side, you can see our current RV. It's a little Springdale tow behind. That's where we stayed while visiting Allan. In case you haven't guessed, it's in the yard of his shop, you know, where all the big trucks are running and driving, and starting at 6am. It's great. (Yes, that was sarcasm) The shop is also wedged between Highway 16 (a major highway) and a railroad. The railroad isn't just a set of tracks either, it's the rail yard. Where the trains stop and load and unload cars. So...it's a nice spot if you don't like quiet. Ever.

Despite our less than ideal spot (it is free, and handy for Allan who had to work), we had an amazing time. Friday, we set up Willy's archery target and shot arrows in the shop's yard. The yard is quite large, so there's lots of room to shoot. We had a great time, even if Willy's bow is too small for either of us.

Once it got too dark to shoot, I went into the trailer and the boys...I wasn't sure what they were doing, until I heard a lot of noise, engines, beeping, gravel grinding, etc. I went out to look and saw this:

Allan and Willy playing in the skid steer.

Really, what more could a boy want in one day? Besides, the next day promised even more fun.

Saturday, we headed out to Hinton's Fish and Wildlife Shooting Range. It's about 45 minutes away from where we were 'camped', but they were hosting a shooting event that we didn't want to miss. It's called 'Funday'. They have it every year, and the public can go and try their hand at archery, rifles, trap shooting, and big game shooting. Not having parents who hunt, Allan and I have very little experience shooting anything. We both have shot gophers for farmers with a .22 at some point in our childhood, and that's about it for our firearms experience.

The view on the way to Hinton.

When we arrived, the members of the club were amazing. They came over and introduced themselves, and took Willy off to go shoot trap. If you are ignorant like we were...trap shooting is shooting clay pigeons that are fired from a 'house' buried in the ground. You then shoot the clay pigeons with a 20 or 12 gauge shotgun. (20 gauge is smaller)

Bob, from the club, showing Willy how to hold a 20 gauge shotgun. Willy found it to be quite heavy.

The cement 'house' on the left is where the clay pigeons are shot from. In the photo, Willy was shooting at a stationary target first, to get the feel of things. Willy hit the stationary target, but didn't hit any of the moving ones. I think it was because the gun was so heavy for him, he had problems moving it. My son isn't exactly muscular, to put it mildly. Lol. 

After Willy shot, it was my turn.

Long story short on me shooting...they created a monster. I LOVED it! Who would have thought shooting a chunk of clay flying through the air could be so exciting! I hit 4 of the 5 pigeons Bob sent out in the air. We were on a modified house, so the birds only went straight. Apparently 4/5 is pretty good for a beginner, so they took me to the 'real' area where the birds are shot in one of three directions...and you don't know which one. I hit 5/5 on that. 

Well...people were flocking to me. I heard things like, compete, try international, join, member, etc among the members. I wasn't sure what I had done, but everyone was very excited. Turns out...most beginners can't shoot that well, and I was a natural. Who'd of thought? So, I was invited to shoot with the members the next day, and get a couple of free rounds. It was exciting. 

After I peeled myself away from the trap shooters, we moved on to the rifles. Allan didn't try trap because his phone kept ringing, and he told me he really had no interest in shotguns. Fair enough. Compared to trap shooting, hitting a paper target with .22 was quite anticlimactic, but we still had fun, and Willy did very well. He hinted that he may like to have a .22 of his own one day. His groupings were wonderful, and one of the hunters offered to take him rabbit hunting some time.

Then we were off to do some archery. William was obviously quite excited, this is his thing now! He's always loved archery, and even though he likes the .22, I'm sure he would far rather rabbit hunt with his bow than with a rifle. 

Willy waiting for Allan to finish shooting so he can retrieve his arrows.

Allan and Willy had a great time shooting the bows. The club had compound bows available for the public, so Willy set aside his long bow and played with compounds. He had a lot of fun and hinted VERY strongly that he had perhaps outgrown his longbow and his next bow should maybe be a compound. <grin>

In the photo above, on the right hand side, you can see a man in a white shirt taking pictures of Allan shooting. He took pictures of William too. Was he a stalker? No. A reporter. Allan and Willy made it into the local newspaper! Willy thought that was quite awesome!

After a long day of shooting stuff, we said goodbye to all the wonderful people we had met and headed back to the trailer. Was our fun day over though? Not quite.

At 11pm, we headed out of town to a pipe yard Allan's company has. We parked the truck in the middle of the dark yard, laid blankets out in the box of his truck, and watched the Perseid meteor shower. What a cool ending to our day.

Photo was taken from here.

Why oh why, said the fly.

Why indeed?

Why would anyone, making good money, living in a nice house, sell their stuff and move to an RV full time? We have no financial issues, our only debt is our mortgage, and our RV. That's it. No student loans, no car payments, no...whatever else people dive into and regret. So, why are we doing this?

A little history:

Allan and I have been together for 13 years, married for 12. In that 13 years, Allan's worked his way up from being a shop hand, to managing a company, while I stayed at home raising our two children. The American dream, right? What people don't tell you about the american dream, is the in-between. The sacrifice it takes to get there.

People don't mention that while Allan was a shop hand, we were living pay check to pay check, living off of macaroni and other cheap food, buying our clothes and whatever else, from Value Village, and Salvation Army, when we had extra money we might get something from Wal-Mart. That was the first two years of our marriage with two kids.

Allan was then promoted to apprentice as a picker operator. This was a huge step! He was learning how to run this:

This is actually one of the trucks Allan has operated.

So now, YAY! We have some money for once, can shop regularly at Wal-Mart, but I no longer had a husband. Oh we were still married, and still loved each other very much, but he was only home 3 or 4 days a month, and that's it. This went on for 8 years. Allan worked for various companies as a boom truck operator, and as far as work goes, it was good. It paid the bills, and he was in high demand. He never wanted for work our entire marriage. He was laid off once, and had another job that afternoon. We truly have been blessed in that regard. BUT. He wasn't home for those 8 years.

Then he got a job for a new company in our town called DFI. They were opening a new branch and needed some pile drivers and a ticketed, experienced, boom truck operator. Allan had never done piles in his life, but he fit the bill on the rest, and they hired him. He was running this bad boy:

Again, this is Allan's truck, with the 'leads' set up for pounding piles.

It was the same old, same old for a year and a half. Better money (I didn't need to shop at Wal-Mart!), Allan was never home still and then...DFI promoted him to field supervisor. He was no longer running the truck, he had a company vehicle, and was gone for 3-4 weeks at a time, and home for a day or two. I thought he had been gone a lot before, but this was ridiculous! He supervised jobs for 6 months and then he was offered a promotion again, to branch manager.

This was our dream come true! Allan would work monday to friday and be home evenings and weekends. He still had a company truck, in fact a much nicer company truck, and he was still making good money...although it was substantially less than he made as a supervisor, but he won't be gone anymore!

The catch? There's always a catch...

We would have to move 300km north west of where we were living. From where our friends and family are, from where both of us, and our kids, have grown up. That's huge. So huge, our daughter, 16 years old, flat out refused. 

Now, our daughter, Samantha is not your typical teenaged girl. She's athletic, musical, artistic, and has always been that poster child for good children. For her to refuse anything asked of her, is huge. She is not a disrespectful or disobedient child in any way, so we listened when she said she was not, under any circumstances, moving. We did some hard thinking, a lot of praying, and consulted many people for advice, and we finally decided, she would stay with my mom and we would move. She only had one year of high school left, and to pull her out and make her change schools at this point would be detrimental. Besides, like I had said, she's a good kid. I'm not worried at all about leaving her with my mom.

Sam at the provincial track meet for javelin in June.

Allan accepted the position and moved up to an apartment that DFI owns in December of 2011. He comes home every other weekend, so we see him 4 days a month, unless we go and visit him, which we do. It's still not easy, and I still don't have my husband home all the time. 

In April of 2012 we put our house up for sale. We were warned it might be difficult to sell, but we didn't realize just how hard. We had bought our house just before...months before...the economy crashed. We are still within our 5 year amortization, so we are going to be penalized for early payout....so, long story short - to walk away with nothing...our house is still priced too high. I know ours isn't the only story like this, and we are blessed in that we can afford our house. There are so many people who did the same thing and then lost their jobs, and couldn't sell their homes. My heart truly breaks for them.

So...now what? Well, this is where it gets fun. We want to be with Allan, but we can't sell our house. We are left with two choices, stay in our house, or move and rent our house out. Well, we will move, but we can't afford two mortgages (who can really?), and I'm terrified of being in this same position of not being able to sell again. So..we rent?

Left: Gunner, 1 year old charcoal lab; Right: Manny, 6 year old mini dachshund.

We have two dogs though, and it is terribly hard to find anyone who will allow you to rent with pets. I don't want to lose my dogs, and looking at the rent in our new area...it's the same as having another mortgage, which we've already established that we can't afford. Now what?

This is actually the previous year's model. Ours will have a second door that leads to a washroom.

I stumbled across a site that had full-time RVers on it. People who lived all the time in an RV, by choice, and were happy. This is brilliant! Rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment is $1200/month. Payments on a nice RV...less than $500. That's the average car payment here!! Best of all...we own it, and we can take it with us when we come back to visit family. We don't have to stay with people or get hotels and worry about what to do with our dogs. If everyone decides we don't like where we are...we can leave. That same day if we want. 

So...that's what fuelled the decision. There are many other factors, and many more consultations, prayers, and figuring that went into it...but that's it in a nutshell. We found a four season campground with full hookups, and a coded gate to get in and out. It's small (only 12 stalls), has showers and laundry facilities, a common area with video games and foose-ball. It's close to town too..16km or roughly 8 miles from town. Not too shabby.

So...in theory we have it all figured out. In practice? I'm not sure. We are just going to trust in God, and do the best we can, same as we always have. So far, so good.

Good times with family...3 weeks and counting.

(Photo: Kheeta, a beautiful blue heeler, determined that I will play fetch with her. How can you say no to that face?)

August long weekend is wrapping up here in central Alberta, and I am more thankful for this weekend than usual. Every year, a wonderful lady named Jean hosts 40-50 people for the entire weekend and on Saturday we have a corn roast. She provides the corn, we provide everything else.

Photo was borrowed from HERE. I forgot to take photos of the corn. It's the exact same though.

For those of you who have never participated in a corn roast, you take cobs of corn and soak them in water without shucking them, and then grill them, still without shucking them. The silk and leaves are left on the ear and they hold in the water, so when you grill them, you are actually steaming the corn. Its delicious!

I have an old hippy uncle and an amazing aunt who live in BC and they drive the 9 hours every year, hauling their 5th wheel, for the corn roast. It's the one time a year we see them. Not that we can't drive to their house, but it's amazing how you can put something like that off, being 'too busy' until, surprise! it's the August long weekend again.

My boy William (plaid trunks) and his cousins. They lived in the water this weekend.

Cal and Pat (my aunt and uncle) set up their 5'er on the lawn of Jean's house (did I mention her home is lakefront property?), and my family flocks to it like homing pigeons. It's become the event of the summer, and a small family reunion. This year, as I said, was extra special, since we will be moving 300km (186miles) north in 3 weeks. It was part family reunion, part farewell party.

Everyone at the corn roast had questions about what we were doing, naturally, but my Uncle Cal had advice. It was well received, as we have no real idea what we are doing. Cal and Pat spent one winter living in their RV in southern BC, so they have some experience. Uncle Cal admits that a southern BC winter is balmy compared to what we will face, but his advice is helpful none the less:

1. Wrap your water hose with heat tape and then slide it through a tube of weeping tile. This will keep the lines from freezing....or at least it does in BC.

2. Don't let your black and grey waters trickle into the dump. Keep your levers closed until 3/4 full and then open them up. This creates a rush of fluids and forces everything out, otherwise some 'solids' may not get flushed through and you'll get a clog. Also, when it's -20ºC/0ºF (or -40ºC/-40ºF <gulp>) the trickle will freeze, where the rush of fluid won't. We can also try to wait for a warmer day to 'let'er fly' so to speak.

3. Find someone who has wintered up north in a RV and pick their brain. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know.

For the most part, people I've talked to about us living in the RV full time have two concerns, the size of the space we will occupy, and the weather. I'm not concerned about the space, but I am definitely concerned about the weather. Our 5'er arrives in less than 3 weeks now, but we ordered it with double paned windows, heated compartments, thicker walls, etc. It's the 'whiteout package' offered by Keystone. This should make all the difference in the world. I hope. If anyone wants to see what we will be living in, you can see the floor plans and photos on the dealers website HERE. Once we actually have the RV, I'll post a video or some photos of it and how we set everything up.