Turns out Alexis’ company is closing their San Antonio office. She’s been told everyone is keeping their jobs, but now they will all be telecommuting like she does. Here’s hoping that is true; her being out of a job would put a real hitch in our giddyup. For now, I’m operating on the premise that she will be remaining employed.
Our plan to stay in San Antonio for five weeks this summer has been contingent on Lex working out of the office there. Since there will be no office, we won’t necessarily have to stay put the whole time. Lex will still have to work, of course, so we’ll still have to be sure to stay at least in 3G range or near a wifi hotspot so she can have internet access, but now we don’t have to worry about being physically close to any one place.
It’d be nice to spend a week near my uncle and then another near my aunt, perhaps a few days up in the DFW area before heading home so we can visit my sister. The balance of the trip can be spent somewhere between San Antonio and Bandera (we have friends in both towns). I like having greater flexibility during this trip. We won’t have to just drive out in the truck on day trips to see people. Instead, we can actually hang out and spend some real time with them.
We aren’t just waiting for June to get here so we can hit the road; we’re also relishing the warm, gorgeous spring weather we’re having this week. The daffodils are blooming, the birds are out, fishing are jumping, bunnies and groundhogs are frolicking, trees are in bud…the whole world is awake! I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to see spring before in my entire life! Of course, I’ve never endured a winter quite like this one just past, either.
I am on spring break this week and spent the first half of the week at a conference. Lex had yesterday, today, and Monday off from work. Initially, we were going to take a trip to see a friend in California, but he fell ill. That idea was nixed, so we haven’t been very sure about what to do with ourselves during these five days. Wednesday evening we spent with a friend celebrating her daughter’s birthday, yesterday, Lex did some work for one of her graduate courses while I went out to run errands. One of my errands was to buy a lot of used camping gear that I plan to put into use later this month when I chaperone a student group on an overnight trip to a state park on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Most of these students have never been camping before, so this should be interesting!
Today was a wonderful day. We saw a movie, did a little shopping, had lunch on the patio of a little Italian place, went swimming at the Y, and then had dinner. It was sunny and warm all day, a perfect day to be out and about. In fact, I had planned on going tent camping tomorrow and coming home Sunday, but I think I’ve decided I have too much to do here at home. I think tomorrow I will do some real spring cleaning instead!
I need to get into closets, cabinets, and drawers and check for mold and mildew left from a long winter of condensation dripping down walls and around windows. I also need to put away winter clothes and linens and get the spring and summer wear out of its boxes and bags. In addition, I have to make a decision about the washer/dryer. It[‘s leaking, and while it’s probably just a hose that needs to be replaced, I need to ask myself whether it’s really worth keeping. We bought the Splendide used, and it never has done a very good job drying (even by condensation dryer standards). It fills up our grey tanks very quickly, and it’s heavy (nearly 250 lbs.). As much as I loathe going to the laundromat, doing so gets the job done faster if not more cheaply. I’m thinking I may post the machine up on Craigslist. Whomever wants it will have to come carry it out. We can’t get it out of its cabinet without renting an appliance dolly which I don’t really care to do. Even if I get only $150 for it, I’ll be happy. Plus, someone would get a real steal. For a few dollars, going through the trouble of moving the thing and replacing the hoses, someone will have a functional appliance that costs $1000 new. In exchange, I’ll have freed up a storage closet, and that’s always an exciting prospect when living in an RV.
The washer isn’t the only thing that may have to go. I need to go through all our stuff, including items stored in the basement, and think about what we’re really using and what we aren’t. Even though we purged a lot of our possessions in order to move into the RV, it’s amazing how quickly things accumulate again, even though we’ve made a conscious effort to not buy more than we have room for. Part of the issue is that I overestimated how much we’d need to keep when we moved. That’s hard to believe given that we must have divested ourselves of more than a ton of property before becoming fulltimers. Less really is more in this lifestyle.
I’ve decided that when we leave for summer, I’m going to cram as much of the winter gear and other things we won’t use during our trip into my car and put my “rolling closet” into storage, thus lightening our load that much more. The less weight we drag behind our truck, the better, especially since diesel is now up over $3.00/gal!
It is late, and I’ve set myself a big task for tomorrow, so off to bed I go. I hope wherever you are, you will enjoy your weekend. Happy Easter if you celebrate it. Happy belated Passover to those that celebrate that holiday. And happy return of the sun to the rest of us!
Tags: cleaning, decluttering, rv, spring, summer, Texas, Travel
