🥶 💨

It was a very windy morning and with the cool temps it was frigid outside. I am just not feeling the love in this cold-ass weather. I really cannot take it these days. It is crazy how much the cold affects me now, and the forecast is looking grim.

There is an arctic front coming this way and it will be really cold – single digits – so I am getting prepared…more on that in a minute. I will be making a trip for supplies tomorrow and probably do some cooking during the really cold days. I should make a lasagna…that would be awesome with garlic bread and hearty & filling on a cold day. We will see…I do have others pasta but I want to make loaded mac ‘n’ cheese too. Another hearty, filling meal.

Speaking of weather, I have friends in Washington state and I know they are getting hit hard with a lot of rain. Hang in there and evacuate if you need to. I am sending positive thoughts your way.

🥶

I cut up firewood this morning for 3 or 4 hours. I thought it was best if I was getting ahead on some firewood with that front on its way. There was a long-dead tree in the back yard that really needed to come down for safety and is now burning very nicely in my stove. I thought the wind would have taken it down by now but that was one tough dead tree. It loses a limb here & there but it has been dead for probably 5 years and was still standing until about 9 AM this morning. It sure looks a lot different in that area now.

Once I got it down, I cut it into logs and hauled a load in my truck over by the woodpile to be cut & stacked plus a load went in the wheelbarrow that sits on the front porch. I just cut the logs off in my truck and slid them out to cut more. No bending over to cut – work smart, not hard.

I will be cutting up & stacking quite a bit more though by the looks of the forecast. The tree was close to 50 feet tall so it has a lot of wood and will last a while. The main part of the trunk is pretty big and I don’t have a wood splitter other than my axe and my biceps. The pieces I have split are drier than they seem and are splitting well. I will try to finish blocking it out tomorrow and split a little more. I need to find one of the new chains and replace the one on it – getting a bit dull. It is kinda fun splitting a little bit of firewood and it is good exercise but it used to be more fun than it is now. Makes one strong like bull though.

I forgot just how much work doing this stuff really is, however. I used to do it all the time but haven’t done much since 2012. When I used to do it all the time I was younger, too, and that certainly makes a difference. I think back of living up at timberline when I first moved to Colorado…man that was rough living. A unique experience for about five or six years. That was plenty.

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Over the last few days I got back in the trailer and really did some serious thinking about everything in there. I approached it differently and decided that if certain things had not been used yet, then I found several things that could be taken out. I don’t want to take anything more than what I will use (except for an assortment of tools), so I will need to be out on the road a bit to figure out what else I need to pack or buy. Less weight saves fuel, and there is less clutter and storage room taken up – you don’t feel like you or everything else is crammed in the trailer. It has made a real difference.

And now that I have removed several things, put the baskets in the cabinets and consolidated a few things in tubs/bins, I sat down and really reassessed where I had the things placed that I did not remove. I laid down the feng shui on it and I made some changes that made me wonder why I had not thought of it before. One big change was that I found a perfectly-sized plastic tub to fit all my coffee and tea items – electric kettle, my Aeropress, 5 oz. bone china cups & saucers and espresso cups & saucers (I will NOT drink coffee or tea out of anything else), and a tea basket. It is not too heavy, plus any weight is spread out across a big area, so I can put it in an easy-to-reach cabinet spot and it will not bow out the cabinet bottom. I have coffee & tea 2-3 times a day so this has worked out perfectly. And, it is nice to have all the related items in one bin.

Organizing my kitchen gear has been important, too. Some months back I got a new ceramic-coated cooking set for the trailer that works on gas, electric & induction. It has two multi-purpose lids and removable handles so it packs down small. It is a good-quality set that saves a remarkable amount of room. My eating utensils are plastic reusable backpacking/camping pieces that are lightweight and can be packed away in a small utensil basket in a cabinet. I cut back on knives to just a couple that do most things. My chopper/slicer can handle those jobs so I don’t need a knife to do much of that. I went through my cooking tools and took out what can be removed. My mixing bowl/strainer/measuring cup set is bulky but some pieces of it have come in real handy more than once so it has a spot.

I have seen a few more new ideas that I thought were something I could use. I will be making a couple of changes in my kitchen/dining area brought on by one of those ideas. That is better yet – getting two helpful things out of one tip.

Since I do not have a TV in the house I have been watching a rather large amount of videos online. Along with the RV hacks & tips, I always check out interesting cooking videos. And, I happened to click on a porch pirate shorts channel. So damn funny.

But, I was also watching some videos about camping in some city parks in small towns. I have sung the praises of these hidden gems for camping during your travels many times over. Inexpensive, quiet (usually), and has everything you need – full utilities in some fashion. These, county parks, and fairgrounds are all three very affordable, quiet options with no frills.

When I finally sell the house, when I travel I will be doing those types of campgrounds unless I am in a National Park, BLM or a Forest Service area. I do stop at those to at least look but sometimes I will camp. I have not camped in a federal campground in so long I forgot what it was like to do so. With dogs, though, National Parks are pretty restrictive. The others not so much. I am trying to be done with the commercial camping chains. Just an overpriced, underwhelming experience usually and lots of things I do not use or do so it is wasted money.

I have been pondering where I would eventually land after I leave here. I have a good idea, but nothing is certain yet and I don’t even have a timetable for anything. There are a few options but I have certain criteria that are a must. I have been thinking a lot about what is next after the house sells and quite a few people ask. Honestly, it is a big unknown for the most part. Gonna go live life and see what happens.

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to do things like this and I never take it for granted; many never get any chance to go anywhere. It is certainly not extravagant, but my trailer is nice and it is comfortable. It is big enough for me as a solo, but still plenty of extra room if that would ever change.

Well, I am calling this one done & dusted. See you next time.

Shawn