Monday, October 3, 2011

Autumn in Pagosa

I’m particularly fond of the view north of the San Juan River that runs along the west side of our campground, looking toward the mountains – more or less toward Wolf Creek Pass. Notice the bright spot on the distant mountains. It might be aspen or the same cottonwood trees as shown here.

AutumnMountains

I’m slowly getting used to my new laptop, a Toshiba Satellite C655 with Windows 7. I’ve been addicted to email for a decade or so now & particularly enjoyed creating stationery in Outlook Express with sound & moving graphics around my photographs. Then Windows Vista changed OE to Windows Mail but it was still basically the same program. And now Windows 7 has Windows Live Mail, & it makes me crazy. I got tired of trying to figure out it’s convoluted logic and am trying out Mozilla’s Thunderbird email. I still can’t get the message filters to work consistently, but at least it’s workable. I especially like being able to enlarge just the preview section for those emails written in small fonts.

Of course I’ve had to re-download the various programs I like using, and some of them now have the infamous Microsoft ribbon along the top instead of a simple menu. Grrrr! It’s still the logic of why certain options are placed under some headings that cause me problems. I have actually written software programs, and the biggest challenge is designing it in a way that makes sense to the user. I question what some designers of these new programs have been smoking or drinking for lunch! Have they actually used the program for it’s intended purpose???

Anywho, business is slowing down at the campground & we’re getting a bit more time off work to just be lazy. . .or do more sightseeing. . .or actually accomplish some improvements around home. Yes, we have transitioned to automatically calling our little fiberglass egg Casita travel trailer HOME. It’s a very comforting feeling to no longer feel this is a temporary abode.

So, hopefully we’ll work up the energy today to accomplish one or more of the following improvements (mods):

  1. Turn the bathroom light into a 3-way that can be turned on from outside instead of reaching around to the back to turn it on.
  2. Install plexiglass over the upper screen door section to a) keep Boots from tearing the screen, and b) create a storm door effect by containing our heated or cooled inside temperature.
  3. FINALLY get the MaxxAir window vents installed on both side windows. We’ve been hauling them around for months.
  4. Also FINALLY get our closet reorganized. We’re moving the closet rod to the lower portion of the space since whatever is below the closet door opening is pretty much buried. As long as we can see the tops & shoulders of hanging clothes, we don’t need to see the portion hanging below. The shelves above has been the sticking point for not doing this sooner. We wanted light weight shelves of some sort, but then there’s that ever-changing rounded outside corner. I finally hit on the idea of just making my own shelves . . . out of macramed nylon string (like mesh) secured on curtain hooks on the wall. I can secure the shelves snuggly enough to make them taunt, adjust them up or down if needed, provide air flow around the closet, and they about as lightweight as you can get.  I’ll take pictures of the process, and we’ll see how it turns out.
  5. Make the gray tank vent mod to remove the air lock problem & actually use all the available space. 
  6. Secure the three electrical strips & connected cords we use to the underside of the upper cabinets to keep them out of the way.
  7. Another FINALLY project is to install the television arm to the side of the microwave cabinet & get the TV off the top of the DVR. We may even figure out a way to hang the DVR from somewhere instead of it sitting on the shelf unit.

The nighttime temps have been in the upper 30’s a few times but we haven’t had any afternoon storms, so the full sunshine warms up the days to the mid- to upper-70’s. The lack of humidity has been causing my sinuses to hurt but the rest of my body loves the dryness. Kira is absolutely loving the cooler temps too & has WAY TOO MUCH energy for me after working all day long — so, I’ve been walking her around the campground while I ride in a golf cart. Wow, she gets a real tongue-hanging-out workout while I enjoy the ride.

It’s been nearly two years since the end of my last round of chemo & I’m disappointed my energy level still hasn’t improved any. So in the use it or loose it mindset. . .I’ve got to get serious about doing some flex & strength exercises (yoga, isometrics, & stretch bands) on a regular basis. Since I don’t seem to find the time for a regular exercise routine, I’ve realized I have to work in certain exercises throughout my day, such as doing deep-knee bends or toe-touches while I brush my teeth, or various isometric exercises while watching TV.

We’re now seriously looking for a workkamping position in Arizona for the winter, but if we don’t find something we want, we’re OK with boondocking next to a cactus for awhile. We’ve been going strong & long for five months now so we’re sort of wanting a chance to enjoy this retirement thing. We’d hoped to stop starting our days with an alarm clock.

OK, enough blabbing. It’s time to get some things accomplished!

2 comments:

  1. You to do list is a little shorter and maybe a little easier than the one we had back in August. Just take your time and you will get through it. It will be nice to get your closet all organized, it is amazing how much more room will will have. We just started walking/jogging 2 miles everyday. As you say, use or lose it.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  2. Hi enjoyed your website and some great ideas. I'm definitely going for the window vents for the rainy days. Other than putting up pictures of grandchildren, etc. on the wooden parts with Command adhesive I haven't made too many mods yet since I bought my Freedom Deluxe this past March. I'm also a full-time Casita dweller, along with my two dogs, and loving it so far.

    Chuck
    www.chucksper.tumblr.com

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