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Morning out there in forum land. Today is the day I would have started back to work on another remote "score from home" contract had I accepted the offer. The contract was expected to last through the end of October and my mind, body and spirit, could not face the possibility sitting at my desk for that many weeks. I remind myself that I still have enough money for dog food and to get the RV fit for the road. I remind myself of the concept of "enough" often anymore. This will be enough.

Jane has successfully sent her entry in for a dog show. It will be in the beginning of September in Michigan, right after she turns 6 months old. The show is a smaller regional specialty and is always held outside and we will be wearing masks. Well, Jane might decline to wear one. Most of the shows this summer and even those scheduled into the fall have been cancelled and for good reason, especially if they are larger gatherings and inside fairground buildings.

My sewing machine might arrive today and I will brush off some ancient skills and need to learn a few new ones. I have already been to JoAnn Fabrics and am ready.

Thinking of those of you out there in the heat and high temperatures. Keep on keeping on. As Miss Peggy reminds us, keep wearing your masks, wash your hands and stay healthy.

Good Morning, I have to constantly keep telling myself not to let myself become depressed over the fact that my camping/traveling days are gone. I am attempting to get all the travel sites deleated from the iPad because when receiving them, I want to go there. Where? Anywhere!
Watching my little trailer get towed away left me very down in the dumps. However, it and the truck are now gone, so I must accept that fact.
I am very fortunate that I had as many years as I did traveling all over the country. If cruising ever comes back, that sounds live something I would like to do. Having three meals a day provided for one would be heaven for me as I do not like to cook.
Speaking of cooking, I am enjoying the air fryer. I still only cook a few things in it.
I do get lots of pleasure reading about what others are doing here on the Forum, so, keep posting. Know you are appreciated!
Lyn

Oh, Lyn - I know exactly how you feel! I keep dwelling on having to give up the things I love most: travel and RVing. And having to sell my Pleasure Way during a pandemic is impossible. So glad you were able to sell your trailer. I'm happy I got to go as much I I did and I'm sure you are happy for those years, too. I love cruising, too, and hopefully the senior bus tours will return once we get beyond this pandemic. Guess we just have the bad luck to turn old at a time when we can't even do "old" things! At least we both have access to pools! Hang in there. We'll beat this depression like we've beat all the other bad times in our lives. I keep telling myself I've had my turn, and now it's the younger gals' turn. Not easy.

Evie

BirdbyBird wrote:My sewing machine might arrive today and I will brush off some ancient skills and need to learn a few new ones. I have already been to JoAnn Fabrics and am ready.

Morning to you, too, Tina.

Sewing! I admit I have never been a fan of sewing (although I can do it reasonably well. . . uhm, probably I can do it "just ok"), probably due to an "incident" in sewing class when I was in Junior High School (remember home economics classes? ). Long boring story.

Anyway, I am curious. What kind of sewing machine is coming? What are you planning to make? What kind of fabric have you picked out?

Although I am "not a fan", I do admire those who enjoy sewing and can do it well.

Anne

SoCalGalcas wrote:Good Morning, I have to constantly keep telling myself not to let myself become depressed over the fact that my camping/traveling days are gone. I am attempting to get all the travel sites deleated from the iPad because when receiving them, I want to go there. Where? Anywhere!
Watching my little trailer get towed away left me very down in the dumps. However, it and the truck are now gone, so I must accept that fact.

Lyn, so sorry to hear of your struggle. It is not easy, and I truly feel for you. I had big travel plans myself this year, lots of reservations. . . all now cancelled. Don't know if or when I might do any travel in future. As they say, the jury is still out.

I will be forever grateful to you and to the ladies on this forum who were (and are!) so encouraging of solo women travel. Without you ladies, I likely would never have gone to the two places I had wanted most to visit my entire life since a very young child: Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon. In a way, I feel that my life has been in some way "completed" by my travel to Yellowstone and Craters. It is doubtful that I will ever go these places again - but at least I "made it" there once.

I have beautiful memories of this trip, and I play them in my mind when I am feeling blue. It does help, if only a little.

Lyn, I am also so very glad to have met you and to have spent a little bit of time with you at the Eagle Lake GTG. You had been (and still are!) one of my "heroes": by your example, I realized that if you could travel solo, then so might I.

My best wishes, and thanks, to you.

Anne

This middle of August Tuesday dawns warm, at 90 at 10 am. Got up during the night at 02 and it was still 81. Hoping we don't get too much smoke from wildland fires, but yesterday evening we could smell it outside ( likely from Lake Berryessa fire shout 100 miles west). Brutal fire fighting conditions with predicted high today around 109.
Lyn, I'm so glad we got to meet and share a meal twice. Maybe someone can bring you to Q to visit and hope cruising returns.
Anne asked what I wanted to ask about the sewing. One of these days I'll dig my way through the stuff in spare room to get my sewing mavhine out and see if it needs to go for tune up. It's a very nice metal body White brand Mel bought me about 25 years ago and has a tendency to gum up if not used. Will need professional cleaning and re-lubricating I suspect. I wanted to start making themed pillow cases for my grandchildren so they have one for each special occasion.
Had my Bowen treatment yesterday, but am sore today feeling inflammation. I dont usually feel sore after. So will drink extra water and get up and move frequently as instructed.
With looking 10 days out on weather predictions, it still showing 100 and higher all but one day (which shows 98), I won't be making any outdoor plans any time soon.
Stay save and have a good day everyone.
Velda

We were also 90 at 10 a.m. In Keystone! Crazy! Luckily we won't get as hot as you folks in California, but to me anything 90 and over is too hot. Heck 80 can be in full sun. Yes, I'm a wuss as I age.

I'm sitting in line for an oil change. I'm next. Then I'll pick up a small grocery order from Safeway. Just called me up. Later!

Oh Lynn! I feel for you! It is hard to give up things we love to do. I yearn for the days I could ride a horse or play golf. My body just won't allow it now. Maybe when things settle down, we can arrange a GTG close enough for you to go to at least during day, and Evie too.

I found out why it felt so nasty and oppressive yesterday. Our dewpoint here was 65!! That is why I was sweating so bad and felt so miserable! We rarely get humidity here so the heat is somewhat tolerable.

Slept better last night after taking something to relax me. I have a natural product for when I get restless leg syndrome and it relaxes my legs as well as the rest of me. So now I take it if I am having trouble sleeping. It works well. Just have to remember to take it early.

I will have to go outside today to take out the trash and recycle stuff. Then will stay inside and put away my laundry and do some cleaning. Also need to pay some bills.

I used to do some sewing years ago. I made curtains, tops and swim suits. Later I just used my machine to do some repairs and tailoring to some of my clothes to make them fit better. I still have my machine but has been in a box for many years. I keep planning to take it out and set it up but that never seems to happen.

Enjoy your day and stay safe and cool!

I brought Annie by the vet's to see if they could get a urine sample. They wanted to check her urine when I brought her in for her shot but couldn't get any. Annie is back to her ding bat self, knocking everything off my desk and sitting in my lap. I went to the bank, post office and picked up a lunch. Today they had Grillades. That is chunks of beef cooked in a gravy and served over rice. The beef is marinaded in something because it has a tangy taste. Not my favorite but beats cooking.

I don't know that I would ever go on another cruise or bus trip. After the nightmare people went through not being able to leave a ship because of the virus. My club went on a bus trip every year for a while. We had the same driver that I liked but some trips we would have to have an alternate driver and he scared the hell out of me. I'm not a good passenger. I would like to ride the train across the Southern part of Canada if Canada ever lets us in again.

I brought my motorhome to the shop yesterday to get the automatic jacks looked at. I made an appointment with a local shop two months ago when I was having electric problems and never cancelled the appointment. The jacks have been working the last few trips but have had one refuse to go down in the past. If I'm on a level site and don't really need the jacks, they work. If I'm in a site that is not level they are more likely to not work. I think it' Murphy's Law.

My grandmother sewed for people until she died. Both my grandmothers taught me to make doll clothes and I was making my own clothes by junior high school. I didn't get along with the home economics teacher. I was use to doing things my way and she wanted things done her way. Back then dress patterns called for a side zipper. I accidentally put mine in upside down and she made me take it out. I couldn't see that it made any difference whether it zipped up or down. I made a dress one time using a Vogue pattern. That was an education. I remember having to read the instructions over and over to figure out what to do.

I don't think it's suppose to rain today but it's getting overcast. It only dropped the temperature from 96 to 94.

Martha

I have a sewing machine, but it is at my Ohio son's house in storage. I learned to do only the most basic things, and I blame that on my mother. Turns out she cheated in high school sewing class by having her mother complete her projects!! So, she never knew how to sew.

It is almost 1 pm here in Hood Park (in south eastern WA where the Snake River connects to the Columbia, but it is already 99 degrees. Supposed to get up to 104 today (yesterday was 106), but will "cool" down to a high of 99 tomorrow. I slept better last night because I did turn the AC down to make it chilly inside.

I have been catching up with work lately, but am really bored because not being able to go to museums or public places for so many months is really getting to me. And it is too hot to even walk, not that I can walk very far any more. So, basically, I am getting ready for the new semester and waiting to be able to head south to Boise to get my new bike adjusted, Lake Cascade, a couple of state parks near Salt Lake CIty, Dead Horse Point near Moab, and finally Zion and Grand Canyon in October.

Lyn, I dread not being able to travel. I'm not into bingo, other games, or senior bus trips. Maybe by then it will be safe to take a cruise or two. When I was up in the Olympic Peninsula last year, I watched a lot of ships head to Alaska from Seattle, and they sell rooms for half price three weeks before they leave, so those are a possibility.

Anne I purchased a simple Brother sewing machine after reading the reviews. Does all the basic things someone starting out needs to do and keeps more experienced seamstresses occupied. Nothing fancy because I never did fancy. I leaned to sew back in hight school by going over to my best friend's house across the street and learned. My step mother sewed many of my clothes and considered her self an excellent seamstress. But she was also a very critical narcissist and I knew that I would not be able to tolerate her "teaching" style. My friend's mother answered my questions, gave suggestions and encouragement. I made a dress for my prom because I couldn't find anything I liked in the stores. In college I made another fancy dress for a formal sorority dance and a night gown. After I got married I remember being given my mother-in-laws old Singer and loving that it basically went forward and back and now I can't remember what I made with it but that was forty years ago. Like I said my last machine was turned over to my daughter for "artistic" purposes. She often worked with mixed media in those days.

My current interest for sewing comes from wanting to replace what remain of the 19 year old curtains in the Roadtrek. All I need to be able to do is measure carefully and sew some straight seams adding the "tape" to the seams that have the attachments that ride on the tracks. The color is a nice neutral tan. I know that it may be a boring color but walking in the rig the color/curtains just sort of blend in with the blonde woodwork and I think they make it visually look bigger. I have seen all the cute colors and fabric folks have used in their rigs......but I guess that for me those small spaces get a "cluttered" feeling quickly enough. The scenes out side and the dogs inside are enough visual beauty for me. An maybe a couple of pictures....

Also, got enough quilted fabric to cover my dog show tack box when it is all closed up and stored for travel. I find myself grabbing towels and packing them around to keep the metal box from getting scratch up during travel...... See, I guess you could say I am more a practical seamstress. And I picked up some mesh material to make those pockets screens that fit over the front windows of the Class C and Class B rigs so that you can roll the windows down, get a nice breeze and keep the bugs out. Beth reported on some years ago and they made sense to me. Again, I look forward to measuring and some simple seams....... Later if I get locked in again I can consider dog show snoods and dog coat blankets........

Some of the ladies I camp with have the cute vintage campers and they are cute to look at. I think all that lace and decorations would drive me up the wall. Some bring so much stuff that their trailer must be full going down the road. They sit out all these decoration, tables and stuff at the campgrounds. I made the mistake of telling someone I would wait for them and it took her 3 hours to get on the road.

Martha

I remember the nightgown I made in school. It was purple print flannel and ended up being too small for me but i wore it to bed anyways for awhile. My current machine I got at WM and is just a simple backwards, forwards, and zigzag machine.

I loved fixing up the pop-up camper I had, with new bright curtains and matching cushion covers. Just looked so much brighter and more cheerful in there. I love color! I have seen the vintage trailers and as cute as they are, some do go way over the top with nic nacs, pillows, stuff all over the walls, etc. I also wondered how they take so much stuff with them when they travel! I like to keep things simple and basic. Little spaces can get cluttered and claustrophobic very easily. I know, I live in a tiny home!

Tina, those screens made it from my first C to this one and was one of my smart purchases. I'm sure you'll do a great job making a pair.

Those of you who talk about home ec... Ah those were not happy days for me. Although I fondly remember the pineapple upside down cake I made in the cooking session. And I made a very difficult outfit for my baby niece in the sewing session. I promptly decided to never see again lol. Cooking wasn't far behind, but that changed a bit. Sewing never lolol

I have a sewing machine that is rarely used... I can use it but that doesn't mean I necessarily want to... when my kids were growing up I had a friend that after we became friends found out we were cousins but she sews and does it well so I would take the kids and I would help cut out clothes and when it was time for lunch I would fix the meal that was my contribution of course it was her food as well and lots of time material she had hanging around...we still get together when possible but we now go to a restaurant and have a good chat ought to give her a call.....
but I do need to see about putting up some curtains I took the ones down that were in the bed room would you believe they were suppose to be dry cleaned???
not any more went to the dump
I went and donated blood today don't usually react and didn't really but when I got home laid my woosy self down and took a nap... they didn't have any step stools to get on the gurney so had to climb on a chair and then on to the gurney.... not built for someone short and fat
so that was in general my day
sheila