Dangerous Days

I stopped at an RV lot in town while doing errands today.  Found a used (2009) North Trail that I really liked the layout of:

http://www.heartlandrvs.com/models.html?model_id=74&id=7&name=&type=

I wouldn't have a bed of my own but the living area would be awesome.  I also like the windows in this one ... great view of the outside.  And instead of a regular gas over, there is a microwave.  Someone actually realized that people don't use the oven in their RV!  This model also has more storage than usual.

I can't wait until mother and I can start looking at RV's!

In the meantime I've got to get to work on this house.  Here's a short list of the things that have to be done before I can put the house on the market:

1. Texture dining room walls  3/15/2010 
2. Texture kitchen walls
3. Prime dining room walls
4. Paint dining room walls
5. Prime kitchen walls
6. Paint kitchen walls
7. Paint interior of kitchen cabinets
8. Install metal pull out shelves/drawers in two kitchen cabinets
9. Paint exterior of kitchen cabinets
10. Install hinges, door knobs and drawer pulls
11. Hang cabinet doors
12. New baseboards in living room
13. Wood flooring in dining room
14. Paint upstairs bathroom ceiling
15. Paint wood work in upstairs bathroom
16. Touch up blue paint in upstairs bathroom
17. Paint back door
18. Install new sink and faucets in downstairs kitchen
19. Sand and paint fence
20. Install fence on other side of house
21. Spruce up flower beds

Things I should do:

1. Strip wallpaper in blue bedroom, texture and paint
2. Strip wallpaper in mother's room, texture and paint
3. Strip wallpaper in hallway, texture and paint
4. Paint all woodwork
5. Paint downstairs

I'm tired and need to rest now.

A Winter Day in the Life of ...

I'm not proud of it but this morning I put on shoes, threw a coat over my pajamas and went to Sonic (Rt 44 Diet Dr Pepper and bacon/egg/cheese burrito for me) and Hardee's (egg and cheese bisquit for mother). The temp was 20 degrees and it was snowing slightly. On the way home I snapped a few pictures to illustrate my current world.


This picture was taken on Kansas Street and shows a church with snow piled in front. The sidewalks are clean but there's no place to put the accumulated snow.






This is the corner of Mt Rushmore and Kansas. Note the pile of snow in the corner of the parking lot. Again no other place to put the snow. There are piles of snow like this in virtually every parking lot in town.





This picture shows West Blvd, the main street in our neighborhood. I walk the dogs in the esplanade in the center.







These are just a couple of houses in the neighborhood. Did I mention that we live in an historical district? Probably 20% of this houses are single family converted into multi family dwellings. I've only seen the inside of one and it was very well done.

Radio Shack

I had my second interview with Radio Shack yesterday and was hired to work at the Rushmore Mall store. I go in at 2 pm today to complete the hiring paperwork. It will probably take a week to get the paperwork through corporate and me to start work.

Curtis approves!

Had breakfast yesterday with my brother Curtis to see if he had any objections to my taking our mother on the road in an rv. He is fine with the plan. He said he can build some sort of ramp to help her get in and out of the rv easier. He also suggested that we get mother an motorized scooter of some sort so that she can get around in the various campgrounds.

I think it will cost approximately $40,000 of the money we will get from the sale of the house to do this.

14,000 used RV
11,000 used truck
5,000 hearing aid for mother
6,000 sewing machine for me
4,000 miscellaneous

For the $25,000 budgeted for RV and a truck to pull it I will also look at used motor homes and could pull the jeep behind it.

This is the travel trailer floor plan that I've found that I think would work great.

http://www.keystone-cougar.com/index.php?page=floorplans&coast=west&model=29BHSWE

I would give mother the queen bedroom up front and I would take the bunk bed area in the back. There is a dinette set under the wider bunk. I could use it for working on computer, etc. The other two bunks would be great for storage and/or guests.

There is a pullout bike carrier that can be used for my bike, a kayak and a scooter for mother.

This model new sells for about $28,000 but I don't intend to buy a new one. It is too easy to buy a good used rv. Might not be exactly like this one but doesn't have to be.

Highway 287 or Highway 395

Curtis suggested Highway 287. I like that but Highway 395 is interesting also. It starts at the US/Canada border and travels south through Oregon, Washington and California almost to the Mexican border. Maybe I could do 287 and then 395?

Mother says she is excited about the idea of this trip. I hope she really is. I could put this off until ... but I like the idea of her traveling with me. I need to figure out a way to make getting in and out of an rv more user friendly for her. Maybe Curtis will have an idea on that. I looked online and there was just discussion about wheel chair lifts and making the inside wheel chair accessible. The narrow confines of an rv would probably be safer for her than a house. Something for her to hold on to makes her less likely to fall.

Retirement

I am now retired. I will receive my first social security check on February 10th. I still need to find a part time job to supplement social security but that will come soon enough. I decided to retire instead of looking for a full time job for several reasons: (1) There aren't many jobs that pay what I was making (2) What I was making net is only $300 a month less than I will get from social security (3) Mother is starting to need someone home more.

So I am sleeping to 8 each day, doing some major house cleaning, playing with the dogs, reading, etc. I find I am cooking more meals (vs take home fast food) which is good for both of us. And I am contemplating what to do when this house finally sells.

Current plan is to buy an RV, probably a travel trailer, a vehicle to pull it (used not new) and get out on the road. I would like to start at one end of Highway 287 (Montana 100 miles south of the Canadian border) and travel to the other end (Texas near Port Arthur). Along the way I want to either film a documentary and/or write a travel book about the places I've seen and the people I've met. Sounds far fetched I know but it is always good to have a dream.

Lots to do to plan for this. I'm starting to research the route online and compiling what I find into a notebook. I want a travel trailer that will accomodate an additional person or two or three so that Mother, grandchildren, friend and/or an occasional cousin can accompany me on parts of the trip. I want to be thinner and in better health. I want a better computer (probably an Apple laptop) and the knowledge/ability to attach a web cam to the RV so that the people at home can follow my trip.
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But first I have to finish the kitchen/dining room remodel so this house can be sold. And I have to continue to clean, organize and get rid of all the the cr** that has accumulated since we moved here.

New Year

Time to start the new year with new resolutions. Updating this blog daily is one of them. The other is losing weight by following my diabetic diet and increasing activity. Didn't manage to do either one today ... probably because (1) Kimberly, Jessie, Jeffrey and Gregory left today to go home to Texas and (2) it was too frigging cold. Morning started off at 1 degree at 7 am, got up to around 10 degrees and is now at 5 degrees. I had planned to walk the dogs (Harley at least) but at that temp it probably isn't good for either of us. There were exercises I could have done inside but they didn't cross my mind until I started writing this.