Children learn the number 100 at an early age, and teachers have many creative ways to help them understand this concept. Recently we had one of our grandchildren count to 100 as we made our way to a destination. By the time we got there, she was surprised to discover we had arrived, as she was “so busy counting.”
We have officially been full-time on the road for more than 100 days. We sold our house in March, and we are building another one. Well, we intend to build another one. You can read the last two house updates here and here to learn more about that story.
On this journey, we have already traveled through Texas (we providentially left the state about a week before the hurricane hit), Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and currently we are camping in Maple Grove Minnesota, which is in the greater Minneapolis area. Between work and other responsibilities, we have participated in Airstream rallies, visited state capitols, presidential libraries, national parks, and witnessed so much of God’s scenic locations. I have made several loaves of sourdough bread, and we enjoy many homemade creations. I think I’ve finally learned how to use the convection microwave, but I have to be careful not to hit “microwave” when I intend to cook in the oven 🥴🤪😳😂. Tim’s pizza was way overcooked that night.
Every time we move from one campsite to another, we start the day with a devotion and sometimes we just burst into song. We decided to start recording these random musings, and we share a singalong with our friends. One take.
So far I’ve only been sharing these on FaceBook, but I know several of our friends do not have FaceBook anymore (including my hubby), so I will add these videos to our ministry YouTube library. They are far from perfect, but we have had fun and felt inspired sharing a few words from Scripture and song.
When we started full-timing it, Tim’s workload was at an all-time low. “Let’s go up north! Let’s visit North Dakota and Montana! Let’s go…” At the time we made these plans his company was not getting a lot of business. The owner was considering staff layoffs (not the consultants). We thought he would have plenty of time to hitch the trailer, travel and site-see.
My how quickly that changed! Almost as soon as we left Texas his company started getting a lot more business. Plus, one of the primary consultants left the company, and now Tim is taking on more of those gigs in addition to making pitches and working with new clients. He is traveling for work more, and we have been diligently planning our trips to ensure we stay in locations where there is an airport, WIFI, good phone signal, and, if possible, Panera Bread 🤪🥴. I even added that to my travel spreadsheet.
I feel like a full-time travel agent on most days 😂🤩🤪.
In addition to Tim’s travel, I have to ensure my visits with MD Anderson for treatment, scans, doctor visits, etc. fit into the travel schedule as well. It’s like when someone puts a lot of sugar in their coffee, we might say “would you like a little coffee to go with that sugar?” Well, Tim and I now say, “would you like a little downtime to go with that travel?”
Aside, I was in The Woodlands for treatment, hence the travel. I also had an MRI of the brain today, and the doctor said it was an excellent scan. They have been following some residual spots, and have determined they are simply post-treatment (post-radiation) spots. They have not grown, and she is confident I am still cancer free in the brain. PTL! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Tim and I both experienced some travel saga related to the botched Microsoft patch. Tim had to cancel one of his onsite visits due to flight cancellations and no rental cars. I was a bit more lucky on the flight out, but now I am sitting in Starbucks at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, waiting to see if my flight home from treatment will be cancelled. It has already been delayed twice, so it will be close to midnight when I get home.
Home….is where we park it. ❤️❤️❤️
Each time we stop, we ask ourselves, “what did we break this time?” 😂😂We have had our share of drawers opening, hinges breaking, items flying around that we forgot to tie down, medicine and salt pouring out on the floor. No more spaghetti sauce sagas, fortunately. We’ve learned how to fix things on our own, and YouTube fills in the gaps. Tim is becoming quite the handyman!
I think I forgot to slam it shut.
In the past 100 days we have done several organizational changes, to make our Airstream more livable and durable. I’ve added automatic lights in all the dark cupboards and closets. Tim laughs when I (frequently) use the word “Velcro.” He thinks it’s ironic that we have to use Velcro to hold our expensive Airstream together 😂😂😂😂😂.
In addition to Velcro and zip ties, we upgraded our kitchen in the Airstream to include three gorgeous walnut pieces. We picked two of them up in Wisconsin, and had the third shipped from a friend to Minneapolis. Below are some pictures of our latest additions.
Our new custom-built dinette table. Such a beauty! Much sturdier than the one that came with the Globetrotter, and easier for us old folks to maneuver into the back of the U-bench.
This is our custom-designed sink cover. We took out the white covers that came with the rig (they looked like the ones behind the faucet). This gives us more room to work and is beautiful as well. Matches the table perfectly, and it is food-safe for cutting.
This is our stove cover/ cutting board, also food-safe. A friend of ours is getting into woodworking, so we gave him this one to do. He did a GREAT job! It matches the walls and other woodwork perfectly. I love the walnut. It’s rich and has a nice grain to it.
We used to keep our spices behind the stove on a rack, so we measured to include those behind it. However, now we keep them in the pantry. One less thing to move. If I had realized we were going to do that, I would have had him go all the way to the wall 🤦♀️. Lesson learned. I still love it though, and I can use that little gap for my spoon rest and butter dish.
One more piece of wood for good measure. When we were picking up our table and sink cover from Tayfun (Topics Woodworks), he wasn’t happy with how the sink cover was fitting. It was just a hair too big. So, he offered to make us a new one. Tim said no, don’t waste the wood. Can you just shave this one down?
He fixed it while we waited, and then gave us THIS charcuterie board for our trouble. He’s a great guy, honest, and a master woodworker. We would definitely order from him again.
I think that pretty well catches us up. Thanks for giving me something to do while I wait on my delayed flight. I was starting to get sleepy. 🥱
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!