I’ve been doing my laundry by hand with my Wonderwash since I moved into the apartment. I got a lot of concessions and perks when I agreed to spend the winter here, but free laundry wasn’t one of them.
Doing the laundry with the Wonderwash is no hardship. It takes about 30 minutes start to finish (not all in a row since I always allow a bit of time for soaking) to get a couple of loads done with it. Moreover, I was also able to pick up Donna’s spin dryer when I was visiting last weekend (thanks!!!), so I don’t have to wring out everything. Even jeans dry in record time (about a day; it’s been damp and too warm for putting the heat on).
I have tons of space in the apartment for placing the drying rack and hanging things. When I do towels and sheets tomorrow, I will put the drying rack on the balcony so that everything will dry in a couple of hours.
The gift of the Wonderwash could really have gone both ways. It could have been a useless space hog, but I have really made it work for the space it takes in my shower. I think it really is a must-have tool for the frugal RVer who doesn’t want to feed quarters or loonies into laundromats. Of course, I have gone for very long stretches on the road where laundry was free, but I have also had some periods where it wasn’t. In those periods, I would say I have done my laundry by hand 75% of the time. So laundry really isn’t a major line-item in my budget.
It’s been a busy week and I’ll definitely be putting in a couple of hours this weekend. Work is still going great!
Jody can attest to the fact that the apartment is definitely looking lived in. I keep bringing in things that I need (tonight it was the breadmaker). Moving out is going to be a lot of work! I’m still not that comfortable living here. The noisy fridge is a pain and I don’t like that people in the hallway can hear what I’m doing. My maintenance guy gave me some weather stripping to put between the door frame and the door as well as a door-sweep for the bottom. I installed them this afternoon (he’s got enough to do!) and noticed quite an improvement. You can still hear things outside, but the sounds are muffled. I have the second worst designed apartment layout; most of the others have an L-shaped hallway with the living room way at the back so there’s a ton of privacy. My hallway goes straight into the living room area.
One of my tenants came to let me know that one of his buddies is interested in buying Miranda. I let him know that MY RIG IS NOT FOR SALE!!!!!! She’s irreplaceable!!!!!!!!!! And priceless!!!!!!!! I went in Miranda this evening and had to leave quickly; I miss my home so much. 🙁 But I have almost a full month done of the six before I can go back.
The weather is still gorgeous with today being on the cold side of chilly. The sun is glorious! I still haven’t plugged in Miranda since I still don’t have enough extension cord, but I got good news: maintenance has been needing an outside plug near where Miranda is parked and it’s going in by early next week! I’ll only need one extension cord to reach it. Yay! Once I have heat inside, I’ll be able to set aside some time and budget for painting and fall cleaning. The weather has not been cold enough yet for me to be uncomfortable with there not being any heat inside.
I had a lot of time to think on the drive into BC this weekend, mostly about the slew of birth, wedding, pregnancy, and new house announcements streaming from my loved ones in my old life.
It really hit me how little I have in common with these people any more. Their milestones are insignificant in my life and they certainly don’t understand mine. There’s no point posting “I got a solar panel!” to Facebook, for example, because they just wouldn’t get how significant that is to my life. My milestones are so different–achieving electrical independence, financing my life on the road without rely on outside work, mastering mountain driving, backing into a tight spot with crunching anything…
For the first 29 years of my life, I felt like an outsider, like the background player on a popular sitcom. I just never belonged with anyone or anywhere and I dreams of traveling and somehow stumbling on my ‘tribe.’ On my Friday afternoon drive, it hit me that this dream came to fruition! I have met people in the last three years I would most likely have never met, much less connected with, in any other context. I have found kindred spirits in Donna and Ken, Sarah, Jody and Gary, Croft and Norma, westerner by choice, Les, the Sands, and a number of other RVers and nomads, the list being too long to enumerate here (and I would be afraid to omit someone!).
These people might not be part of my daily life, but we can come together at any point and pick up where we left off without having to explain our milestones or our choices. We all understand the need to seek the next horizon, to find fulfillment in a foreign sunset, to experience how others live. We might not all live the same way or have the exact same values but we don’t need to explain ourselves to each other. We are a community bound by common understanding rather than roots.
I had no idea on that potluck afternoon of November 4th, 2008 that the neighbour who was just 10 years old than me and her wonderful husband would become such amazing friends, that I would enter their rig like it was mine, babysit their pup, or help myself to a beer before stretching out on their couch.
And I bet Jody had no idea what she was getting into the day she fired off an email inviting me to stay in her and her husband’s back yard this summer! With her and Gary it was ‘right’ from the start. I have always felt welcome and safe in their home, as though we have known each other forever.
We never know who will be the special people in our lives, those who won’t just pass through but rather stick. I miss and love my friends and family from my old life. I am always happy to connect and forever sad that our bond has eroded so much. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m no longer on the outside looking in because I have found my tribe at last.
I just got in from a great weekend visiting with Donna and Ken who are staying at a lovely RV park just outside of Cranbrook, BC. This was my first time driving through the Crowsnest Pass area on my own and the four hour trip was much longer with just the radio for company, but still as beautiful!
The wind was terrible along the entire stretch out of the Prairies and into the foothills. I stopped in Pincher Creek for coffee and fuel and it was just as bad as the last time I was there.
Pincher Creek
I was glad to cease my white-knuckle driving by the time I hit the Crowsnest pass, and by Blairmore a few speckles of rain had replaced the wind. It was then a smooth and easy drive to Fort Steele, 10 minutes north of Cranbrook. I arrived around five and quickly made myself at home. I was impressed by how much progress Ken and Donna had made in turning their new rig into an organized and functional home!
We didn’t do much Friday evening because I was running on very little sleep and exhausted. I did walk around the park a bit
the Ark 2.0
and check out their emu neighbours!
emu
We hit the sack pretty early, but made up for it with a very full Saturday!
When I planned this weekend, I sort of thought of doing the Kootenay circuit to make up for missing the stretch from Banff to Cranbrook after my engine troubles.
Kootenay circuit–Lethbridge to Cranbrook to Radium Hot Springs to Banff to Calgary to Lethbridge
But that would have meant an eight-hour trip home, most of it through familiar territory. I instead proposed that we drive up to the village of Radium Hot Springs, gateway to Kootenay National Park, about 300km round trip from Cranbrook. Ken and Donna thought that was a great idea and Midnight was happy to come along for the ride.
One of the most interesting things we came across on the drive to Radium was Columbia Lake, which is the source of the Columbia River, along the banks of which I spent quite some time this spring. It’s very beautiful!
Columbia Lake
Radium is the typical hot springs resort town. We drove through quickly and turned around at the gate to Kootenay National Park since we wouldn’t have gotten our money’s worth out of the admission fee.
There’s a sign in the video for This is Our Home that piqued my curiosity because I had no idea where it’s located. Well, I found it in Radium!
The Kootenays were beautiful on this crisp autumn afternoon, with snow on the higher peaks and lots of amber. It was a great drive!
vista just south of Radium village
Today’s agenda was for me to get to know the emus. Here’s a video of Donna feeding them:
Lots more pictures of my trip are in the gallery below!
I left Fort Steele around 2 and was in Lethbridge by quarter to six where I was expected for dinner! Gary made sure to send me home with leftovers of the perfectly normal variety. You know, a few roasted sweet potatoes, a couple of muffins, some fresh baked bread, a container of homemade soup, and two whole roasted chickens. You read that correctly. I adore that man! 😀
Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek
emu
emu
emu
emu
daddy emu
the Ark 2.0
Pepe in overflow
Kootenay sky
north towards Radium Hot Springs
Columbia Lake, source of the Columbia River
Columbia Lake
Columbia Lake
Columbia Lake
Columbia Lake
Columbia Lake
Columbia Lake
my favourite dog, Midnight
north towards Radium Hot Springs
north towards Radium Hot Springs
north towards Radium Hot Springs
north towards Radium Hot Springs
north towards Radium Hot Springs
north towards Radium Hot Springs
strange house in Radium
strange house in Radium
strange house in Radium
strange house in Radium
entrance to Kootenay National Park
vista just south of Radium village
vista just south of Radium village
vista just south of Radium village
vista just south of Radium village
vista just south of Radium village
vista just south of Radium village
Donna taking a picture of the vista just south of Radium village for her blog 🙂
This afternoon, I decided to pull the ‘cold weather gear’ tote out from the basement of the rig. By this point, I had no idea what was in it. I vaguely remember doing a huge cold weather gear purge and consolidation back in Campbell River and the contents of the tote were a mystery.
Behold:
cold weather gear
There’s several warm skirts in there, gloves, mitts, hats, a full-length reasonably dressy coat, a snow suit, and another four-season versatile activity coat. That last one made me groan. I worked so hard to find a fleece coat for hiking the Chilkoot Trail and I had one all along! This neat coat uses a fleece coat as the liner, so you get three coats in one. It was my winter coat back when I lived in Lindsay, Ontario, from 2000 to 2002. I can’t believe I a) still have it, and b) forgot about it!
But the real find was that skirt on top, the plum and brown one with ribbons. I love that skirt, used to get so many compliments on it, and thought I gave it up for my nomadic existence. Now, if it’ll only get cold enough for me to pull it on! 🙂
As it ends up, I really won’t have to buy that much to be comfortable this winter. I need a bunch of tights and leggings and a few button down sweaters in neutral colours to layer over my long-sleeved cotton tops. I have a really cozy and cute pair of winter boots I bought for super cheap ($10!) in Omak last fall and I have to see if I can water proof them. If not, I also need a pair of warm boots.
I’m really impressed by how much I was able to stuff into that tote (needless to say, most of it needs ironing), and I think that I might as well hang on to the clothes since they are accessible but out of the way, and do not use up valuable space I could use for something else.
In other news, my boy has a new favourite place to hang out. If anyone can explain this picture to me, I will be very grateful:
