Cats in an RV

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Decisions, Decisions

I went back to the storage place last night with a friend so I could show off Miranda and also get her opinion on which bed to rip out and replace with a desk. My friend also wound up hauling boxes, but that was not my intent for bringing down there, LOL!

So, I wanted to rip out the bed on the left. The bedroom isn’t symmetrical and the left side has a wider wall. I felt that I could tuck both a desk and a chair away and have them not be visible from the kitchen.

Also, the right-side bed has a drop down table, so I felt that it was conveniently set up for use as a couch, even if the electrical plug and heater are on that side.

The previous owner told me that, having lived in the coach for six months, she felt that the right-side bed should be the one to go, pointing out the wider wall and the electrical outlet. I didn’t find her arguments convincing.

My friend also suggested I take out the right-side bed, telling me that I won’t have guests often, but when I do, the wider wall of the left side will make a sort of alcove that will offer much needed privacy in such a small space.

That settled it.

Another decision to make is where to put the litter box. I am seriously considering giving up the space under the ‘sofa’ and dedicating it to the cat box. I had hoped to be able to put the box in the basement, but there are no convenient places in which to do so. My other option is to put it in the storage space below the wardrobe, but that would require removing a door. I think that making a discreet hole in the base of the ‘sofa’ makes more sense. The final option was to put the box in the cockpit, either between the two seats or at the foot of the passenger seat, but that area is carpeted and will remain carpeted, so I don’t feel that’s a good idea.

I had hoped to be able to remove one of the lounge chairs and the bar at some point to replace them with a credenza/bookcase. The chairs are bolted down and I couldn’t immediately see a way to remove them, so I might have to live with them.

Then, I discovered that the material covering the chairs and dinette benches also covers the ceiling of the cockpit. I’ve decided that I therefore have to live with this material. That said, I still want to remove as much of the sage green curtains as I can (I used to love that colour, but now I just see my cubicle!!!) and play up the other colours in the fabric–there’s blue, pink, gold, and peach, so I know I’ll be able to do do something I can live with. I’m also pretty sure I’ll need to replace the mini blinds at some point since Tabitha and Neelix will surely destroy them.

Finally, I feel that the space above the fridge was poorly designed, so I’m going to spring for a cabinet for up there. I’ll be unable to match Miranda’s woodwork, so I think I’ll go for open shelves and use the space for books.

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Mobility and Community

I’ve been following the adventures of Sean and Louise, fulltiming in Odyssey, a 40′ Neoplan bus, for quite a long time now.

I remember reading their blog for the first time and thinking “Wow, I’d love to do that… but there’s absolutely no way I could.” I credit Louise for indirectly getting me out of that mentality. I had so many excuses for not getting on the road, one of which was that my cats would simply tear up the motorhome with their claws. She presented a solution, Softpaws, and helped me realise that there was a solution to all my excuses. Flash forward many months, and here I am, a month and a half before my own fulltiming dream begins!

Sean and Louise are presently volunteering for the Red Cross. Their current blog entries have chronicled their mad dash from Wyoming to Texas, and they’re about to be on the move again.

I cannot wait to have this sort of mobility.

When my father was ill, I wanted to move to be closer to him. That wasn’t feasible in the amount of time he had left. How nice it would have been to have the freedom to drop my job for a few months, something I could have done had I necessary mobility, to be with him full time!

Or how about those interesting temporary job postings for which I can’t apply because moving house wouldn’t make financial sense and staff housing wouldn’t work because of the catkids?

How about volunteer opportunities during times of disaster?

Or even cases like this week where I realised just how unsafe is the area in which I’m living?

Most of the people I know in the ‘real’ world are extremely sedentary. They would look at this post and say “Yeah, mobility has its advantages, but you have to give up having a community.”

I couldn’t disagree more. In just a few short months, I’ve learned that RVers form a community unto themselves, partly ‘real’ and partly virtual. I can’t wait to compare that sense of community to that which I’ve experienced in the various places I’ve lived.