When I first started blogging on https://austinpondsociety.com almost 11 years ago, my goal was to get a blog out at least once a week which I did for a couple of years. Back then, it was mostly stories about the ponds and Koi and the Austin Pond Society meetings in which I filmed the speakers and meeting content which is what the blog was originally set up for. Then I discovered that I liked to write poems and threw a few of them in the mix.
Time passed and I started to write more and included photographs and videos and added in my hiking experiences and before long, I was posting Monday’s and Fridays’ which I maintained for a few years before switching to three a week which now includes Wednesdays.
Since the advent of that blog, times have changed and we have now switched to a different blog, https://livinginanrv.blog , that reflects more the changing times in my life. I no longer have any ponds or Koi interests as I get the house ready to put on the market and my association with Austin Pond Society is now a thing of the past. My life is taking a new turn with different interests and the introduction of this blogsite is my place to continue my writing with only a basic change of subject. Incidentally, the main reason for the new blog is that I could not change the title of the old one as it was also the Domain name. With that said, I now have a lot more time to write with the same and different stimuli like RV’s, camping, travelling, photography and hiking just to name a few. And then there is the poetry. When I am in the mood, I find it very easy to write a poem about almost any subject. Some of my poems are very good, others are borderline to say the least but all of them satisfy the inner poet in me. Now that I have a lot more time on my hands, I am writing more than ever and am wondering if I could maintain a daily schedule and still find things to blog about. Probably not for very long and the quality might deteriorate. Not to say it is of the highest standard now but it is the best I have to offer. Currently, I am scheduled out through May 17 at 3 a week for a total of 10 blogs in the queue As that is only 2 weeks away, I guess I answered my own question, so no, I can’t write enough to post on a daily basis. at least not yet. If I posted everyday through the week, I would need 5 blogs a week. Having arrived at that stupendous decision lets go back to finishing this blog.
One of the things that I have noticed living in an RV is that I don’t wake up very early. I have never been a morning person and during my working career, found it very hard to wake up necessitating an alarm clock situated as far from the bed but still close enough to hear. Actually, it wasn’t really that bad and I always got up on time, not necessarily liking it especially depending on the antics of the previous evening. Back then, I liked a beer or two or three and many was the day that it started off with a headache. Those days are long gone especially now that we are almost full time in the RV. After the Judge told me I should stop drinking before fining me $5000.00 plus Lawyers fees of $5000.00 for DWI, I quit drinking completely for almost 14 years. Now, an occasional glass of wine in the RV late at night is my limit. The only driving factor in waking up at any time is to take the dogs for their first walk of the day so they can do their business and some mornings I find us waking up at 10:00 am. The bedroom has the shades pulled and is pretty dark, the park is quiet and the dogs don’t seem to be in any hurry. The sleep of the innocent, maybe…
I have a lot more time on my hands than I ever had before as there is no garden nor fish ponds to maintain. Apart from the chores around the RV which are pretty much constant, my time is my own. Hence the increase in writing and the manufacturing of subjects to write about. I have to be a little careful as it is easy to find ways to spend money with the latest gadgets to spruce up the RV and the ease to order said gadgets on line to be delivered within a couple of days by Amazon Prime. My latest gadget is a new shower unit to replace the one that could only dribble water unless I held it down all the time. Then it improved a bit. The new one works just fine in the holder just like a regular shower should. Of course, currently, anything I buy on line has to be delivered to the house as it is still my current address which means the occasional trip back. I don’t mind too much as it gives me the opportunity to check the ponds and mailbox. Like most people in America with a permanent address, I get lots of junk mail and have been spending some of my time in writing many of these companies and donation seekers that I support asking them to cancel mailing me hard copies and to correspond strictly by email. Several have already responded but others I fear, never will and the junk mail will still keep on a-coming. If that is the case and they are on my list of donations, then I will remove them as why should I donate for them to waste my money on their junk mail. I do not for the life of me understand how it can possibly be worth their while to keep sending out their stuff time after time with very little or no response. Obviously, they have no follow up system that checks on responses. It must cost them a fortune and one would think the money would be better spent or saved by less waste. I support a large number of charities especially of the Pets, Animals, Wildlife and Nature kind and prefer to be notified by email of anything they might want to say. Most of my donations are set up on an re-occurring basis so I don’t have to worry about them but I can just as quickly remove them if the need arises.
Today is yet another gloomy miserable day and I haven’t seen the sun shine once. It rains the occasional shower with the temperature hovering around the 68 degree mark, Pretty chilly by Texas standards. I spent part of the morning in assembling and cooking a crockpot and it is now ready to eat, so the evening meal is taken care of. Actually, the next couple of evenings. Time to start eating healthy again not that I ever eat any junk food but have been resorting to frozen dinners quite a bit. It’s so easy just to pop one in the microwave and 5 minutes later, it is ready to eat. Some of the dinners actually taste pretty good and a lot are not of anything that I would try to make. I’m limited to soups and stews pretty much. The problem with so many recipes is that they are geared more to a family and not to a single individual albeit with two ever eager dogs ready to pick up anything I might, just might, sort of accidentally drop.
About the one constant in our collective lives, me and the dogs that is, the need to take them out at least twice a day to both relieve themselves and for all of us to get some exercise. Depending on the weather, this can either be short walk in the direction of the Park dumpsters, the place where the doggy poop bags are deposited which I always hope are needed on the way down and not on the way back. If that happens, it usually requires a second trip to the dumpster depending how close I am to the Eagle. Sometimes they are stored and deposited along with the rest of the trash from the RV which happens usually around once a week. If the weather is nice, then we usually cover a mile or so walking the roads around the RV park.
I have very quickly slipped into this RV life of leisure. With no ponds and house to worry about, life is a breeze. Usually, we do not have an agenda unless the occasional doctors appointment is due or maybe a haircut but as that now only happens every ten weeks with a very short back and sides, not a great deal to keep track of. I go into Dripping Springs to the HEB for groceries about every 4-5 days or back to the house to pick up mail or any deliveries that may have arrived but very little is on a regular schedule. Things will change when we eventually hit the road what with the camping preparations and the actual trips from place to place. Unless I am forced into it, I don’t plan on driving and setting up every couple of days but will opt for longer stays at the campgrounds. I have been giving some thought to purchasing a Class A or maybe a Class C which would make it easier to set up but that is way down the road and after I sell the house.
Yes, I have decided that I really like this life but have left it a bit late for the experience.
Written 4/29/2021
Check out my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com
Well, better late than never! Just think how lucky you are because so many people always wish to be able to do something like you’re planning and never really have the opportunity.
I too can totally identify with hating to get up early in the morning but I did it for 38 years while I was teaching and now I totally relish a slow start to the day with 2 cups of coffee and reading the latest news. Before I get to the newspaper, I check my email and read your blog. Happy day!
You are my one constant when it comes to writing a comment about the current blog and whether it is good or bad, you always have a positive word. Thanks
I have to keep you motivated because I like reading about what you do.