Good Morning From My Van

Kira enjoys her morning nap after first morning potty walk. 

Good coffee to you. What's today like in my van (that is waiting for fuel pump replacement)? 

We woke at 830 a.m. to a chilly 45 degrees.  The desert gets very cold at night, then by 10 a.m. it's sunny and comfortable.  

Mornings in a camper van aren't much different than traditional style in a bricks and sticks house.  Get up,  go to the bathroom, walk the dog,  make coffee,  fold the door curtains and fold up the bedding.  

I'm still trying to balance repair tasks and totally rearranging interior of van at the same time.  It's getting better but interior still a disaster in terms of things having their own place

Kira decides napping in the dog bed next to me is a better option 

Add a chihuahua who always wants to be right in the middle of everything (might be food involved)..

But finally I've a spot on the couch to sit and a spot on the end table to set my coffee.  Ah coffee,  nectar of the gods,  my sanity potion.

As usual,  I'm in waiting mode.  A friend coming to charge my battery,  small check tonight at 11 p.m., the fuel pump to pay electronically tonight plus labor.  So I'll do a bit of housework and organizing. 

I've a fresh bunch of bananas one of the panhandlers left on the corner,  and a full, unopened cherry Pepsi.  While I am a purist on my cola,  i won't turn down a free,  full,  unopened cold pop. 

I think breakfast will be peanut butter with Fiji apple preserves (on sale $1.09) on whole wheat,  with a banana and a big kosher dill pickle on the side, accompanied by my second cup of coffee. 

A simple no cook breakfast.  No dishes to wash,  a couple of paper towels and a paper plate for the trash,  a knife and a spoon to wipe clean.  That's living my dream.  

No,  I'm not living the dream,  I'm living my dream.  Life still happens whether in a traditional house or full time in an RV. 

So, good coffee to you,  from Kira and Lou in my big green vintage class b plus van. It looks to be a wonderful day today. 

~Just Lou~

If you've enjoyed this blog,  feel free to donate $1 or more at PayPal.me/LouBurgess

Adversity or Opportunity ?

It's the time of harvest and plenty.  Storing up for the cold and lean months.  A time to tell the stories of days past.  To teach the younger generation.  

Put the man-made calendar away.  Ignore the clock.  Eat plenty of the vegetables and fruits in season.  Lots of variety and color.  

Gather around and read together.  Instead of tv or video,  stream an audiobook or old radio dramas.  

Stock up popcorn,  dried fruits,  dried beans,  lentils,  rice,  split peas. String green beans and cranberries to dry.  Stock up on cocoa powder,  dried milk,  cinnamon sticks. 

Open the windows and let the fresh air circulate. 

Go through your closets and drawers.  Either give away or use old time rag bag.  

Just as covid-19 as changed the world,  it's an opportunity to look at our lives and our ways of living.  

Adversity always brings reflection and opportunity.  You can bemoan change or become the change. 

It is truly your choice

Responsible, Safe, Traveling During Pandemic

Let's talk cleaning and disinfecting 

With the pandemic,  it's critical knowing what to use to stay safe. 

Rubbing alcohol 70% and paper towels for hand sanitizer. 

A bottle of water,  a bar of soap,  and a small bucket for washing hands.  Time the handwashing for 20 seconds.  An old toothbrush makes a good nail scrubber. 

Cleaning:  bleach and water in a spray bottle or bucket.  The proportion is 1 cup bleach to 9 cups water. 

A face shield or goggles as well as a mask covering both nose and mouth.  

I traveled during the height of the pandemic through Arizona aand Nevada. 

Use your debit card or phone to pay whenever possible. I use scan to pay as much as possible. 

I don't dine in at all.  If i eat out,  it's drive through or curb service.  Pay on app whenever possible. 

You don't need a build out van to wash hands.  A simple large to go cup makes good sink to catch water.  A bar of soap,  and a small 16 oz bottle of water.  You may dump the water on any tree or Bush. 

My soap dish is a washed out dog food container.  Recycling.  Orange lid makes it easy to spot. 

Washing hands with soap and water is a lot safer than the alcohol hand sanitizers. 

The hand sanitizer requires 60 seconds wet to provide protection.  

Travel safe. 

Funny but social distancing is fairly normal for many vandwellers.  

And although 6 feet  the recommended distance,  I'd encourage more distance.

Thoughts From My Van

Part of Vandwelling

There's an entire world out there

To venture into and to discover

Also

You discover you. Who you really are without all the distractions and busyness that obscures your ability to discover who you are, what you want, what is important to you.

Learning to slow down and savor. To take time to really see what is around you, a chance to choose your own path rather than just follow what everyone else does. 

To be a vandweller is to think and make your own decisions and your own choices. 

It's not running away. It's not rebellion for the sake of rebellion. It's a conscious informed choice. It's going towards rather than away from. 

~Lou~

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Today I met one of my blog followers

We know that i rarely publish a photo of myself,  and i don't do publicity tours ever.  

Today i got to meet a reader who had no idea i was me.  And i so enjoyed chatting with her and her husband. 

She's originally from Hawaii (I've lived on Oahu), and he's originally from my home state of Michigan. 

We chatted of simple ordinary things,  travel,  vehicles,  cancer , my dog Kira as well. 

In other words,  she's exactly a normal person like i am, and to hear her pleasure at discussing my way of writing and the ordinary everyday things i write about is exactly what i strove to do when i started writing.  I feel like i won the lottery today.  And made a new friend

We enjoyed a good laugh at how easily I blend in to places so that the star is the place,  not my ego. 

I never planned on being read so widely nor my name known,  i just wanted to write and share the beauty and the wonder of everyday places, not just the tourist spots.  

See you down the road

Just Lou (and Kira too)

Feel free to contribute $1 if you enjoyed the blog

PayPal.me/LouBurgess

Just Some Random Musings

There were some quiet unspoiled places that I used to enjoy

I camped on bolivar peninsula in my ?20s.

I loved the quiet of manistee national forest. 

I enjoyed ehrenberg until a rv wanna be guru published that it was free and a no man's land. 

I've never had a problem with nfs rangers or BLM officers.  We shared love of nature and it's beauty as is. 

And I always carried a couple of bags.  One for trash,  one for cool (to me)  things. 

Back in the days of Google plus,  I became known for unedited shots sharing the beauty of natural things as well as highlighting the traces man leaves behind. 

The more people that gather in one place,  the more damage done to mother earth and nature.

I've camped where bears,  wolves,  and big cats come through.  I've never been attacked or had to shoot one.  Very simply, I was in their environment.  I didn't try to tame any or feed any.  I made sure I left behind nothing that would harm them or endanger them.  As I pulled out,  you saw only a few wheel tracks and no things left behind. 

And toilet paper long outlives the campers. Eww. Dirty disposable baby diaper.  Everything has an impact on nature. 

I don't take wood or pine cones from one forest to another.  I do take some birch bark, maybe a pretty pebble. 

It doesn't matter what it looked like when I got there. Public land belongs to all of us.  So I cleaned up something that is also mine. 

I can sit still for an hour or several,  just watching the wind,  the trees,  the animals,  insects,  and other natural inhabitants. 

I don't build big fires.  Usually a very small comfy one. 

And when I leave,  I leave only memories.  

Good coffee to you

JustLou 

If you've enjoyed this blog,  feel free to contribute $1 or more

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How To Protect Against Viruses By Cleaning

Basic science related to disease

It's long been known that diseases can come from urine or feces. This means both human and animal.  

In Hawaii many years ago,  Hawaiians making poi would throw out entire batch if a fly landed on it.  

The Navajo have long known and protected against a severe illness caused by mice urine and droppings.  

Chihuahuas and rat terriers were bred to go after rodents.  It's known that the Black Plague transmits via fleas off rodents.  There are few cases yearly in New Mexico of Y Pestis.  

We have several recalls and outbreaks yearly of e coli from produce,  usually caused by fecal contamination in field from human or animal.  

And those clear, pure mountain springs often have caused a parasite infection by contamination of feces or animal contamination upstream.  

Typhoid and dysentery killed so many in times before modern plumbing.  

Wounds and infections killed so many before washing hands and sterilizing medical instruments.  

Virus mutates to adapt to environment.  But it's essy to kill if you're through. 

Bar of soap,  bleach,  ammonia,  lysol.  These are common inexpensive items.  There's no need to use excessive amounts.  

Most people don't regard bleach or ammonia as dangerous.  Yet they kill several people a year.  

Chemical safety for cleaning is ABC. Each cleaner with Ammonia,  Bleach,  or cleanser  cannot be mixed with each other.  Dishsoap contains ammonia.  Another cleaning tool to use carefully is oven cleaner or toilet bowl cleaner.  They usually contain lye. Safety is not mixing cleaners.  

I suggest using boiling hot water to rinse or scald dishes,  glasses,  and silverware.  Alternatively,  use a sink with bleach 1 cup bleach to 9 cups water to sanitize.  Don't share cups,  silver,  plates,  or bowls.  Don't reuse that serving spoon or knives.  

My go to method of overall disinfecting is a 5 gallon ice cream pail with bleach water,  and an old clean sock from the discard or socks with holes.  Wipe every hard or plastic surface.  I start in one corner and go around entire room,  bottom to top,  in a circle.  The easiest method to do walls and doors is a bucket and sponge mop.  

While fabric holds virus least,  you can still safely clean carpet and furniture with a carpet cleaner or a bucket of dawn dish soap and water.  And change and wash bedding daily if someone in house has a virus.  

You can make your own disinfectant sprays for commonly used surfaces and use after you've sanitized the  place with bucket and cloth.  Label bottles with different color electrical tape for safety.  

The most common missed surfaces are table and chair legs,  or underside and backs of tables and chairs.  And yes don't forget appliances, lights,  vehicles,  phones.  

A bar of soap and a bottle of water in your vehicle is safer than many hand sanitizers.  Wave hands in air rather than using a towel

Where did I learn all this?  I was often very ill from simple cold or flu as a child.  NY grandmother did all these when I was ill so I didn't keep reinfecting myself or others.  My first husband worked as an operating room tech and he often cleaned surgical beds.  When he worked second shift,  I'd help him so that as newlyweds we had more time together.  I later checked these with medical professionals and my science instructor who had a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Michigan.  

Feel free to check these procedures with someone who is a medical professional or has degrees in related fields.  

An Ordinary Day -- In A Nomad's Life

Today is a lazy day for me.  I slept in until 11 am, a little late,  but obviously what my body needed.  Kira was perfectly content to sleep next to me that late. 

We spent last night at the local Walmart.  There's an area where I often see the 2 or 3 other fulltime low key nomads.  We're all quiet,  leave no trash, make no fuss,  and quietly leave.  

During the Walmart el Paso shooting,  I was approached by police and asked if I'd seen any unusual vehicles and to call them if I had.  It pays to be quiet and respectful of property.  The police do notice.  

Today was

-Wakeup

-Move van over in a parking lot by McDonald's for potty and wifi.  

- move van to nearby park,  take out the small bag of trash, and empty the potty in the bathroom's toilet. 

- breakfast.  Sometimes I just like opening a can and eating right from the can. 

We saw 3 homeless with a cart and a pit bull.  Kira donated breakfast for the pup.  Dog food and some small milkbone treats. 

my p-58 can opener

Eating utensils

snacks

Today is a lazy no cooking day.  I'll open a can and eat when hungry.  

A friend called and said he'd bring me a 2 liter cola and some peanuts in the shell for Kira.  She adores a shelled peanut as a treat. 

A little cleaning, a nap,  some video streaming,  and a little social media is the extent of my ambitions today

Good coffee to you

Lou

If you've enjoyed this blog you can contribute $1 or more at

PayPal.me/LouBurgess 

A Day With No Clock

One of the great pluses of nomadic life is divorcing the clock constructed life.

I spent last night inside,  had to be gone by 830, I woke up at 8.

Grabbed Kira and things,  threw into the class b plus van.  Quick breakfast made and bagged up.. coffee on the go.

It's been cloudy and drizzling.. we have spent most of the day at park.. turned on heater and took the chill off the van.

Breakfast,  lunch,  and naps all intermingled today.  No time sensitive things until a tech support gig after 3 pm..

The perfect day to just relax and not watch the time.  

Here's to those days where time is elastic, it just ebbs & flows

Good coffee to you

Lou

If you've enjoyed this blog,  please donate $1 or more at PayPal.me/LouBurgess 

Journey Notes: celebrating 1 week after a hiatus

Life happens.  And as usual, it seems to enjoy throwing the advanced challenges at me.  Kira and I have been fulltime back in the van a week.  She is happier. 

The class b+ is loaded to the gills. I can't find anything yet.  I was finally able to clear enough of the bed to lay down and sleep.  

Mark has joined me for a week or two to help, and for a visit.  

Kira has decided to help write the blog today (napping on my lap) 

With the recent loss of the amerigo trailer,  we are just going on one foot in front of the other

Good coffee to you

Lou

If you've enjoyed the blog,  you may contribute a $1 or more at

PayPal.me/LouBurgess