Work or play?

But what is work and what is not work?

Is it work to dig,

to carpenter,

to plant trees, to fell trees,

to ride,

to fish, to hunt,

to feed chickens,

to play the piano,

to take photographs,

to build a house,

to cook, to sew, to trim hats,

to mend motor bicycles?

All of these things are work to somebody,

and all of them are play to somebody. 

There are in fact very few activities

which cannot be classed either as work or play

according as you choose to regard them.

-- George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier

...

My thanks to Gretchen Rubin for bringing this
and so many other cool quotes to my attention.

Travel days mess with the travel writing

This life on the road has been an adventure. A good adventure mostly. We often speak about how grateful we are for how well it is going. Before we started, we really had no clue if we would even like the vagabond life - which is why we chose to think about this as a time of exploration. It is also why we searched for an older relatively inexpensive RV. It seemed wise to try out the life before investing lots of money in travel equipment.

...

Of course, there were lots of factors to consider...


The small space
Would we be able to survive living in such small quarters? We seem to have adjusted quite well. Probably the most difficult thing is changing the sheets in such cramped quarters


A new place each month
What would it be like having a different address every month or so? Many aspects of that are rather enjoyable. We have discovered that a month is long enough to get a feel for a place and a sense of whether it could ever seem like home. But it is also short enough to not feel like a prison sentence if we really don't connect with the place. It has worked well to try out different areas. That experience can now inform our brainstorming and decision-making about future plans.


Our day-to-day schedule
There was some question about what hubby would do all day long - without a house to maintain, a farm to run or wood-working tools to build things. But his camera and his "photo lab" have facilitated many hours of photographic work. By the way, some of his photos have been published by BBC Travel in an article about the Dominican Republic. He also brought his piano and "recording studio" on this trip, so music has occupied many of his days. (His lab and studio are both contained within his computer.)

Finding something for me to do was of little concern because that never seems to be a problem. More often I have the opposite dilemma - not being able to keep up with all of the projects I want to do. As long as I have a writing notebook, a few books to read, my computer and decent internet access, I can carry on with most of my normal work. My relationship connections around the world and my writing all work fairly well from the road - as long as the internet can keep me connected. What we suspected has turned out to be true; I have no problem finding things to do. And sure enough, I am usually working on more projects that I can possibly keep up with.


Writing projects
For example, I have grand ideas of writing awesome riveting stories about the people and places and cultures we encounter in our travels that will grab an audience of people who can't wait to read the next piece. Of course I planned to post them with consistent regularity. Yah, right. Instead I seem to write mildly interesting posts with sporadic frequency. I'm pleased with much of what I write, but I get discouraged about all that I don't get written. I often feel like these places are slipping by my window and I just can't capture them all. Certainly the best time to write about a place is while I'm living there, but I just can't seem to get 'er done. So then I fear that I will lose it. Lose the memory, lose the moment, lose the beauty of the setting or the fun of the story. And then I feel sad.

At those moments of sadness or discouragement, I sometimes remind myself that John Steinbeck didn't write a single word of his classic Travels with Charley while on the road. Nope. He traveled the country on that epic journey without even beginning to write the story. It was all written after the fact. After the trip had ended. Well, that's a relief! If Steinbeck can do it, maybe I can do it. Of course, I am now already a couple epic journeys behind.


Travel days set me back
I feel pretty good about my writing schedule - WHEN we are in camp. But on travel days... Oh, those travel days and travel weeks - like this past week. They really sabotage my schedule. Funny how travel days mess with the travel writing.


Another journey behind us
And so here we are. Back in Michigan after another epic journey through eighteen states. Places that I want to write about, but have only begun. It seems that I am destined to be behind schedule. All the time. Nothing new about that.

Sure enough; life on the road is pretty much like life anywhere I've ever lived - in that I always bite off more than I can chew. And I am always trying to keep up.

So I keep writing. I keep trying to recall and capture at least some of those moments and some of those glorious scenes. Like scary mountain roads. Like wandering through the stacks at Bart's Books, the world-famous outdoor bookstore in Ojai, California. Like breath-taking moments along the Alaska Highway. Like the interesting people we meet along the way. Like the beach that hosted both sunrise and sunset. Oh, so much to write about. I have barely scratched the surface.

And, on those travel days... Well, I just shouldn't expect to do much writing on travel days. That's just the way it goes. And I guess that's okay.

Less than stellar mental state - Thankful Thursday, a few days late

On Thursday, I tried to come up with something I was thankful for. Thankfulness would not have accurately described my frame of mind. To the contrary, I was feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. I had heard myself complaining and griping and had been through a couple meltdowns. Not exactly an example of positive mental attitude. Certainly not anything to brag about. Nope, not something I would want my public to know about me.

In the light of all the discussion about Robin Williams' suicide, it occurred to me to be thankful that my mental state does not get broadcast for the whole world to see. This is not the first time that I have recognized the benefit of living in relative obscurity.

But there I was, not feeling very positive - and then beating myself up for the bad attitude. I knew that I had lots to be thankful for, so I wondered why I was so whiny. You'd think I'd be overjoyed at being home again; right?

We had just come down from an epic journey and were in the midst of what could be dubbed re-entry stress. We pulled in behind our log cabin Monday p.m. - not knowing what we would find inside - and not really knowing how to prepare ourselves for this transition. It reminded me a bit of having diligently and thoroughly prepared ourselves to live and work overseas for a year, but not having a clue that we should maybe prepare for coming home. Coming back home from an extended and/or intense time away carries its own unique stressors - particularly if things have changed much at home. And this time they had.

Before we left Michigan in December, we had virtually moved out of the cabin - and other people had lived here - so now we would have to move in again. Besides that, during our absence a load of stored possessions had been transferred from our storage barn into the cabin. Therefore we had to find new places for those items and move them out before we could begin moving in. That's what we did our first day at home. We commented more than once about how thankful we were that our friends had gone the second mile and hauled most of the stuff into the basement - so we did not have to immediately deal with all of that.

The next day's goal was to be able to sleep in our king-sized bed that night which meant searching for bedding, hauling it in from storage and getting it washed. I remember feeling thankful that I didn't need quarters for the washer and dryer. And I remember how happy my man was to be able to stretch out in that big bed.

But maybe I should admit that I also found myself feeling a little grumpy about the flight of steep stairs between my bed and the bathroom in the middle of the night. And I may or may not have been heard griping about the teeny tiny shower in here and mourning the loss of the roomy one in the RV.

Yes, there was a bit of grieving over moving out of our little house on wheels. Even though it is compact, it is comfortable and convenient. This log cabin is lovely in its rustic nostalgia, but is not as safe or modern or practical or efficient.

We also realized that our exhaustion level was at epic proportions. Bob particularly was experiencing muscle fatigue from driving the rig through the mountains and across the prairie for days on end. We had been pushing ourselves pretty hard for nearly a month. No wonder the fatigue settled in once we parked the rig and slowed down our pace.

When I tried to post something for Thankful Thursday, I was feeling overwhelmed about where to start to make sense of my life and frustrated that I am such a slow worker. I tried to be patient with myself - letting myself be okay to accomplish just one thing each day.

I did start to write something to post that day, but was too tired to finish it. I tried again on Friday and Saturday between other projects. On Sunday I had the good sense to give up and take the day off from everything.

And now it has been a week since we arrived back home. When asked if we're feeling settled, I have to admit that I have chosen to be okay with "functional" so far. Feeling settled will have to wait another week or two. Yes, it feels like we should have made more progress, but it's okay. Perhaps the best part is that I once again feel sane - not so stressed out. Back to my normal healthy happy self. And I'm thankful for that.

...

Also I have chosen to notice things that I'm happy to have now. Things like:

• Fridge shelves big enough for a pizza box
• A washer and dryer on site; no quarters or tokens needed
• Space to spread out a bit
• Lots of hooks for hanging stuff near the back door & in the closet
• Empty space in drawers and on shelves - Wahoo!
• A lovely grassy back yard and the lawn chairs that I've missed
• A gas grill... Yay, pork chops!!!
• "His and her" desks - something besides the kitchen table

...
 Yep, I'm feeling thankful again. What a relief!

Thankful Thursday - a day off the road

We are taking a long weekend here in Lincoln, Nebraska. I have been calling them days off but today hardly feels like a day off because we have been working rather hard - laundry and cleaning and organizing - but it feels so good to be a bit organized again. AND to have clean clothes. Oh, how wonderful.

When we are on the road every day, things tend to get a little mixed up - and not even through any fault of our own. After all, we have to keep things tidy and picked up and put away or we wouldn't be able to move around or function in the tiny bit of floor space left when we put the slider in for travel. I guess the biggest point of disorganization on this leg of the journey has been the jumble of things in the cupboards. I'm not totally sure why they are worse this time than the other previous journeys, but I do know a couple reasons.

The obvious culprit has been the horribly rough roads in Alaska as well as through Canada along the Alaska Highway. Those miles are brutal. I am thankful to have lost only one dish to breakage - after hearing stories from other campers about opening a drawer and finding nothing but fragments of broken glass and even just powder. Yah, yah, I should have known better than bring ANY glass dishes. But, hey, evidently I did know better than some people because I brought only a very few pieces and I normally wrap them for travel.

But even beyond the breakage issue is that things simply slide around and tip over and then slide some more. I think perhaps our pantry was not as full this time which would certainly have allowed more room for things to roll and scoot around.

So the moral of the story is to cut back on the glass dishes and don't forget to cushion the ones we do have. And keep those shelves either full or empty. AND maybe to choose our route more carefully from now on. Like maybe not travel the Alcan again!


As I was saying, I'm feeling very thankful to have a day to slow down and take care of business. And then a couple more days to rest and hang out with dear friends. That feels really good after being on the road for 11 days straight.

I'm reminded once again that we need two kinds of days off - at least. We need days off from our normal routine to take care of business. And we need days off for rest and refreshment. I'm thankful we get some of each today and this weekend.

Thankful Thursday in the middle of a fun week

I'm feeling very thankful to have so much time with a couple daughters this week. Such fun to hang out with them.

And today I am actually thankful for a "day off" from all the fun while the sisters and their dad are traveling deep into the national park for hiking. Actually the road goes only 93 miles road into the six-million-acre park and their bus route covers only 60-some miles of that road - so maybe I shouldn't say that they are deep in the park. Deciding not to go with them today was a no-brainer for me because I can't keep up with their long legs and I knew I probably wasn't up for some of the scary mountain roads. Besides I needed a day to catch up on lots of things - so I was more than happy to stay home.

And speaking of being at home...
I'm also thankful for the extended time here in Denali to get acquainted with Wendi's world. I can hardly believe that it is winding down in just a few more days. These five weeks have flown by so quickly! It some ways it seems like we've been here just a short time while in other ways it feels like a wonderfully long time. It turns out that I love it here and feel at home - as if I'd been here awhile.