“Old friends, old friendsSat on their park bench like bookendsA newspaper blown through the grassFalls on the round toesOf the high shoes of the old friends”
-Paul Simon
I left Camp Verde RV Park on Saturday morning, and headed toward Prescott Valley, AZ. I ran some errands and picked up a few things I needed for minor repairs to the van and then headed to Barbara and Lark’s driveway. I got set up and we had a quiet night.
Sunday morning, they both left for a day at church, and I started repairs and cleaning projects. I first took Cosmo to Tractor Supply where they have a veterinary clinic on Sunday mornings. He was due for a rabies shot. We got that done and went back to the driveway. My solar suitcase had been damaged during a storm at Two Guns a couple weeks ago. I made temporary repairs with duct tape, but it was time to fix them in a more permanent way. I’d gotten new hinges at the hardware store on Saturday, so I set to work putting them back together, and re-wiring some things that had come loose. I took all the seat cushions out of my van and removed the covers and washed them all. That was the easy part. Trying to get the cushions back into the slipcovers was quite challenging, but I got it done before bedtime. I washed my sleeping bag and a couple loads of clothes. I opened all my packages—I started ordering things I needed in June and had them shipped to Barbara knowing I’d arrive sometime in September. I had quite a few packages awaiting me when I arrived. Many of the packages contained gadgets and cords for electronic devices. I got a new cord so I could run my wireless router on DC so that I didn’t have to run my inverter on my solar unit all the time. I had a few cords that converted connections made for my old iPhone to my new one, and one that would allow me to fly my drone again, connected to my new iPhone.
I started Monday morning emptying out cupboards and closets. I was feeling very “junky” toward the end of the summer and decided it was time to do a total rearrangement of everything and to get rid of stuff I hadn’t used in a year. I took out old DVD’s, and CD’s. I gave some to Lark and put the rest in a box to go to Goodwill. I took out all my long sleeve shirts, and realized I’d only worn a couple of them a few times since I left Delaware three years ago. I put half of them in the box for Goodwill. It was hard. I’d hear myself saying in my head “But I LOVE this shirt.” And then I’d say “Yeah, but you haven’t worn it in 2 years. You can’t love it THAT much.” And into the box it would go to find a new home. I got rid of 3 bottles of half used lotion that smelled rancid. I threw out several partially used toothpaste tubes, and bottles of old medicine for Cosmo, with labels so worn that I could no longer identify what was in them. I got rid of a beautiful sweater and a winter coat. I loved them both but have not had need for them in three years. I doubt this winter will be any different. Bye-bye. I took a break from cleaning and sorting to replace my propane detector. The old one stopped working in July and when I disconnected it (to stop the constant beeping like a smoke detector whose battery had died) the label on the back said it should be replaced every 60 months. By my calculation, that would have been 20 years ago, so it served several owners, myself included above and beyond the call of duty. The new one had come from Amazon, and I wired it and set it in place. I stopped working on the van and we all had lasagna for dinner that I’d made in the crock pot before Lark and I ran errands. Everyone seemed quite beat, so we all went to bed early.
Tuesday, I continued the clearing out process. My new priority was not only to make more room, but to re-organize, putting things I use often within easy reach while the things I seldom use can get put back in corners or in the backs of cupboards. By the end of the day on Wednesday, I had taken every last item out of every cupboard and closet, thrown some things out, put others in the box for Goodwill, and rearranged the rest.
Nate (Barbara and Lark’s handyman) came over Wednesday afternoon and replaced the handlebars on my e-bike with ones I’d ordered back in March, but didn’t get delivered with the bike and so ended up in Prescott Valley. He helped me re-wire my solar panels which I had made work, but didn’t have the right connection to repair it the way it should have been. We then fixed a step on the driver’s side that doubles as a cover for the hose that I use to drain my grey water tank. It had broken during the summer and needed to be repaired properly.
In between all this, Lark and I managed to go out for Thai food at lunchtime. It was (as always) delicious. We got back just before Nate arrived. When I stopped and sat down for dinner, I wasn’t sure I would be able to get back up. I worked almost continuously from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I did a lot of lifting, bending and squatting. My legs throbbed. I bet I did 100 squats throughout the day reaching into my lower cupboards to pull things out. I made many trips in and out of the van to throw stuff out or put it in the box to go to the thrift store. I was just wiped out. After dinner we played a game of Scrabble and were all yawning by 8:00 so we called it a night. It’s been in the mid to upper 90’s most days and I think I didn’t drink enough water while working. I ached from head to toe and went to bed early.
By the end of the week, I had successfully taken absolutely everything out of the van, sorted through it, got rid of what was no longer absolutely necessary, and rearranged everything to a more user-friendly spot. I had washed all the cushion covers, shampooed the tiny patch of carpet, scrubbed the floor and replaced my throw rugs with brand new ones. I’d replaced the countertop above the new cabinet that Richard and I had installed last May. It felt like being in the van when I first got it, only perhaps better, because now I know I have everything I need, and very little of what I don’t need. It’s nice.
Barbara bought a new wreath for her front door. I thought she was tired of my same old hat, so tried this new one on. I think I could make it work. I think I looked a little like the Green Man. What do you think?
Lessons From The Road: What a feeling of relief to not only have a clean van, but have space to move around. I had started to collect things (mostly packaged food) and pile it up wherever I could find a space. In order to only go grocery shopping 3 times a month, I started putting canned goods and bags of rice and beans, and snacks in nooks and crannies around the van. When I wanted any of those items, it meant moving a lot of things and reaching behind cabinets and cupboards. Some things got stored behind my solar unit, and I’d have to dig down deep to find a package of corn tortillas. I wasn’t enjoying it. Also, the most necessary items were brought into the van before I left Delaware. As I added extra things I wanted, I put them wherever they fit. My mini toaster oven was stashed in the overhead compartment with underwear and socks. I was OK with that, but I change underwear and socks much more often than I bake something, so having to pull out the oven to get underwear was just ridiculous. Now the things I use most often are in the front of closets, and most everything is in bins so instead of pulling out 5 items to look for what I want, I just pull out the bin and put it on the table and pick what I want. Much more reasonable.
I was thinking back to my visit here the last 3 years. Each time it seemed like a distraction from my regular life in a forest or a desert. This year, it does not. It just feels like part of the cycle: some months I stay in a forest. Some months in the desert. Some months at a hot spring, and some weeks out of the year I stay in friend’s driveways. There is no feeling of wanting to “get back to my real life.” This IS my life. I stay where I stay and I’m mostly comfortable anywhere. Like the old saying goes, “No matter where you go, there you are.” This is where I am today. It’s been such a good week. I’ve worked long hours in extreme heat, but I’ve cleaned up, cleared out, gotten rid of what wasn’t working and brought in the new. I’m ready for a new season. I’m excited about whatever comes next. With each passing year, I plan less and feel comfortable in sort of going with the flow. It feels good.