Books, Books, Books

September brings another chance for my east coast readers to meet me in person.  This event, originally scheduled for Harrisburg, PA has moved to Carlisle, PA.  I hope to see you there.

RV challenges

Life is challenging, whether you are in an apartment, house, or RV motorhome. I, finally, found a shop that had the knowledge to fix Lucy the Shark. The suspension is being repaired, she is getting an alignment and new brakes. According to Paul at Acme Springs in Dayton, Ohio, she will be returned to me sometime this week. He has been super about keeping me updated.

The riverfront campsite I rented for the year, I won’t be renting next year. Jim, successfully sold the campground last Friday and the new owners will take full possession on October 11. Tonya, the new owner informed me last night they wanted to ‘rent’ my site, that I have a yearly contract and paid a year in advance, to overnighters since I was not using it.  Excuse me? After explaining my rig was in the shop, she got even more snippy about why I wouldn’t allow her to rent my spot to temporary overnighters. Needless to say, I won’t renew my contract with these folks.

While that sounds icky and sour, I am not. I was taken aback by her attitude, but in my world, something better is coming along.  Originally I wanted closer to my girls during the summer and will begin looking in the one-hour travel time area today.

The improvements with Lucy are beyond groovy. The fifty-five-inch television is totally hidden within the cabinet that still needs painting. Then the living room will be totally done except for a throw rug. Joe and Cleo love the couch.

Remember the wobbly driver’s seat? Well, the new pedestal arrived and is ready for install when Acme Springs is done with Lucy’s new suspension and brakes. I decided to wait on actual new captain chairs for now.

Moving into the bedroom area, all curtains and decor have arrived. I’ll paint the walls, but not the woodwork.

Oh, you may or may not know, Jeeps have Easter Eggs. For example, my #2 daughter’s C-7 has a spider embossed in the gas tank door and a lizard someplace else.  This gave me the idea to put USN and Shark-themed puffy stickers in out-of-the-way, fun places for the grandchildren to discover on their visits with Grammy. Oh yeah, the four-year-old sings Grammy Shark when she visits.

Will I repaint the Shark? Yes. She is fun and draws attention, but the paint is flaking and I will need to repaint her next year. My focus this year was getting her upgraded for me to travel in. I’m thinking cream and blue for the exterior. Although, I did consider a vinyl wrap, except they only last about seven years.

Let me know your thoughts about future improvements.  Photos of the interior will arrive when she is returned to me and we get settled at the river.

Successful wishes to you!

 

My new-to-me RV

These last couple of exciting months have provided me with the sale of my old class C RV and a new-to-me RV. As some of you know from my meanderings, in 2017 I was suppose to purchase a Class A Rexall that my friend had renovated and that fell through when she decided to keep it.  It had the floor plan I dreamed of and zero slide-ins to have anything go wrong. Then 2021 came along and another buddy had a lifestyle change and decided to sell her RV.  I hired Vagabond RV Solutions to do an inspection and bought my airline ticket to go retrieve my new to me RV with slide outs. My old class C sold in less than two days after I put it on Facebook Marketplace. I had my license plates in hand and ready to get my new home. Well, my luck did not hold out and she reneged on the sale two days before my scheduled flight making me houseless.

On the upside of things, I have an RV site on the river for my spring/summer time in Ohio. I love my spot on river.  When it rains on the river and floods, I will then move to my home in the hollow or travel. So far, I haven’t spent any time on the river due to decorating and making the RV I did purchase mine.

Things really looked sad in June when things were falling apart left and right. I’m so glad I took the set backs in stride and began looking again.  My eldest says, “Mom, let’s go look at this one.” I told her I was looking for a condo and not a quan set hut. Then we went to see what this offered.

Ignoring the custom paint job, I viewed the interior.  It is not the Rexall, but it is a close runner up.  The floor is wood plank.

The front seats swivel for additional seating. The fold out table against the wall at one time had a chair beside it. The TV is the Panasonic in the cockpit dash. The walls and upholstery were denim blue-gray. I felt as if I had stepped on to a USN ship once again.

Fast forward. I bought it after I had my mechanic check it over.  Now, unlike the Class C, he can not work on it because it is 34 feet long and a tri-axle. It has a Chevy workhorse chassie and a 454 engine, plus an aluminum frame and roof. It is a 1990 Holiday Rambler Imperial, that sports a custom paint job in a classic rendition of the WW2, Bomber aircraft.

Say hello to Lucy Shark, and her theme song is the verse: Grammy Shark, doo doo doo doo doo.

Next Blog post will be a tour inside of her since I have made her mine.

Reorganizing my home office

What am I doing now?  Reorganizing my home office at the farm.  I moved my desk from the storage utility trailer into the living room and I really do plan on getting at least a couple manuscripts polished for publication.  

moving, renovating, cynthia carver, hogan bartley, roaming raven rv
packing, giveaways, and donations

 

First I have items to haul to the Salvation Army, Give (a medical give away for vets and others who need help affording their meds), along with heirlooms that family members will be given.  To my surprise, I found my #2 daughter’s first violin. It is a 1/16th size. The bow is missing, I seem to remember a fight and her older sister breaking it. Other fun objects include antique metal cars, miniature porcelain flower vases, and my personal highchair my mother purchased with S&H green stamps.  

Other things on my to-do-list in 2019 include choosing a couple conferences to attend and welcoming a new grandson.  The grandson might arrive in 2018, never can tell with those little ones.