It's that time of year again.  Normally, I'm posting about Christmas preparations, looking forward to having my family around, and all of the cooking and baking that needs to be done.
Not this year.  This year is quite a bit different.  This year, for the first time in almost 40 years (😲), our family Christmas will just be Rick and me!
Christmas traditions are still being upheld.  Special cookies baked.  A loaf of yulekaka (a traditional Norwegian holiday bread), made by my wonderful sister-in-law.  Eating our way through Christmas Eve.
But, it just feels weird. 
This year, there won't be any children or grandchildren scurrying around the house.  The noise level will be turned way down.
We'll miss seeing their faces as they open their gifts.  Hearing the squeals of joy or seeing that look of "oh.  Thanks.  Socks."
We knew when we headed out on our adventure that some things would be different. And they have been.  Not in a bad way, by any means. But definitely an adjustment to the way we had lived our lives. 
This Christmas, we'll literally be on the road, heading towards our next destination.
Rest assured, we'll be thinking of each of you with much love in our hearts.
Life is all about change.  We're experiencing that change every day. We chose to have this adventure, and we're glad we did.
But just remember, even though you're not sitting at our table, each and every one of you are with us.  Not just at Christmas, but every day.
Much love and good wishes to you all!

"Ringling Ringling, slipping away..  only forty people living there today.  The streets are dusty and the bank has been torn down...it's a dying little town."~Jimmy Buffett
In our travels we have been through major cities, small towns, and everything in between.  If you want to see the real life part of our country, get off of the interstate.
Some of the small towns are picturesque.  A Norman Rockwell painting come to life.  People passing on the sidewalk, stopping for conversation, purchasing something from a small Mom and Pop business.
This seems to be more prevalent in the Northeastern part of the country.
As we've traveled through the Southern Plains, the towns are farther apart.  There doesn't seem to be much industry, or much of anything to employ the folks in these towns.  And, truth be told, there isn't.
So many of these small towns are dying.  The town that was once booming has now gone bust.
Folks who can,  have moved on to bigger/better places.  Those who chose to stay watch their town die a bit more every day.
The part of Oklahoma we are in right now was once part of the mighty Chisholm Trail. Ranchers drove their cattle through here to get it to market or to the railroad to ship them back east.  While cattle still seems to be the main economic factor, the means of transporting said cattle no longer requires weeks of a cattle drive.
Now these small towns, once an important link, are nothing but a shell of what they once were.
Someday...the whole town will be nothing but a memory.  Alive only in tales and memories.
Perhaps we were lucky to see them before they're gone forever.

Campgrounds are the same, right?

One thing that we have discovered during our travels is that campgrounds are as varied the folks you meet.
Some are crowded... campers close enough to each other you can join in on your neighbors conversation without ever leaving your camper.  Those campgrounds are usually the "chain" campgrounds.  Think KOA, Good Sam, etc.
In defense of these places, they usually have nice amenities.  Swimming pools, laundry, playgrounds, bikes or kayaks to rent, and a social director who keeps things hopping.
We stay at these types of places if we're not staying very long.
If you're looking for a bit more room to spread out, try looking up your destination on "Recreation.gov".  The Army Corp of Engineers have fabulous sites.  For an average price of $22 a night (as opposed to $45-60 per night at the chains), you get a large site, room between you and your neighbors, and peace and quiet.  If you happen to have a National Park Senior Pass, your price drops to $11 a night!
For us, (turtles who drag their house with them) the COE sites are fabulous.
Now, we realize that some folks idea of camping in staying at a hotel with no room service....and that's fine! But we would rather have our own bed to sleep in each night.  Coffee just the way we like it in the morning.  The sounds of nature lulling us to sleep at night, or birdsong to wake us in the morning.
Creature comforts are wonderful.  We are of an age that tent camping isn't what it used to be for us (think old bones and hard ground!)
Whatever your idea of "getting out there" may be, just get out there!

Wild and Wonderful

Traveling when you're retired is a whole different animal.
When you're employed, you have a limited block of time to get out of town and relax.  We jump in our cars, hop on a plane, or cruise to parts unknown.... knowing that our time is limited.
Traveling, when retired, is a whole different outlook.
Normally, we would have packed up and hit the road.  Driving about eight hours a day. ( If we weren't towing a camper, the day was even longer!). You hurry to where you want to be to relax.  You need the stress of the drive to wash away. 
Our travels, this time, are completely different.  Is there still the stress of driving?  Of course.  There are a lot of stupid people on the road.  But, this time around, our travel days are four to five hours long.  You don't feel that "hurry up and go" that you've known for years.
I guess it's safe to say that we're trying to get used to the "stop and smell the roses" mentality.  It takes some getting used to!
This time, we get to stop and visit with friends and family along the way.  We get to visit places we've always driven past saying "I'd love to stop there someday."
It seems that we've reached that magical "someday"!
We're learning, slowly but surely, to enjoy the ride.

See ya later, alligator!

Tomorrow is the day.  New sights.  New experiences. New chapter in life.
All I can say is "oh boy".
That phrase can be taken many ways.  "Oh boy!!!" Like you're so excited...like Christmas morning or a trip to Disney.
Then there is the "oh boy" when you see flashing red or blue lights in your rear view mirror.
I'm stuck somewhere between the two.  I'm really excited about starting this new chapter.  I'm also terrified.  But, I'm not the first to ever experience these emotions.
Imagine a few hundred years ago.  You pack all you worldly goods into a wagon and head off.  Or perhaps you boarded a ship and travelled across the ocean.  Leaving everything and everyone you knew behind. You have a destination planned, yet it's the stretch from point A to point B that may be a challenge.
Are we up to the challenge?  You bet! 
Of course, like our ancestors, there will undoubtedly be "surprises" along the way.
This is a whole new way of doing things. 
As long as you "expect the unexpected" and keep a good sense of humor, anything is possible!

We're in!

Well, it's official.  We are full time RV'ers.
No....we haven't left the property yet, but our home is now portable!
As you can see, things aren't quite settled.  There are miscellaneous boxes, bags, and totes scattered around the place.  Eventually everything will have a designated spot.  Or items won't make the cut and will be relagated to a box in storage.
We're excited about hitting the road and seeing sights across the country.
We hope you'll all travel along with us on this journey!

Use it, pack it or pass it along?

Downsizing.  Oh the images that word conjures!  Everything you've ever heard about the process is true.  It's hard, it's painful, it's time consuming, it's overwhelming.

We're in the process of this right now.  But, we have an added glitch in the system.  We will be living in our 5th wheel camper for the next few years.  Setting off for new adventures.  Traveling the country. Seeing the sights.  Very exciting, right?  Yes.  Yes it is.  However, we now have to clear out a three bedroom house and a three bay garage.
Not only do we have our own belongings, we have inherited stuff from my parents.  We've inherited stuff from Rick's Mom.  We're "holding" stuff for our children.  Bottom line?  Oh boy, do we have stuff!

This is where the hard and overwhelming comes into play.  Making the truly hard decisions.  Deciding what goes into the camper (with very limited space), what just gets packed to go to our next house (wherever that may be), or what moves on to live with someone else.  Over the course of a lifetime, we gather treasures.  Mementos.  Things we just have to have.  Now is the time to weed everything out.

I probably have over 50 cookbooks.  Seriously, who needs (or uses) 50 cookbooks?  But I've got `em.
Scroll saws...….at last count, we had 4.  4?? Really?? Yup.

My Dad's motto was always "if someone offers you something, and you don't have to feed it or clean up after it, take it.  You never know when you might need it."  He had quite the collection.  We now have to clean out his collection.  My Mom was a great "record keeper".  A skill that I sorely lack.  But I doubt I need a receipt for some kitchen appliance that she bought over 30 years ago. It's a challenge.

While this task is daunting, every box packed, every decision made is a good one.

And the treasures that one finds evoke memories from a time gone by. Artwork drawn by one of the kids.  Programs from concerts, old family photographs.  The list goes on.

By the time we're done, everything will have fallen into a category...use it, pack it, or pass it along.

Hidden treasures

Are there any other folks out there who still have a recipe box?  I am blessed to have two such treasures.  The one pictured above belonged to my mother.
Oh the things I've found while sorting through this piece of history.
History?  You bet!
Like so many women of her day, you shared recipes with family and friends. You added notes with ingredients you changed or with a critique of it's "worthy-ness".  You made sure that the name of the person who gave you the recipe was also on it....if the results were tasty, you could praise them.  If not, you knew not to ask for any more recipes.
There was no Pinterest!  You read the newspaper and cut out recipes or articles that were interesting to you. 
Besides tasty food, you could find handy household tips.  Did you know that an ordinary light bulb can be used for darning socks?  Oh ..... that's right.... that's a lost art.  Does it count that I have a darning egg?  Those who know me shouldn't be surprised.
As I went through this simple little box, so many memories returned. 
Pictured above is also one of my grandmother's recipes.  She love to bake sweets, and always made sure the cookie jars in the pantry were full when we would visit.
Some of the recipes have ingredients some wouldn't recognize.  Anyone remember Spry?  How about Fluffo?  Lucky for me, I took every chance I could get to bake with my grandma.  I can still use her recipes because I know what modern equivalent to use.
There are some of these recipes that I may never make.  Yet I find that I cannot throw away any of these snippets of history.  These glimpses of yesteryear.  So back into the little green box they will go.  Sitting quietly until the next generation decides to open the treasure trove.