First Day of School

While the rest of the school children were home "observing" New Year's Day, we started our "formal" schooling.  It will take a while to get a routine down, but we started off pretty well.

There are some amazing interactive websites that will greatly reduce the need for workbooks and paper, something I was eager to escape after leaving the classroom.  {I'll post these later.}  We have some "teacher" materials, of course, and lots and lots of books.

Today we worked on reading and math.  Ian is a fantastic reader and has been for for about 7 of his 10 years.  He will work independently often.  Today, he read a biography about Albert Einstein, and then, on his ipod, wrote a very good response, and emailed it to me.  Ah, technology.

The twins did some oral reading via online interactive leveled books, then worked on the phoneme -ake.  This was fun.  I have always enjoyed teaching reading, and it was great to do so with only 2 kids, no announcement interruptions, and no discipline issues. (Well, except for Brendan who kept trying to sit on his head.  He'll be my challenge student!)  I am very proud of what they have learned so far from West Glocester's Mrs. Mountford, and the Dr. Day Care teachers before her.

This week we are studying shapes, so we went 3D shape hunting in the RV.

Looking forward to this "semester." :)

There's always NEXT winter...

A year ago, the day after Christmas, I sat in my house and looked out at what would be the first of many major snowstorms of the 2010-2011 winter season.  Besides regretting the early sale of our tractor, it was enjoyable to relax and hear the crackle of the fire, watch the trillions of flakes, and, most likely, sip a glass of red.  Little did I know that by the end of January I'd be relishing in the fact that NEXT winter I would not see snow.  I would not shovel.  I would not search, fruitlessly, for a previously-unheard-of roof rake.  I would not slip and fall on ice.  I would not pray whenever I climbed into my 1995 bald-tired Lebaron Convertible.

And so, how ironic that this year I am thinking the same thing...mostly.  I mean, the car died months ago, so no problem there.  You can't use anything resembling a rake on a rubber RV roof.  We aren't allowed to shovel here.  But, there is still the threat of slipping on ice.  For, instead of hooking our sewer hose to a hole in the desert sun, it is connected to one in New England.  And will be until NEXT November!

Yes, we are staying longer than first anticipated.  The Beer Man has an opportunity to work, and make some money, and so, we are bending with the wind.  When a beneficial circumstance presents itself, you have to take it.

We have lived in East Lyme for a month, and the time has flown by.   There has been so much to do to get our new home livable.  And we are still working on it.   The weather has been more than cooperative, and, if the Almanac is correct, it will be a much better winter than last year.  Seriously, how could it not be?  The worst predator has been the wind, and the guilt lays in only the scare factor, not in any damage.

Plenty of room for Wii.

What's next?  Well, 2012 will hopefully bring some settling and routine and movement around town and new friends.  We really need a second vehicle...looking into a lease trade but so far no luck.  The oven doesn't work so we have been grilling a lot.  We are thinking of ripping the oven out and making it into a wine cooler.  The toilet clogged twice and ice creeps up the interiors of the windows on really cold nights.  We are getting to know the local library to rent dvd's since local TV here is somewhat BORING!  But, Steve may get Digital TV.  That's undecided at this point.  The first electric bill for our 382 sq ft camper was so freaking huge I wanted to puke!  And there's a dog at a residence behind us nearby that barks all night and I may have to offer it some rat poison, or maybe offer it to its owners instead.  There are some ups and downs daily but, no regrets.  It has only been a month.

Looking forward to a trip to IKEA to buy some much needed organizational accoutrements.
Also need to head to a consignment store to get snow pants.  Snow pants and boots.

 SNOW PANTS AND BOOTS?????  What the %^@#!

Enjoying the Lights of Niantic

Tonight we took a little ride to Niantic's Main Street for the 23rd Annual Niantic Light Parade.   Everyone was bundled up in layers for the night.  It had been a beautiful sunny day, in the 40s, and the night was actually pretty mild.  We started out at Ray's Pizza and then met Steve's friend from work and his family.  Fireworks began the parade, and we hunkered in for the light show.

Chloe and Daddy at Ray's Pizza

Pizza was tasty.  Daddy Says it was like Papa Gino's.
It was actually New Haven Style Pizza.   Who knew?

We'll be heading here!

Cold night but not windy so a nice time watching Niantic's lovely parade!

These two were the best!

Watching the acela pass.

Grills & Chills

Ah, the grand plans I had to bring out my inner chef once in Eagle.  Kind of tough when the brand new camper oven pilot light won't stay lit.   Thank goodness for our awesome smoker grill, a Christmas present from mom and dad from about 3 years ago.  It's cooked pig, steak, fish, chicken, and maple syrup.  I even baked an apple pie in it during Irene.  It has done us well here in East Lyme, also.  So far, we have cooked several dinners on it, since we lack an inner oven.  Yesterday, it roasted a chicken so today it could simmer Steve's chicken soup.  Chef Steve was out in the chill all day.

  Last night's dinner was meatballs.

It's a cold 30 degrees outside and a nice 60 inside. 

 Tomorrow we join in on some East Lyme tradition.

Hope it's not too chilly.

There's this, and then, on the other hand...

Last night brought in another grand Connecticut storm.  Maybe this storm was not any more impressive than those we have experienced over the years in Chepachet, or Riverside, but hearing them through the thin fiberglass walls of a camper is a very different experience. And, too, it is most likely not the first time we have encountered strong winds and hard rain in an RV. We are not virgin campers.   We've been doing this for years.  But, when the RV turns from vacation vessel to permanent home, it has a different vibe.

So, it was yet another sleepless night.  The sounds of the 35mph wind ripping through the slide awnings was not only deafening, but stomach churning.  The thought of those expensive pieces of vinyl being whisked away into the hills was not pleasant.  The only real casualties, if one might call them that, were our adirondack chairs situated around our, as yet unused, fire-pit.  They tumbled to and fro, but, luckily, not into our Navy-man neighbor's camper.

After a fit-full night, we decided to take a trek to the Crystal Mall and do some Christmas shopping.  Fairly empty, and amidst a whole-mall-redo, it was less than I remembered. The last time I had been to the Crystal Mall was well before Emerald and Providence Place Malls were built.  It seemed so grand to me.  Not so much today.  But, we achieved at least part of our shopping goal, had lunch, then headed back to the campground to bake a chicken on our monster grill.

The evening was spent with the kids having a chance to play some Wii, and Steve and I watching Ken Burns The West DVD series.  Living in East Lyme, as quaint and pretty a town as it is, has been less than exciting when it come to television viewing.  We have about 5 channels, all of which play some decent shows, and others which are less than satisfying.  Last night was a special treat.  The local PBS played the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables.   It was wonderful.  One of my favorite musicals, and if you have not yet seen it, do so.

I have no desire to add cable or satellite TV to our repertoire.  Not that I have cracked a book yet, but, it is what I desire.  I have a cabinet full of novels waiting for me, and a wonderful town library holding more.  So far, that pleasure has escaped me.  Between the unpacking project, teaching, and working, I have not the time to reach for one of the many books I want to read.

But here's the cool thing.  I have the time.  I can do it next month.  Or in two months.   I can spend a month reading Shakespeare or Michael Crichton or Nietschze.  It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I don't have to rush to do these things.  That it isn't a vacation.  I don't have to make a decision between three books because I only have time for 2.  I can read whatever I want, whenever I want.

But, with the realization that this lifestyle is just that, a new style of living, comes a major load of responsibility.  There are no familiar crutches on which to lean to be sure that things get done; that the kids have what they need; that future plans and securities are made. It is all open and free and new and unplanned and untethered.  Nothing holds anything in place except our will and drive and determination and fortitude and utmost focus on what needs to be done, as well as what can be done, what is possible, what is dreamt.

I am not sure what gives me more pause;  the responsibilities of the old life that need to be continued, or the unknown of the new life that must be allowed.

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Moving

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.  ~J.M. Power

mov·ing

   [moo-ving] 

adjective

1. capable of or having movement: a moving object.

2. causing or producing motion.

3. involved in changing the location of possessions, a residence, office, 

etc.: moving expenses.

4. involving a motor vehicle in motion.

5. actuating, instigating, or impelling: the moving spirit behind the party.

After over a year of planning, we are finally, if not 100% on-the-road, at the very least entering the on-ramp.  Last night we spent the first of many nights as a family in our new home-on-wheels. It was a LONG day.


On Sunday, 11/27, Steve stayed overnight at the campground after driving down a 4th time since Friday to bring some of our belongings to the camper.   I went to bed at 12am and woke at 4am on Monday, 11/28, the day of the closing.  I was beyond stressed looking at all of the stuff that still needed to be packed to go to Eagle or to my mom's & dad's house, but felt there was still enough time to get it done before 12 noon.  However, noon arrived rather quickly, so we returned for another 2 1/2 hours after the closing to finish.  I had 
spent Friday packing the UHaul truck we rented.  

Walking out with the last item.

Here's how Monday went.


4am-12pm like a motor pack pack pack clean pack pack pack sneak a glass of vino pack pack pack
12pm-12:45 shoot to Friendship Lodge #7 to drop off our Ram truck loaded with stuff, take car on a rocket run to McDonald's for lunch  
1:00-1:30 cruise to the house closing, which went as unbelievably smoothly as this entire house-selling process has been from the beginning.
1:30-3:30 speed back to our "former" home to sweat and scream through the final packing
3:30-9:30 zip to mom's house to unload the entire fully-packed 20 foot UHaul truck...Officer Collins came to help and take a plethora of police paraphernalia and dive equipment...Lloyd and Cathy prepped that attic for us and our years of crap-ola.
9:30-10:00 ride back up to Friendship Lodge to move much of the stuff in the rental Sonata into the back of the truck
10:00-10:20 roll on down to Ace Hardware to return the empty UHaul truck and then motor back to grab the truck
1:20-11:20 travel to East Lyme with both vehicles packed with the last of our belongings (well, except for a couple pieces of furniture we have to grab next weekend)


Wipe down the kids, slap together some beds, throw them in, crack a couple of cans, and just sit and stare...Holy Shit, we did it.

Tonight is the last night I will ever sleep at 384 Durfee Hill Road.  Today, I told Brendan it was his last night, and his response was, Oh Good!   Chloe later told me she would miss this house. Ian is excited, but a little melancholy, too, as am I.  I think Steve joins us in these feelings.

I will miss this home, too.  But I think I will miss what it might have been in the next 5-15 years.  I saw a more cozy home, with better furniture and a "finished" look.  I saw my kids and their friends hanging in the tree house and barn loft, and Steve spending more time there as well.   I saw more parties and new friends being welcomed.  

But as quickly as those images come to mind, so does the reality of full-time work, still in EP, taking me away from all of it.  I was being stretched too thin for what this place "could" become and missing out on all it was already.  

Tonight, I drift between sadness, excitement, and shear exhaustion.   Tomorrow, when all the storage is placed at my very wonderful parents' house, and the keys have been transferred, we can head to our, now over-packed Eagle, and begin anew.  The new owners are lovely people who I know will thoroughly enjoy this house and appreciate the love with which we filled it.

So, time to get back to work and continue packing.  I think we may need a bigger camper!

I realized the last pictures of the house were the old look...so here is what the new buyers get.

We set a goal, and we saw it through.

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.  ~T.S. Eliot





Steve retired from the police department; I left my job as a teacher.   We sold or gave away most of our possessions, pulled our children from school, sold our house, and hoped for the best.


Now, with the closing on Monday, the last year-and-a-half's work towards this goal of a new life seems within our reach.

Today, Steve drove Eagle down to our new abode...Aces High Campground in East Lyme, CT.  This small campground is 15 minutes from Mohegan Sun, 3 miles from rt 95, and 6 miles from the ocean.  This is a temporary spot while STeve continues to work at Mohegan.  We'll be there for probably 4 months, then decide if we should stay longer, or go.

People keep asking me how I feel; if I am excited, nervous, sad, scared.   I cant say right now.  I am kind of numb, running on fumes.  The enormous mental energy needed to pour through every scrap of paper and item you own wears you down.  Yesterday, I stood in what was once my dining room just staring, wondering how I would get it all done.  After procuring a large U-Haul truck this morning, and enjoying about 7-8 sets of visitors all coming to pick stuff up, the house looks pretty empty.   In fact, the past 2 weeks have been a buzz of people coming to buy or accept many of the items we could not take with us on the road, or chose not to store.  I truly thank everyone who has done this.   The thought of tossing perfectly good pieces of furniture, toys, clothing, decor, appliances, etc., really bugs me.


I had wanted to blog more often, but I haven't had the energy or time.  I am really looking forward to my new found time.   Time to have a cup of coffee, read a book, sew, well, learn to sew, play with my kids, teach them, learn new things myself.  


Of course, I have no idea what the future holds.  Throughout this whole process, we have had very little control of anything that was going on.  It has all been an act of fate, destiny, God's intervention, or just pure dumb luck.  And so, as we prepare to walk up the steps into Eagle and begin our much simpler, and hopefully fulfilling, life, I will hold onto that sense of faith, karma, luck that has seen us through to this point.


Fingers Crossed.