A few weeks ago, I wrote that I was semi-retiring from writing for RVtravel.com, but I guess “semi” is the key word as I ponder our new life as non-nomad RVers. We are still working on the remodel of our house gone awry, although the status is improving… slowly.
So, in this time of transition, we are hunkering down in our RV on our property. But this hunkering down is different than the years of being full-time RVers, even when we were camp hosts in one place for six months.
This feels more permanent, like we are choosing to stop RVing but still living in an RV as if it were a park model. Because, after all, we are parked. Set up and parked. We have even worn down a path to the house from the RV, which reminds me of a deer trail.
My new dreams
I am not dreaming of our next trip. I am not planning, pulling out the map to see what the next national park or monument will be. Instead, I am dreaming of finding someone in this very rural area who will deliver propane to our RV before freezing temperatures hit. Seems RVs are low on the list of delivery options.
Where we once set up and moved daily, or at least every couple of days, when traveling, moving to a Pilot or Love’s to get propane seems a pretty big hassle. Because we are settled in.
We are on our fourth contractor on our house remodel, and so far, so good. A beautiful support beam in the living room is up, and another support beam is in the bedroom. I can cook in the kitchen on all new appliances. Sheetrock, knock-down ceilings, painting, and tile floors will come someday. I have come to think of the house as “Nanci’s Folly.”
My sister reminded me this morning that we are in a SKI Club now: S.K.I.: Spending our Kids’ Inheritance!
Is this old house asking our forgiveness?
And we are doing that well! At every turn. Everything we fix finds something else broken. This old house begs renovation, and sometimes I think it is asking our forgiveness. Forgiveness for all the pinholes in the walls that I called an exterminator for to make sure it was not termites. No termites, just push pins instead of Post-Its! Forgiveness for the DIY electrical work from the past owner. Forgiveness for the tree left too long, too tall, that pushed a solid brick fence outwards. And forgiveness for the inattention.
Or is it thanking us?
And some days I think it thanks us for letting it stay. For not tearing it down, as neighbors expected. I hope we are honoring the legacy of the people who built it and lived here for 45 years, both dying at age 91. I see their touches everywhere: the pretty rocks picked up and arranged near a walk, the rose bushes still blooming in January. The discarded hummingbird feeder. The fancy wrought iron gates.
So, we are settling in, and every morning I write down things of gratitude. Many times it is for 50-amp service, our comfortable RV to live in, the amazing sunsets, and moon rises. But, most of all, it is for my understanding husband who left his comfortable recliner and retirement community for Nanci’s Folly.
Read more of Nanci’s articles here.
RVT1243
Rent a 400lb tank from the local propane dealer with auto fill, install an “extend a stay” on your rig and you are all set. In the winter I use my TT like a cabin in my ranch shop and bypass the regular propane tanks with two 100lb tanks. Summer back to normal hookup and travel when I can.
Nanci, it is good to see you writing again. I appreciated the paragraphs about the old house needed forgiveness and thanking you for taking care of it. I found this to be a beautiful article. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Our old home (over 70 years old) that we have lived in for 34 years had the attached garage catch on fire last month which smoked the house thoroughly. We’re living in our travel trailer in the front yard pull-thru that I set up a couple of years ago. We’ve been part time campers for the last 6 years and staying in one place especially for over a month (and in the front yard!) has been quite the adjustment. Good luck on your remodel. With the home restoration we will be doing a remodel also and join the SKI Club.
Like ships passing in opposite directions. Our home for the past 36 years was built in 1906, still mostly original and located within a National Historic Park (we are listed on the self-guided NPS walking tour). These old homes are labor intensive. And as we age we are headed for the next chapter. 9 years ago we discovered a large stationary RV was a great winter home. Covid forced us to get back into travel camping – with a 2nd small self-contained TT. Now due to age & maintenance, we are replacing our large TT with a RV tiny home. We’ll keep the small TT for a few more years, sell the house, and use the tiny home FT.
Thank you for a lovely article. We, too, saved a house from demolition (150 yr old Wisconsin farm house) and it was a labor of love. Our lives fall into ever-changing rhythms & patterns, dont they? I hope you can enjoy this latest phase in yours, and savor the deep satisfaction of breathing new life into something old. THAT is your kids’ inheritance.