New Ideas Abound around the RV

Since I have been idle in my repairs to the RV I have had a chance to sit down again and think about life in the RV and a new thought and idea have popped into my head.  It mostly came about when I was writing down a list of my strongest passions and one came up that I have put on the back burner over and over again.

I won't let you in on this just yet but I have decided to see if I can fit this passion into the RVing lifestyle and so am in the planning stages to see if there is any way to make it fit.

As well, I am getting back into the card-making frame of mind these days so I can complete at least one line-up of handcrafted greeting cards I have in mind to sell on the road.  And as I was cleaning up my pile of card-making "crap" I also made a mental note that I also need to remember and not forget about another product that came to mind some months ago that I have also been working on and hope to sell while on the road and this revolves around Spool-knitting.  As this and card-making floated around my mind I also remembered that I need to continue practicing and improving upon my ventriloquial skills so I can throw a bit of that in the mix of earning money on the road as well.

Me thinks I may have too many eggs in my basket and too much on my plate to accomplish it all but I need to at least have a bit of skill in each area so I remain adaptable and flexible to the circumstances  I may find myself in on any given day.  I know that I can make cards as I receive many compliments on them so that is one strong skill I have and of course, there is always room for improvement.  Spool-knitting is something else that I am relatively good at and can almost do in my sleep but I need to make a prototype of the product I wish to sell in order to gauge its saleability in the marketplace.  And lastly, my ventriloqiual skills are at a beginner's level but close enough to amateur that I would find myself comfortable putting on a show that is when I have a script in hand and have rehearsed a little before putting myself in front of a live audience.

So, I guess now that I have fleshed these out a little I am not so bad off after all.  I have the skills and am willing to improve on them all so each is warranted to be on my plate after all. . .whew!

So as a way to make this work and get it out there so-to-speak I need to advertise and the best place I can think of to advertise is from the RV.  I have three if not four exterior walls on which to place advertising and if I do it well and tastefully so I should garner some interest in the products and services I am offering.  This is also in the planning stages so I cannot elaborate much more on it here and now but will keep you advised as to how I go about getting all this advertising onto a 21 foot Class C RV.

Well I guess I have used up enough time and space for today so I bid you peace and shall see you next time. . .

Daydreaming!

On many mornings upon waking I find myself daydreaming about waking up in the RV and enjoying a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee while I enjoy the scenery outside the door.  This past weekend on both Saturday and Sunday I behaved as if I were actually waking up and starting the day in the RV.  I made coffee and enjoyed my first cup of the day as I worked on my handcrafted greeting cards.  Painting the stamped images can be a very time consuming task but it is a task I very much enjoy.  As I go about painting the cards I also practice my ventriloquism skills so they remain sharp and so I continually improve this skill so it can be a way of earning a living while living life on the road.

The RV remains in relatively good shape considering all the rain we have been having lately but I still aim to repair the leaky roof near the front driver's side of the RV to stop any more water damage from occurring.  It is a high priority and will hopefully at least get started in June when sunny and dry weather is a little more likely for weeks at a time.

I will visit the RV again this weekend to start her up so as to maintain the new starting battery.  I will likely get a new house battery when I get to repairing the roof as I intend to use the conveniences of the RV while taking on those repairs.  We shall see how it all goes when it actually materializes.

If my confidence remains what it is these days I will likely pick up a generator as well as the stuff to repair the roof as I really want to move forward with moving into the RV this year albeit it may be delayed somewhat due to economic factors beyond my control.  But in spite of the economy I will attempt to take the RV out and spend some time camping with her this year at the very least.

Since I have an RV and have read much about the RVing lifestyle I have now shifted my focus on to improving my money making ventures that I plan to take on the road with me as I have let them fall by the wayside as of late.

My cards will be a work in progress as they always are so I will embark on creating more cards with the variety of stamps I have at my disposal.  Once they are stamped in various ways I will go about coming up with storage options for them in the RV so I can pack them up and have them at the ready to complete as I sell the already completed cards waiting to be sold.

Ventriloquism will be what it is as I talk to myself and mimic the the antics of both Edith and Eugene as I go about my days so this will continue all through my life so the skill never dies but only improves with time.  I should have an act ready before I hit the road.  And regarding my blogs, well, I hope that I can keep them up and thus improve my writing skills so as that I can actually write and publish tidbits of my writing in the future and earn a few dollars from doing so.  Oh, and my little spool-knitting creations will be a work in progress much like my cards so all is good in that department as well.

So all-in-all I think I am moving forward at a good pace and should have at least a small RVing adventure at some point this year if not a complete adventure if I buck up the courage to just hit the road and let the chips fall where they may.  I need to have faith and trust in myself and my abilities to survive living full-time in an RV as so many have done before me.

Mechanically Speaking and Other Matters

I want to continue to write here as it feels really good to be writing this knowing that someone will be reading these my words and enjoying the story I have to tell, my story, the story of Edith and Eugene Tokalot: RVers at large and our very own RVing adventure.

In continuance of the previous post I want to acknowledge that the repairs and maintenance do not end with the fixing of the roof leak but will continue with a complete mechanical inspection and repairs deemed necessary to ensure that Ms Lucille/Esmeralda is in perfect condition to travel full-time on the road.  Oils and fluids need to be changed as do filters, brakes, spark plugs, plug wires, battery cables and tires.  This is then followed by an inspection and certification of the lp gas system that will also fix any necessary areas that are deemed to be unsafe or in need of repair or replacement.

Since I've purchased many books and DVDs through the RV Bookstore (Books)I frequently receive emails from the store advertising sales and new releases and the last email contained books and DVDs related to RVing in Mexico.  Reading the descriptions of each has prompted me to consider purchasing one if not all of the four items listed as I want to try RVing in Mexico for myself as George of The Adventures of Tioga and George fame has bee RVing in Mexico for over three years now and quite enjoys it.  In addition to the tropical nature of Mexico, the Mexican people are friendly and the cost of living is much more manageable than here in Canada or the US for that matter.

During the winter Olympics here in Vancouver during February my partner and I will be traveling to Boston and New York to escape the Olympic fever that will make living in Vancouver a nightmare for well over a month.  But at least we will be able to escape for two weeks and enjoy ourselves a lot more than we could staying in the city during this event.  During our trip I will try to experience Boston and New York as if we were traveling to each city with my RV so I can dream a little bit more about RVing around the world.

Traveling by RV will give me plenty of opportunities to sell my greeting cards that will be made even better if I can make cards that capture the city or area I happen to be traveling in.  So with this in mind I am trying to put together in my mind a good storage plan for my cards and all of my card making "junk" as my partner likes to call it.  If my ideas make it into reality I think I will have a great experience of making cards in my RV as everything will practically be at my fingertips.  Storing the cards is the easy part as it is storing everything else that is the challenge but I know I will prevail.

Playing my clarinet should also not be a problem as I will not be around too many other people that may not like the sound of a clarinet.  But maybe Mother Nature will be my strongest critic though!

Practicing ventriloquism should also be fun as I can do it outdoors if I like and I can entertain all of the plants and animals that I will be sharing space with.  I hope they will like what they see!

Tarot cards and my reading of them should become easier and more passionate as I will be in the midst of it all - as close to Spirit as I can get as I live amongst the trees with nature at my fingertips right outside my front door.

I can hardly wait to experience life in an RV. . .