She is HOME!

Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td

 In May 2019, I purchased a 2020 Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td. I sold my sweet Livin Lite 5.0 because it was getting too heavy for me to set up easily. Or I am getting weak! The Express seemed a perfect solution for me; easy to set up, low profile, light tow weight, air conditioning... I took possession of my new camper in June and in July took her to Ohio. It was a disastrous trip. The camper hinge leaked, the lid moved out of square... My campout with the grands was in hotels and family homes!

Fast forward... It is the middle of August 2020. My camper is back at the manufacturer. I have missed two camping seasons since owning this camper. I don't even know if I want to camp any more! It's becoming too stressful just thinking about my camper and all the lost adventures. But one day, my camper will return to me. Better than ever. I will  rise like the Phoenix!

Awning for CE9.0td

I saved the old tenting from my Livin Lite Quicksilver 5.0 when I replaced it. Side note: I think of my LL Quicksilver's often.  I did the right thing selling them, as I could no longer lift them reliably,  but they were sooo much better quality than this Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td. {{sigh}} Anyway, I am designing an awning for the CEtd from the vinyl roof portion of the tenting.  It attaches to the camper with a 5' long zipper. I have old aluminum tent poles that are 6' long/tall.  The awning can come out 5' or 10'. I have Velcro all around the sides to attach curtains,  lights, or other decor.  I kinda like having it 5' up and a 5' wall.  I haven't finalized it  yet.  This is stage one...

Pocahontas State Park

A gift of a few warm days in February! My sil was supposed to visit for a few days but cancelled at the last minute, so I found myself with 70° days and a clear schedule!  I chose to go to Pocahontas State Park because I hadn't yet visited it. I have now camped in nine Virginia State parks! I have been to a couple more, but haven't camped at them. Not all Virginia State parks have campgrounds.  A couple are paddle in. I think there are 27 campgrounds. My goal is to hit them all! 

Pocahontas is the largest state park in Virginia and the camp ground is lovely. The sites are spaced out nicely and every sire has water and electric.  The campground is open year round,  one of only a few state wide with power that stays open. A couple of years ago,  I stayed at Shenandoah River State Park in February. They are open all year and have power.  Unlike Shenandoah River,  Pocahontas is fully wooded.  You would be comfortable any time of year. I wouldn't camp at Shenandoah River during the normal camping season.  It would be hot.  (I guess RVs wouldn't care, and I think that a lot of people raft and kayak from the park) 

Back to Pocahontas, I had a lovely 2 nights.  I took Bella and Shelby, the 2 laziest old dogs ever... I had to drag them out to walk!  We saw woodpeckers,  cardinals... heard mourning doves and a great horned owl. I painted,  wrote poetry,  walked a bit... just breathed the promise of spring!

Is it spring yet?

SPRING FEVER!!!
A warm day here and there in January and February sets me of into a frenzy of spring camping fever. Sometimes the warm day hits at a time that I can hitch up my trailer and just go, but not this year.

I had to buy a new tent canvas for my Livin Lite Quicksilver 5.0.  I don't know what happened but probably just old canvas that ripped. The new tent is under my bed and ready to be installed but in order to do that, I need 2 days of 70 degree weather. I also need to completely empty my camper!!!

So, I just look at it and dream of the little outings I'm going to take this year! Hoping to take a dog with me once in a while, too!

Merry Christmas, already?

I can't believe it's already December,  another year gone. Christmas songs are playing on the radio... "and so this is Christmas,  and what have you done? Another year over,  a new one's just begun..."   I have worked a lot of hours,  not much income, but "busy". I did NO camping except for 2 nights in my backpacking tent while traveling. I didn't see the grandchildren enough, although when I did it was great! I did SOME Zentangle,  but not enough... 

So, it is time to reevaluate and plan what to do better next year.

Goodbye K8 Kamper

This has been the most horrid camping year... I haven't taken a camper out even ONCE this year. I did spend two nights in my backpacking tent and that was nice. But owning two unused campers seemed like a bad idea. I couldn't decide which camper to sell though! I love them both. Polly is my personal retreat and K8 was good for camping with friends and family. Also nice to have that air conditioning!

Ultimately, I decided to sell K8. The decision was actually made for me. When I opened Polly up there was a large tear in the tent! I was devastated! But I couldn't sell her in that condition! Rationalizing the sale was made easier, too. By selling the larger camper, I could replace the tent on the smaller. I might even put air on her. So, Ms K8 has a new home and I hope they love her. I sent all her decor with her.

Now, it's just Polly. I ordered her tent and it is finished. It will come next week. Polly will fit into the garage. And maybe next year will be better. I still have a couple of tents for family camping...
I hear the sound of nature calling me...

Rain, rain, rain

It was a super rainy (and cool) May, and so far June hasn't been a whole lot better. My camping so far this year? ZILCH! I put K8 up and slept out with 2 dogs. They both failed the campground test.  They barked too often.  We slept great though. K8 looks good to go.  Now I have Polly up in the drive. She needs cleaning and canvas treatment.  The canvas is soaking up water.  Not letting any through but it's far too wet. So today, on the advise of the Pop-up Princess, I ordered 303 brand products from Amazon to clean and water repel my canvas.
I am probably not going to get much camping in this year.  I hate it but I AM going to Standing Rock reservation in July and to Scotland and Ireland  next March.
If I ever go back to keeping this blog, I will post what we did and how we did it last October when we went to China. And maybe some of my other trips. .. maybe...

Created in His Likeness

I'm fascinated by how the message of "Creativity IS a gift to be used as a ministry" has penetrated my life. It's so life giving to me, and validates me as a spiritual being!

Holy week monotangle

This is the Diva Challenge for this week, to use Paradox as a monotangle. I fully intended to continue to paradox in the black spaces with white but when I got this far I felt that it was finished. As Christ said "It is finished". On Easter I may add the white paradox...

False Spring?

It has been an unusually warm winter across much of this end of the country. Several days of 70s and this week looks especially nice. We are dog sitting for our granddog, Mouse. Makes me want to get the campers out! And camp! Or at least garden... but it's February!

The Livin Lite Quicksilver popup campers are not the easiest campers to modify since there is NO wood to paint,  there is NO roof, the bunk ends are also aluminum. .. even the bench seating is a molded composite (plastic). The intention is, of course, durability and light weight. On my QS8, I did put down a floating floor which probably added 60-80 pounds, but it looks lovely and is warmer. I could have saved weight by doing what I did in the QS5, which was to put down foam square padding (used to be under our exercise equipment) and then throw rugs.

I'm seriously thinking about going to pick up my QS8 (it is being stored at a friends) and playing with it to make into a craft caravan! Hmmm... stay tuned!

Not much of a blogger...

It seems that I am not much of a blogger... I honestly haven't had anything to say.  Although I did enjoy many great adventures last year. Last April I visited Sedona with my sister. In June, I  camped with the grands in the Quicksilver 8.0. In August,  I camped Sequoia National Park with my daughter.  I did several campouts in my Quicksilver 5.0.  In November,  I went on a 9 day cruise with a few friends and my mother.

In a couple weeks I'm going to Williamsburg for a scrapbook retreat with some friends. So, the year is starting out well travel-wise! And in March I will be going to Scottsdale, then to California for an Elton John concert!

But  right now, in January, looking at gray days, I dream of camping. I have a technique to put the Quicksilver 8.0 UP by myself but I need a trick to put her down (properly). I'm thinking I should sell the 5.0. But... she is just so fun.

I put a floating floor into the 8.0. It looks great! I'll post photos when I run across them.

So until next time...
Bon Voyage!

May showers bring...

Headaches? We are now at day 19 of rain. We did have some sunlight today though! So, between my runs to Ohio and Jaks to North Carolina,  not even an overnight campout. But I have "She who had no name" all packed and ready to go. And Polly probably needs a little tweaking, but she can be ready to go. AND most importantly, I  have a new tow vehicle! When we have a good break in the weather I will pop up both campers for a final pack up and then I will really be ready! Oh, I also have my backpack ready to go!

Polly's sister needs a name!

I have Polly's sister popped up. She needs a name. Is Poppy too redundant? In Victoria I visited a beautiful garden that grew BLUE poppies. They were really blue and amazing. I think Poppy would be a name, but a good name?

Anyway,  I bought a sweet purple rug and made some curtains and pillows today. I actually think she is done.  Less is more when kids are camping! I think I will go through the old toys.  We might need a few in the camper, maybe.

So, the kids side is bright and open. MY side has a curtain.  ☺

March Madness?

The big news is (drum roll, please) that I purchased another Livin Lite Quicksilver. The 8.0 has 2 bunkends and a drop down table to bed. The Quicksilver brand is all aluminum. They are trying to make them look a little warmer in the 2016 model with a vinyl wood look floor and champagne color walls but basically, the models are cold and stripped down. I have a sink and air conditioning though no propane. 

So, why buy a used stripped down aluminum camper for the same cost as a nice new pop up? One reason - weight. Base weight is 860, gvwr is 1400. Well within my Forester's 2400 lb rating. I am going to load it and take it to the county recycling center where there is a scale to get a good weight. I don't expect to need trailer brakes though. Secondary reason for a LL QS, and a good one, is that being all aluminum means no rot!

My new camper needs a name. The decor is going to be "cheerful" and she is designated to be fun for our grands.  

So, here she is! Polly Pop-up's big sister! (OH! I am keeping Polly! At least for now!)

Snow? NO, I would rather have my toes in the SAND!

We are expecting a little snow tomorrow so let's play in the sand!  This is an awesome tangle by Karry Heun. It's fun to do and looks awesome. Let's see what YOU do with it!

Snow!

It has begun! The Blizzard of epic,  historic proportion! :-) I had my girlfriend visit for an hour at the winery. Now I'm ready to craft!

Bring it on!

January Junk Journal

We are nearing the end of our Advent Journaling. I hope you have enjoyed this journey through Advent. This is my favorite part of Christmas, the 12 days of Christmas.  All is calm, and I love sitting by the tree, listening to Christmas music.

So on this,  the 10th? 11th? Day of Christmas,  I realized that I would soon need another journal! I have loved using this repurposed book and will surely do something like it again, but not yet. 

I have a Pinterest board called "Journals I Love" and on it are several Midori journals. Today I made a Faux-Midori! It was a scrap of leather, scrap paper sewn together, elastic bands... I didn't have to buy anything! I call it Winter Rose. I left it pretty blank (for a junk journal) so I have lots of space to draw as well as write.

Already I am wondering what my next journal will be!

New Year Preparation

I have downloaded and printed lots of goodies to prepare for my new year. My next journal will start on January 6, actually I may overlap January 1 - 5 in my January /February journal and Christmas journal. I found some wonderful Internet treasures to inspire me and help me plan.

Ephemera's Vintage Garden has loads of freebies, but beautiful for purchase kits, also! I purchased a planner kit and Christmas kit. Keep in mind the price is Canadian, so it is lower USD.

I also downloaded 2 different planners. First, a freebie from Livia Farkas. There are quite a few very useful pages in this planner! And it's free!  http://urbaneve.co.uk/2016-planner/

The second planner is a purchase but isn't just a pdf. Leonie Dawson (http://www.leoniedawson.com) has created a beautiful set of physical planners. I purchased the pdf planner and was surprised to find that it included videos to help guide my goal planning. I have it in my tablet and my computer and I love it! 

I have a few more cool printables on my Pinterest board called "2016 Planner".

So, as you enter this new year,  my wish for all of us is that we love well, take time to breathe in the beauty of creation, and don't forget to dream! Oh, and be kind to one another!

A bit of Joy...

We found out this morning that Jak will continue to work in 2016. I am thrilled! I think Jak is ready to cut back though.  I think he is, at the very least, ready to shorten his work week. It's so difficult to imagine this next phase of our lives...

Here's a peek at my journal so far this week. The Spirit of Christmas Present was on the book page,  so I Zentangled a tree. The Joy banner was a challenge from my fauxbonichi Facebook group. I'm kinda loving my glitter gel pens!