10-02-2010 Clean Up Day

It’s a gorgeous morning in Rocky Point, with 37 degrees and brilliant sunshine.  The sprinklers are still all hooked up and going, a good thing since daytime temperatures still are in the 80’s.  Sleeping in a big bed in a big house felt strange last night, but with the window open to the dark night, and an evening soak in the hot tub under the stars, I slept really well anyway.  That first coming-home-night always feels a little bit strange after traveling, and even more so after so many weeks in our baby house.  I get so comfortable in the small space, stepping two steps to the bathroom and three to the kitchen sink. 

After hauling in all the food, the clothing, the computers, cords, books, peanuts, and other flotsam of six weeks of travel, I decided to wait a bit before tackling the dirty rugs and bedding.  Today Mo will clean up the outside of the MoHo and I will clean up the inside. I think I have the better job, judging from the dried bugs on the front of the rig.

The laundry is going, and probably will do so all day.  I couldn’t see paying for a laundromat in the last 10 days of traveling, so it’s a big job.  The accumulated mail was delivered yesterday afternoon, and I was glad that I drove the truck to the mailbox instead of walking. We spent a good deal of time going through it all and throwing out about 90 percent of it. Lots of fun things for me since I turned 65 while we were away.  The best one was an offer of free cremation among all the offers of social security medical supplements.

This morning Mo built a fire and it felt wonderful, helped things to feel a bit less cavernous in the house, and Jeremy thought it was a great idea as well.  This home is heated with wood through the winter, although there are some small electric wall heaters that will kick in when we are traveling when it gets below 50 degrees. Going through the bills was fun too, the electric bill was about a third of what it usually runs. “Gee, Mo, we should just stay gone all the time!”.  Surprising that the money to run the well pump to keep the sprinklers going and the refrigerators is still more than 50 bucks a month.

I looked around the house this morning, and what struck me first was all the photos and art on the walls.  I am not sure what the difference is, because I look at photos online all the time, but the large format senior picture of my only granddaughter hangs in my bedroom, beside a restored photograph of my grandmother in 1927.  As much as I would love a full time life style, I am not yet ready to give up the “stuff” of living in a stick house with walls. 

Also, it is October, and time to put up the Halloween stuff.  I have a few bins stored high on shelves in the garage, all orange and black, that hold my fall decorations.  Such a silly thing, I know, but I love it.  In the next few days, since it is officially October, I can put up the lights and the pumpkins and the witches that herald one of my favorite months. Among the goodies is a fabulous witch painted gourd that I found in a tiny town in Illinois last month on the road.

In spite of all the good things about settling in to being here, I still am coveting the freedom of life on the road.  When Laurie (Semi-True Tales) and I met last month, I asked if she and Odel might eventually settle somewhere, and she laughed, “well, sure, maybe, but where??”  There are so many amazing places in the country that are incredible for a short time, for a few months of the year, but certainly not all the year long.  However, Rocky Point is a place that is wonderful in October, and I am glad to be here, and in another few days I am sure the nostalgia for the road will fade a bit.