July 14th and what's been going on

After being out of Arizona since June 2nd, and living in a vacation trailer since then, I've learned a few things about such a life. One I mentioned, I think, that you become far more aware of the basics of life. In a sticks and brick home, or even a campground with full hookups, water, electricity, and dealing with garbage and waste, it's dealt with by someone else. We pay the garbage man to come by. We hook up a trailer or home to a system that carries away what is called the black and gray water. But if you aren't living that way, you have to deal with it.

For garbage, we are sacking it up and after we have enough (we use more than I thought), off we go to the dump where we pay varying fees to throw it into a hole prepared for it.

For the black water, we bought an item that looks like a suitcase. When we believe the trailer's tank is getting full, it is dumped into that. Because we are living on the farm, and my mother was living for many years in a mobile home there, the suitcase was taken over there to dump into the family septic tank. More work by far but it gets it safely disposed of. 

 

We bought  a trailer with more space in the living area but with a tiny bathroom and bedroom. It has little space to move around (nice shower but with a step down that requires watching out). We store towels in what they call the linen closet, which is in the hall outside the bathroom. I will add that in buying a trailer, be sure you walk through it. No really big person could get between the bedroom and bathroom in this rig. 

 

We appreciate having the space in the living area for both our desks, but not enough shelving and that's still on a list to add. I do not know how people who make it a full-time home manage-- many smaller than our 36' rig. We'll use it for I think maybe 4 months, and the cats and we will be glad to get back to the stick and bricks, but I also have enjoyed this experience and the cats have done better than I expected.

For electricity, we tried to hook up to the ranch home plugs, but they weren't enough and with the heat we had at the time, that was a problem for a/c. Ranch Boss had some experts come out, evaluate whether what he wanted to do was a good idea. When they didn't have time to do it, he bought what was needed, got on a ladder, and connected it to the shop and barn electric line, which gave us 50 amp service, what we'd have wanted in a park. Lately, the temps have been in the 80s, for which we use the Dometic in the ceiling as well as the portable unit that Ranch Boss bought in Bakersfield. One thing to know about extreme heat and trailers, the a/c units just can't keep ahead of it-- not enough to get down to the 70s. But, we do okay in the 80s due to our time in Arizona maybe.

Living in small quarters means disposing of anything not needed, and it's amazing how little is needed of what we easily have in stick and brick housing. 

For our time here, the internet is available from the house by wi-fi; but we can't use as much as we'd use back in Arizona as it's a shared system. Still, it's more than we expected. Since we have not tried to get television, our news comes from the internet as well as emails and connecting to friends on Facebook. We go light on how much we use it.

The biggest loss is no cell phones, which is tough for business and to talk to family or friends. We knew it'd be an issue. Putting in a landline to the trailer, where we won't be here long, is not economically sensible. But I had no idea how much we benefit from cell phones for so many things.   Ranch Boss  finally got wifi-calling working on his cell -- part time, my phone is too old. We can though connect with others with emails and texting-- for those who text.

But, here's the plus. From the trailer, I can watch the cattle, sheep, and then often the wild turkeys because the windows are big. It's different than living in the house, but it's satisfying enough for the length of time we'll be here for the work needed on the farm, things we want to leave in better shape than when we first left over a year ago before the pandemic hit and travel became impossible for a while. Vacation travel is back, so finding places can be a challenge. Still, this is an experience I am enjoying even with the problems.

My writing on my books is really sad and has been since the pandemic hit. I had started a book last January ,and it's had nothing added ever since. We also have done little marketing while out and that has killed sales. I hope they can come back someday lol For now, it's been the least sales we've seen since I began putting out books and advertising them. Yikes!