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Thereās no kitchen in my hotel room. Just a microwave and mini-fridge tucked into a cabinet. If Iām gonna be here until the end of August, I need to find a way to make food that meets my needs without getting sucked into the fast food arena or buying those highly processed microwave meals that I havenāt eaten in at least 15 years. Eating in a hotel room without a kitchen should be a piece of cake. If van life taught me anything, itās how to be flexible and creative. I have a darn microwave. Iā¦
I booked this hotel thru August 31, hoping the heat and humidity ease up by then. Being at the hotel lets me stay cool and come-n-go without having to do the dreaded campground shuffle. I love my time at campgrounds but the shuffle has always ruffled my feathers. Iām about 20 minutes from Auntie Mā¦ an easy commute compared to the hour away I wouldāve been at the extended stay hotel that didnāt work out. The view outside my windowā¦The hotel is smack dab in the middle of all kinds of shopping,ā¦
When trying a new hotel or campground, my general rule is to stay just 1 or 2 nights. Some places donāt give refunds once youāve paid. By staying 1 or 2 nights, itās no big deal if it doesnāt work out. My track record is pretty good but sometimes I end up leaving because I just donāt like the place or, more likely, because of my MCS. I booked a new hotelā¦The extended stay hotel was in Rockford IL. The front desk guy was very friendly. I enjoyed talking to him and had high hopes that Iād found aā¦
The extreme heat and humidity let up last week but it was followed by a couple rounds of severe thunderstorms. One night, I spent an hour in the bathroom ready to hit the deck because tornado warnings were blasting on my phone. In my hotel room, I figured the safest place would be the tub. My room has a sofa with big pillows so I grabbed one to put over my head, if needed. Thankfully the storms all passed without incident - other than the wear-n-tear on my nerves. July has been a bit much thisā¦
Iām so glad I came to the hotel this past Sunday! The heat advisory that was issued late last week quickly changed to an outright warning for Sunday afternoon thru Wednesday night. I have a habit of taking screenshots of my weather app. Itās interesting to look back at these but, this time, I think my excessive screenshots were reminders that I made the right choice coming to the hotel. Hereās a little on the heatā¦On Sunday afternoon, it was getting a little warm by the time I moved to theā¦
Have you ever done something totally out of the blueā¦ and felt fully at peace about it? Thatās exactly where Iām at right now. I just told the campground Iām checking out on Sunday and Iāll be back sometime before the end of August. Where the heck did that come from?! The heat and humidity are ramping upā¦Next week is shaping up to be brutal, with higher temps and humidity levels. So a few days ago, after wrestling with the thought of living in my van with no AC, I chose comfort over mereā¦
After several unsuccessful attempts to get a cool photo of my steaming hot cup of coffee this morningā¦ I had another bright ideaš” Here are 2 photos taken from my backwards facing passenger seatā¦ inside my van. I donāt often share the inside of my castle on wheels but here you go š So tell me, what do these photos tell you about me? The fact that I need to clean does NOT count. Itās a given. Click here to reveal three things I seeā¦ Iām left-handed (look at the coffee mug). I still keep trinketsā¦
The weather today was absolutely perfect. After a morning of running errands and a stop at the park, I found myself just chillinā at my campsite. Soon, a white mist slowly wafted from behind the van. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Iād just watched an episode of The Why Files (on YouTube) about parallel universes and people who may have shifted into one and came back. Was this a portal to another universe opening up? I blinked several times trying to focus on the white mistā¦ wondering if myā¦
Shortly after hitting publish on my post wondering what happened to her, I looked outside and spotted Miss Calico hanging out in my campsite. It made me wonder if she knew she was being talked about. She hung around for a few days. Then she disappeared for a couple of days. And tonight, sheās back to sleeping on my deck. This seems to be her regular thingā¦ staying a while, leaving without notice, and re-appearing as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Iāll just have to let her live herā¦
I havenāt seen Miss Calico since just before I went to the hotel. For several days after my Miss Calico Moves In post, Iād see her taking an afternoon siesta on my campsite deck. Iād also see her in my campsite each morning. And nowā¦ gone without a trace. Miss Calico had a secretā¦One day, she strolled over for some head scratches. As I was petting her, I smiled as I felt her cute little baby bumps. I grew up in the country. We had lots of cats who had lots of kittens. If I remember correctly,ā¦
Yesterday, I checked out of the hotel and came back to the campground. The storm that passed thru the evening before must have been stronger than I thought. There were twigs and small branches scattered throughout my campsite. I imagined the sound of all that tree debris thunking on the roof of my vanā¦ if I had been at the campground instead of choosing the hotel. My 2 night stay turned into 3ā¦I went to the hotel for a couple of days to escape the heat and humidity for a bit. There was aā¦
Itās been too darned humid for more than a week. A couple days ago, the heat and storms decided to join the party. This is not a fun weather mix. The past few years, Iāve noticedā¦The humid climate has taken a toll on me. I canāt seem to tolerate it like I used to. My lungs just throw a tizzy. Adding high temperatures into the mix only makes it worse. Thunderstorms and rain never used to bother me. But somewhere along the way, stormy weather stopped being something I enjoyed from my window-sideā¦
A couple days ago I posted about Miss Calico, a cat that appeared at the campground and kinda took over my campsite. When sheās not roaming or hunting, sheās snoozing on my deck. This morningā¦It was time to dump my black and gray water tanks and refill my fresh water tank. Heading outside, I noticed Miss Calico sleeping on the bench, again. My tanks needed tending to but I didnāt want to disturb her. I slowly opened the door, hoping she didnāt run away. Miss Calico looked up at me with sleepyā¦
My laundry is piling up. I keep it in a bag under my bed but the bag is so full itās hard to pull it out so I can stuff more dirty laundry inside. Itās such a pain in the booty to do laundry in the vanā¦ but my supply of clean clothes is running dangerously low. So, whatās a laundry-hating gal to do?!?If it were as simple as going to a laundromatā¦ my laundry would already be done. But Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) prevents me from going to a laundromat. Heck, I canāt even drive past oneā¦
Iāve noticed a gray calico cat roaming around my campsite for a while now. But when I go outside, she skedaddles. I assume she found her way here from a local farm. Yesterday morningā¦I headed out for a bit for a Walmart pickup, coffee, and a little quiet time on Flagstaff Hill at Krape Park. Just my kind of morning š When I got back to my campsiteā¦The gray calico kitty was sitting near my campsiteās electric pedestal. As I approached the pedestal to plug in, she looked as though she was goingā¦
Before I left south Florida this past March, I made my mind up to do the Shape Reclaimed program when I got back to northern Illinois. Shape is a wellness program that can also result in weight loss. I wanted to do Shape because Iāve not been feeling well. I shared more about this in my Getting Real About My Current State of Being post. Iāve done Shape Reclaimed beforeā¦About 14 years ago, I was seriously ill. I was also overweight (still am) but losing weight sucks! My focus is, was, and alwaysā¦
Itās one of those pondering life days. As I sit at my campsite, with the sounds of nature in the background, I find myself wondering āIs this really how my summer is supposed to feel?ā My winter was wonderfulā¦I spent winter with my daughter, Nikki, who lives in southeast Florida. The four months I spent there went way too fast. I didnāt want to leave but I also know the south Florida summer heat and humidity would make me a very unhappy camper. My busy time and downtime this winter were prettyā¦
This morning, I read My Favourite Part of the Day posted by David over at Forking Mad+. My favorite part of the dayā¦You know that stretch of time when the sun begins to rise until it fully climbs into the sky? Thatās my favorite time of day. Itās a spectacular show and no two shows are exactly alike. As the sun rises, the birds start singing and furry critters scamper about. Itās the most peaceful time of day for me. The air is crisp, fresh, and free of lifeās distractions. But thereās aā¦
This morning has me thinking about the groups of people who advocate for their specific communities based on gender, race, religion, and so on. Supporting your cause is not wrongā¦Every person needs to stand up for themselves and, if they feel the need, for their entire community or cause. But those who rally against bullying and mistreatment are sometimes doing the very thing they oppose. Whereās the logic in anti-bullying campaigns when youāre bullying those you advocate against? Resistanceā¦
As I read blogs this morning, I checked out their slash pages. Something that caught my eye on Mattās blog was a list of favorite TV shows. Some are familiar, some I enjoy, and some Iāve never heard of. But it sparked the writing of this post. I havenāt had a television since January 2014ā¦Nikki was a teenager and both of us watched Netflix more than the TV. It made sense to quit forking out $130 a month for cable TV - that never got watched - and just go with Netflix for $7. I no longer haveā¦
Have you ever seen a bunny trying to make a wish with a dandelion puff? I have. One minute the fluffy white seeds were there. The next, they were gone. Just thought Iād share š Connie š¼ ā ā ā Life Right Now My Whereabouts ā Northwest Illinois My Home Base Is ā A cozy campground Iām Here Until ā October-ish Iām Enjoying ā Watching the antics of my campsite critters ā ā ā Send me a note š Previous ā¢
My hip has been giving me some serious backtalk lately and itās annoying! It went out of whack last week but itās not an uncommon thing. Just lingering after effects of a car accident that happened 40+ years ago mixed with the usual age related stuff. I went to the chiropractor last week but over the weekendā¦ it went out again. Itās possible that moving my campsite picnic table all by myself played a part in the hip-outta-whack story but what can I sayā¦ I am Woman hear me roar! Stubbornness vsā¦
I was just looking at some notes I typed for myself and the typos jumped off the virtual page. As usual, I can see them plain as day now but missed them when I was writing. Thankfully these slip-ups were only seen by me. But I canāt say that for all of my infamous typos š Some misspellings canāt even be caught by spellcheck because theyāre actual words. Like the comical email I sent during my working daysā¦I was a manager at the time and sent an email to everyone letting them know I willā¦
Itās a cool, peaceful, sunny morning at the campground. The only sounds I hear are birds singing in the trees. Thereās no human activity in the cabins, tents, RVs, or trailersā¦ yet. No dogs barking, no golf carts roaming, just soothing sounds of nature. In the flower-bed of the cabin next to my campsiteā¦A bird rustles through the sprouted foliage gathering fixinās to make a nest - or maybe adding on to its current nest. The bird flies away with a dried leaf in its beak - soon returning for moreā¦
I needed to break up whatās quickly become a monotonous routine. Yes, even someone who lives on wheels can find themselves in the midst of monotony. Last Eveningā¦I put a Walmart curbside pickup order in for Monroe WI rather than my usual place in Freeport IL. This morningā¦I made the 40 minute drive to Monroe thru the backroads. It was a nice change of pace with fresh scenery for a stale mind. After picking up my order, I went to McDonalds for a cup of coffee and headed to Honey Creek Park inā¦
Yesterday was a bit of a blur. I remember starting a blog post to write about the weather but it quickly went in a whole different direction about waking up tired. Needless to say, Iām not quite as tired today but something is off and I need to get to the bottom of it. Iāve been down this road many times. Itās been well over a decade ago but I used to feel tired, brain-foggy, achy, flu-like symptoms, and/or unable to functionā¦ all day, every day. Thru the help of a Naturopathic doctor, Iā¦
I feel like I sleep yet I wake up tired. This isnāt an uncommon thing for me. Iāve had hypothyroidism most of my adult life. I also have Hashimotoās Thyroiditis (which is probably the cause of the hypothyroidism). Thyroid problems can be the cause of waking up tired. When I start to feel wonky, all I need to do is go to my doctor and say āI feel offā. He checks my thyroid level and, most of the time, my lab results are off. The fix is a simple medication adjustment but it doesnāt workā¦
Some days I have lots of thoughts rambling around in my head. The biggest challenge is picking them apart and deciding which one or two deserves space in my head so I can give the other thoughts the boot. Writing helps. After writing the first few sentences of this post, those little intrusive thoughts that only stress me out and divert my focus withered away. The thought worthy of keeping is health relatedā¦Iāve had knee problems since I was a kid. And now, my knees are apparently arthritic.ā¦
My brother, Corey, sent me this video he came across on Facebook. Itās a song with video and images about small town Lena Illinois, the people rallying together, and those who came from other towns to help in the aftermath of the April 17 tornado. Lena is my hometown. I graduated high-school here. I was in Lena that day but headed to Freeport about an hour before the tornado hit (which I shared in Storm Chasing in Reverse?!). Iāve watched the video and listened closely to the words of the songā¦
Itās a quiet, peaceful, 45 degree morning at the usually busy campground. After a chaotic post-tornado week, the peace is almost spooky. This place is usually jam packed on weekendsā¦People come to camp in their campers, tents, or a cabin. Thereās always weekend activities here for the whole family. Many of the weekenders are locals but some come from out of town and others are travelers just passing thru. My guess on why itās a quieter weekendā¦Thereās major road construction at the entrance toā¦
