It isn't always sexy

Not everything I do can involve fire or cutting wood or braving the cold. He-man stuff...the kind of stuff that causes chest hair to sprout out of the top of my shirt. Sometimes I have to be domestic. Cooking, Cleaning and Sewing. Yeah, I sew. I got my start when I repaired the soft top on my Jeep. I used extra strong nylon thread and a big ol' needle. That's kind of cool sewing. Tonight I used my sewing skills to make some curtains. Previously my curtains have been old drapes cut to fit windows with tattered edges where I cut them with the scissors. I've decided I am going to upgrade my curtain standard. Not more ratty curtain edges. I finally made curtains for the back windows and I wanted the edges to look better than previous projects. I'm not going to say I did a spectacular job but it did turn out more rustic than Frankenstein. I did it all by hand and it took 3 hours. The hardest part was threading that blasted needle. Tomorrow I am will tackle the back side windows with matching curtains.

Wedding Week

Finally able to blog again after a busy week preparing for my brother's wedding this past weekend. I arrived here in Nashville Jan 17th. I did about a dozen loads of laundry the first couple of days, washed the bus (a 3hour event itself), cleaned up and put stuff out for my short stay in front of my brother's house. It is truly a luxury to have stable, level parking, electrical hookups, easy bathroom access, and blazing fast WiFi. My brother Keith and his now new wife, Bethany gave me a goldmine of what they deemed 'junk' electronics that I could unload on craigslist. I will also find a job to earn a little money for the next leg of my travel. Nashville has all kinds of cool opportunities so I am optimistic about finding something that is right up my alley.

I have posted many pics on facebook from my brother's wedding but I will include a few here for followers here.

The bus parked in front of my brothers house
Me and my niece, Abigail, in front of aquarium
Me and my niece, Emily at Wedding Rehearsals
My brother's, Mark and Keith (Keith, on the right, is the one who got married)
Bethany and Keith (Bride and Groom) reviewing details with Al (who married them).
Wedding stumble causes major knee injury, Keith and Bethany come out to offer assistance minutes before exchanging vows.
Then the professionals come take over...
Kissing at the Reception
Heading off to hotel and then Tahiti for two weeks


Then it is time for me to loosen up that night with Keith's roommate and some of his friends.
Before we head out, Jenni soaks her cell phone with water. Time to whip out hairdryer for another non-hair related purpose.

Amy (coincidently she graduated from the same high school I did) and Jason (my brother's roommate) catch up.
Amy has great style
Keith 'Shack' Shackleford and Alexis strike a pose

Leaving Greenville

The two weeks prior to leaving Greenville have been hectic. Two days before I was to leave I got some R&R time with a few friends at Britt McGregor's house. We sat around the fire pit, had a few drinks and shared stories. The perfect low key night with friends. Britt and I went out downtown on my very last night in town. Great finale to over 12 years in Greenville.

Stacey, Pat, Me, Britt
Fireside chat- Elizabeth, Britt, Pat, Stacey, Me

Elizabeth captivated by master storyteller Stacey Burger
My dog, Nala and Britt's dog, Banks
I woke up to rainy weather Saturday morning and hit the road for Nashville. I split the trip into two parts to practice overnighting in an unfamiliar town. I chose Chattanooga for my layover, because it had gotten dark and the bus was running on fumes. Driving the bus at night, on unfamiliar, mountainous roads, in the rain, at highway speeds required too much attention to be fun. I parked in the Cracker Barrel parking lot.
It was still raining when I woke up Sunday morning and continued to Nashville.

This sign means keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road and don't pretend to be Ansel Adams with the camera.
Bundled up cause there is no working heat on the bus and I have to leave window cracked so windows don't fog up.

Ice on canyon walls in foggy mountain pass

Temporary stereo system- Iphone stabilized by smelly sock

I stole a play from the Nascar playbook and practiced the super safe art of drafting behind big rigs in order to increase gas mileage.

I arrived safely. And I am hooked into my brother's electricity and his electic space heater keeps the bus very warm. Weather feels downright balmy. Lows are in the high 40's. This week I will be getting ready for Keith's wedding. Last night we went to dinner and played poker with his guy friends. Good time. Gotta run and get my suit altered and cleaned to get kerosene smell out of it.

Thawed out

I held off posting this segment because every time I looked at the pics I experienced vivid flashbacks. It felt like my core temperature would drop, my body would shiver so violently that I wasn't able to type, and I would curl up into the fetal position making noises very similar to a hurt squirrel. Now I can look at the pics without putting on an extra coat.
Actually, I just held off posting cause the photos just aren't that exciting. But an excellent illustration of my coldest night on the bus.
It was a Saturday night, a little over a week ago. I have increasingly become better acclimated to the cold over the past couple of months. Good thing, because the temperatures have taken a nosedive in the past few weeks. The lowest known temperature I had previously been in was around 19 degrees. On this Saturday night, I am sure it had to hit single digits. I ran the Kerosene heater all night and slept comfortably under my thick stack of blankets/sleeping bags. The next morning was really cold.
Remember the condensation issue I had been bellyaching about the past couple of weeks. It turned into an icing issue!

This picture shows the rear window (the one right next to my bed). It has the cellophane insulation over the window and held in place at the bottom with duct tape. You can see the ice start as soon as the cellophane comes in contact with the metal wall. Window is obviously insulated but the metal shell, not so much.

The pic below shows further beneath the window, where condensation has started to flow but became frozen. I crammed my sweater in a crevice to help keep the cold at bay.

This is my frosty toilet. So inviting.
Nala staying warm. The window from above pics is behind the curtain.

I was only mildly uncomfortable. I have gotten use to dealing with the cold. I am surprised that ice formed on the inside, especially with heater going. I will need to address the issue because that will be an insulating issue in the summer as well. The winter weather shows me weak spots in my insulation.