RE-LEARNING THE ROUTINES AGAIN:((

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12/08

Shortly after we arrived home yesterday I found myself in the living room staring blankly at 3 remotes lying on the table. One of them turned the TV on, the other controlled the volume, & the third added stereo sound to the whole mix. I couldn't even remember which one turned on the television let alone which was which for the other two. What number is CNN, why won't the channels change, where's the Biography channel!!
When I sat down at our desktop computer it took me a few seconds to remember that the "on" button was on the tower which in turn was under the desk.
I have repeatedly tried to flush the toilet with my foot & I didn't have a clue how to get a CD playing in our washroom CD player.
When the computer booted up & the screen appeared I sat here in a daze looking at all the icons trying to remember what they were all for. Where were my music files, what music program was I using 5 months ago. What file did I have my photos in. And where was what & what was where??
I sure hope this happens to other RV people because I would hate to think it's just me.
In the rig we were running satellite's Starchoice on our television & I had become used to that. At home we have cable.
In the rig we used our laptop computer & I had become used to where everything was on it. At home we have a desktop....different animal, same fur, but different animal!!
The toilet in the rig has a foot pedal to flush it & because I hadn't used the CD player for 4 months, I had to really stand there awhile pressing buttons before it gradually came back to me.
Maybe age has something to do with it but I've found if I don't routinely do something, it doesn't take long for me to forget how to do it altogether. Everything at home here was as familiar to me as my own nose but after being away four & half months, it's a real learning curve re-familiarizing myself with the routines & equipment again. Just like it will be in 8 months from now when I will have to re-learn all the equipment & habits in the motorhome again. Things that were just as familiar to me as my old nose, just a few days ago. To-morrow I have to take our mini-van in for a new battery........if I can remember how to start it that is!!

We put a total of 6,832 miles on the motorhome from October 27/07 until March 11/08. Total cost for gas was $2,698.00. Probably put another four hundred dollars in the Santa Fe for day trips. With the cost of gas steadily on the rise it really puts future winter vacations in jeopardy. Not sure what we will do in the fall but 2 things we do not want to do is...... 1- Stay here for the winter & 2- Go Florida & sit in a horribly jammed up & boring trailer park for 5 months with a ka-zillion million other people. So, we've got our work cut out for us between now & next November in trying to figure out how we can get ourselves back down to our beloved & spacious American southwest.....cheaply!!

Spent a big part of to-day unpacking the rig & trying not to slip & slide on the ice & hard packed snow. Even the motorhome is not happy about being back. I tried to move it closer to the house for unloading but it refused to budge. Just sat where it was & spun it's wheels on the ice & hard packed snow in the driveway. Even Max refused to get out of the rig yesterday & spent a lot of it steadfastly holding on to his couch in hopes we would have the big wheels rolling south again for more fun in the sun & morning desert walks.

Kelly spent a good couple of hours on the phone to-day tracking down billing mistakes (I'm convinced they are intentional) by our Electricity company, Telephone company, Cellular Mobility phone company, Satellite TV, etc. Everyone of them had in some way or another had so much bafflegab built into their billing practices as to make the consumer as confused as possible. I'm sure a lot of people just give up & those companies know that. It's more money in their pockets & they get away with it every day. Lucky for us, we have someone here who won't let them get away with all that BS. Kelly goes over the bills with a fine tooth comb & then gets on the phone & hunts them down demanding answers. With no word of a lie she saved us $316 to-day & she's not done yet. The common response from the companies was that is was an "oversight." Oversight!!!! BS It's so unfortunate that in big business it's an acceptible way of ripping off the consumer nowadays. It's a sober indicator of what our society has become & where it's going!! So, fellow RV'ers, (and everybody else) when you get home from those long vacations, go over those bills very carefully & and don't let the word "oversight" fool you.............

Oh well, enough of my blustering. The sun came out this afternoon & I was heartened by the drip, drip, drip, sound of some snow beginning to melt off our roof. I even managed to shovel some snow without mitts on. Now, how's that for a positive attitude:)))

The blog picture is of our snowy garden shed out back. Hmmmm, I wonder what's in there......................................