I STARTED THIS POST ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO, I'M FINALLY GETTING AROUND TO POSTING IT NOW... SORRY!
I am back to blogging again. It's been a rough couple months. But things are now turning around and I am doing much better. I have one more appointment to get through and then I get the "all clear" to start our next adventure.
(On edit, the appointment was yesterday afternoon and I have been cleared to go!)
Thank you for all the kind words and emails checking in on me. Especially thank you Darlene, you know who you are, for sending me the sweetest card for Easter! I'm sorry to have kept you all worried. I don't know if it was a dark face of depression or a bad mindset about my health issues. I just couldn't get around to blogging. I have been making some YouTubes and trying to clear off my video hard drive. I want to get everything saved on YouTube and in our master drive before our next adventure.
In the meantime, Wisconsin spring has been very elusive. We have had snowfalls that surprise us in the morning and melt by the afternoon. Each time we think we are done with snow, there is more!
A few weeks ago, we got a Whopper of an ice storm. All the branches of the trees were coated with close to half an inch of thick ice. I caught this unusual pink tone as the sun was setting and it was reflecting like beautiful prisms against the dark sky.
I could not believe the spectacular ice displays that we had around our home. Fortunately, our power never went out. Many others around Northeast Wisconsin suffered power outages for days on end.
As I mentioned in my previous few blogs, we are gearing up for going to Alaska this summer. Our tentative plans were on hold until I got past this troublesome mini stroke, aneurysms, and skin cancer treatments. Then it was balancing out all of the therapy and medications. Things are looking pretty good now so we are moving ahead with our plans.
Steve noticed one of our vent covers had blown off sometime over the winter. It's the venting for the black tank. So he got up there and replaced it with a new one. Also a good inspection of the roof was done of all seams and there was no missing caulking and no problems.
We had a sunny day so we aired things out a bit. I went inside with my clipboard and started making lists. Yep, I'm a good one for lists. Lists upon lists!
Lists of things to replenish,
lists of things to buy,
lists of things to do,
and lists of things that need to be removed to help the weight distribution of our cargo carrying capacity.
RVing has really been in my blood ever since I've been a young child. A while back we were talking about all the campers we've had in our lives. I compiled this little photo collage. In the topmost photo was our camper bus! Here is a photo of me sitting just to it, about at the age of 6 years old with my brother. We were cool before the Partridge Family ever was!
This is me in about 1966, in my Buster Brown shirt and little skirt with matching shoes, sitting next to my brother Randy by our beloved Camper Bus!
I'm feeling nostalgic about all the campers I've had during my life.
So, as I said, we are gearing up to head to Alaska. I just got this shipment in from Instaprint. We got some adorable matching coffee mugs, a new stack of traveling cards to give out to people we meet, and then some "stickers"... That seems to be the newest thing that you leave stickers in appropriate places.
The last thing we ordered is to have a nice aluminum sign printed up that we can leave in the Signpost Forest at Watson Lake, Canada. More about that later.
In the meantime, before we leave, I was able to get some weaving done on my Finlander Barn Loom. My physical therapist said let's give this particular loom a 6 month trial and see if it causes any further damage. I did sell my other looms this past month, the style of which the therapist said will do more harm. It seems I have some collapsing vertebraes and my spinal cord is rubbing on them??
I did happen to weave off three more beautiful rugs before it was time to leave for this trip.
We also managed to get in some extra special time with the grandchildren before we left. Claire even helped with this rug.
What a little smarty pants...
She is the youngest.
For my fiber fanatics, I finished up this beautiful Winter Solstice quilt to go in the motorhome. It was fitting that I finished it on the Winter Solstice Day itself! The quilt is now out on the bed in the motorhome, ready for this upcoming journey.
I even made some throw pillows out of the scraps. I like little throw pillows for when we watch TV.
The next youngest granddaughter, Whitney, had to come and try out the new bedding. Watched some videos together. She helped me rearrange and pack things in the motorhome. What a good helper...
Since we were so far ahead on organizing and packing, I had plenty of time left to finish up this Vermont Maple Leaf quilt. It was inspired by a visitor center in Vermont where I saw one hanging on the wall. I had left a nice review for the center, along with a photo of our motorhome in front of their building. Can you believe it, they contacted me and wanted to use it on their website??? And yes, they gave me credit.
I have only worked on the blocks of this quilt while we were traveling. It takes 80 complete blocks to finish the quilt, and each one has 30 pieces. That is a total of 2,400 pieces! I decided to finish it up before our trip. So the rest of it was completed at the sewing desk in my She Shed instead of at a campground.
And here it is, all complete! I finished it up a few days ago before leaving.
Of course, Nick was by my side
through every stitch.
He has to make sure I do a good job.
I also had four additional blocks that had mistakes on them. I fixed the mistakes and then use them for two more throw pillows. Lol... Steve can't understand why women like throw pillows. They are "decor".
I just love this free motion design. I call it "hooks and swirls". It's one of my favorites. I do it all by myself, nothing is computerized or pre-programmed.
Here it is in the motorhome. I think the colors just match so well with the woodwork and the wall coverings. It will be perfect for cuddling up and watching a movie at night on the love seat.
Then while we are traveling, I can fold it so the back side is facing up on the love seat. Just perfect for Nick if he has dirty feet. Usually we wipe them before he comes in the door. But even if he sheds, it's all the same colors that are in the quilt!
As I finish up this blog, I take one last look around my she shed. It's going to be hard to leave my weaving and quilting and spinning for 4 months. But the adventure will be worth it. I hope to keep up these blog posts in conjunction with our videos at the same time.
Nicholas had one last chance to warm up before the fire this morning. We woke up to 31°. But it's time to finish up our last few items on our checklist and hit the road.
Now the adventure begins
NORTH TO ALASKA 2025
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