Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Holding our own



There are a number of things that have changed since we swapped our full time lifestyle for a house and travel as the urge hits.  One of those things is spending more time with our granddaughter.  We enjoy taking care of her for a day whenever the need arises, but have discovered that she has a lot more energy than we do.  This requires that we have an agenda when she comes over to keep her busy without wearing us to a frazzle.  This time we were also working on our departure plans for a trip to LA for a Cajun rally.

First Victoria became fully engaged in one of our new projects, which is to try to get away from all these commercial dog treats, which are really not very healthy.  Someday  I may tackle the topic of the current rage of feeding dogs only dog food under the theory that it is better than real food, even though it is full of fillers and chemicals, not to mention the unwanted chemical poisons the manufacturers find it convenient to get rid of via their products.  I always figure when something does not make sense, you just have to follow the money.  Using a recipe given to us by an RVing friend, Anneke decided to let Victoria help make dog cookies.  If she does well, she may advance to the human food station. Victoria really enjoyed doing this and we spent a lot more time than we thought she could handle.  She had a blast! 










Anneke collected a lot of Lake Superior Agates from the south shore of the lake during our tour of Michigan three years ago or so.  While I thought carrying these around was a bit much, we finally got to use them at the house.  Victoria helped properly place them in our front yard.  She even watered them to bring out the bright color The neighbors might think what we are doing ...watering rocks?





As we get ready for another anytime travel event, the preparations remind me of all those years we had sailboats for our main hobby.  It seemed like we were always packing and unpacking, loading and unloading.  It is a tiring process, and we are at it again.  We were spoiled for those five plus  years, where our life and travels were all contained in that small 39 foot vehicle.  Never a need to move stuff from one place to another, never think about start up of water systems, and all the other small stuff that any timers have to think about.  It was just part of the everyday routine.  I think I may have to go back to checklists.

15 comments:

Bob and Jo said...

It took us a while to get used to having everything with us.

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

Hey, you know there are child labor laws... ;c)

Nothing better than spending time with that beautiful little lady. Amazing how fast she is growing. Too fast, nice that you are getting to spend lots of time with her.

Janna and Mike said...

Every time we load or unload the motorhome I think about how easy fulltiming would be!

Gail Houle said...

Now, how cute is that?? I love the picture of her watching the oven :)

Donna K said...

Victoria is so precious. I sure understand the energy thing though. Even though mine are all older, they can still wear me down. It all goes very quickly so enjoy every moment.

Bob said...

Have you been teaching her any Dutch? Never hurts, you know.
Sure wish someone had blessed me with a second language when I was a kid.
Just one verse of "Slaap Kindje slaap"?

Erin said...

Love that picture of Victoria seated in front of the oven, watching her handiwork in its last stage. And those little Dutch clogs are adorable.

Travels with Emma said...

I'm with Victoria. Rocks should be watered too. :)

Joe and Nancy Conrad said...

What precious pictures of Victoria, she is so adorable. I also agree about the dog vs human food. Our Buddy gets just about half and half.

Mike and Terri said...

How cute that your puppy dog is anxiously watching the dog cookie process too.

Sherry said...

These are precious memories for you all. I totally agree about the terrible things put in pet food. It may be "easier" but it sure isn't better.

My part time RVing friends just gave up and bought duplicates of things they were moving back and forth so they have an entire set of everything including tooth brushes in their RV. All they have to bring is clothes. Maybe that would help.

Karen and Al said...

It is nice to travel with everything so that you don't forget stuff. Oh, wait, that's not true. We are in the mountains where it's pretty cool and we have our scuba gear, but no warm clothes....

Your Grand daughter is such a doll.

Phyllis said...

Yup, the toughest part of this fulltiming life is not seeing the granddaughters on a regular basis.

Being married to a Cajun, anxious to hear what you visited in Cajun country.

Laura said...

Victoria is adorable as always.

Re dog food - we switched to a RAW or BARF diet several years ago and just use a tiny amount of premium kibble as required. The dogs coats, teeth, breath are all bright an shiny. I used to dry my own liver to make treats... but lately I've been really lazy and have been dehydrating hot dogs - better ingredients than commercial dog treats, but still - they are hot dogs. You've inspired me to get dehydrating again!

Sweet Meanderings said...

Aren't grandchildren wonderful! I should have had them first. Your granddaughter is precious. I know you're enjoying every minute with her!
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