# 444 - Country Life - Madness and Gladness!

My best-friend, Kelly, told me about WiFi that can be connected through my IPhone and it's called "Personal Hotspot." I hooked up for one month of service, for an additional $20.00 through my AT&T phone and it gives 5GB of usage. However, I am using that amount of data PRETTY DARN FAST.

Now that I have Direct TV to keep me distracted when piddling with other things in the RV, I am probably going to use less of our Data Plan on the IPhones. And once I find the PS3 with components that was put into storage by accident, I will be able to use the internet to stream in Netflix as well...I love streaming to the television directly!

However, we must have a local telephone connected in order to get DSL Internet service, which will take a minimum of two weeks to get installed. That is our next amenity that will be connected on the land, phone and DSL.

Our water is sent via multiple water hoses connected from far corner of acreage. Sgt. Dave put a pressure valve of some sort onto the RV with a splitter so I can still use a regular water hose and we had to buy a filter so our water doesn't taste like it came from a water hose.

All of these things will be done on a better and more permanent basis when we are not so pressed for time to get such an important necessity to the RV. I think there is about 600 feet of water hose ran to the RV...about $200.00 in water hoses. That stinks!

But, the really stinky part is the temporary "septic" which is  a hole in the ground. Yes, it works, especially after a couple of bleach tablets are added to the concoction. Our septic tank is within reach, but our piping needs to be handled and all of this is taking a LOT of time and energy. Sgt. Dave only has so much time to spare with having to drive back and forth to Houston each day. But, we are getting there, slowly but surely! I can't believe I went from three bathrooms to a little RV restroom with a hole in the ground! The septic tank is in the distance...so close, yet so far!

Of all my creature-comforts that have been missed over the past two weeks, I must say that Internet has been my most missed because I have missed blogging and reading the blogs of others. I haven't missed television so much, but have been able to watch a few things through streaming on my IPhone from Netflix.

This morning, I finally got to enjoy not having to listen to the rumbling sounds of the generator because the local electric company FINALLY got out here to connect their pole to our pole's meter box and breaker box that we just paid to have installed with 200 amps.

Here is a shot of one of our older poles that is now out of code.

After seeing the new pole and the much added height, I can kind of understand, but the price-tag still hurts! We paid $825. for the new pole, installation, meter box and 200 amp breaker box.

The hardest part about moving to the country, moving out of a near 3,000 square foot home and into an RV that has around 300 square feet with the two slide-outs has been trying to find a new system of organization. My in-laws have perfected this kind of life-style because they have been living in an RV motorhome for about 15 years of traveling around the United States and through Canada. However, even though we will be living in our RV for probably a year as we build a cabin, I highly doubt I could do this for multiple years on end. I don't know.

For the people who do it...God Bless You! It takes a great amount of organization and simplistic living to live in such a confined space, especially if you don't have a home-base to return to for some spreading out to rejuvenate.

That said...I love our RV. It is rather spacious for an RV and has the best kitchen area I've ever seen. The loveseat is extremely comfortable to me and it rolls out to a bed for guests, mainly Stefie and perhaps my dad.

Our dinette is not a built-in, it's a free-standing table with four chairs. I was disappointed that two chairs did not survive the trip to the country, but Sgt. Dave will be repairing them, sometime down the road. But, I like the table and it has a little section that extends out for extra table space that counts. In an RV, every inch of space is important.

There are a lot of cabinets that I am trying to figure out how to best utilize.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law are coming into town tomorrow. They'll be staying at a nearby RV park, probably the Indian Reservation, and it will be so nice to have them visit. I love playing cards and Dominoes with them. My father-in-law just had surgery a couple of weeks ago at M.D. Anderson for cancer of the tongue, so he's been through rough times lately.

And my own dad is about to start his third round of harsh chemo that is administered through the port in his chest via a pump that he wears so it can be injected 24/7 for about a week straight. My dad is determined to live as "normal" as possible, but I sometimes see that he's putting on a tough-guy persona so that we kids don't worry. I try to not worry because worrying can be similar to praying for what you don't want. Instead, I try to think of the positive things in life, with hope! But, this is a hard aspect of moving right now since I am nearly two hours from him now (one-way).

The below shot is of my dad, my daughters (in order...Stefie and Heather) and my in-laws at one of Stefie's dance performances during her Senior year of high-school. I love my family and am a very blessed woman!

However, since we've moved to the country, my dad has made a few trips out here to visit and to help. He's a champion of mine. In fact, we closed on our house on May 15th and my birthday was the following day...for my birthday, my dad gave me a 10x14 shed! The best present ever!

He came over last week and we unloaded about 800 pounds of materials from his truck. Even battling cancer and on chemo, my dad kept going, but on an ordinary cancer-free day, this man is unstoppable and has more energy than most 20 year old young fellows.

We'd work for a bit, then we'd stop to rest under a big oak tree with the breeze feeling wonderful and we'd visit, play with the dogs and prepare to get back to task under the Texas sun.

It was one of the best days I've had with my dad, even though we were completely drained by the heat and saturated in sweat from working during the worst part of the day. But, we had to work with the time that we had available.

After my dad left, I went to restart the generator for the RV to have air-conditioning and as I walked around the corner toward the generator, I smelled gas...a lot of gas...too much gas. I'd filled the tank earlier that day and after I followed my sense of smell and my instinct, I began to inspect the generator to find a hidden steady leak.

Since my dad had just driven out of sight down our private country road, I found myself over-heated from working beneath the sun and without any power for several more hours.

Once Sgt. Dave got home, we went to town and no hardware store had the gaskets in stock. Then, he pulled into a little lawn repair shop that was supposed to have been closed nearly two hours earlier, but they were still there working on an emergency repair, so they came to the door and let him inside. Sgt. Dave opened his hand to show the broken parts and the woman reached into a bin for new replacement parts and said, "Two dollars and fifty-nine cents."

Needless to say, we WILL be taking our business to them.

So, I am especially happy to be off the generator. Seeing that leak was a scary day. If my dad had not shown up, I realize that I'd just filled the generator tank full of gas and that it was leaking straight onto the motor...glad we were working in the sun and I'd turned it off so I would not be wasting gas. And I'm glad that I'm my father's daughter; my dad is a man of mechanical inclination who always taught us to pay attention to the sounds, smell and the feel of mechanical happenings...PAY ATTENTION is what he taught us. And, I'd like to think that he taught me well.

In between the madness with trying to get settled, we are enjoying our new residence! The dogs love their ability to RUN around. Howdy is glad to be able to act like a real Australian Shepherd!

And every time we drive down our new street, I am filled with awe at the beauty of nature. I cannot express to you how much happier we are to be farther away from the petro-chemical industry that has surrounded us for most of our lives.

Being away from the chemicals spewing into the air is nice...this forested area certainly smells better; however, it is definitely harder to keep the dirt out of our living space because we are smack-dab in the middle of pure country. The country is pretty, but it leaves dirt on your shoes!

I can see a deck in our near future and a walking path.

Also, the shed will soon hold my washer and dryer because I did NOT relish the special "date" Sgt. Dave and I had at the washeteria the other day.

Well, I was there the entire time as he went to unload more things at the storage unit, but it was a couple of VERY HOT hours!

There is nothing quite like a non-air-conditioned washeteria in Texas during the summer as you are doing five loads of dirt-filled clothes.

Let me tell you, it's as hot as H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks!

I have missed the Internet and my washroom. But, those are temporary inconveniences. Being in the country is SOOOOOO worth it! But, we need to get that shed built and haul the washer and dryer to the land for connection! At least I can run IN and OUT of a hot shed to load/unload instead of standing there for hours.

And here is my new home as we get ready to build a home...the views are fantastic! We are no where NEAR being set up, but it's been a very productive 16 days in the country!

 

 

We're HOME!