Over the next year, we will be working toward preparing the land to build a country cabin...a cabin or cottage will be our next home. In the meantime, we are living in our temporary home, an RV that's 33 feet long, with two slide-outs.
Going from a very large home to an RV has been quite a transition. I had wondered how I would feel about leaving my large kitchen in the house we just sold...that island kitchen was very spacious.
There's room to move around, ample drawer and deep cabinetry. There's also space available over the upper cabinets and that's where we keep the foil, lunch-kits, lap trays, and such.
The makers of this RV used ingenuity when they made the kitchen to extend over the trailer/tongue area to give loads of cabinetry and counter-space that is not usually found in a 33-foot RV.
This part of the countertop actually has an overhang that allows for two bar stools to be pushed underneath. I use the area underneath for a three-tier shoe holder. No shoes to be worn inside! Well, except by guests.
My little kitchen is enjoyable. Everything is carefully designed to be within an arm's reach. And that skillet I am using below is a massive sized skillet, I believe 17 inches across, but it is one of my favorites.
Isn't this entire adventure ridiculously funny? Can you believe we made a massive leap from city living in the Greater Houston area that has over 2,400 people per square mile to the country in an area that has, on average, 43 people per square mile?
We are nuts! We're making huge sacrifices, but we know it will be worth it. In fact, tonight I stood outside listening to the frogs, crickets and spied some lightening bugs at the edge of the forest, and I CAN FEEL the many reasons we're going through all this hardship.
If you love nature and you love having some space around you, then you understand. If you like the sound of birds chirping when you walk outside instead of the sound of traffic, then you understand. If you like to look out your window and see greenery as your landscape instead of man-made structures, vehicles and concrete, then you understand. If you'd like to see more of our society make a return to traditional practices, such as growing and raising table food, then you understand what we are trying to do out here in the country.
The way I look at it, at least we are providing ONE home on our side of the family that has beautiful acreage with a spring-fed creek and lake to play in and we have woods to explore...there's room to roam and space to enjoy. And we can actually see the stars at night.
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| Our land continues to go back, as far as those trees in the distance and beyond. Howdy stands there, he wants to go back there, but it's not always safe. That's rattlesnake and Cottonmouth zone. |
Such beauty is still available. Treasure it...I am sure you understand what we are trying to do out here in the country and you know the reason I am so darn happy with my little kitchen.
5 comments:
Hardship???? Hey Lana, your on an extended camping trip in a great RV, hardship is under an overpass with a blanket and a tarp. Just kidding, enjoy camping out, it's worth it to get out of town.
Hard way to go, from scratch. Y'all are just (one) of many folks that have taken to the open spaces. Not quite off the grid but, surely out of the norm. Ain't a damn thing wrong with it, either.
I was curious, those stars you see at night, are they big and bright?
Your kitchen seems to be quite spacious for an RV. I like the space it occupies and I like that it isn't in the 'walkway' along one side of the RV. I've never cared for that layout.
Enjoy!
Tombstone Livestock --- You are right about that! Lord, so many of us are living close to that blanket under the bridge. My grandfather had been one of those people...a story for another day. Lord knows it happens. I feel very fortunate that we were able to unload our monstrous house because I do feel as if the economy will hit a harder turn as of 2014-2015. When it's time to pay the piper, it will be the AMERICAN people. All of these wonderful promises of taking care of a nation of people will hit all of us and I am trying to prepare the best I can. So, my little RV is a roof over my head; I have running water and a creek nearby, just in case, we are so blessed! However, after living with all the "normal" things most Americans enjoy, it is definitely a challenge to worry about your water pressure disappearing because another water hose blew out three acres away. It's been very interesting, but is part of our process to build a cabin. If it was easy, it wouldn't be worthwhile. And let me tell you, a good rain is a slice of Heaven when it hits this roof.
Mike -- you are definitely right about it being hard to go from scratch. It makes me appreciate and respect the people down the road who began with a stip of land that is covered in nature's strongest ---- underbrush with large-thorned vines and poison oak/ivy, massive root systems everywhere...it is a challenge. But, we are making headway, while trying to leave part of land untouched. In fact, we have several fallen trees that we leave alone because they are part of the awesome ecosystem --- it's good we have enough acreage to do that. If we had less land, we'd have to claim it all for our own daily living, but as it is, we don't need much space, so we are trying to not interfere too much in the areas that are still home to other creatures. And I think we will be partially off the grid, eventually. I HOPE. A well is going to be a huge expense. We're trying to figure out how much of it we can do ourselves, but it's something we might need to leave to the professionals. And these stars, they are brighter than I can express. I'm always so shocked that the Greater Houston area is so well lit that you cannot see a starry night for quite a distance from the heart of the city. I am going to have to brush up on my astrology so I can point out constellations to the kiddos in the family. They can be seen so CLEARLY! Love it.
Dreaming --- I just didn't want the same style kitchen we've had in other RV kitchens we've owned. Usually you have a little strip area for counter-space and this is not enough to do easy food preparation. The cabinet space is rather ample. The depth and height can make some of it unusable, if it isn't handled correctly --- we've bought a couple of things that are very helpful and I'll probably make a post on it later. I'm learning to organize in ways that I never had to do in that big kitchen with so many cabinets that were rather shallow compared to these RV cabinets.
Lana
Yeah, I don't think I would consider it a hardship. Our trailer is only 29 feet, and nothing sticks out over the tongue.
Tight, maybe, but not a hardship. :-)
I think I understand where you're coming from, though. (We have never lived in big cities, and never will unless forced to do so.)
We like those same coffeemate flavors. ;-)
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