Two weeks between my blog posts ... not bad! But, I thought I better get another one on the books before you all disown me. So for 14 days of missed blogging, I give you 14 pieces of information (and 3 pictures).
In the last 2 weeks ...1) we are almost completely moved in. I would say 85%. I do love how small our living quarters are, because it is just perfect for us. But, we have a lot of stuff. Probably stuff we don't need. We pared down so much before doing the trail, I swear, but we need to do more of it. So unpacking and deciding what to keep, what to toss has been slow and strategic. You better believe we have filled every bit of the 1,000-square foot living space!
2) we saw Hunger Games! We finally coordinated our very atypical schedules with Mac/Fire Marshall and Alex/Still No Nickname to go see the movie. We loved it!!! After just listening to all three books on CD during our winter road trip, we were stoked and not disappointed with the hyped up movie.
3) we bought a 2012 Chevy Malibu! Yeah for new cars that have awesome gas mileage!
4) we decided to keep our Trailblazer. We hemmed and hawed about it, knowing we really don't need 2 vehicles and that the Trailblazer would continue to have more headaches as it approaches the 100,000-mile mark. But, we decided to chance it and did the necessary repairs, only to find out a week later, it needed even MORE repairs (that involved us possibly blowing up if we kept driving the car) after the Chevy dealership improperly diagnosed the initial problem. Cough, cough, it helps if you open the hood when a car is having an issue. Oh yes there was anger, but Deal got a deal. They are providing great customer service with extremely discounted work. They even gave us a 2013 Malibu Hybrid as a loaner ... although we think it is a ploy for us to make an upgrade! I have to admit I've fallen in love with the Hybrid.
5) we upgraded our Internet and router to a normal speed. Did you know there are 5 Internet companies that provide service in our county, but only ONE that can provide service up on the mountain in the forest of trees? And that one sucks with customer service. Ask Deal about his lovely letter to them. All is good now, but fingers crossed that we never have to call them back for service. LAUGH OUT LOUD.
6) Deal went to look at a VW bus (just don't even touch that one) and the owner went into some seizure/diabetic shock, complete with mouth-foaming and vomit. After a frantic call to 911 because he had no idea where he even was, he followed protocol and probably saved the man's life. Frankly, I think a 1976 orange VW camper bus is proper repayment.
7) we had our first thru hikers!!!!!!!!!! Two guys, Scooter and Billy (who has a blog). They started Feb. 18 and are flying, literally flying through the miles. We are located 996.4 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia. It took them 42 days to get here. It took us 54 days. Seriously? And we had trail legs. I love me some thru hikers and true hiker funk!!! Bring it on!
8) we've had lots of activity at the lodge/hostel, actually. It goes in spurts, but we have consistently had guests all week, ranging from the 2 thru hikers to 17 teenagers on a spring break service trip. I love the variety of people we meet. I even got called "a most vibrant hostess" by one of our guests. I hope we feel this enthusiastic at the end of the season!
9) I worked in our garden. There are only a few things I can do to help Deal with the workload at the lodge/hostel. Weekend cleaning. Answering the phone occasionally. Store inventory. It's not much. But, the existing garden was something I wanted to tackle. And I finally got out there to do the weeding and prep this weekend!! Hopefully I'll plant this week.
10) we have our first official visitor tonight: Uncle Pete/SlickG. He is usually our first visitor wherever we live. He is here to go to a concert with Deal & just stay the night. To be fair, we have had other visitors here. Mac/Fire Marshall & Alex, of course. And, our friends from Danville, Van/Rambo & Warren/Wolf, stopped here for dinner on their way back from a concert in NYC. They liked it so much, they said they would bring their significant others back!!
11) we need Kansas to win the final college basketball game Monday night, so Deal can win another one of those "pools." He has to keep his streak going you know.
12) Deal's filling fell out. I said, "good thing we have dental insurance," to which Deal replied, "oh shoot. I never filled out the paperwork."
13) Deal still works a lot. In fact, tonight, for the concert, marks his first "day" off since he started! Not really a day off since he did his daily cleaning after the guests this morning. But, give him a night off for a concert and he is golden. I, too, still work a lot. It is still hard. But, I *think* I am making progress. I had no client complaints for missed stories this past week! Someone give me a gold star. Actually, I am working from home tonight. Please let everything go well with it so they let me do it more often and I can get back 2 hours of my life everyday!
14) we went from a life of "all play and no work" to a life of "all work and no play." But, we are still making the most of life and embracing our careers! Free time and fun may be spent in slightly different ways, but we are surviving and thriving!Labels: Lodge/Hostel Life
10) we have our first official visitor tonight: Uncle Pete/SlickG. He is usually our first visitor wherever we live. He is here to go to a concert with Deal & just stay the night. To be fair, we have had other visitors here. Mac/Fire Marshall & Alex, of course. And, our friends from Danville, Van/Rambo & Warren/Wolf, stopped here for dinner on their way back from a concert in NYC. They liked it so much, they said they would bring their significant others back!!