MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED!

Yippee!  After working like ants for several days, we’ve been able to carve out hiking time over the last few days.  Arizona surely is one of the least hospitable places for hiking – rocky and thorny – but it is always a pleasure to be out in the wide open spaces with views all around.  Rocky, thorny, and arid is gorgeous when the temperature is 72 degrees! 

We’re in good shape for the upcoming renovations.  We’ve finalized the list of work to be done and when we return to Phoenix after our week in Quartzsite, we will buy our new TV at Costco, along with a DVD/Blu-Ray player.   We'll go to Blinds Co. to order our shades and windshield wrap.  The carpet, which we ordered on Tuesday, has already arrived! 

We’ll have Scoopy back at RV Renovators on 1/26.  So far, our experience has been mixed… almost all good, but with a few glitches.  Our service writer, Eddie, walked though Scoopy with us, discussed all our plans thoroughly, and made many helpful suggestions, then gave us a verbal estimate on the time each item will take.  Before we left for Q, I wanted the estimate in writing to make sure we are all on the same page.  Eddie promised to email it to us three days ago, and it has yet to arrive, in spite of a reminder phone call.

Odel and I are obsessive about detail (perhaps you might even say “overly obsessive”), so I try not to read too much into this lapse.  Still, as every RV’er knows, having ANY work done on your rig is more often a negative experience than a positive one, so we’re trained to be sensitive to any hint that things are not happening smoothly and on schedule.  In the few days we spent at RV Renovators, we were impressed by the level of service we observed and experienced – but it was obvious that Eddie never had enough time in his day. 

We’ve heard a lot of good things about RV Renovators, so we’re expecting a good experience once we get underway.  (Pause for positive visualization – and repeat as necessary.)

Did I mention that we’ve rented a loft for the month that we are out of the motorhome?  It is just north of downtown Phoenix with light rail access right outside the door.  Our friends Margaret and Ian live in the same building.  The loft and the location are magnitudes of sophistication above than the norm of our RV’ing life - from the desert at Q to living across the street from the Phoenix Art Museum!  It will be a fun change to have convenient access to big-city amenities.

A couple of days ago, we scoped out the parking situation at the loft, hoping we could park Scoopy in the lot while we moved into the loft, and again a month later when we reverse the process.  It looks like a good plan – but seriously considering the amount of stuff we need to move totally motivated me to get rid of our excess baggage BEFORE the move.

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a couple hours weeding through our shelves and cupboards.  You’d think that RV’ers wouldn’t carry around a bunch of excess stuff, but we’re just like everyone else – we save everything we have room to store!  From the kitchen, I dumped old spices and dried up condiments, along with plastic bags containing tiny bits of rice, grain, or flour.  A baggie with two old crackers.  Another one with a couple tablespoons of pecan crumbs.  Sheesh.

Next, it was on to the book collection, where I had to be painfully ruthless (yes, perhaps there IS a Kindle in my future!).  Games we never play, a small food chopper and a tea brewer from under the bed that went into the giveaway box, too.  This is the perfect time to get inspired, because the Boomers at Q will no doubt haul into their OWN rigs the stuff we are purging from OURS. 

It is AMAZING how much paper arrives and hangs around!  I collected a box full of old magazines and miscellaneous crap from baskets, wire organizers, files and horizontal surfaces.  Between papers, magazines, and my kitchen gleanings, Odel hauled two loads of trash to the dumpster.  I  have a box of good-but-unwanted stuff and two bags full of books – at least 50 pounds of excess baggage to eliminate.  

Nothing like the thought of moving to get one motivated!