LIFE IS ALMOST BACK TO NORMAL… AND NORMAL IS GOOD!

After our massive cleaning job on Saturday, my mind was racing on Saturday night when we got back to the loft.  Would be possible to move all our belongings from the loft to Scoopy in the Jeep on Sunday (instead of waiting until Monday, when we could drive Scoopy to the loft’s parking lot)?  The big question mark: would my Euro-lounger fit in the Jeep?

As I drifted off to sleep, I had an Ah-ha! moment: we needed to take the Euro-lounger in our first trip.  If it fit, we could do all our moving with the Jeep; if not, there was no point in trying to move everything in one day via the Jeep.  All I needed to do was convince Odel of the soundness of my plan, and that it would be worth the effort.

I got up early on Sunday, plotting and planning while Odel was in bed.  When he got up, he announced “I have a plan”.  I said, “Me, too!”.    Odel:  “My plan is really radical.”  I could tell by his enthusiasm that I was going to hear about his plan before I told him mine, so I quickly asked “Should we load my chair into the Jeep first?”  He mouth made a big round O of surprise, and he said “That’s my plan!”  He, he, he.  No wonder we get along so well together.  :)

So we did it, moved everything from the loft to Scoopy in two trips.  Man, that Jeep holds a LOT!  We had everything moved in and put away by 6 pm, then headed off to meet Nick and Terry Russell (Gypsy Journal) for dinner.  We had met very briefly at their Gypsy Gathering Rally a few years ago and were happy to have the chance to spend time relaxing with them over a meal, swapping tales.  We got a free issue of their Gypsy Journal newspaper AND, best of all, Terry brought us a loaf of homemade rye bread – hand-shaped, beautiful, and delicious.  It was a great way to wrap up a long day of hard work.

We woke early on Monday, still in the lot at RV Renovators.  After an early morning discussion with Jerry, we left to run errands while Scoopy was being washed.  We were back at noon, Scoopy was ready to go, and we drove 8 miles down the road to Apache Palms RV Park (a return visit) to set up and give our new electronics a test.  Everything works!

Our good friends Fred and Jo Wishnie (The Wandering Wishnies) are here, just a couple of sites away.  We had dinner out again… not only out, but OUTSIDE on a lovely patio at a nice little pizza place in downtown Phoenix, Cibo Cucina Urban Pizzeria.  We had semi-forgotten that it was Valentine’s Day and were surprised to see the restaurant and patio full… but were seated under twinkling lights outdoors (with a propane heater to remove the ever-so-slight chill) within about 20 minutes.  Good meal – REALLY good – and GREAT conversation, topped off with a beautifully presented Valentine’s dessert of gelato hearts with fresh fruit.  Jo took a picture – I didn’t even bring my camera.  :(

When I awoke this morning, I had one more chore in mind: photo documentation of Scoopy and her contents.  Several months ago, we changed insurance agents.  Over the phone, we discussed how insurers price your policy versus what they actually will pay (I was complaining). 

The conversation moved on to the personal property aspect of the policy, with the agent pointing out that most full-timers don’t buy sufficient insurance to cover their personal property (a separate line item on your policy).  She suggested I open and photograph each cabinet and drawer, the closet, and all of the bays, then save the photos in a safe place (in other words, OUT of the rig)  – so we could reconstruct a list of belongings if necessary to make a claim.

Obviously, NOW is the time to tackle this task.  We’ve recently put a lot of time and money into Scoopy, and she looks much better than is average for her age.  I set about documenting her condition in photographs, then took the next step, suggested by our agent: I opened and photographed every cupboard, drawer, and closet.  As I did so, I realized how difficult it would be to reconstruct our belongings from memory! 

Funny, so little of the stuff is worth much on its own, but the aggregate would be very costly to replace.  Think of all the stuff in your medicine cabinet!  Dishes, glasses, cooking utensils.  Towels, sheets.  Clothes, shoes.  Books.  Small appliances. MP3’s, CD’s, cell phones.  We would all be able to remember our computer/s, television/s, camera/s, the big stuff, the costly stuff… but all those small, well used things that would need to be replaced would add up quickly.

Replacing my heavy pans would be a couple hundred bucks.	Spices:  Three to six dollars a jar… you do the math!	A vacuum sealer, toaster, some fancy oils and vinegars…

Tomorrow we’ll tackle the bays.  I plan to scan the receipts for the new electronics and the bill from RV renovators, then put those files, along with all the photos, on a DVD to send off to a family member – and maybe upload them to a private Picasa album when I have a good, fast WiFi signal.  That done, we’ll be back to “normal” life again, in our newly rejuvenated traveling home.  Done!