tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32021232360762135492024-03-08T13:40:27.490-05:00Vita In Via - Planning For Our FutureVita In Via - Life on the Road.
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This is the plan for our future. It may happen in retirement, it may happen sooner. But there is a lot of preparation for such an undertaking: mental, financial, physical, and most of all, as we serve our Lord Jesus, spiritual.
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I will be writing about this process.
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"For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come." Hebrews 13:14</p></p></p>ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-64229088311496906952013-01-29T15:36:00.001-05:002013-01-29T15:36:59.645-05:00A REMINDERJust a reminder - this blog is now hosted at my new blogging site, www.VitaInVia.com. I no longer post here. The link provided will take you right to the main page where my blogs are listed, and you can select whichever one you want to read. The only blog I will be keeping here is My Nissen Fundoplication Experience (and that may eventually be mirrored at the new site). Please update your RSS ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-30080670616972169012012-12-17T19:51:00.001-05:002012-12-17T19:51:16.863-05:00Moving Day!I was planning to wait until Jan. 1st to move all of my blogs from blogger over to my Weebly site. Meanwhile, I have been frozen from blogging. By my own brain. Having to do things twice, or copy/paste, or decide which site to post what every time I wanted to blog. For the last 4 years, 2 months, and 1 day my brain just stops - or freezes when it is overwhelmed. And apparently all of this change ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-56836925292419875052012-10-20T11:43:00.000-04:002012-10-20T23:13:28.362-04:00WHO KNEW?!?!? :)(Just a reminder that this blog will be moving to its new home at the end of this year.)
Who knew that someone could to this sort of thing?? Not that I would want to, but just knowing that it is possible...although I suppose of one is able to build a house-on-wheels from the ground up - like a tiny house (such as the one pictured here, an idea that I have loved for years, and would do in a ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-16805948784781052722012-10-19T15:36:00.000-04:002012-10-19T15:36:09.211-04:00Life...Simplified...Giving up our home and living in a motorhome is going to simplify our lives. Ridding ourselves of 95% of our belongings is simplifying our lives. Streamlining everything from finances to subscriptions to online activity will simplify our lives. And so will the major undertaking and move that I'm already working on. And it should be complete by the end of the year.
Rather than have my activity ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-52932463079401712892012-10-08T23:01:00.000-04:002012-10-08T23:01:08.602-04:00FINALLY! Momentum Returns!Well, several things have given me renewed hope. I mean, face it, when nothing seems to be happening for months at a time, it is discouraging. On and off I've felt disheartened, but have also had periods of hope and excitement.
I've known for a while that I need to put up a web page about our plans and some information about our house as well. And finally, today I put everything else aside and ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-34658404595695370402012-09-29T23:32:00.002-04:002012-09-29T23:32:48.370-04:00Better Luck Next Time! :)The barter didn't pan out, and I'm ok with that :). I am super-anxious to be out on the road but the Lord apparently doesn't have us ready yet, but He'll get us there in His timing - which is the only timing that matters to us!
Meanwhile, we continue to pare down. We have gone through boxes - DOZENS of boxes - of stuff that has been packed and never unpacked for the last 2 moves! We now have allChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-19343421895254016452012-09-04T20:35:00.001-04:002012-09-04T20:38:27.924-04:00Step TWO!!Just got off the phone with the guy who has the 96 Vectra for sale. On to the next step: he and his wife want to see the house, they have some houses that they've fixed up for rentals apparently. We talked about general condition of this house and his motorhome, he said the Vectra will need some tires but that everything mechanical is in good shape. We need to see if it will suit us...he needs toChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-72401261511549160272012-08-21T12:29:00.000-04:002012-08-21T12:29:18.196-04:00Stuck My Toe In The Water!I actually answered an ad for someone who has a 1996 Winnebago Vectra that they want to sell or trade. The price for the unit is about what fixer-uppers are selling for in our very economically depressed neighborhood. While I hate thinking of my house as a fixer-upper, it DOES need new flooring and carpets, and a ceiling patch in the garage, so I suppose it would qualify? We're working on all of ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-18469119884800949082012-08-15T11:45:00.000-04:002012-08-15T11:45:17.164-04:00Where The Heck Have I Been?!?!?The first rule of blogging is, well, to BLOG. You lose readers when you don't. And I haven't. For almost 2 months. (I'd have thought it was just a month but the numbers don't lie!)
During this time I've been sick for over a week, I've spent a couple of weeks downstate when my sister had to have an unexpected, serious surgery, we've been working on things around the house to get it ready for ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-2043131517829321332012-06-18T16:21:00.001-04:002012-06-18T16:42:04.924-04:00You Think You Can Afford To Do This? SERIOUSLY???In answer to the question: YES!
There are a lot of skeptics out there, people who have either never considered, or have assumed they just couldn't, make it out on the road. And there are those who are full-timing who aren't sure we'll be able to make on our planned budget.
The first group, I feel I will just have to do it and not concern myself with the naysayers; if you are afraid to take theChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-63253013645923210032012-06-13T13:10:00.000-04:002012-06-13T13:10:24.158-04:00The BudgetI've already talked about our future setup for full-timing, we will either purchase one after we sell our home, or we will barter our home for a rig of equal value. That is undoubtedly the biggest expense we will face in starting out. Whatever we have from selling our belongings will be our "road egg".
We will be living on my husband's social security checks, he will be able to take an early ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-40652216346593599112012-06-12T10:10:00.001-04:002012-06-12T10:10:09.420-04:00Looking at RVsWell we went to our first RV dealer to look at units on Sunday after church. We were looking at used RVs of course, and looked at travel trailers, a 5th wheel, and several motor homes.
The one thing that stands out in my mind about the experience is that 2 of the units had such a strong mold smell that we could barely get in the door; in fact we turned around and left before we did get fully ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-71462005154359049232012-06-04T17:23:00.000-04:002012-06-05T13:54:03.206-04:00The Leading of the LordAs I've mentioned, I've been praying about this whole life-on-the-road thing. A lot. And as I pray I get more and more excited to see it actually happen. Even if we are able to move into our future rig and stay in the area until Pete retires. But that would require selling our house in this slow market...and it needs a few things done to it before we can list it, like replace some flooring, ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-15292070746745507462012-05-31T13:03:00.002-04:002012-05-31T18:01:42.163-04:00The Thing About Motor HomesI just keep thinking that, as much as a 5th wheel toy hauler such as I just posted (which is as near to perfection as I've ever found at this point!) would be totally perfect for us, a motor home is so much more practical. Yes, I know I've posted about this before...I just keep going around and around in my head about it all though!
If we get a Class C with an overhead bunk in front, I've got a ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-13692342938300525342012-05-31T11:56:00.002-04:002012-05-31T18:06:43.234-04:00THIS One Ticks All The Boxes!http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2008-Keystone-Sydney-31KWF-99313590
Hopefully the listing isn't gone by the time you read this.
IF I could get used to the idea of moving - traveling - with my birds in a 5th wheel, AND if I thought we'd be able to afford both a 5th wheel AND a new truck, THIS is what I would buy!
Already has bunks (ie, shelves) for bird cages in the garage, plus a window for ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-41219479943440882032012-05-30T20:44:00.001-04:002012-05-31T18:07:16.315-04:00Dreaming vs DREAMING!I have been dreaming about full-timing for a long time now. But now I'm DREAMING about it! All of the dreams I have while sleeping - all of the ones I remember anyway - take place in an RV, a campground, an RV park, or someplace similar.
Someone asked in the Fulltime RVing Facebook group which RV magazines people read. My first thought was, "When would I find time to read a magazine???" :) ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-85218293518715157392012-05-28T14:18:00.002-04:002012-05-31T18:07:55.834-04:00Funny How Our Entire Life Perspective Has Changed...I have written before about how I am so immersed in everything-RVing; I read dozens of blogs every day, belong to multiple Facebook groups, follow podcasters, watch dozens of YouTube videos, and visit a ton of RV dealer sites on a regular basis. All of these things only serve to make me want it to happen NOW! Of course, that is impossible, but it all is good impetus, that's for sure!
Everything ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-86310860122131042122012-05-10T11:37:00.000-04:002012-05-10T11:37:10.665-04:00A Change of PlansAs I may (or may not) have mentioned, Pete works full-time, and my job is seasonal (April-Oct). During the lean winter months we cut our spending down to bare bones, turn off our satellite TV, don't do any traveling or eating out, and just basically pare down our expenses to the minimum.
When I am also working, we usually do a little more of the things we enjoy, as well as accomplishing ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-9736508616539676482012-05-09T13:44:00.001-04:002012-05-09T13:46:26.066-04:00A Nice Older MH, and PetsIsn't this one a beauty? Only thing: we'd have to tear out either the couch or the dinette and stack cages there. Stacked isn't ideal. And they build the furniture around "stuff" - storage, wiring, whatever - so removing it completely isn't always possible, or is difficult.
Hubby asked me one day, "Have you ever thought of how easy this would all be if we didn't have all these pets?" While I ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-90659602336621587392012-05-05T11:40:00.001-04:002012-05-05T11:40:57.199-04:00It seems that class A bunkhouse MHs are few and far between...but when I saw this one I thought how well it would work for us! While I'm still pretty enamored with toy haulers, I could definitely imagine us in something like this. Bunks would of course hold bird cages. I even like the colors in this one, and it is absolutely my favorite outside decoration/paint job/whatever you call it that I've ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-55767000535407885212012-04-30T00:17:00.001-04:002012-04-30T00:29:53.813-04:00Mitch The RV GuyI watch a lot of YouTube videos about RVs, MHs, travel trailers, 5th wheels...I watch 'em ALL. I've seen hundreds. And I see a lot of salesmen (and a gal or 2) doing the demos. But Mitch The RV Guy is my favorite. They all give information, some inject humor, some show a little personality, some make me roll my eyes...but good old Mitch TRVG does it all! I've learned from him a lot of things to ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-65899535791029479512012-04-28T23:59:00.001-04:002012-04-29T00:01:53.947-04:00Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about!!PERFECT in every way!
ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-39842998155827827952012-04-24T18:37:00.001-04:002012-04-24T18:37:20.519-04:00If My House Sold Today......I'd drive about 4 miles and buy THIS. Then I'd find a truck to haul it. Then we'd hit the road - at least on my husband's days off work...
Ideally I would LOVE to have a toy hauler. LOVE IT! But a bunkhouse would be a good 2nd choice!
Too bad it isn't at KMart. Then I could put it in layaway! :)
(Of course, my house isn't even close to being on the market yet...but still...)ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-66299391582347669062012-04-24T11:53:00.000-04:002012-04-24T11:53:55.303-04:00If I Had the $ In The Bank...THIS would be in my driveway within days! It is perfect in every way for what we'll be looking for.
I guess I would also need a truck :).
(I will try to find this model on a non-ebay site so I can post a less temporary link.)ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202123236076213549.post-79678561058194875502012-04-11T16:19:00.002-04:002012-04-11T16:22:35.392-04:00Now HERE is Something I Like!While I'm not sold on a TT anymore (though that could change again!) I DO like this toy hauler with the side ramp. Given that I want to use that ramp as a patio, it would make so much more sense to have it on the "yard" side of the trailer, rather than sticking out the back, don't you think so?Other than that, though, the garage section wouldn't suit my birds since there are no windows. And the ChiaOwlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00847036637913460413noreply@blogger.com0