One Reason a Tent can be an UpGrade Over our Current Apt.

Sunday morning I had a dream. Members of my church were over at my house working with Billy. They were fixing everything that could possibly involve the use of water. Dishwasher, Washing Machine, ... the Washing Machine was packed down and heaped over with rancid clothing and I kept saying "how could this be?" ... Mainly because I have an apt with no dw no washer. There was also something about the showers and sink. I dunno.

So ... woke up ... went in bathroom ... ewww I hoped the shower curtain just needed to be replaced and the mold and mildew from the apt across the hall wasn't migrating.

Opened the apt door to take the dog out and I nearly gagged on the mildew in the main hallway. I spent the morning making sure that the front door stayed open.

Today I unpacked another box of clothing that didn't get unpacked when we moved in 7 months ago. The purpose of the exercise was to be to toss/give away more of Billy's old clothes. Well ... the lower 1/3 of the box had mildew in the box ... This is the second box of clothes we found in this condition.

Plus, any clothes hanging in the closet that haven't been washed in the last month or so were kind of stiff feeling from being lightly covered with the mildew -- you know just enough to make them smell musty. So, two more hrs at the laundry mat and another $15 later, we have removed all the mildew from the clothes that I could find. I hope.

There's no point in discussing this with the landlord. Trust me. The apt across the way is empty (for the second time in 5 months). I always know when he's about to show it. He shows up with bleach and paint the day before. He knows. (I always pray that the person doesn't rent it -- I've already watched 2 single mom's struggle with the situation.)

Three more days.

Why are You doing This?!

There's a really long version and there's a really short version.

The really long version goes back to the first time we did this about 8 yrs ago. I'll give you a short version on that ...

We lived in a house. On the (spring) day that the heater died, we decided we were sick of the house. We decided it was time to live where we wanted to live -- in an RV. We did a quick sale on the house. We had 30 days to move out of a house in which I had raised my kids.

Every time we went to look for an RV ... no matter what was on the lot, we were about $4k short of what we wanted. With about 15 days left, Billy was ranting one day about "how are we going to get everything done and find a place to live etc etc."

I turned to him (from packing) and said "Let's go live in a tent for the summer. We have a membership at the campground. It should be easy. By the end of the summer we should be able to buy the kind of RV we want." After he figured out I was serious, that's what we agreed to do.

So about 15 days later we turned the key in the door to the house and moved into a tent. Then ... about 15 days after that began about three years of poverty. Billy's work contract suddenly all but dried up. We ended up living off of the money we'd made in the sale of the house. And things got messy.

BUT we did indeed live about five months in a tent (then a very old RV and then a hotel and then the very old RV and then my daughter's apt and then things improved based on a lot of prayer and faith.) AND our favorite time in all of that was when we lived in the tent. AND we've always said we'd like to try it again. So that's the really short version of the beginning to this story.

The really short version for why we're going to live in a tent again, now, is ... we got a surprise release (supposedly ... we'll see for sure in a few days) from the lease that we have on a death trap, um er uh, I mean apartment. The apartment we're living in ... well ... that's a story for another day. Let's just say that we've had the fire department out more than once.

So anyway ... the release from the lease came as a bit of a surprise ... and when Billy came in and said "Well we can find another place to live..." I said ... "Let's go live in a tent."

I keep reminding God that this time is suppose to be just for fun. We'd really appreciate it if Billy could keep his job this time around. Have I mentioned that? Yes, Billy will still have to go to work most days. Although it is convenient that his two weeks of vacation time renews July 1.

Ok I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow is another long day.

A Friend and I did Tent Recon Today

Last night we put up our old tent to see if we would even get a few nights sleep in it. We quickly decided it would be a great way to start out challenged.

So, today, instead of doing laundry at the laundry mat, my friend and I took off for Danbury, CT. She knew exactly where she wanted to start: EMS aka Eastern Mountain Sports

I was impressed with the construction of the EMS Pallas 6 Tent. The construction design, the poles, the zippers, and the anchor strap design all match up with the large size of this tent. And the fact that it's currently on sale for $335 doesn't hurt!

So the tent is on reserve for the man to consider tomorrow afternoon.

Thennn the friend drug me over to the shoes and forced me to put some shoes on hold. They're her favorites. No. Wait. They're my favorites now. The pair I chose this trip is the MERRELL Women's Moab Ventilator Hiking Shoes

Huge thanks to Kevin and Walter! They made shopping very interesting and productive because they knew their products. More: they knew how to match our goals to invaluable information about camping in the area (and to more products but that's irrelevant).

So now ... about this packing avoidance issue .... hmmm ...

Separation Anxiety

I have some really old clothes ... rags. Every time I start to toss them out, I think of the other times I ended up without money. I hesitate. I finally had to get Billy to tell me it was okay to throw out the worn out stuff. If I wouldn't wear it to the coffee shop, it should go out.

Okay.

However, I am suppose to remember that clothes I would not want him wearing to the coffee shop are not the same clothes that he would not wear to the coffee shop.

Right.

So. I can toss all of his clothes except for 2 shirts. Got it.

Wow! You'll be able to save sooo much money!

Maybe. If we didn't have to have electric. If we didn't have a dog. If we didn't want a big really-waterproof tent. If we didn't want to set up a full time "storage closet." Oh and if we didn't want to stay connected to the Internet in a really great way.

More. Later. I need to be packing.