I’ve owned my travel trailer for almost two years, but I’ve only turned on the TV to watch an occasional DVD movie. I’ve never tuned in a TV channel. I guess today I got a bit bored. It’s rained pretty steady for the last two days, and will continue through the night tonight, so I’m pretty much inside. So I fired up my 24” HD TV, powered up the digital roof antenna, and discovered that I get good reception on 16 channels. This photo doesn’t do the screen justice, it’s actually a crisp, colorful image. I know 16 channels isn’t a lot, but one is a major local news channel in Sacramento, so I figure I can run it in the background while doing important stuff and stay up on the Coronavirus situation. And hearing and seeing live people is keeping me connected to the outside world. But I won’t let it get addictive or become a distraction (… so I just turned it off! 😉).
Reese and I had been talking for some time about the virtues of purchasing an “Instant Pot” pressure cooker. Reese first made the plunge, and was getting good results cooking up dishes for Camille and himself. So I recently purchased one too. I’ve used it four times now, and so far it’s done a terrific job. So today I made a batch of chicken and wild rice vegetable soup. It made five meals, which I put into quart jars and then into the refrigerator. By doing cooking at home I’m saving money, eating better, and becoming a better cook!
Ron: “It’s Fuzzy the bear, and he’s out of hibernation early. Just don’t leave any food outside or where you can smell it. They’re pretty good bears they usually don’t destroy anything cuz Billy keeps a close eye on them.”
Me: “He’s probably hungry, so I’ll stash all food with a smell in the fridge. Thanks for the heads up!“
Ron: “Oh yeah they’re always hungry I know there was some paw marks on my garbage box by the road. A day or so ago that was Buddy the bear he showed up a few days ago. Of course and Billy’s got names for all of them. He knows them up close and personal. He said Fuzzy heard about the virus and now he’s hoarding food.”
Me: “Cute and interesting. How many homes have bears roaming around the property?”
It snowed last night. The elevation here is 2300 feet, in the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Further up in the Sierras they received up to 6 feet of snowfall and over 100 mph winds with this storm. However this isn’t enough. Snowpack levels have been down compared to last year. But the good news is more snow is predicted over the next 7 to 10 days. Let’s hope so!
I woke up this morning and went outside my travel trailer to look around. Here’s what I saw … a welcoming committee of deer! They live in the area and have been sleeping at night only 100 feet from me. But now that I’ve newly-arrived, they’re a bit uncertain about me. Maybe I should’ve made a reservation! 😉
With this Coronavirus situation going on, I’m learning how to “shelter in place”. But I’m in a great place, in the woods approximately 50 miles east of Sacramento, on the property of Ron & Linda, old friends of over 30 years. They have a beautiful home they built on the property long ago. They were just setting up at a show in Boise, ID a week ago when the show was cancelled on them due to the Coronavirus. Just like them, I was setting up at a show in Bakersfield, CA when it was also cancelled on me (actually my show was postponed until May 15-17, but I’m not real hopeful that it won’t get cancelled soon). And my following three shows in Costa Mesa, Del Mar and Portland were also cancelled or postponed. I learned that all gatherings of 250 or more people were now banned by California and Oregon, and soon most other western states where I work followed. Now the CDC is recommending that all nationwide events with 50 people or more should be cancelled or postponed for 8 weeks, or early May.
I’m with my truck & travel trailer, hooked up with water, electric, propane & sewer, with a herd of deer & turkeys nearby. I’m up against Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forest. Peaceful, quiet, perfect for getting stuff done.
I’m essentially out of work for now. So I’m hunkered down in the woods, studying online on how to build income selling products on Amazon (I just applied for and was approved by Amazon for an Amazon Seller Central account). I’m taking the best and most recommended course for that, the Amazing Selling Machine course (www.Amazing.com). I’m also fixing things with my YouTube account (“WorkSharpEasy”) so that it starts earning me money. I have over 10,000 subscribers and nearly 1.4 million views on my videos. Once I fix my channel monetization it should start bringing in income. Then I’ll shoot lots more videos, starting at one a week, and building it up from there. And I’m staying in touch with fellow salespeople who are also out of work to see what they’re doing and what’s working for them.
My travel trailer has been back at the factory getting repaired for many months now. I was driving north on Interstate 5 at night, when I hit a very large pothole at pretty high speed. It bent the “frame rails”, which are parts of the frame that keep the two axles aligned. It’s a very expensive repair, and at first my insurance company was balking about paying the bill. It took some time and lots of correspondence, but they finally agreed that it was damage from an impact, and not “wear & tear”. So they paid the costs and the work began. But by then I was in the middle of my annual Winter Tour of selling at the big Sportmen’s Shows. So I had to wait longer. But today I was near the factory (where the work was done) and picked it up, all repaired, polished and as good as new! I’m very, very happy to have my home on wheels back!!! 😊👍
Here’s a family video I shot at my cousin Sara’s beautiful home on Thanksgiving Day, 2018. We had a great time, connecting up over fun talk and yummy food. Sara roasted the turkeys, plenty of other gourmet dishes arrived from our talented family members, dogs & cat frolicked, we stuffed ourselves, and topped things off with Carrie’s famous pumpkin meringue pie. We sorely missed Merritt and Carrie this year, but it’s certain they were there with us in spirit. I posted the video to my YouTube channel, and you can watch it by clicking on this link:
I’m spending a couple of weeks camped-out in a redwood forest in the mountains in Ben Lomond, CA. I’m camping in my teardrop trailer, but I’ve parked it alongside the home of some long-time good friends. They have an amazing place: secluded, quiet, peaceful, with fresh air and plenty of sunshine and rain (depending on the season), and with star-studded skies on clear nights. And yet it’s not far from the hectic life of the Silicon Valley.
This morning I woke up to a sunny fall day, after several days of intermittant rain. So I grabbed a photo using a fun app called “Fyuse.” Click on the link below to see it. The image will scroll up and down (on it’s own, or by grabbing and dragging) or if you’re viewing it on a phone or tablet, it will scroll by tilting the device. Enjoy!
