RE: What does your RV forum name mean?
"Leenite" is a rearrangement of my real first name (Eileen) that was bestowed on me a loooooooong time ago by my kid brother and his friends. It started out as Leen-eye, then morphed into Leenite. Then it was shortened to just Ite. When my niece was born I became Auntie Ite, which I sometimes use in other forums and websites.
And no, my last name is NOT "Dover." :B
This was a fun thread - much better than fighting about WalMart. Thanks, CA Poppy!
RE: Civil War Tour
If you visit the Antietam battlefield in Western Maryland, be sure to stop and enter the stone gazebo which is the Maryland Monument. Since it honors *all* the Maryland troops who fell, both Union and Confederate, it brings the concept of "brother against brother" into sharp reality.
Also, something not strictly a Civil War site but significant nevertheless. If you're in Boston between Memorial and Labor Days, while the Boston Harbor ferries and water taxis are running, you can visit Fort Warren (on one of Boston's Harbor Islands). That's where Confederate Vice-President Alec Stevens was imprisoned following his capture.
RE: heavy heart
What a sad chain of events, OG. I'm so sorry for your friend's loss, and their family's, and yours. Sending warm thoughts your way.
Eileen
RE: If all is not lost...
I put *All* away so it wouldn't get lost. It's around here somewhere.
Look on the bright side: we'll find it when we move.
:B
RE: Shoe Storage
Hi, Finally
How about an organizer that hangs behind the driver &/or passenger seat?
There are several varieties you can buy online or at automotive supply stores:
Sampler at one of many online stores
If you like to sew (and what solo male doesn't? :W) here are instructions for making one:
DIY car organizer instructions by Mayfly
Otherwise, those narrow canvas closet-hanging things are great! I use one for my sheets & towels because I have no linen closet. I bought mine at Wal-Mart; it's part of their Mainstays line of household stuff. And if it's too long for your wardrobe, I suppose you could cut off the bottommost section(s).
RE: Amazes Me!
I am only nice when I`m mean, but I`m mean when I`m nice. However it is nice to be mean to nice people, and nice people should be mean sometimes!
Know what I mean? :h
Is anyone reading this or have I been blocked?!
That was nice. I mean it. :B
RE: When to retire
I visit a website called
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/
It will help with the whole issue of if you are ready or not.
Thanks for the link, Ski Pro. I bookmarked the site & will definitely check it out further.
RE: Hangin out on the internet
If I'm just hanging out on the Web, I might be streaming a movie, documentary or old tv series from Netflix or Hulu. Or I might be playing games at Pogo.com or one of the online jigsaw puzzle sites (Jigzone.com or TheJigsawPuzzles.com). I also listen to a huge variety of music channels at Radio.com or through my Rhapsody player.
Maybe I'm investigating a topic at About.com or Wikipedia. Or shopping at Amazon (or some other shopping destination). Of course, before buying books or DVDs on Amazon, I first go to my local library's website to see if I can borrow them for free.
I might hang out reading this forum, RVDreams, RVTravel or any other of a couple-dozen RV-related blogs and websites. Not to mention watching RV-related videos or other interesting things on YouTube. And there's always "window-shopping" for my future home at RV manufacturers' websites, or at RVTrader, PPL, etc. That's one of my FAVORITES!
Sometimes I pick up some overtime pay on the weekend by bringing home stuff from the office on Friday. Then I log into my employer's network and do data entry or spreadsheet work. But that's not really "hanging out."
There's a lot more. I don't know how I hold down a full-time job and get other things done!
RE: The Smoke Detector Story
Thanks for the laugh, Caveman Charlie.
Good thing you could reach the danged thing. Being "vertically challenged" I have to stand on a chair to reach my smoke detector. Last time I scrambled to silence the BEEP-BEEP-BEEP, I mis-stepped and went flying backwards off the chair, like I was auditioning for Cirque du Soleil.
RE: All available space....
Perhaps you could sub-contract one "division" of the business to another couple (or person), along with the equipment and supplies involved. You pass the orders along to them, they pay you a commission. You can keep your good customers satisfied, and still have some money coming in from that area, without all the STUFF.
Then enjoy the freed-up space and be really strict with yourselves about not taking on some other kind of work, or you'll be right back where you were.
De-cluttering your life is not easy. To change your living environment, change your habits; to change your habits, change your attitude.
Good luck with the de-cluttering.
RE: Night Skies at the Grand Canyon
bring back some of the beautiful night sky I knew as a child.
I grew up in the Southern part of Brooklyn NY (by Jamaica Bay) in the fifties; I couldn't see many stars at night, but I remember my Dad pointing out Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper. Now I don't know if one can see any stars at all there.
When I was about 13 we went upstate NY to visit some friends of my parents. I only remember 2 things about that trip: the awesome, astounding Milky Way splashed across the starry sky; and that I kissed a boy for the first time under that sky.
Prior to that, my experience of starry skies was at the Hayden Planetarium. Their Sky Show took place in a large, domed auditorium. The seats were arranged in concentric rows surrounding an enclosure that housed IMHO the most fascinating machine ever created, and its operator.
The machine was shaped sort of like a huge, metal Q-tip covered with hundreds of glittering glass lenses and tiny lights. The operator sat at a big, multi-section panel of buttons and switches which controlled the machine's raising, lowering, turning and tilting on its supports, and caused images to be projected from behind the lenses, onto the white surface of the domed ceiling. This machine could show you what the sky looked like at any hour, on any day of any year, in any area of the Earth.
The operator gave a very interesting talk while this was going on, and he would illustrate his talk by pointing to specific points in the celestial scenery with a special flashlight. Instead of a regular light beam, this flashlight projected a bright green arrow.
I guess you could call the machine a projector but that's like calling the Titanic a boat. And I thought that guy had absolutely the coolest job in the world. I still do. I would rather have been that operator, controlling the magic star machine, telling stories of heavenly events long ago to a hushed, enthralled audience, and wielding the green arrow flashlight, than be President. Or even a Rockette (my earliest remembered career choice).
RE: Maryland for full time Rv'ing
If you'll be closer to Pennsylvania than Virginia, that just increases the difficulty of living full-time in ANY kind of RV.
Yes, winters are easier in this area than they are in Buffalo, but that's beside the point. You would still need to fully insulate the underside of the rig, especially all parts of the water/plumbing systems.
RV roofs are flat, not designed to shed piles of snow or withstand a thick coating of ice. And they're only accessible by means of a cold, narrow metal ladder, unless you rent a cherry-picker. We had a mild winter in 2011-12 but that's pretty unusual.
Much as I'd like to have you & DH as (sort of) neighbors, I advise you to find some sort of temporary rental housing, and put off the fiver full-timing until DH gets a gig inspecting those bridges that go out to Key West. ;-)
Leenite in Baltimore
