24/7 Chat About Anything

[NctryBen]

Boy maki, great advice for gypsy108. Its so easy to get discouraged. I’ve been very discouraged with lack of doctors abilities to help. The medical profession is overtaxed with so much they are willing to basically toss a dart at a board and that’s what’s ailing you. Grumble grumble! Haha. Anyways, I had a good morning, but definitely dwindling in energy fast. (2:30 here).
Got some more of my electrical system today and that kinda keeps me upbeat to keep making progress. I sure hope for some decent weeks ahead. I’m thinking of trying out the mayo since there is one in the Phoenix area. But lately it seems I’d be better served going to a veterinarian clinic... my dog has had way better luck with her doc. Hahaha!
Well, off to change car insurance providers and get some supplies up town (30 miles away). Still thinking of not working for a couple weeks. Rest sounds kinda nice!

 

[Gypsy108]

Maki...are you eating yogurt or some type of probiotic to replace the gut flora ?   I know you are absolutely right about all that it takes to have a business & stuff.   If i wasn't so stressed out in my personal life & was happy, I'd have a lot more energy to put into it.   I hate the business aspect of having to promote yourself.  I used to have what it takes.  But I've lost my spark.  I thought the beauty of what i made would be enough to make people want it...haha.  If you tasted my Tres Leches you would fall in love & it would sell itself.    But yeah.....just look at what they have to go through to make a commercial to make people want it.   I hate brainwashing.  Haha.    

The public is a strange fruit.  I don't like it.  I don't wanna be a public figure....I don't wanna attract a bunch of attention to myself.  I just want the jewelry to do all the talking.  Ha.   I am a bit eccentric i guess.   I am a romantic that has had the rose colored glasses ripped off & i don't know how to live in this f***** up world.  I am an idealist.  An artist.  I need an agent....haha.....

Blows my mind how doctors have deteriorated .......there are a few exceptions of course....but i have lost my faith in Western medicine....

So sorry Ben that you haven't been helped.   I wish i could heal people.  I need to start with myself first though......
I used to have soooooooooooooooo much incredible love & compassion....but now i'm killing flies & bugs ......

My next amazon purchase will be a try-fold mattress.  Maki is right about conventional S & B needs & wants (my S&B twin size beloved mattress i wanted to shove into my car)   For one thing, I'd have to haul it down from my attic art studio into my car to see how it fits...then I'd have to haul it back up the stairs by myself before HE got home......just too much stress & rigamarole.....so I'm gonna oder a Tri-Fold mattress....I'll have to pack everything up in ONE AFTERNOON while HE is at work.....then i will take off when i have all I'll need to start out.....i still need to get a tent & Jackery 500.  Oh, and a cooler

 

[maki2]

Nctry Ben, The Mayo Clinic is a good choice. They have experienced diagnosticians, technicians and good equipment too.

 

[travelaround]

Gypsy - good idea to get your Jackery before starting out - I know Amazon won't deliver one to my PO Box - it has to be sent to a street address.

 

[maki2]

I tried taking my first selfie today. Woops, I truly need a haircut. That photo went right into delete. I did stop to get a haircut at a walk in place in Flagstaff last week but it was a 90 minute wait and I had other errands to get done that morning.

Maybe I can find a place to get it cut when I go to Williams AZ for groceries and hardware this week.

I was able to schedule the free annual medicare wellness visit this coming Monday at the medical clinic inside the Grand Canyon National Park. It is not just for emergencies, they also have family practice physicians there and they accept medicare patients who are traveling who are not part of their regular practice.

 

[maki2]

If you are out traveling then things such as a Jackery can be delivered to a UPS store. They do charge a $5.00 fee for deliveries.

Last week when I picked up a package at the general delivery at the Post Office in Grand Canuin Village I was told I had 1 month limit in the year to receive general delivery packages there. That after that one month time period I would need to sign up and rent a P.O. box if I wanted to receive a package there. That certainly limits convenience for people who need to get mail forwarding sent to them. I do need to get my private mailbox service to forward my mail to me so I guess I had better. Call and request that done in the next few days. They send it priority mail so it will get here. Before I move to a new campsite.

My Happy Camper mood and energy has rebounded. I will do some sight seeing in the canyon. Hopefully the shuttle bus tour that heads to the East; private cars are not allowed on the road in that direction. I also want to do the 25 mile drive to the West to the stone Watchtower. There is some camping in that direction so I will wait until it is time to break camp before I go to that part of the park. Eventually I want to head towards Taos New Mexico but it is still monsoon season and that area is still getting some heavy rain from thunderstorms. Less rain here in Northern Arizona so I will wait. Monsoon season last through the month of September. So that is just a couple of 14 day atays away! That time will go very quickly.

Yesterday when I drove into the park there was no line at the entry point. No lines inside the park either. Summer is not over, the weather is very nice. The reason for no lines is the school year has started for the public K 12. Weekends are not as crowded either because of the outside sports activities.

 

[1shemp]

We had a problem in Parker P.O.Clerk said they would only give out general delivery between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00.By the time Vic got through with them,they were glad to give her the mail and see her on her way.There are a lot of petty people in this world who try to impose their will on others.

 

[vanbrat]

Finely, Van is almost all packed, Hubby is not broken, it is not pouring down rain or 103. Nobody is getting married, Nobody is sick, and Time to go have some fun.
My van kitchen is soooo well packed and the bird is ready to go to sons for the next few weeks and work knows I'm going and and and ....... I'm so excited.
I have books ready to start, I have my sewing stuff ready to work, I have my sandcastle tools packed, I have my watercolors ready, I have my kite ready to fly, the sling shots are packed, videos are almost packed (hubby loves his movie time) hubby has his mini golf club ready and his pool Q packed, Even he has a book or 2 ready, the chess set is packed, dog's toys are packed. We are ready!
Oh yeah tooth brush is packed too.

 

[shadowmoss]

Obviously you priorities are in proper order. Enjoy.

 

[maki2]

Sounds like you are heading to the beach! Great choice for a vacation, here is hoping you create great memories.

 

[travelaround]

Vanbrat - I'm so happy for you. Have a great vacation!

 

[maki2]

I have no need to glamp up my popup shelter when what I see while I am sitting inside of it is far more lovely to look at then anything I could find in stores decorate it with. That has been true of every location I have camped in since I purchased it.

So that is what I see through my window of my trailer this week as well a from inside of my popup shelter. This area of the Kaibab Forest has a mix of 2 types of pines, native oaks, and Junipers. The tree in this photos is a fairly old Juniper judging by the size of its trunk and its height. The Big Sage bushes are a very pretty color and in robust health. The forest service has thinned out the trees in the section over the years partly for fire reduction as this area abuts the Grand Canyon National Park, so trees are slo are in good health. No cattle here but there are horses on the free range grazing. I saw them from my camp yesterday. Of course some elk as well but I have only seen scat signs for them. Today's visitor was a skinny lizard, first one I have seen at this campsite.

 

[highdesertranger]

cool Maki. Even green grass. Highdesertranger

 

[vanbrat]

Maki love the pictures you post. That is one very old beautiful tree.

 

[maki2]

There is a lot of green grass in the high elevation area where there is some shade created by the forest. It is monsoon season and there has been enough rain to bring this Northern Arizona area area out of the several years drought. The grass is even more plentiful in the Coconino mountain forest as that area gets more rainfall and is about 5 degrees or so cooler than here on the high Kaibab plataue. It is not that many miles distant but the terrain is diffetent.

Today I had lunch with two new friends outside the grocery store in the Grand Canyon Village. A pair of good sized ravens. Park rules say I am not supposed to approach wildlife, but there are no signs posted forbidding wildlife to come up to the humans so they hung around while I was eating my sandwich. My last name means "Raven". I guess that means my clan has a totem animal.

 

[user 30781]

That's a beautiful pic, maki! And I am jealous of your ravens. I've made friends with crows but haven't had the chance to make friends with a raven yet. I love their voices! QUORK

 

[jacqueg]

They're fairly easy to befriend, under the right circumstances. They are really not afraid of much, but they do insist on being in charge. I have a couple here that are interested in the crackers I occasionally leave out for them, but really, I think they just like hanging out with someone so different!

They're favorites of mine - Salmon and Raven are the totem animals of this wet strip of coast I love so much.

 

[travelaround]

I had ravens in the neighborhood before the fire, but I don't know if they've migrated since then. I haven't spent the night on my property since last November or December... when I was living in the van after being allowed back into the neighborhood.

We're having a big outbreak of Covid near here in Southern Oregon and it is spread over into my county - not so much out here in the boonies, but because people here go out to Yreka and Medford for shopping, they could bring it back.

Haven't heard from RV guy in a few days. If my van ever gets worked on I'll be amazed. A lot of the problem is not having everything needed to get started. He was to order the solar panels. I guess he didn't get them yet. I hope he stays healthy... I know he's not vaccinated.

 

[Cammalu]

Ravens!!!!! How lucky. My favorite birds. I have a few crows here that I rarely see but can hear once in a while. I do have bird feeders out and peanuts but they never come.

 

[NctryBen]

I’ve never encountered a Raven up close with all the time I’ve spent in the back country. But have always figured to be an interesting bird. Crows on the other hand were always more closely encountered. I was helping my cousin with a pAper Route when I was 14 he was 12. At 12 he was 6’4” well over 200#. And he told me about a crow that would go after him every morning. We were in the last block of his route and all of the sudden he yells hit it! He dives to the ground and this crow swooped and his wing clipped my shoulder... I never reacted. I was to busy laughing at big tough Greg who parents didn’t want playing football with kids his age cause he could hurt them pretty bad. I figured the crow had a nest near by, but he sure had Greg’s number. Haha. I try to imagine encountering a Raven up close as they are so much bigger then a crow. That’s gotta be something.
TA, I sure hope you stay safe from the virus and your van gets built out soon. We’ve had covid come through our little town a couple times. It seems no matter how secluded people are it seems to hit most of us (I’ve had two confirmed cases). But even old 97 yr old Lois battled through it with little trouble. We had zero deaths here. One guy from up the road was on a ventilator for a bit but is doing fine now. But mostly milder symptoms in people I know. So I hope your carpenter uses good sense when he does come to build your van. You must be getting pretty anxious as September is right on our doorsteps.
Maki... it amazes me how the areas you describe are getting needed rain while others like here can’t get any relief. They just closed all dispersed camping near me. So anyone in northern Minnesota needing a place to park, I could possibly accommodate... although I’ll be doctoring some for some time yet. And I’d be getting my wings ready to fly south pretty soon. Haha. Falls here are the reason I’m where I am.
I love it here!.. But south I soon shall go...