Rewind and Fast Forward - 11/2018 to Present

[JuliaAnne2018]

I would have continued through the winter staying in the shack behind my uncle's, but I had issues with nosy neighbors and animal control as far as living in the back 40 of my uncle's place with my dog.

Where I Stayed This Past Winter

My uncle allowed me to stay with my dog in the basement. I eventually bullt her a 4' x 6' kennel with some of the materials I was going to use for my homemade tiny house/camper. Just so she wouldn't destroy anything at my uncle's place while I work outside the home.

Struggles I Had

I struggled with a lot of opinons from people about WI winter. It actually is not even the coldest nor is the place with the most severe winters in the world. And I've lived here all my life. I should know what it's like.

I am putting all that behind me, though, because I have an idea of what I need now to get both through the summer and winter here. And that is what I choose to focus on now.

What's Going On Now (June 2019)

My uncle that I was staying with died a couple of weeks ago. There was a lot of pressure on me to get rid of my dog. She is no longer on my uncle's property.

I got my dog boarded during the week while I work, and my plan is to take her camping 1-2 days on the weekend. I'm hoping that will buy me time til I find her a home in a no-kill shelter if I decide I can't properly take care of her while living in a car.

I am officially down to a car load. I have just about everything I need for both summer and winter.

By the way, they're currently clearing everything out of my uncle's place. According to his will, the house that my grandpa built has to be sold, and my late uncle's assets have to be divided amongst the remaining 11 (or actually 10 forgot one other passed away) siblings.

Right This Minute Where I Am, and The Bed I Made

I'm in the same WalMart parking lot that I slept in last fall after leaving a friend's place and before going to my uncle's last fall.

I still have this huge crocheted Afghan that my mother made (one for all of us kids). I found out it makes a great cushion that molds into whatever shape I need.

If my dog sleeps with me in here again, she would sleep to the left of me in the smaller space in the back seat, and I will extend my legs between the middle of the two front seats.

If this were my vehicle (my stepdad's car), I'd take all the seats out except for the driver's seat, but I can't do that. It's ok though cause I think even though the seat has stuff on it underneath my "bed," the back seat still provides shock absorption for the back.

I do have other ideas for making more room in here, too. But I can save that for another post.


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[ByeBye]

I remember you JulieAnne. Good to hear the update although my condolences about your Uncle and all the changes. Although it's none of my business I, for some reason, hope your dog does well with you and your plans. Wishing you the best.

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

I remember you JulieAnne. Good to hear the update although my condolences about your Uncle and all the changes. Although it's none of my business I, for some reason, hope your dog does well with you and your plans. Wishing you the best.

Sorry about the delayed reply. Unfortunately, before I could find my dog a new permanent home, she passed away.

Not sure from what but she was sick when I picked her up from the boarding place. I felt bad about that and still miss her but too late now. I didn't realize how bad she was because she recovered last year.

I'm probably gonna be spending a lot of time in my car even through the WI winter even though I have a full-time job because my mom is not a very nice person half the time even though I now have been giving her $ after she helped me out too many times -- doesn't make sense why she'd be mean and put me down at a time when I'm trying to make things right.

Especially if you knew anything about my family history and things she failed to do which I worked hard to move on from, and the whole point of paying her back is because I'm an adult. (She comes across as controlling and not happy no matter what I do whether I give her $ or have a job or not but I decided I'm too old to let her put me down this time).

On bitter cold nights (say less than zero degrees) I probably will check into a hotel or pay someone to let me stay at their house for the night.

I have a lot of winter gear I invested in last fall -- gonna invest in some more.

If worst comes to worst, I'll check into a shelter. But postponing that for as long as I can because I actually get a better night's sleep in the car than I ever did there. I hate the shelter, but if I had to, I may need ear muffs and plugs just to get sleep there.

I might even be working a 2nd part-time job so won't have to bear the freezing cold much.

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[RoamerRV428]

So sorry your pet passed away!
Happy to hear you are doing what ya gotta do to make it all work for ya tho! Keep on rocking!

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

It's been a crazy couple of months.

I can't remember which thread I posted in last where I got scared of dealing with WI winters was. I did try to rent a room from a couple back in October because I got scared of dealing with the winter.

As it turns out, for reasons I don't want to get into, it didn't work out for me to stay there.

About two weeks ago, I ended up back in the car at least half the time.

I bought a lot of winter gear including an extra sleeping bag.

The good news is, i haven't even used all the things I have with me to keep warm yet and have been able to stay warm.

My nose right now, in fact, is no colder this time of the year in 29-degree weather than it would be inside a home.

It is a lot easier to stay warm in here than the shack I was in when I stayed in my uncle's back yard. That's because the car does an excellent job of blocking the wind.

I also have extra pillows (memory foam) that allow for insulation. One is usually to the right of me on the passenger's side. I have another one I can put on the driver's side if need be.

I'm prepared for the worst in case it gets zero degrees or colder but saving money in case I can't stand it and gotta rent a hotel.




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[JuliaAnne2018]

Just wanna add:

The past 2 nights, a semi parked in front of me sideways, and that helps block the wind:

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[highdesertranger]

so glad you're ok, good to hear from you. highdesertranger

 

[ckelly78z]

You have a stronger will than most of us here. I can't tolerate being cold, and really don't need A/C in the hot Summers, so definitely i'm not built for Wisconsin Winters...good luck.

 

[travelaround]

Does sound too cold. Good you have a backup plan. I bailed on North Idaho when it got below freezing. So did my daughter, who was living in a skoolie. Now we're down near the Oregon/California border.. she's in a cabin type house and I'm in my van at an RV park so I can use their nice showers and other facilities.