Saying hello!

[Element Gypsy]

Just want to say hello to all of you.
I moved to northern California so I can't come to the RTR. Glad I have a little place to call home now in a clean environment. I really enjoyed traveling for the past few years but my health was declining and needed real shelter.

Now that I am up north, I hope to take some small trips, the PNW in the summer. 

Let me know when you are in the area and we can meet up.

Be safe and take care of yourselves.

Dee

 

[Carla618]

Glad you got a place, Dee. Hope you like it.

 

[travelaround]

Sounds similar to me.. I'm also in Northern California...Klamath River area... not sure when I'll travel again.. right now trying to get iinto a mobile home. How far are you from Yreka?

 

[maki2]

Hi Dee, such good news, thank you for the update that you now have a place to call home. I will likely be in the PNW in the PNW this summer enjoying travels in my Honda Element and little travel trailer that tags along behind it.

 

[Element Gypsy]

Hi everyone,
I am doing ok here. A little lonely. I don't know anyone here yet and have not gone out to coffee shops or bars/restaurants as I am on a really tight budget, but I do enjoy being back in nature and out of the concrete and traffic of SoCal. Went to the Redwood Community Forest today and hugged the trees.

Travelaround..I am in the Arcata , so not far. Hope you are well and maybe meet one day.

Maki2...I keep thinking I would like a little trailer to pull, but at this point I would have no place to park it when not in use and the vandals and thieves are relentless. If I decide to sell the Element one day I will get a big van.

I am hoping my health continues to improve and be able to earn money. It is so hard living on social security. I am looking into on line jobs but there are so many scams and sometimes I am in so much pain or have incredible fatigue that thinking/learning something new, is hard.

I have my sewing machine set up but not feeling very creative at the moment. I am trying to learn how to make the embroidery iron on patches. I have a design of a VW bus I will try. I would need to get and learn the proper software to design my own, but there are services that make the file for you to upload to the machine. Maybe come up with some cool designs that I can sell, like an Element or Van, travel/nomad thing.
I have been researching items that sell well on etsy, etc so maybe something will be a good income stream. Kids stuff sells well, like Tu tu's and applicait t shirts. Will try book marks, key chains and patches first. Need supplies$$$

My food stamps increased to $160 now that I pay rent so I am very thankful to have more food.
The system is so broken. When i didn't pay for rent (vandwelling, homeless, traveling, staying at my friends) my food stamps were only $30 a month.

I wish you all well and be safe.
Dee

 

[maki2]

Sounds like you are making progress. The being lonely situation is often the case when you are the new kid in town. Being low income makes it even more of a struggle since you can't hang out in coffee shops or burn a lot of gas going places such as recreation centers and the library. Of course it also make it hard to take classes, even the free ones, as you often need materials for the class. Volunteering is also a gas burner.

For sure there is an issue with break-ins and casual theft in that area of the Pacific Coast. It is not so cold that people can't survive in tarp tents back in the woods.

Machine embroidery work sounds like a very good way to supplement your income. Not just for selling on Etsy, but also for local groups and gift shops. Look into the software and before you buy look for how to learn that particular software videos on youtube and from the companies website.

I know all about pain and fatigue. But I keep chipping away at it for controlling the pain. Changed from Ibuprofen type of meds to a prescription one for arthritis and that was a huge help. In the winter my brochial get inflamed so that means low energy if I don't make sure to use an inhaler once a day to keep that inflammation down. Not enough oxygen means I turn into a couch potato. If my blood pressure gets too low I turn into a couch potato. If I get too cold at night my muscles tighten up and I hurt like heck all the next day and of course because I did not get a good night's sleep I am exhausted.

So keep a chart and try to figure out the triggers and work with the doctor to get the right balance of medication for pain relief that does not leave you too tired. You also need to evaluate your meds so that they do not impinge on your ability to learn and retain new information, some medications can do that. Remember, oxygen levels are also critical for clear thinking. I also pay attention to that because some days are better than others and I want to avoid things that mess up my short term memory since I do work with complex software and I do use it for design work where you have to keep a chain of thought going while you are working on the project. Plus of course setting up and calibrating the machine that will be running on software. You must be your own advocate, you have to know how to talk to the doctor and present that list of specifics you need in order to have better function. No whining to the doctor, just state what you want such as being able to do such as learn some new complex information, reduce pain and increase energy. if you are on medications a pharmacist can check your meds to see if they are inhibiting you from doing what you want and perhaps even suggest alternatives that would work better for you, ones that are covered by your insurance

 

[Element Gypsy]

Thanks Maki2, I have been watching a lot of videos on the set up and softwares. I spend a lot of time learning from other blogs and sew sites. I was gifted a bunch of fabric and she said she has more! Now I am organising my space to make it better for sewing, ironing and storage of supplies.

I think I will make some quilted type of window covers for the Element. I still want to make it better for camping trips this summer. When my storage unit was robbed, then my car, I lost all my clothes. So I am going to try to make myself some things. It's nice to have internet all the time now and I watched Next in Fashion. Always inspiring. I used to watch Project Runway.

Thinking I will make some tote bags for sale and do an embroidered image on them.

I think the E needs valve adjustment now as it has stalled a few times when coming to a stop sign and it is not safe. Element Owners Club forum talks a lot about that and now need to find a mechanic.

Had a good week and the new doctor was good. I try not to beat myself up over loosing days or not doing what I want to do because of pain and fatigue. I use that down time to learn and read.

Hope you all are well!