by Phyllis McCrossin
We’ve been back in Michigan for 21 days. Time flies. I keep waiting for life to settle into a routine, but it hasn’t. Seems as though something is going on every day. I prefer blissful boredom over constant trips and errands.
Today we drove to Ann Arbor for a health follow-up for King. I think he was convinced there was something wrong. The doctor, however, thought he was doing well and reminded him it takes a while for the body to “bounce back” after open heart surgery. Soooo, life goes on.
In fact, every spring when we get back to Michigan we do all the mundane things like annual physicals, immunizations, flu shots (in the fall) and other stuff old people are supposed to do until they get too old to remember and then their kids take over.
We aren’t to that point…yet.
In the meantime – while waiting for old age, I guess – I’ve made a couple of trips to area thrift stores to stock up on material for my rag rugs. Our new trailer has a perfect spot for my rag rug loom when it’s not in use, I can also do some weaving inside during inclement weather, but for the majority of my projects I’ll be bringing my loom outside in working under the canopy King and I erect every year.
The winds here are too strong to put up the trailer’s awning safely, so we devised a “screened porch” of sorts with shade cloth, PVC pipes and metal t-posts. When the weather gets nicer I’ll add some hanging plants and voila! a screened patio has been created.
King is working as a groundskeeper at the campground again this summer and today – after getting back from Ann Arbor – he attacked the wood pile. I have a high school friend who still splits wood with an ax. King uses a hydraulic splitter. It’s still work.
I’ve started working in the campground store two days a week. My hearing sucks and I’ve joined the whistling hearing aid club. We shall see how long it takes before I drive customers away with my tuneless whistling.
In the meantime we are settling into our new(er) trailer. I joined a bunch of Facebook groups for ideas on how to take advantage of what little space we have.
What I’ve found is King and I are somewhat of an anomaly. While others are fretting about how to find space for their Keurigs and K-cup storage, I’m quite content with an old-fashioned percolator on the stove for my coffee. I can simmer a stew on the stove and don’t need a crockpot and I’ve been making bread without a machine since 1980. We actually eat fairly simply – lots of sandwiches and salads. I even make my own hummus – when the mood strikes.
Ahhh, simplicity. The simple art of taking things as they come and trying not to fret about it. We are learning as we go.
