The summer of 2000 I took a 7 week cross country trip from Montana to Maine to Nova Scotia and back. 

This was by car.  It was the trip that got me thinking RV as I had my dog and cat and hated the hotel/motel thing - especially with them as small motels were definitely easier but the condition of beds, a/c and general amenities was lousy!  But that is a story told in a previous post “How I got into RVing”. 

On that Summer ‘00 car trip I worked a 1/2 time work schedule.  For 6 weeks of the trip I was in a different motel/hotel/b&b every night - travelling/sightseeing during the day.  On those driving days I usually worked 2-3 hours - some in the early morning and some in the afternoon/evening after I stopped.  For 1 week of the trip I worked full time as I had an ocean front cottage for a week - no driving - and I was able to set up an office space on the dining room table.

Although a lot of my work was done offline, I needed internet connection to pick up email and deliver work as well as to connect to UCLA’s communications server to provide support and monitoring - I was the only programmer for them at that time.  The point is, I absolutely needed to get through every day at some point and at that time, the option was dial-up.

(**you can barely see the phone cord snaking from the computer to points aft in the photo - there was a wall phone jack at the other end in the kitchen are.  You will note that the view from my cottage office was tough to take!  )

Fast forward to 2007… what a difference 7 years makes!  In fact things were not much “harder” in 2005 when I spent 7 months full time in the motorhome crossing the U.S. and back. 

Cellular aircards that work with laptop computers have made it possible to get internet connections in many places.  In 2005 there were only a couple of spots where I could not get internet via my aircard when I wanted it and in those cases Wi-fi was available. 

Pictured above are the air cards I use now.  They both have broadband capability (EVDO with Verizon) as long as broadband signal is available.  I have been getting broadband signal many places and in the last trip from MT to FL had broadband on every overnight stop except one - I had dialup speed that night but I could have hopped on the RV park’s Wi-fi if I needed something faster. 

Whooeee - for someone like me who is somewhat dependent on internet connection for work as well as keeping contact with friends and family all over, it is pretty amazing. 

Getting to FL…dial up was the only “wired” option and not fast enough for most of the work I need to do.  Satellite Internet was our only option for working from the house.  The service itself costs no more than I pay for DSL from the phone company in MT and the initial setup/dish was not prohibitively expensive as I get a bit back from the business expense. 

Sometimes when I take a break and look out the window at the dish and think about all the stuff going to and fro - and mostly without a glitch - amazing!! 

Above is the satellite modem to the left and the router to the right.  The router broadcasts a wi-fi signal that is useable all through the house, and outside as far as my motorhome which is about 80 feet away with a garage between…

The calendar says December 8 - 2 1/2 weeks until Christmas…but the temperature gauge says 80!!!  A bit warm for this Montana girl and her northern breed dog!  The A/C is running even!  I miss the snow and the cold and a crackly fire but I confess that I am enjoying balmy mornings on the back porch.  Karl has found his “cool” spots under Bill’s truck in the shade of the carport or on the patio which stays shady all day.  And actually, I’m writing this ”from the back deck” as the sun is starting down, shadows are long and the temperature is already dropping and is pleasant in the shade at 75ish.  Kind of funny, sunset here is not that different time-wise than MT - sunrise, however is more than 2 hours earlier… 

Karl found another spot that he thought would be good for napping - with just a bit of digging…unfortunately it was in the azalea bed or at least adjacent enough that the digging needed to be discouraged with a couple of buckets.

The other oops has been the leather couch.  My Montana furniture is leather also and I never prohibited Karl from getting on it.  He usually only got on the furniture on hot days - probably the leather stayed cooler.  One afternoon he decided it was warm enough and made himself comfortable on Bill’s couch…they had a discussion regarding that - maybe more than one…

The azaleas are the other non-Christmas thing.  A couple of them have been blooming -  beautiful and per Bill, a bit unusual.

Alan Watts wrote “The Wisdom of Insecurity” in 1951.  I recently read it on recommendation from a friend in the context of a discussion we had about taking risks.  I intend to read it over and over and especially if I find myself “losing my nerve” as happens on occasion - when the circumstances of life threaten to overwhelm or worse - when I find myself saying that I must be cautious or careful…

Watts writes of the distinction between

belief - to wish something is true, to “know” what is happening and so giving us security

faith - to trust, which requires being open and giving up the security of belief - acting in unsure knowledge

I read from Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest” nearly every morning and have for the last 11 years.  A short description of who he was reads: ”Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish minister and teacher whose teachings on the life of faith and abandonment to God have endured to this day.”  Interesting choice of words - most would say that Oswald Chambers was a man of belief and conviction - a religious man.  I don’t know that that would be untrue - I do think it interesting that he is described foremost as teaching “on the life of faith”.  One of my favorite (out of many!!) of his writings is:

“You have to learn to go out of convictions, out of creeds, out of experiences, until so far as your faith is concerned, there is nothing between yourself and God.”

It has been suggested that I make life changes easily - that the decision and subsequent action of “following a dream” comes easily.  Most people are not privy to the internals of my (or anyone else’s) decision making process.  In my case, do I look at every situation backward and forward - analyzing the pros/cons and possible consequences ???  Uh, not exactly…  Neither do I blindly step out with no thought to consequence (to myself or others) and no plan for failure.  Somewhere in the middle I think - leaning a bit towards stepping out - in faith.  I say, “in faith” because my point is we can NOT be sure of, nor control the future. 

My absolute belief - MY truth - is that there is very little that we can control - there is no real security.  There is no amount of money, no pension, no state of health, no state of relationship that is “secure” - all can be lost in an instant in circumstances uncontrollable by me.  It is a very freeing thing to know that.  I have been on the brink of losing it all and the act of putting one foot in front of the other - stepping forward in faith - that is my “security”. 

Color me foolhardy, naive, a dreamer and hopefully a doer - may I always “go out of convictions, out of creeds, out of experiences”! - and may I be closer to God in my work, my play and my relationships - all of my life and living.

There must be zillions of sunrise sunset, moon, star, sky photos in everyone’s albums…including mine!  But I can NOT resist trying to capture what happens when light reflects, refracts - whatever it does that paints the sky and the air in pretty colors.

Yesterday morning, I was out earlier than I have been as I had an early appointment in Panama City.  I was on the back deck watching Karl  on his morning rounds when things started changing.  It was almost like a type of aurora borealis as the color spread across the sky with the rising sun.  It was very cool (for Florida!) at 28 with light frost on the ground making it a bit sparkly as the light grew. The partially red oak trees were glowing against the green pines, sandy background and rosy sky.

I love playing with the panorama function when I can and as I looked around I wanted to get everything I saw.  This is the best I could do - click on the image to see it full screen on a separate page.  (**both this site and any full screen shots are best viewed at 1280 x 1024 if you have that capability)

and more…

No decorating in the halls, or rather hall, but we had some fun adding a bit of Christmas cheer to the front room.  The stockings were hung immediately after Thanksgiving.  Bill fixed the Christmas house shown on the right and I had the little silk tree which needed a bit of straightening after it’s ride from Montana…  

The “angel Bear” has been my tree topper in years past.  We decided to have just the little silk tree this year.  I haven’t even seen Christmas trees for sale here and since we just finished reorganizing stuff and barely a cupboard or closet with a bare spot - we’ll skip a big tree…

Almost time to get some eggnog, makings for hot buttered rum, a Christmas roast…

There might not be snow for this Florida Christmas, but there will be the colors, smells, Joy and celebration that are the reason for this season.