Solar Sensation

Well, I have finally been able to get my solar panels installed this past week. It was not for lack of trying, however with the help of a friend, we got 'er done. We had delay after delay for one reason or another, and at one point he had a bum shoulder so couldn't lift his arm to do anything. So I borrowed his tools and drilled all of the interior holes myself and ran the wiring. Holes were a cinch - drill down and hope you don't hit anything inbetween. Then I had to cut a hole to flush mount the controller, and my friend could not seem to locate his jigsaw, or other small saws other than a hacksaw blade...so off I went with the drill and drilled several holes around the outline of the cutout, and then sawed my way between the holes. A job that would have taken 5 minutes with a jigsaw took 3 hours. Yes, hours. That is simply because while my mind was full steam ahead to get this shit done, my hands were protesting loudly, so I had to put the tools down every couple of minutes to shake the feeling back into them. I was super glad when my friend could once again use the tools and I could just hand them all to him. It isn't that I am not capable as I have used power tools for years and built a great many things, however the carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands is really being quite an asshole and I drop stuff all the time. It is definitely weird to scratch or touch your own body and not feel it in your fingers. Creepy even. Anyhow, the solar is complete. Now all I need is a really sunny day to test out their speed. It has been mostly cloudy since we installed them. The photos are of our installation and the chaos that reigned while it was happening, complicated each time we had to delay and I had to put it all back into place yet again. The thing about tiny homes is you really know how small it is when things are messy like this. 

I have been using the solar charged batteries since the install quite a bit and have now run them low, so am giving them a break to charge up again. I wanted to try out everything to see what kind of load it can take. I had my laptop going, phone or ipad being charged, and tv on all at the same time and it kept up without issue for hours and hours, despite the grey days. The panels do charge on grey days, but not as fast by any stretch. I reckon on a clear sunny day they could charge up in an hour or so, so we shall see once the sun comes back to us. We are heading into the rainy season here in Victoria. I'm hoping to hold out until after Christmas and then perhaps I might head south for a couple of months in the desert somewhere to escape the rain. That will depend on whether I'm working in Victoria or not. 

So with solar charged batteries and the house battery I should have enough power to run all of my tools to get down to business, literally. I have a printer/scanner, laminator, sewing machine, iron, and my television, which is not really for business although I will probably use it as my computer screen. It's a 24 inch LED tv, so low draw and looks great. 

The last important bit to be completed is a bike rack for the back so I can lock up and carry my bike on the RV. Right now it's locked by my friend's house. I did have it locked to the RV once but then drove off with it stil attached so we don't do that anymore...thankfully I noticed right away and did not wreck my bike. I have some shelves I'd like to install too in the closets, and above the inverter for putting things being charged and my laptop, where I play my shows and movies that output to the tv. 

It's all coming together, and it has been a lot of work, but I am slowly getting there. Stay tuned...

Ocean View

One of my favorite spots to go locally for the day is Clover Point. There is a lot of marine traffic to watch from Navy ships to Coast Guard ships, cruise ships, ferries, fishing boats, sailboats, etc. Nash and I love to watch out the window at the ocean and the business of the day. There are all types of fishing birds in addition to the hundreds of seagulls. I don't know their names however I think I saw a falcon at one point. There are also lots of tourists, walker/runners, seniors, and dog walkers. There are also others just like me, traveling about in a camper and parking somewhere nice for a few hours, which is the point of this post. What I was striving for most in my quest for the RV as a tiny house was the ability to change my external environment if need be without changing my internal envrionment, and the ability to do so easily. So on days when I don't feel like traveling far, or want to hang close to friends and engage in activities with them, I'll park curbside for a few days at a time without moving close to the house where my RV is registered. It's also where I've been showering since returning to the island. I haven't bothered with the hot water tank just yet until the solar power is up a I want everything working first. The solar is nearly the last thing to be completed. I need a bike rack for my bicycle so I'm not dragging it off behind me, forgetting that I locked it to the bumper. 

So today, even though it is an overcast and splotchy rain kind of day with heavy fog. Nash and I decided to come down to the point to smell the ocean. When the wind is on the land and the sea is a bit stirred up, the scent of the sea wafts in heavy with salt. Mmmm. What is it about the ocean that captures my spirit so? I can get lost watching the horizon, wave after wave rising and falling, whitecaps licking at the sky. The smell is intoxicating at times. And then an east coast song comes on and it all makes sense. I very much cherished the summers of my childhood spent seaside visiting my maternal and paternal grandparents in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, often for the entire summer. My first visit was as a 6 month old infant. Then one year I moved there and married my daughter's father and stayed for 12 years, the longest stretch I've done anywhere, given my nomadic life otherwise. The RV is my 47th home. I'm hoping to hold steady at 47. And parking by the ocean will always be in our future. How fortunate I am to live in a country with so much ocean coastline? I want to see it all. 

For now I will be happy with what is in front of me. I may go pick up this kitten who is snuggled deep into the blanket and cuddle him for awhile...

Rocking the RV Life

So I've been living in Gertie for 49 days. It has been glorious and a challenge as well. There have been snafus, let downs, tantrums, realizations, aha moments, cuteness overload, and just plain joy. Here are some bits and pieces of RV Life.

I bought a second hand bicycle over a week ago from a social worker of all things, and just love it. It's blue and I have installed a basket on the front for carrying stuff. I like the cruiser style more than a mountain bike or a ten speed. It has narrow tires for city riding, and curved handlebars for my comfort. I don't want to lean over that much, I want to sightsee along the way! I thought it might be hard to get back into riding and that I would be sore all over, but so far it hasn't been too bad. My assbones are a bit sore, but my legs are great, and I haven't gotten very winded at all. And oh how I love those gliding moments down a sloping hill. I brake often as I get a little terrified....in any case, the bike has been a great investment. I bike pretty much every single day. That's more exercise than I've had in a decade. The only issue is where to lock up and store my bike when not in use. I have locked it to signs next to Gertie, and then some asshole stole my bicycle seat. My own bloody fault. I had two locks on the bike, a u-bolt on the front tire and a thick covered cable lock on the the frame and back tire to whatever anchor I have. I forgot about the quick release seat. So I got up one morning and it was gone - and they had left their own crotch killer seat behind. Asshole. Off I went to the bike shop for a new seat. Then I started locking it to the RV, but that can be problematic when you forget that it is attached to the RV as you start driving...I only dragged it about 10-15 feet, thankfully. I need a bike rack on the back post haste, but they are a bit pricey so I'm on the hunt for a used one. 

Getting things settled in the best space for their purpose has been an ongoing thing in an RV. When living in such a small space, the onboard storage is not always easily accessible. I don't have any loose furniture other than a camp chair for sitting around a campfire or just outside the RV. I haven't been able to hang outside the RV much though as the trick to curbside camping is to not look like you are camping as it is frowned upon and restricted under city bylaws. So I can't just set up a patio on the nature strip...My clothes have been the biggest challenge as I have to admit, I'm a bit of a clothes hog. I don't go for designer clothes in the least - I shop mostly at Old Navy and import shops for clothes from Nepal. Cheap and comfortable cotton and linen is what I am after. Old Navy is certainly cheap when they have a good sale on but it awakens in me the need for more clothing when tank tops are $3. In any event, I have dozens of sleeveless tops, mostly because I was living in a hot climate (Australia) and I arrived in Canada as summer was coming on, so hit a bunch of sales. Without a full closet or a dresser, my clothes is split around the RV. I have two cabinets over my bed that hold my t-shirts, leggings, shorts, cotton pants, and tank tops. They are stogged full. Then I have a small short closet with a very short closet rod, so not that practical, so I just cram my big chunky sweaters in there. I have another longer closet with a rod, but again, not very wide so not useful for hanging clothes, so I have a storage shelf that hangs with all my sarongs that I am not using, larger scarves, thinner sweaters, and a couple of hats. Then I have the shower where someone thoughtfully installed a closet rod to use the shower as a big closet, so I have all my jackets, dresses, and skirts hung up. I put a second closet rod below for short skirts to add more room. I haven't used the shower yet though so I will find out what a pain it is to move the clothing out for a shower. It just doesn't seem practical to not use that space as I need it for clothes for 98% of the time, and only a few moments at a time as a shower. Then I have those fabric cube storage bins - one for shoes, one for my head scarves and bandannas, one for my winter accessories (mittens, scarves, hats, etc) and then I have a wooden box that used to belong to my father, stashed up in the loft bed with my undergarments inside. I have to stand on the sofabed to reach the box, which is fine, no problem, except yesterday I got up there to get something while getting dressed, forgetting that my bottom was wearing only underpants as I rooted in the box, also forgetting that I had yanked the privacy curtain across to access the box...therefore exposing my underpants to the block...hopefully no one was looking! 

So I have moved and shifted my belongings around and think I have found the best space for most of it, however I'm sure things will change over time. I have tons of storage space left as well, which is unusual, but welcome. The storage cabinet under the sofabed is completely empty. There is room in almost all of the other cabinets not housing clothes for tons more stuff. I had originally stored my sewing machine and fabirc under the bed, but that cabinet is tough to get to so I moved that stuff out under my bench seat instead. I've put my extra batteries that are going to be hooked up to the solar panels in that space instead. I had originally planned to put them in the generator compartment outside but it's far bigger than I need, isn't real secure, nor is it real protected from the weather. I bought battery boxes to store the batteries in, and will have them strapped down to be secure. They will be out of sight, and secure. I mounted the controller in my bed chamber on the wall of the closet. Then I ran the wires up over the fridge through the top cabinet to where the inverter sits on a shelf. We are putting the solar panels on today I hope, and their wires will come down into the cabinet in my bedroom. Then I will be able to plug anything I want in, as long as I get some sun every few days. I'll be able to use my television, sewing machine, iron, printer, laminator, and toaster oven. Yahoo! Let the creating begin.

I've been quite cozy in the RV. The furnace takes the morning chill off quite nicely, and the sun is still warm enough during the day to keep things warm until bedtime for the most part, depending on whether I had the windows open that day. I spent the bulk of my time in the RV either at the table on my bench seat, or on the sofa lounging with the kitty, reading or watching something on my iPad. I do look forward to the change of scenery in going to a different space for bed, which was a big reason I wanted a separate sleeping chamber with a curtain so I can close off the messy bed if I don't feel like making it. I love hearing the rain on the roof, so far anyhow...three months into a rainy winter and I could be feeling rather differently about that. I've cooked up big meals such as Thanksgiving dinner while camping in the woods, and I've baked cookies, pies, cakes, brownies, etc in my oven and it all went rather well. It is a bit of a challenge to cook in a limited space, but I made it work, and I can use the table as extra prep space, so that's where I roll out my pie dough and cool anything on a rack. 

I've been working on more seaweed art, and have several pieces framed and another bunch drying. I'm hoping to get in on a market sale this fall for Christmas and see how they sell. I am just waiting for my solar power so I can run my printer to print off some labels for the back with an artist bio and my pic. I also need to print off some business cards as well. Once I have more power I can also get back to sewing. I have a few ideas I want to try out and see if they can sell online. 

Sometimes when I get up in the morning I have to look out to see where I parked as I can't always remember. I've been up and down this one street most of the time when I haven't been out of town camping. I'm allowed to park here as the RV is registered to an address on this street, however parking an RV is not quite like parking a little Honda Civic...I need some space, so I can't always get where I want to but that's ok. I wish I could get somewhere for the winter, but both RV parks in town are full already and I didn't want to park until late November. But whatever, it only takes a few minutes to pack up and hit the road so I often just go spend the day at the beach, overlooking the ocean. That's where I collect my seaweed. Nash just loves it as there are birds galore to watch. 

Nash has his favorite spots as well. He has a cozy kitty bed up on top of the box my undergarments are in as it sits next to a window in the loft bed. He likes the front seat when it's sunny. He likes the floor of the cab when I'm driving as it warms up. Sometimes he curls up in the safe under the passenger seat. He also likes sleeping on the bench cushions, or just about anywhere on the sofabed. He does sleep in my bed with me most of the time, but when he isn't, he is usually in the loft kitty bed. His favorite place to watch the world is the front windows of the cab though and he sits on the dash or the steering wheel. People see him all the time and I hear them call out to him. Funny little guy, he is so cute but growing fast!

So I must pack up and get the dishes cleared up and hit the road. I'm off to Shaw to see what they can help me with. My friend just ordered the cheapest cable package and it comes with access to Shaw Open hotspots all over the place. Bell has something similar, but only Ontario and east. So I'm about to dump Bell and their overpriced services. Shaw doesn't do mobiles though so I have to find a new provider. 

Oh Nash...

Nash has been with me about a month or so now and it has been a happy adventure together. He is by far the most affectionate kitty I've had in a long time. He doesn't overdo it though, and loves to be held, petted, and to curl up on your lap. He plays and plays and is very easy to engage. He checks in regularly and I am greeted with a happy chorus of mewing when I am out and return to the RV. He often sleeps with me in bed, or on the foot of the bed. He hasn't been terribly destructive, though I am still trying to break him of scratching my seats. He uses the scratching post as well and it has lessened but not disappeared. Soft Claws may be in order. Having said that, here are some highlights of Nashlife in the RV:

- You remember just how small your space is when the litter box is in use and Nash drops a fresh one. Sometimes I have to leave the RV...or light incense. I had thought about putting the litterbox in the tub, in the bathroom, but I use the shower as my closet, so I don't want my clothes to stink like litter box. 

- Nash is stealthy to the max. I can be watching him out of the corner of my eye at one end of the RV and the next thing I know, he is beside me, playing with my hair. This kinda freaks me out sometimes. Like how did he travel that far and I didn't see it? Heh heh. 

- He loves to play in water. Like a cat. Like the asshole nature of a cat. He tips his waterbowl so often he has to be supervised with his water which has become annoying as hell. So I need a better waterbowl, or maybe a gerbil water bottle...The little darling also enjoys shoving his head and paws down into my water glass. I usually use a closed mug for my water but left it in Karma the other day. And so over went the water glass last night, full, right onto the table and bench seat. He had water in his bowl, but it was not nearly as exciting as tipping my glass over.

- cuddling a kitten really is therapeutic. I have long since believed this and I'm even more certain with Nash. I can be feeling anxious or upset about something and just holding him helps me relax. It sure helps that Nash loves to cuddle. I don't think I could take being rejected by my cat right now. Like Henry. Henry was a long haired ginger I had for a year in Yellowknife. He had to go. He was an asshole most of the time and refused to let anyone hold him and did not sleep near or on you ever. He destroyed stuffl all the time, and kept me up all night. Jerk.

- He can stand up for himself. When I brought him into my friend's screen porch aka the catio, her adult cats were very interested but Nash felt very threatened so up went the fur on his back and tail. He growled and backed up from them. I finally moved one of the most intrusive adult kitties out and put Nash on top of the cat tree and he seemed to settle a bit then. I don't think I will do that again until he is a bit older. 

- He LOVES treats and has already learned how to sit and look cute while waiting for them to be handed out. If he sees me getting anything out of the same cupboard his treats are in, he will go and sit by the scratching post where I first began giving them to him to train him to it. If I ignore him, he will then come next to me and demand them. I make him work for them though, and put them all over the place for  him to sniff out and find. He knows the common places to look but has quite a nose for there being one left somewhere. 

- He really enjoys it when I park somewhere he can see the birds. We went to Clover Point (ocean) yesterday for the afternoon and he loved watching the seagulls, crows and other sea birds. I napped listening to the ocean while he watched. 

- Nash seems to enjoy sleeping under his tent as much as in his tent, and sometimes on top of his tent. Hilarious. He has nearly wrecked it though as he is very rough and so I must attempt to repair it this morning. I want to make some out of t-shirts and coat hangers though so will source some steel coathangers, perhaps from a dry cleaner. 

- He loves children. When my friend's two year old comes out to see him, he winds right up and plays and plays with the little guy. They just seem to connect on a level of their own. So cute to watch!

- He loves beer and cider and wine. Okay, he is a boozer. When I had some friends over on the weekend he kept trying to drink their stuff. I will have to watch that one...

- I still have nightmares about nearly losing him in the black water tank. When I first adopted him, I was in the bathroom and he followed me in, which I don't mind but when I stood up to flush, he jumped into the toilet at the same time and I just happened to grab him in time, pissy front feet and all. If I hadn't, he would have surely gone down into the tank and died in a vile pool of filth. I would have laid down right on the road and died with him if that happened, I swear. So new policy - no kitties in the toilet until he is too big to fit down there. Also, no flushing until the lid is down and the bowl is kitten free...

So there you have it. Kitten life. I love him. 

- 

PTSD Unraveling

As many of you may already know, I have been dealing with PTSD for the past year, with my biggest symptoms being anxiety, panic attacks and an exaggerated startle response. I was diganosed down under in Australia and started on medication and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy weekly while still in Australia. I've since returned home to Canada, and have not been able to work. I've been living onmy savings and have withdrawn from an RRSP to buy Gertie so I would at least have somewhere to live, a safe haven that I owned outright. I don't know when I will be able to return to social work, but in the meantime I am hoping I can at least find a suitable part-time job to make ends meet. I'm also starting up my own sewing and design business to sell my seaweed and beach glass art, photographs, sewing projects, alterations, and hopefully some writing. However this is not an easy task for someone with PTSD, and in particular, anxiety with panic attacks,

On top of the PTSD, my hands are currently quite disabled with carpal tunnel syndrome and I am in desperate need of the surgery. I can manage to machine sew as I don't have to do much fine fussy work for what I'm sewing and I can guide fabric through without issue. I cannot hand sew much at all as what I struggle with most is grasping items. I drop stuff all the time. I struggle with holding a cup or glass, a pen, my phone. forks and knives, a pen, mouse, and the steering wheel at times. I can no longer even consider knitting or crocheting which is a huge blow as I dearly enjoy it. Typing this up is also a challenge. I have such numbness and tingling in my right hand that it is a constant buzzing annoyance, you know, that feeling when your arm is waking up after falling asleep. Well I have it day and night in my right hand. 

So what does this all mean and why am I writing about it today? Well, I have also been struggling with advocating for myself, and explaining why something is diffcult for me. On the outside, I look like I have nothing wrong with me, when in fact, I feel quite disabled most days. What does my anxiety look like? Well, things can be going well and then one small thing goes wrong, like yesterday when I was simply going to print a few things off I needed. I lugged my laptop and printer into my friend's house and hooked it all up without issue. Then it refused to recognize the printer. It worked fine in Edmonton when I bought it - wtf? So I tried with my friend's desktop computer. Again, no luck. Well I broke down and cried right there, heaving sobs, swearing and screaming to myself (the house was empty) and demanding to know why things have to be so hard. It took me awhile but I finally managed to workj through that anxiety and move on to other tasks at hand I had to do online and was able to set up my Facebook page for my business, open a bank account for it, and order my Square e-commerce thingy. Then I tried to make a few phonecalls, and I decompensated again. I called Student Loans and RBC. Neither were easy calls but we finally made it through with positive results. What I have come to realize though is each time I have an anxiety episode/attack, it is just exhausting. I was buggered for the rest of the day after that, just absolutely spent. I tried to concentrate enough to sort some fabric but I did not have the capacity. I finally gave up in the end. These days happen at least once a week where I am an absolute mess. The anxiety lessens overnight, but I still feel anxious today and still have a very short fuse. It does not take much. It is bad enough to struggle with either the PTSD or the carpal tunnel syndrome, but both together are often a nightmare, such as when my hands refuse to work and a somple task that should take a couple of minutes ends up taking a half an hour or more, if t happens at all. Sometimes I just give up on it, sobbing and crying about the whole entire saga. I am frustrated with my progress towards good mental health and I am frustrated with the deterioration of function in my hands. I also feel afraid more than I ever used to. In fact, it was a rare thing for me to be afraid of anything. I would just charge in, fearless. But now, I am afraid. Afraid I will not recover, afraid someone will try to hurt me along the way, afraid I will find myself homeless and destitute, afraid that I will lose all of my friends because of my behaviour. I don't like it.

In buying the RV and attempting to follow through with my small business plan and path to wellness, I have had many critics. Some who don't even realize they are criticizing at the time. I know I'm super sensitive about things these days, but I know what I want and I get frustrated when some folks pound away at me to change my mind about something with their own agenda or ideas in mind, it is very hard to deal with. I need people to understand that the decisions I have made in my life about what I want and don't want have not been spontaneous but based on months or sometimes years of research, planning, and most importantly - takes into account my current capacity to accomplish those tasks. I would love to have been able to convert an old school bus to a tiny home or to buy an old clunker of an RV and fix it up myself, but the issue is - I do not currently have the physical capacity to do it with my hands in this state, and I certainly do not have the coping abilities to manage a large project like that. I needed a place to live that would not cost me much money to maintain as a residence. I knew that I was not at all interested in renting an apartment anywhere from anyone and having yet another stupid landlord who wants to dictate how I shall live in my own apartment. I also knew I could not work full-time which would be necessary in order to maintain a tiny apartment. 

The other struggle is that people often forget that I am dealing with PTSD and carpal tunnel syndrome so expect me to continue as normal, and I don't want to have to remind them over and over of why I cannot do something, or why I am struggling. I know I don't want to hear it again, but it makes it hard when I cannot keep up, or I am triggered and heading into an anxiety attack. I often have to silently or noisily retreat (both have happened) immediately and escape to my RV to calm myself down. The triggers are many - loud sudden noises can render me near catatonic for about an hour sometimes as my heart pounds away in my chest and I can't breathe. I try to use the breathing techniques learned in CBT but once the horse is out of the barn, there's little going back. I have to just ride it out. Another trigger is arguing between people - someone shouting or speaking angrily sends me out ducking for cover. A DV incident happened next door to me in Melbourne and I was hysterical when I called the police as I could hear her being beaten. Another trigger is middle eastern men who look similar to a family I was working with in Melbourne. The family is very much the root of my PTSD in addition to an cumulatiion of trauma. I was assaulted by the father, and then one of their newborn infants died due to a birth accident and things fell apart for them all over, blaming everyone but themselves. So seeing men that sound or look like the father is a definite trigger. The parents were both dealing with drug addictions(heroin, meth, pharmaceuticals), so even seeing people strung out like they were can be a trigger. And then there are the nonsense triggers (my term) that relate back to historical traumas, such as my house burning to the ground in 2010, my father dying in 2009, or a childhood incident. My therapist assures me that this is normal, as it may be that I have not fully dealt with those traumas. He is probably right. After all, I did run away to Australia...

So my point is this - please show a little compasssion towards me when you can. I may not look unwell, but I am, and it has already been a long road to recovery. I don't know how long it will take, and although I am frustrated at that alone, I know that I cannot rush it. I worked in child welfare for many hard years, and the toll on my body, mind, and spirit has been substantial. I am on shaky ground, and still trying to find my way. Please don't be another hurdle I must jump. I really need my friends right now. I would like to add that I have also had many dear friends and family's support me through all of this and I would like to thank each and every one. I could not have made it this far without them.

Rekindling Week

This past week has been spent catching up with old friends and I'm about to see two more today. After camping in the mountains on the farm with a friend who lives in a bus, we headed to Kelowna to driveway camp again, this time outside a friend and former roommate from university who had since married her teenage sweetheart and they now have four growing boys. We went for a pedicure and lunch which was just amazing as my poor feet were long overdue for a tidying up and new polish. We strolled along the river, did a bit of shopping, hung out in the house while she went through her mothering chores, and shared meals with the family. 

Nash had a visit with their kitties in the catio aka the screen porch they have claimed. It did not go well. He felt very threatened so needed to climb up high. His tail and back fur were straight out! So I cuddled him until he felt safe enough to go exploring the room. I cat-sat and colored in my coloring books. Yes, coloring books. I have embraced adult coloring books. No, not pornographic coloring books, but not Little Mermaid either...mandalas, cool designs, paisley, flowers, you name it. There is a whole collection now that it is trendy to color. I have about 100 markers and pencil crayons, and four coloring books. Yeah, you could say I'm into it. It is very relaxing and you get a real sense of completion when finished. The deisgns can be as simplistic or intricate as you like. I opt for something inbetween - intricate but not finely so, as I don't have a steady hand or the micro-pens you need to color those types of designs. I always had a box of crayons and a regular coloring book on hand over the years but it always felt rather juvenile and I had no interest in the designs to color. Now I LOVE it. Check it out sometime...

From Kelowna I then hit the road towards Chilliwack to visit another friend and former roommate. We used to work together in Cape Breton. We went out for dinner with her fiance and then hung out in the RV with Nash and talked for hours. We had coffee this morning and from here now I am heading to Abbotsford to visit a friend at his new cafe he and his wife opened. I'm heading to Port Moody after that where a friend from high school lives. We've caught up a few times over the past decade when I've been on the west coast. She has a new puppy so there is severe cuteness coming. I'll be heading back to Vancouver Island on a morning ferry and heading to Cobb Hill to see about a possible sewing job before settling back in Victoria for the fall. I'll likely just camp on residential streets at night and at the beaches and parks during the day until I feel like settling in at a more semi-permanent space. Ideally I would like to just driveway camp as I don't need to be plugged in once my solar panels are hooked up this week. I'd like to stay within the city limits and get a scooter or small motorbike to travel around on. So we shall see what transpires. 

Nash has been rather entertaining at times, and still very much a kitten and a cat. When I was shooing him off the countertop as I had just frosted some warm brownies and they were right beside him. He grabbed on when I swooshed at him, both paws in the dripping warm chocolate frosted brownies and then hit the floor with both chocolate paws...I had to act fast or face cleaning up chocolate paw prints all day. I was able to grab him and clean the paws up quickly before letting him run off and lick between his toes. Another more nightmare inducing episode involved the toilet in the RV. So it is a simple toilet system with a black water tank and you simple pull the lever around the right side of the bowl to release a bit of water to rinse the bowl as you open the trap to the black water tank. I had left the door open while I went and so nosy kitten that he is, Nash was in exploring and just as I stood up and turned around to immediately flush, up jumped kitty and straight into the bowl with his front paws, just micro seconds before I opened the trap. It still gives me chills to think what I would have done had he fallen into the black water tank...I can't even think about it. So moving on. Nash just LOVES his little tent and crawling under things to sleep, so I may make him a couple more tent beds to try out some designs as I am considering designing some cat products like beds and tents. I want to try them out with Nash first. Meow...