Genuine tranquility of the heart and perfect peace of mind—the highest blessings on earth after health—are to be found only in solitude and, as a permanent disposition, only in the deepest seclusion. -Schopenhauer

February 27, 2022.

Hello, Friends 😊 I hope this finds you healthy, sane, and faring as well as can be expected despite world events continuing to spiral out of control.

I have been in a little bit of a funk recently. The waning days of this already-short month seemed to be the only thing that spurred me into writing today. My journal, in which I wrote almost daily, now goes unopened for days. I’ve been trying not to be too hard on myself, but still, writing has always been important to me, so I hope my slump is short lived.

Whether or not it’s related to just being fed up with government overreach, I can’t be sure. I’m just so tired of conflicting messages received from the ‘experts’ on the ‘news,’ whatever that means these days. The past couple of years—where we’ve gone from 2 weeks to flatten the curve to worldwide protests against tyrannical mandates—has changed me, as it has many people, unfortunately. I have become skeptical and don’t trust people as much as I used to. I used to very sociable. Lately, I’m not.

Consequently, I have been knitting a lot. It’s amazing that a hobby that’s relatively monotonous has captivated my attention so. My ADHD seems to have been somewhat harnessed. ‘Somewhat,’ because I couldn’t be content to work on just one project, so I’m working on two, a long-term (a scarf) and a short-term (a blanket block.)

Having just begun a couple of months ago, I make a lot of stupid mistakes, but I’m learning a lot in the process. Thank goodness for YouTube videos and friends here at the park who know how to knit! I’m especially indebted to my friend Melody, wintering here from Minnesota, who somehow figured out a mess I’d knitted myself into on the scarf and made it right. There truly are angels among us.

Earlier this month, our older pup, Victor, was diagnosed with an ocular ulcer, and subsequently has been on three medications, given at 5 minute intervals, 4 times a day. Meaning that one whole hour every day is spent administering meds. I don’t do it; Dave does. He has a way with animals, and besides, I am too squeamish to do anything eye-related, so I keep time. Poor Victor. He’s weathered the ordeal like a champ, considering he is 16 years old. So far, there have been 3 follow-up visits in a month’s time with at least one more before we leave. That’s in less than two weeks.

Around the same time that started, we got an email from our boss at the dam visitors center in Branson detailing the Army Corps of Engineers’ official protocol regarding volunteers.

Since we cannot in good conscience comply with the new requirements, it looks like we won’t be volunteering this year there (or anywhere government-related, I guess.) 😕 That’s disappointing; we really enjoyed volunteering there last year.

But the world today is forcing us to make a stand on issues that we feel are important, as evidenced by the Canadian truckers protest and the miles-long People’s Freedom Convoy currently in Oklahoma, heading east. Alexander Hamilton, among others, is credited with some version of the saying, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. This, the confidentiality of one’s medical and health information, is something we feel that important.

This is our fifth winter in Bandera. We chose it because of its proximity to Austin, where our son and his family lived. Unfortunately, we didn’t see them much over the years because that’s what his wife preferred. At first, this made us very sad, but time has a way of helping one accept what is. However, they are no longer together, so we have seen DJ and our grandsons more on this trip than all the previous years combined. It’s been SO good to have our son back.

As much as we’ve love it here, it’s time for a change and we’ve made the decision to winter elsewhere next year. ‘Where’ exactly has yet to be determined, but we’re exploring the Mississippi Gulf coast. We’ve only been back to Bay Saint Louis once since Hurricane Katrina, so it would be good to see what it’s like 17 years later. We made some calls to a few RV parks, but were told to call back after April 1st when they would know who was and who wasn’t coming back next winter.

So, wherever we go, proximity to both Austin and Hopkinsville will be a major consideration. Kate, bless her heart, occasionally broaches the subject we lovingly call “the end game,” when Dave and I can’t live like this (meaning, on wheels) anymore. It’s hard to say what will happen tomorrow, much less in a year, especially these days. Time will tell.

As it stands, we will leave here no later than March 12th, and deliver Felix to NIRVC in Lewisville, just north of Dallas. Solar panels and new shock absorbers will be installed in addition to recall-work on the front tires being made right. We (including the pups) be in an Airbnb in Denton, and our fingers are crossed that Felix will be ready to roll in a week.

Not much else to report, so I’ll wrap this up for now. Take care, hang in there, and if you’re a praying person, do that. Our world needs it. Until next time, much love and long hugs. -Maria