Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.– Sam Keen

I’ve always loved August.

August is still summer, but things have slowed down considerably. I like that. The temperatures, though continued warm, are not unbearably steamy like they were in July, and I definitely like that. While retailers are already wishing fall and winter were here, I’m going to wear WHITE up to and including Labor Day. I wouldn’t mind if August lasted longer.

A birthday earlier this month got me thinking of forks in the road of Life, and mine in particular. You know, when you think of what might have happened if you did this, or if you hadn’t done that. All moot, of course, since it is what it is, and the only thing that really matters is now. But turning 68 made me reflect nevertheless.

By now, I thought Dave and I would be settled in a house somewhere, like most people. But it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon. We spent the whole summer on our RV-lot in northwest Arkansas and have grown to really like it, both the RV-community and country living. If it weren’t for winter, we’d probably stay here year round. Snow keeps us on the move, and it snows here.

There are just a handful of us that call Ozarks RV Resort ‘home.’ Most of the 164 lots are owned by absentee owners whose RVs are here, but they themselves are not—at least, not very often. So, it’s a very tranquil existence. It’s nice. It’s very quiet. It’s safe.

It takes at least half an hour to drive to the nearest grocery store, and the closest restaurant is the Oasis, more than 10 miles away, so we eat at home for the most part. When we bought the lot, it came with a Blackstone grill, so Dave’s been loving that. Me, too! 😋 We also tried a little bit of gardening, now that we have ‘our own place,’ and planted tomatoes, peppers, green onions and strawberries in containers, having success with everything except the berries. We didn’t have a bumper crop, but enough of a yield that we’ll try again!

Where we’re located on Table Rock Lake is a stone’s throw to Missouri; I kayak past the imaginary MO/AR state line most mornings.

I like to be out on the water around sunrise while the lake is flat and not yet disturbed by boaters…and before it gets too hot. Early morning is also the best chance to get a glimpse of the mountain goat who, as it turns out, is so popular that he’s got his own Facebook page. “Crisco, the Table Rock Lake Goat,” has almost 4,000+ followers. He’s a celebrity!

Both of our pups had surgery this month to remove a bump and a lump—a bump on the base of Victor’s tail and a lump on Biscuit’s side—and their convalescence kept us even closer to home than we normally are. We only needed to make sure we had enough groceries to get us through several days at a stretch, and otherwise just kept a low profile here. Considering both pups are seniors, they are doing pretty well. Twice every day, we take them for a ride in the golf cart up to the dog park, and they love it!

The need to stay close to home was the perfect time to do a lot of routine maintenance projects on Felix and a couple of big chores that we’ve been procrastinating: pressure washing the concrete lot and unclogging the patio drains. We worked as a team on the former and got the job done in about 10 hours over two days. I was so intent on erasing all the filth that had accumulated on the lot since before we bought it, that I didn’t think to take pictures. But trust me, it looks beautiful! When it came to dealing with the clogged drains, Dave was on his own. I saw potential for a real mess, and I really hate to get dirty.* Dave got really dirty. Unexpectedly. 😂

And so, this very low-key month ends. While it’s been very unusual not to have workamped this summer as we have the past three, the time spent here was productive just the same. We’re already thinking in terms of heading south (and all that needs to get done before we do), which we supposed would be in December but will ultimately be decided by Mother Nature and weather.

After five winters in Bandera, Texas, we’re going to try somewhere different this year: Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi—on the Gulf coast, about an hour east of New Orleans. We lived there once very, very briefly; we bought the house in May 2004 and Hurricane Katrina wiped it out in August 2005. Devastating as that event was, it taught an important lesson about stuff and what really matters and what does not—and that helps with this lifestyle, for sure. In any event, we’re looking forward to going back and seeing how things changed.

So, with that, I’ll close for now, and I hope to get your reply. Until next time, I wish you good health, love and peace. Take care. ♥️Maria

*A long-ago, past relationship ended because of motocross. Shallow on my end? Perhaps. But I really don’t like to get dirty.😖