Raising Some Gas Money

Trying to figure out ways to raise money for my BlueRoad Project.  I don't really have the resources or backing for a crowd sourcing fundraising... well, not yet.  So I am selling my crochet hats... on sale now thru December 1 and also my CD Journey To Worthy (now thru December 15), which is a CD full of folk songs I wrote during my recovery of an Eating Disorder.  So please check them out with the links below.

Now thru November 1 all pre-made hats are $10 and $2 S&H.  You can view all hats available on Neldee Facebook Page.    Feel free to comment on the hat you like or email me at neldeecrochet@gmail.com.  I also do custom orders from hats, bags, wristers, scarvers and whatever you can think of.  Email me with what you are looking for and we can discuss.  

Only 1 hat of each is available.  S&H is for continental US... all other places will have an extra fee.  Payment is thru paypal where you can use your account or a credit card.

My CD, Journey To Worthy is available in CD or on itunes.  You can purchase thru my Journey To Worthy Website.  Journey To Worthy is a CD and website of my journey thru an Eating Disorder, Depression and Self Injury.  I have done speaking engagements at schools, conference and community events along with interviews for papers, magazines and documentaries.  You can also search thru there and see me with hair... hehe...

I still have lots to do before I head out on the road again in like 2 weeks.... YIKES!  Guess I better get working!!!

I found out yesterday my adventure will be taking me to New Mexico for 6 weeks.... I so can't wait!!

Turkey Day

Sorry I have been such a slacker on posting... It sure isn't from lack of things to post about... Just pure laziness I guess. :)

It was quite nice spending Thanksgiving with my parents. I haven't spent a holiday with them in over 5 years and probably 10 plus years since being with them on Turkey Day. I thoroughly enjoyed the food which is probably a first with my parents since my eating disorder. My favorite part of the meal is the chocolate pie... Not pumpkin. Not a big fan of anything pumpkin. Just a simple dream whip chocolate pie and I am in heaven. The turkey and sides were quite fabulous to.

The weather was great and the afternoon was spent putting up Xmas decorations... Will have pictures in next post. My parents 2 trees in the front yard finally began to change and drop their leaves and they were beautiful.

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season thus far.

Delays

I had to go into town to get my drivers license and plates for Blue.  First went to sherif to get Blue inspected but of course they couldn't do it without the title which Harley Davidson has.  So I couldn't get plates without the vin number from the title... seriously???  I have lived in many states and never had to have a temporary plate and one for what will most likely be 2 weeks.  Ridiculous!  The vin number is on my registration from NY and my insurance card... what more could you possible need... well in KY the title.

Then I went to get my drivers license changed over and the computers were down... but of course went down when all I needed to do was take a picture... so I had to wait until the next day to get that done.

So looks like I will be here in KY for another 7-15 days... or longer. :/  Not happy KY or Harley Davidson.. you would think by now people would find a more efficient way to do this stuff.  Guess not.

But on a good note that give me time to procrastinate some more.  hehe... I have a ton of work to do along with organizing and packing so this wait will go quickly.  I need motivation.  Can't wait to get back on the road!

Testing things out

Today I had the chance to set up the tent I finally got with all the parts.  It is quite nice but kind of frustrated with the suction cups that attach the tent to the trailer.  Every time a breeze gets in between the tent and trailer the suction cups fall off ... but I think my dad came up with a solution... at least one that will help with the boys getting in and out of the trailer.

Here is where the tent connects with suction cups... no matter how I put them on there after a small breeze or any movement of the tent the suction cups would fall off.  My dad gave me a long rug to lay across the bottom of the doorway so the boys won't slip thru to the outside... hopefully that will put less pressure on the suction cups and the ones on the sides and top will actually stay connected... only time will tell.

I also got to charge up the battery with the solar panel today.

The 2 poles leaning on the trailer weren't put into the ground... we were just checking out different ways to use the poles. There is also 1 longer pole but we have no idea what that is used for... and of course there is very minimal instructions... guess you are just suppose to know. 

The sun was bright today and hard to take a picture from the front.  The three walls not connected to the trailer are a screen... so it will be great to see everything while inside the tent.  Can't wait to see the view everywhere we go.

I had to bring in my chair and get a feel for the tent.  I think it will be quite great for me and my boys.

Now I have to figure out what I need to bring with me and the way to store and pack everything.  My mom and I found some bins that fit really well in the trailer to keep things organized... now I need to figure out what I am organizing... fun fun :)

Funky Monkey

Yesterday my mom, her friend and I went to the Funky Monkey in Benton, KY.  It is a place where you paint pottery than they fire it up in a kiln for you.  I chose a dopey looking gnome... I figured he would be good to sit outside my trailer when we stop.  Now I have to give him/her a good name.  Let me know any suggestions. :)

 Front view... I picked out some of the brightest colors.

 Side view... I hope I put on enough layers of paint... they said at least 3 layers.

 Back View... the colors will really look nothing like what you see here once it is fired in the kiln. 

Other Side View... I will get it back hopefully the end of next week.... can't wait to see!!!

What a day...

My mom and I went on a bit of an adventure yesterday.  Well... it wasn't meant to be that kind of adventures.

We went to Clarksville to get a few things and boy did we get lost.  I had never been there before so I couldn't be of much help... and my mom could not remember where this one store was located.  It took hours of driving and calls to my dad before we finally found it.   All we wanted was one thing off of their weekly flyer.  Of course on the flyer there was no address and the GPS doesn't work so well unless you have an address.  Not sure how that works for the store... you would think if they mail it out to people you would want them to know where you are located so they can buy things from your store... but maybe I am wrong on that one.  haha

Luckily we could remember our home address so the GPS could help us get back home.

It was quite entertaining and it occupied our entire day... what is life without a little bit of an adventures... or misadventure.

Bunko Loser

I played bunko with my mom and friends yesterday.  I have to say it is not my favorite game... it was like speed dating.  There wasn't really enough time to talk to anyone and you were too busy rolling dice and figuring out what was happening and where to move to next to enjoy the atmosphere of being with other people.  I wasn't very good at the game either... but you can't really be 'good' at a dice game... it is all luck and I didn't have any.  Another lady and I tied for the most games lost so we both got $2.  I guess to make us feel better about being Bunko Losers. hehe... but it was a good day.

Day ride

My parents and I went for a day ride to meet up with some of their friends in Tennessee.  We had a great ride and a great lunch at 5 Chefs in Portland, TN.  I will have some video later but here are a couple pics of my parents and my ride back to Kentucky.

My dad and mom... their Harley is the same color as Blue but they have an Ultra so it also has black accents of sorts.

That is my parents... the camera was on my helmet so they are in all the pictures. :)

The trees here are about half empty and half with colored leaves.

On the way home I used my GoPro on the photo setting so it took a photo every 2 seconds.

The bare trees

A few curves

Up a hill

My mom likes to take pictures of old barns on their rides so I thought it was fitting I caught them riding past an old barn.

I like how sometimes the camera makes the picture a bit funky...

especially when it takes a picture while you are moving your head to see something

Videos to come this week!!

Playing around

Since I have been in Kentucky at my parents my mom brings me to her game days.  Last week we played Canasta and this week we are going to play Bunko... never played either one but did ok with Canasta last week.  Reminds me of when I played Dominos and Phase 10 with my grandma the Christmas before she passed away.  I spent a week with her before Christmas and it was quite fun... every night we played either Dominos or Phase 10 with her friends.  To me the best part is the conversations.  We will see how well I do with Bunko tomorrow. :)

Out and About

My mom and her friend and I had a day out and about.  We went to Crofton, KY to eat and go to a Amish run grocery/country store.

We got to Crofton a bit early and there was a train that had stopped on the track so we took a bit of a detour to occupy our time.  It was an nice ride out in the country and we saw Amish buggies, cattle and a man standing on his side porch with a huge rifle... I wasn't driving but I sure told them to get out of there.  hahaha... Guess it has been a while since I have been in a place where people stand on their porch with guns in hand. :)

We went to an Amish run grocery/country store there in Crofton.  I just loved this sign I saw on the shelf.  "Stealing is a sickness... don't get sick in here"

On the way to the country store I saw this church I just had to stop and take a picture with the sign.  I first thought it was a wedding chapel... nope it was a gospel church.  House of Love Full Gospel Church in Crofton, KY.

We went to eat at the Crofton Diner.  We all had cheeseburgers.  Not quite sure what is up with bathrooms here in Kentucky but the toilets seem to be inches above the ground.  haha... in case you wanted to know.  It seems to be like that everywhere we go and I just can't figure out why you would even want to buy a toilet like that... but back to my day.

After we ate we drove to Elkton, KY to an Amish bakery.  We got some noodles and cinnamon rolls... what else do you need in life?!?! 

All in all quite the entertaining day.  My mom and her friend are quite fun to hang around with.

Kentucky Dam

My parents and I went cruising the other weekend and went to the Kentucky Dam.  The sun was shining and a bit chilly but a great day to be out and about.

Here are some pictures of our adventure.

A big propellor... 

 The dam itself

 There was this nice handicap accessible walkway down in between these 2 bridges.  It was a bit cold but a nice short walk.

These group of birds spent the whole time we were there going around in circles.

A picture of my dad and I at the end of the walkway.

After the dam we must of gotten tired because we got a little curious.

We stopped at a souvenir shop and I had to take some pictures.

A moonshine whiskey still... definite must see while in Kentucky

and of course my dad and I started to get mischievous... a barrel of asses.

It was a great day exploring western Kentucky.

Can they ever get it right?

Today my dad and I took the trailer down to Nashville to get the solar connector and windows fixed.

The weather wasn't too fabulous with rain and a bit chilly so we pulled the trailer with my dad's truck... 

look how tiny my home looks with his big truck. hehe

You can barely see my trailer from the back window.

We dropped off the trailer and the parts and went off to wander around Opry Mills while we waited.

They said it would be about 2 hours to get it all done and they were true to their word.  They call us to tell us it was finished and we went to pick it up.  My dad and I walked out to look at the trailer and were trying to figure out where the solar quick connector was located and we couldn't find it.  So I opened up the trailer and there it was.

He put a whole in the plate that cover the battery... which is inside the trailer... under where the mattress would be located.  I of course said this wasn't correct and I was a bit frustrated it was done so badly... the plate was not flush against the floor like it use to be... there was an extra hole in the plate and it didn't make any sense to me why you would put it there.

I called the sales person I have been dealing with at Little Guy and he gave me the number for an engineer at the Little Guy factory.  My dad called to get instructions as to where it goes and discussed the frustration I have had with this trailer. 

Little Guy called to make the appointment for these things that should of been done before I received the trailer to be finished up by this Camping World we were at... but they didn't inform them how to install the solar connector so the technician did it like he does all the other solar connectors... of course mine would be different.

So my dad and I had to wait another 3+ hours to get my trailer done.  

I felt really bad because the technician at the Camping World ended up getting chewed out by the Little Guy sales person.  This of course was happening before he fixed my trailer.  The technician was so upset I really thought he was going to cry... Little Guy upset the technician who is suppose to drill a hole in the side of my trailer.  I was extremely nervous.

I really love my home but I am getting a little tired of all the frustration and time wasted getting things finished that should of been done before the trailer was even delivered.

This was a Little Guy mistake and they should be taking all the responsibility... even the mistake of this technician.  If you aren't going to finish what you are suppose to finish and have someone install without instructions they have no right to get angry or chew out anyone.

I am writing an email to Little Guy today about all of my frustrations and tell them they need to apologize to the technician who worked on my trailer.

These are really great trailers and I think I must have hit a weird time for all of this stuff to happen but I have deadlines and things need to be finished.

I still don't have all the parts for my 10x10 screen tent that is suppose to attach to the trailer.  It sure seems like I paid full price for a tent that was used in a show room or something as it came in an open box and pieces are missing. 

As I have stated before ....  soo not impressed.

Luckily I am with my dad so he is going to clean up this messy work from the upset technician and will help me install the snaps to the trailer for my tent... if I ever get them. :/

gooo all over it. :/

It is always frustrating, as a woman, that it takes my dad to call the place to get things done.  I have been on their case for over 3 months and can't get the basic things done.  Little Guy... Women know what they are talking about just as much as any man.

Luckily the day wasn't a total waste... on the way home my dad got to pick up a cement mixer from a friend in Nashville... he has been waiting to do that for awhile now. 

And to end the day... a hug from Nube

Organizing

I finally received all of my packages I sent myself the end of last week... they were delayed a bit because of Sandy.  UPS packed up everything for me... they put a bunch of stuff in 1 large box that then weighed 79 pounds... a bit ridiculous.  But look how they packed up my guitar.  I think it could of bounced. :)

Now I have to go thru everything and see what I need to bring, what I need to sell and what I feel needs to be saved and stored at my parents house.

This weekend I did a good clean of Blue and the trailer.  I also did some measurements so I can figure out how to organize everything.  I am someone that does well if everything has it's place and there is no place to just put things.  My mom and I are thinking small baskets... they can't be very big or they will be full of junk in no time.  I am someone who gets unorganized and frustrated because I can't find anything.  I get overwhelmed by messes so this trailer is about the size of what I feel I can handle without pure frustration.  I think this comes from depression that I have had for most of my life.  There are just times that I am not aware of what is going on and then when I seem to pop back into the world everything is just too far gone and I have no idea even where to begin.  So I have to plan with that in mind even though I haven't had much issues with depression this season so far.  It is always best to plan for the worst and hope for the best.  This year is going to be great so I don't think I will have problem with keeping myself organized but out of habit I have to think of things in that way.  Now to figure out how to organize it so I can keep it that way.

Frustration

I love my new home but I have been extremely frustrated with the company and everything that goes with it.  I can't quite figure out why they would send out a trailer that was not done.

Tuesday I have to go into Nasvhille, which is 90 miles one way, to have the solar connector installed... which they forgot to install before they sent it to me.  I emailed them before I left NY to let them know I was coming this way but never heard back.  If they would of contacted me in a timely manner I probably would have been able to get it done 30 miles away before the local camping place closed for the season.

Then this weekend my dad and I put up my screened in tent that is suppose to connect to the trailer.  First the tent had snaps but there are no other end to those snaps... not on the trailer... not to connect to the trailer.  Then there is suppose to be a section of the tent that goes over the tire and of course that was not included.  Then last but not least I was missing a pole that holds up one side of the tent wall as an overhang.

It is sooo frustrating.  I have yet to receive this all weather cover for my trailer that I was promised since they drove my trailer 500 miles.  They didn't give me a full refund right away for my stargazer window that they said they could install but yet could not.   I received that a week after I got the trailer.

Guess who I am calling this morning.  They better resolve this ASAP because I have places to go.  Ugh.

Finally... Kentucky

After the longest day in my recent her-story going thru the edges of the storm heading to Sandy I finally woke up to some sun.

The sky became a beautiful blue with a nice sun as the day went on... with that clear sky was quite a bit of wind.

I guess I was still a bit tired from the day before because I missed my exit at Elizabethtown and ended up down in Bowling Green before heading west to my parents.  The wind was harsh at times which made the day long.  Once I started heading west the wind picked up a lot.  My head was whipping around a bit trying to keep myself in my lane.  It would be really strong from the north and constant then all of a sudden it would stop and the wind would whip me from the south.  Not all that fun.  

I finally made it to my parent's house exhausted and sore from all the wind, hydroplaning and such... but I wouldn't give up the experience for the world.  Can't wait to get on the road again!!

I will be here with my parents until Turkey day.  I haven't been able to spend time with them in person for over 2 1/2 years.  I have a ton to do during that time... gotta organize, get my promotional material together and start raising funds for BlueRoad.  Stay tuned!

Ohhhh Ohio

I have to say Ohio and I were not friends.  I went thru Ohio the same day I went thru West Virginia so it was cold and rainy.  I should of known it wasn't going to be fun when the wind picked up and I lost my temporary plate on my trailer... must of been soon after crossing into Ohio.  Guess it wanted to stay in Ohio where it came from.

I stopped at a gas station to dry off and have some lunch and the cashier kept telling me I was almost out of the rain... like everyone had been saying all day.  Well when I got to Columbus it was still raining and cold and the wind picked up tremendously.  It had to be a constant wind around 20mph with gust up to 40mph.  With a motorcycle heavy winds are difficult and pulling a trailer I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

As I was driving around Columbus on the I-270 in the rain and wind and I started to hydroplane.  No joke... I was going 55mph and my front tire was going all over the place.  I wasn't scared, I wasn't mad... it was more of a disappointment.  As my front tire was going side to side and Blue was leaning from side to side all I could say was "Oh F%@&!" and then thought "are you serious... I haven't made it 600 miles in my new life and I am going to die."  and then I said in complete disappointment "Jesus Christ"... As soon as I said that I regained control and was driving like nothing happened.

The key to not dying... was pure luck... I have really great guardian angels... and not panicking.  I didn't slow down but kept my speed and kept my arms firm... I didn't let the bike take my arms all over the place.  Staying calm and taking control is what saved me.  Whoever says a woman can't ride can just kiss my rear... I pulled that back together as good if not better than any man.

So of course after that experience I took the next exit to take a breath.  I was really exhausted at this time and was thinking about spending the night where I was and heading out again the next day but the weather was not going to get better but worse.  So I had to get back on the horse and get myself out of the weather.

I was still a bit timid from my earlier experience and the wind was getting worse.  So I went about 50mph and got off at every exit.  Finally about 30 miles down the road I just couldn't get back on the interstate.  The wind picked up and was constant and the rain was coming down more and was colder.  I thought again I should stop for the night but at the gas station I was at they were talking about getting feet of snow... right then I knew I had to find a way out.  Luckily at that point I finally was at a place with a back highway I could take.... so I took it.  The great thing about the back highway I could go a bit slower and the wind was a lot less.  It went thru towns where I could relax a bit.  Finally just outside of Cincinnati the rain had stopped.  I finally had enough courage to get back on the interstate.  The first few cars that went by when I got on gave me a thumbs up.  You have no idea how much I deserved and took in those thumbs up.

It sure felt like a beating today and I was so happy to hit Kentucky.  I only went another hour or so before I stopped north of Louisville for the night.  I only had about 4 hours to my parents house the next day... but of course life is never that easy.....

West Virginia

The second day of my travels we went thru the very top of West Virginia on I-70.  It was very cold and wet.  By that time I had already been on the road for a couple hours and was getting very cold.  The temperature was around 44 degrees... which on a bike on the interstate would make the feel below freezing.  I had my leather jacket and chaps on along with my gators for my feet and my heavier rain gloves... I was still cold.  So about every 50 miles or so I would have to stop to warm up a bit.  It made that tiny section of West Virginia seem to take forever.  Everywhere I stopped people kept telling me I was almost out of the rain.  Just get to the east side of Columbus Ohio and I would be dry.  I just kept pushing thru knowing I didn't have the time to spare to wait it out... luckily I didn't because Sandy brought days of rain and snow.

Here is a picture of Blue and our new home hanging with the big boys at a rest stop in West Virginia.

Check in tomorrow for my scary adventure thru Ohio.

Pennsylvania

I got thru most of Pennsylvania on the first day of my travels.  The weather was so nice so I thought I should ride until I couldn't ride anymore because I knew the weather was going down hill after that.  I rode I-84 and then went south on 99.  It was important to go south because it was a few degrees warmer and that would become crucial the next day.  I rode until after 9pm and ended up at a gas station off of highway 22.  It was getting cold and really dark... I must of been on a mountain somewhere because it seemed all up hill.  Since there wasn't much out there I figured it was best to stop at the first gas station that was well lit.  It was the first night we all spent in the trailer.

I had to figure out how I was going to fit in the trailer since I was also bringing stuff with me I will not be bringing after my parents house.  Luckily the Poco and Nube's crate was collapsable and I could fold it down and put it in the back of the trailer.  So I had a little less than half of the trailer to sleep in with both Poco and Nube.  Randall had to stay in his crate which took up almost the other half.  Of course only having half of the trailer I couldn't use the mattress because that was folded up and under the cupboard.  So I folded up a blanket to sleep on and another one to keep me warm.  All three of the boys did great... there wasn't excessive barking or meowing.  They seemed pretty content and happy to be in there with me.  So the first night was all good.

In the morning I realized I stayed at a gas station without a public restroom... so even on the road I had to pee outside. haha... Luckily I had a lot of practice with that in my shack.

The next morning I took off early in misty rain and a bit chilly.

One thing that is always a pain is signage.  It was all really good on the interstate but you get off on those back highways and the signs are few and far between... or just really confusing.  I almost missed my turn since it wasn't marked ahead of time but luckily there wasn't anyone around and I could go across the other lane to turn left.  Once the sun came up I could see how beautiful that part of Pennsylvania was... rolling hills and farm country.

A picture of Randall checking things out from inside the trailer.

Leaving

Well I ended up leaving before November 1.  I had to beat out Sandy otherwise I had the potential of being stuck in NY for who knows how long.  So I left on Saturday.... but decided to go on Friday.  That meant I had a ton to do Saturday morning.  I had packages to ship to my parents, pack up everything I own (luckily not very much) and fit every one and everything into the trailer.  It was a bit of a challenge and I wasn't able to leave until around 2pm.

The main thing with packing was trying to find the right way to pack all the weight.  You want the weight to the front but you don't want to put so much pressure that the tongue of the trailer is really low.  So it took a couple times but I figured it out.  I had a couple things that weighed a lot and they worked best over the tires.  I kept everything that was really light in the back of the trailer.  I also had 2 crate... one for Poco and Nube and one for Randall.  I also had my biker gear to put on the bike and emergency things for Blue on the bike and I could fit one bad of clothes in the saddle bad and one I strapped to the top.  I was a bit nervous it was going to be too heavy but Blue did great and it didn't feel like I was pulling anything more than I had with nothing inside.

The weather was overcast but the temperature was perfect.  I was a bit nervous taking the trailer on the interstate but I needed to get out as fast and safe as I could so I had to at least try the interstate.  I was quite surprised it was easier to pull on the interstate than in town.  It was like nothing was back there.

It only take a couple hours to get out of NY so it was great for testing everything out and stopping a couple times to be sure everyone and everything was ok.  Boys seemed to enjoy themselves in the trailer... probably more that they were with me and I was checking on them often.  It was a great start to our new life.