We Got The Power! Keeping Gracie's Lights On

My husband spent what seemed a ridiculous amount of time & effort calculating just what our wattage needs were for popup life. The tediousness of this made me crazy just to watch. But I've been repeatedly grateful in the 6 months since when our electrical needs were met, especially in harsh conditions for a popup. 

We both have CPAP machines for sleep apnea so we knew we'd at least need a small battery bank for those. He bought 1 deep cycle marine battery and an 800 watt inverter. We later added another battery because one wouldn't run the CPAP's for a full night.

He also bought a 4000 watt gas powered generator. It was enough to run the air conditioner on high as well as the CPAP's, a couple of dehumidifiers and lights. I found I struggled to sleep with it running so when it wasn't super cold we ran silent on batteries at night and then turn the generator on during the day to recharge the batteries.

Then when it was cold we were on the generator all night and frankly when I was cold it was calming do you have the sound of that motor running knowing that it would be keeping me warm.

There is the sense in popup life that you're always on the edge of peril when it comes to weather. Of course you can always just get out of the popup and go sit in the truck and turn it on and run it but this is not really what you want to do in the middle of the night when you're cold and tired.

I do think that we gain something as far as in eight coping skills by experiencing the weather more personally. But part of my illness and part of Walt's too actually, is that we will struggle with chronic pain. Mine is severely affected by weather especially barometer changes that drop below 30. 

The basic messages that all of the legwork that Walt did before we left on our pilgrimage turned out to be the best time spent investing in planning. Moreso really than anything else that we did.

Our '93 Coleman Newport popup is a not quite 30 amp bus. 

Get busy living or get busy dying.

Copyright - (c) - Chardale Irvine - 2014. All rights reserved. 

Oh! I've Got A Cold Again: Bumping My PH To Speed Getting Over It

Out here on the road it's tougher to apply all the tricks with nutrition & healthy spices that our struggling immune systems require (thanks to M.E.). There are a few that have survived the road and bumping my PH is one of them. I'm not a doctor or trained anything. I DO have a compromised immune system so I do what I can to help it out.

Bumping PH

Apple cider vinegar

Baking soda

Water

Every 2 hours I drink a glass of water with either 1/2 tsp ACV or 1/2 tsp Baking soda.

I do this all the waking hours.

Why? A microbe found my existing PH just nifty to set up shop in. Changing the PH just mildly gives the immune system an opening to go after the microbe.

This strategy has worked wonders with viruses for me. Even when I do get sick now the duration is much less and severity too.

If you try it let me know how it works for you.

'Get busy living or get busy dying'

Copyright (c) - Chardale Irvine - 2014. All rights reserved. 

Chardale's Camp Artichoke-Spinach Dip Recipe

I just whipped this up after choking on how much the frozen stuff at the store. Oh my gosh it was SO easy! 

Here is the recipe:

2 jars artichoke hearts in water, drained 

8 oz Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cups baby spinach

2 cloves garlic

10 jalapeño slices 

Salt & pepper to taste

In 2 quart casserole dish add coursely chopped artichoke hearts, parm cheese, mayo, torn spinach leaves, chopped garlic and diced jalapeños. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir well. Heat 5 minutes in microwave or 15 minutes in oven at 350 degrees. Let sit 5 minutes then serve hot with pita chips.

Yum. Walt gives it thumbs up:)

The Adventures of Walt & Char: Luxury Living In A Popup

Many people, even those who know us, don't know that Walt & I have been living full-time in a 93 Coleman Newport popup camper for 6 months. What started as a health crisis driven pilgrimage to see family and meet grandbabies we hadn't met yet has ended up - at least through today - to be rather addictive. 

To make the trip we sold most everything we owned and bought a 1993 Coleman Newport popup camper - our bed on wheels. We name her Gracie. She is pulled by Stanley, our 1993 Nissan D21 Hardbody pickup. Stanley has a solid V-6 which has handled all challenges with ease except the 100 degree heat days. But we didn't handle those days too well either!

Stanley's paint job, formerly a dark green, is faded. His dash is cracked from heat damage. We write movie quotes on his paint job like 'Vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true' from Napoleon Dynamite. And 'Get busy living or get busy dying.' from Shawshank Redemption. 

We flew my son Adam, who is a mechanic out to Florida from Utah and he did an under the hood makeover, reworked the suspension and brakes and installed new seats. With the tinted windows and crappy paint job we are pretty much ignored while enroute. In cognito has it's advantages. 

We've stayed in RV parks, in Walmart parking lots, in people's driveways, in the mountains above Boulder, CO for 3 weeks and in the mountains above Salina, UT for 2 months. 

During this time we flew back to Miami to see the first specialist ever (19 years for me & 5 years for Walt) for the severe mitochondrial NeuroImmune illness we both have called Myalgic Encephelomyelitis. So as we are out here moving to stay in the 'popup weather zone' we are also chipping away at testing and new, experimental treatments. Our bed on wheels works out great for this.

Some days are like this:

Some days are like this:

Some days are like this:

The cat? That is Bentley. He is our Himalayan/Persian roadie cat. He was totally declawed when we adopted him so he has some issues but he is the greatest cat for this journey. Contrary to the photos Bentley is Walt's cat.