The Nest

A few weeks ago, some house finches started flying around under our patio cover. It soon became evident they were building a nest in there. I thought it was a bad idea, because rather than putting the nest in the structural support, they built it on top of some folds of fabric on the sides. A few brisk breezes and the nest would be history.

I thought about scaring them off to save them the trouble, but then I decided that birds build nests in seemingly precarious places all the time and do just fine. So I figured they must know what they're doing.

Over the past couple days I hadn't noticed the birds around, and the nest had shifted to the point that it was close to falling down. The birds had abandoned the nest.

It struck me as very sad that they had spent all this time and effort building a new home, getting ready to move in, only to have their plans thwarted.

Then I noticed the parallels and got even more depressed about it. Apparently we attract other species who also aren't very good at planning for this sort of thing.

Big News, Big Changes

I realize it has been a couple months since I updated this. I haven't been intentionally neglecting things, it's just that we're in a huge state of limbo and it has been hard to know what or when to update things.

We do have a few pieces of big news, one good, and one bittersweet.

First, the bittersweet. We have decided to put Homer up for sale.

At this point, it looks like full-timing--if we even do it--is another two years away. Homer is too big for short jaunts. Steve would still need his Non-Commercial Class A, plus there are only two state parks in all of California that will fit him (Homer, that is, not Steve). Right now Homer is just sitting in storage, waiting to be used.

Although it would be the perfect trailer for full-timing, it's just not practical now, and without knowing what the future holds, it doesn't make sense to keep him.

If you or your friends are interested in a ginormous but very, very cool fifth wheel in practically-brand-new condition, you can check our ad here: http://www.rvsearch.com/findrv/index.cfm/a-d/tc-36286/vid-614805/

If we can't sell him, we might trade him in for something smaller that we can use now. We'd take a big financial hit on that, but it might be better than making payments plus insurance and storage fees on something we can't even use.

We are very sad to see Homer possibly leaving our family, but we are also excited to announce that we will have a new addition coming to our family this September in the form of our third child! Believe it or not, that development actually has little bearing on the Homer situation, although it probably is better to be grounded in one place for the time being.

So, for now, we're stuck indefinitely in Southern California. Although this isn't exactly what we wanted, we realize our situation could be much worse, and we're grateful to have what we do.

I will continue to post updates about Homer. And seriously, if you know people who want a full-timing 5er, pass on the info.

Madonna of the Trail, Revisted

Today we revisit the Madonna of the Trail. Not literally, of course, because it's raining like mad here, and I didn't even venture out to get the mail today, let alone drive to Upland.

But see, just this afternoon I was thinking that I should update the blog. I don't have much to report, though. Steve and I are trying to figure out what to do with our life, but we've agreed not to think about that until after Christmas. And I could mention that we entered our neighborhood in our Homeowners Association's holiday lighting contest and won for Most Energy Efficient. Neither of those makes for a great reading, though.

Then, when I sat down at the computer a few minutes ago, I found that I had an email from the great-grandson of August Leimbach, the artist who sculpted the Madonna of the Trails statues. He shared with me his website, which is an homage to his great-grandfather's life and work.

It turns out that August Leimbach had mainly done ornate architectural work and, because of that, hadn't been considered as an artist for the Madonna statues. But in just three days he had put together a model and the rest, as they say, is history.

Check it out if you're so inclined.

And because I probably won't update beforehand, I wish everyone a very Happy Solstice, Christmas, Kwaanza, Festivus, and Belated Hanukkah!

Merry Christmas to Me!

I got my license on Friday! Woo hoo! I'm really glad because my California photo is really good and my Texas photo makes me look like a meth addict.

Poor Steve hasn't gotten his yet. So he still can't take his written test to get his permit so he can get his license so we can pull Homer. But what else is new?

Ho Ho Ho and DMV

As promised, here is our very special Christmas decoration for this year. If we can't go camping, at least Santa can. (Sorry for the horrible photo and glaring sun.) See the cup in the chair? In-N-Out.

In other, somewhat related news (like, related to why we can't go camping), we still don't have our licenses. I called DMV yesterday and the automated system said it can take up to six weeks to process a license.

I figured the person who told us 2-3 weeks was full of it until I opened the paper today and saw the headline, "Drivers aren't getting licenses." Apparently due to a new license design, a new computer system, and general inefficiency, it has been taking longer and longer to process licenses--possibly as long as three months. At least we're not the only ones.

DMV recommends going to get a temporary license if your other one expires before the permanent one arrives. Awesome idea. There's no way I (or anyone else) should have to PAY for another one, though. Nor should people have to take time out of their lives to go to a DMV office to correct the state's problem. But whatever.

Our temps expire on January 1, so it looks like we're unlikely to have licenses before then. I still have my Texas license, so maybe I won't worry about getting another temporary. Steve's out of luck, though.

And, as usual, we'll probably stupidly go do the right thing, which WILL mean taking time out of our lives to get another temporary, and we'll probably have to pay for it, too.

Merry Christmas, DMV.

Retro Holiday Craft

A woman on my car seat message board was looking for some ideas for retro ornaments she and her kids could make. I got all giddy about it, and she shared a link she found.

They looked so cute and easy that the kids and I threw some together after breakfast this morning. All you need is card stock, a ruler, scissors, and a stapler. Oh, and fishing line or something else to hang them with, which I don't have at the moment.

These will look AWESOME in an Airstream, if we ever get one...

A Not-Much-of-an-Update

Remember how I said I was going to update more often than every two weeks? Sorry about that.

There's not much new to report.

Back on November 3, when we went through the new/old license issue at the DMV, we were told that we would receive our licenses in the mail in two-to-three weeks. It has now been exactly 30 days, which, for anyone not great at math, is more than two-to-three weeks.

I have considered calling to check on the status, but I would rather pour tomato juice over fresh paper cuts than call the DMV. Plus they probably wouldn't have an answer for me anyway, plus I worry that the operator I talk to will somehow sabotage the whole thing just because s/he can.

So we continue to wait. Our temporary licenses do expire sometime in January, though, so hopefully this doesn't go on too much longer.

Of course, without his real license in hand, Steve can't take the Non-Commercial Class A written test (again), at least according to the people from the Santa Ana office who might or might not be correct about that.

So Homer still sits languishing on his own. Lonely. Cold.

Meanwhile, we're still figuring out what the hell to do with our lives.

Thanksgiving went very well thanks in large part to the Pyrex casserole dish set I found at Costco for $30 and the double set of pie plates I found at Target for $10.

Oh, and CarSeatBlog.com published another one of my posts today. This one is about the CPSC's new database and whether it will solve problems or create more.

In other news, our holiday lights are up! That includes the super-special decoration we bought for this year! I got a photo of it the other day, but the light was awful, so I'll try to get another one tomorrow. Stay tuned!