Lethbridge

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Focus on Departure

I can now say with certainty that I will be leaving Lethbridge on or before the weekend of April 14th, which will mean a Lethbridge stopover of just over a year! Crazy! I have absolutely no regrets about my time in Lethbridge. I do have to admit that having had two separate parts to it and moving locations probably played a part in my not going road crazy. 🙂

I will continue to work full-time in March and then work part-time for two weeks in April. This will give me lots of time to get road ready while still having access to the apartment. This is going to be fantastic; I’ll still be out of the rig and will have plenty of time to wind up a few projects in it. I’ll also be able to take my time moving back in, depending on when I am able to get help to bring furniture back in.

Leaving later in April will increase my chances of leaving in clement weather. I would really like to travel through South rather than North Dakota (having been in North Dakota already) to add a state to my list and to visit Deadwood/ the Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore. There would be no chance of this with an early April departure, but it’s a possibility closer to May.

It’s great that I’m not in any rush to get going. By that, I mean that while I’m eager to start traveling again, it’s nice to have my current situation be pleasant enough that I am fine with extending it a bit longer. But the road’s siren call is getting louder and louder and I can’t wait to heed it. 😀

 

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The Coatless Winter Winds Down

March! How can it be March?!

This morning, a reminder to cancel The Apartment’s internet connection popped up on my calendar, so I promptly called Telus and did just that! This is going to be my last billing cycle on hard wired internet and I’ll be back to using my cellular modem on April 2nd. I can’t believe how quickly the last few months have passed!

An email landed in my inbox an hour ago that 100% firmed up my cross-country itinerary. I need to be in Quebec for May 18th so I will be going straight there by way of visiting a friend in Virginia, leaving exploration of the southwest to next winter.

Going to Virginia might seem like a huge detour, but it’s actually less than 1,500KM. When you’re committed to traveling 3,500KM already, what’s another 1,500KM? 🙂

I will be deviating a little from this route once I figure out the best way to by-pass Chicagoland by RV (I do hope to squeeze in a hop to one of my favourite cities by toad, however!), but for the most part this is a familiar route for me that will still allow me to add a few new states to my visited states list!

As things stand today, I don’t see myself leaving Lethbridge till mid-April, so I will have a solid month to get across the continent, which will leave me with plenty of time for sightseeing, visiting with friends, and working while traveling at a reasonable place. I’m itching to get back on the road, but am glad that I have time to finish up a few projects before I do.

(As for the title of this post, someone was shocked to see me wearing a coat during the day yesterday. That’ll give you an idea of how warm it’s been!)

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Simplified Passport Renewal

Getting a new passport on the road was a daunting prospect until Passport Canada finally came up with a simplified passport renewal form that doesn’t need to be signed by a guarantor. Had this not been the case, I would have had to renew my passport super early in November of 2010, when I went to Montreal.

With March fast approaching, it was time to stop ignoring my daily reminders to get my passport application in. I finally filled out the forms last night and they were a breeze, what with not having to list practically every address I’ve ever had. Cost: $87.

This morning, I went to a nearby camera shop, McBain Camera, and had my photos taken. This was super easy; the website had information on how to dress (dark clothes, no jewelery, no makeup). I was literally in and out in under 10 minutes. Cost: $16.

Finally, I went to Shopper’s Drugmart to Xpress Post the documents, my old passport, my payment information, and my photos. Cost: $17.

As long as everything is in order, I can expect my passport to arrive the last week of March or the first week of April. Keep your fingers crossed!

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Winter’s Bittersweet Refrain

BRRRRRR!!!

February is going out like a lion! It’s unfortunately too cold to work in the rig, so my electrical and painting projects are on hold. Eep! The forecast does have us moving back up towards a thaw for next weekend, so I’ll hopefully be able to catch up then!

I’ve been feeling really spent the last couple of weeks, so I spent the bulk of today curled up with my cats and the iPad. Tomorrow, I’m going to continue preparing The Apartment for my imminent departure. I should be back home within a month or so!

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Bissell Magic Vac

One thing that I’ve decided in my big spring clean of Miranda is that while my mini wet/dry shop vac serves its purpose really well, it’s a pain to use for daily cleaning because it means I have to get on my hands and knees to vacuum the edges of the floor after I sweep. I am glad to have it for sucking up cat litter and that will continue to be its job. But I need another option for the rest of the rig.

I did some research and decided that a stick vac that converts to a hand vac would be the most useful in a tiny home with no carpet, as well as being easy to store.

I’ve been checking the Canadian Tire flier for a few weeks and the vacuums finally went on sale this week! I decided on a Dirt Devil model for $29. Dirt Devil is barely a step up from Shark, but I figured that it would hold up long enough for me to get my money’s worth.

The Dirt Devil model was available in black and in blue. I cracked open one of the boxes and knew immediately that I wasn’t going to waste $30 on that piece of junk; the plastic just looked really cheap. The next model up was a Dyson, on sale for $119. Dyson makes a great vacuum, but it’s overkill for me. So I decided to wait and headed out of the store when I noticed that there was a box way way in the back of the shelf next to the Dirt Devil model. I wrestled it out and discovered a Bissell stick vac.

I am thrilled with my Bissell little green machine, so I looked for a price tag and let out a mental YAY when I saw that it was the same price as the Dirt Devil!

So I was happy to bring home this blue BISSELL 3106A Featherweight Lightweight Vacuum, also called a ‘magic vac’.

It comes in three parts: the beater bar assembly, the hand vac, and the handle. It assembles easily and has a removable dust cup (no bag). I like things that I can use a minute after I take it out of the box without having to refer to the instruction manual. 🙂 I immediately tested it out and appreciated having a lightweight hand vac that can suck dirt along the edges of the floor without my being bent over. It sucks well on bare floor and only uses 1.2 amps, which means that I will be able to use it when boondocking.

I’m not sure that I would recommend it for folks with carpet because it didn’t do a great job on the carpet in The Apartment, but the carpeting in here is really weird and attracts fuzz like nobody’s business. The Bissell did do a great job on the rug that I put down over the main part of the living area so it might be fine on some types of carpets.