It’s been a very full and active day under yet another broiling Saskatchewan summer sun. Once I had water, it was time to do laundry, mounds and mounds of it (and I’m not done yet). I got into a routine of getting hot water from the exterior shower and carrying it in a bucket to the WonderWash and then filling my new water jug with cold water while I spun the clothes. The outdoor shower is very slow, so having water in the jug made rinsing quicker. It sounds like a lot of work but, really, it’s less than traipsing across town to borrow someone’s washing machine.

During the day, I also worked a little more on the genset and reattacked my weeds.

Last night, I went over to Laura’s to drop off some internet research I did for her and asked her about a trash barrel she had promised me. She said that she needed to find a guy with a truck to haul away the branches in and covering it and then I could have the barrel. The branches would go to the ‘pit’ somewhere near the community hall.

Truck? Waitaminute, don’t I have one of those?

(When I got home, I was holding a flower pot with soil in it for transplanting my tomatoes and was just finishing that up when Isaiah and Grace stopped in for a quick chat. My “I’m a real homesteader now that I’m growing my own food!” quip as I held my tiny tomato plant was good for a laugh. Isaiah says that I’m fitting right in, ie. that my yard is starting to look cluttered (and yet, it’s very neat. I just need a shed!).)

Late afternoon today, I emptied out the truck and headed to Laura’s where I filled the bed with as many branches as possible. Then, I had to find the pit. I suspected that it would be near the vehicle graveyard and I was right! Just before the graveyard, there is a rutty track that leads straight down to a pit where everyone throws their branches. I backed down there and unloaded the branches, then almost spun out trying to get back up. Note to self, you do not have a 4×4.

I repeated the exercise twice (learning to jam the gas pedal and then quickly clutch into second), clearing away all the branches, then I went back for my well-earned trash barrel! A truck is so perfect for life out here, gas mileage be damned, and the property was definitely a factor in getting Moya.

I was just about to go take my shower (hallelujah) when I remembered that I had to put stuff back in the truck. So I went back out to sweep it, then put in the mats and made up the bed in preparation for leaving on Sunday.

What’s interesting about all this is that I had the energy to do it. Since I arrived on the beach early this year, the heavy shroud of fatigue that has plagued me for years, well before I started RVing, began to lift. Even though I’m still sleeping like crap, that doesn’t stop me from having an active day. Just a year ago, there is no way I would have gotten the truck cleaned today. I would have been glued to my lounge chair and even taking a shower would have seemed like an insurmountable chore. I’m not sure what’s changed except that I started to cut back on sugar as a new year’s resolution….

Life is so much easier to live when you’re not experiencing it as though swimming through a sea of molasses!

Needless to say, I earned myself a hearty dinner tonight and my body demanded some rice after all that exercise. Dang it was tasty! 🙂

The earth is dry and dusty here… but where we’ll live there’s a winding stream and the grass on the gentle hills around it grows high and rich and green. It’s the plot of land you’ve dreamed of.