Packing and Prepping.

I am overwhelmed and exhausted.

Packing up all of my belongings. Getting rid of some that I never thought I would.
Last time I moved I kept things "in hopes that I would have time/space to use them in the future."

I can't keep storing a bunch of stuff for that future.
I need to jettison as much as possible to avoid needing a huge storage unit.

So things are going bye bye.
This makes me sad.

I know I've flogged this dead horse before, but I'm gonna do it again now anyway.
I really hate how people are taking advantage of their fellow man by gouging people in rent. In the span of two years, rent for a simple 1 bedroom apt has gone from $650-ish to $1100 and more. Because the law only allows landlords to raise rents by a certain percentage annually, many landlords are giving their tenants 60 day notice, and the tenant is required to re-apply for their apt at the new higher rental rate. Often the new rate is nearly double. This has increased our local homeless population dramatically.

As I look for a place to rent, I go from being despondent to indignant. It's is obscene what these people are doing.

Fortunately my friend is willing to finish the apt she began constructing in her garage. She has agreed to rent it to me at a price I can afford. I am so lucky!

In the mean time, I will be living in my little trailer with the two cats, until the apt is ready. Fortunately there are public restrooms at the park nearby where I work, which has had new showers installed. I will utilize this for the few months while waiting to move in to the apt.

I REALLY hate putting all of my stuff in storage though.

Home is Where Your Heart is: aka Trusting for God to provide whilst staring down the gaping maw of homelessness.

I think that is the longest title I have ever had on a single blog post.

So as many of you know, our house finally sold. It was a thing that needed to happen.
Grampa has passed away.
Helga the family dog followed soon after him.
All of the children graduated and moved to Portland.
And we got our divorce.

We listed the house last year, but there was not much interest.
This year we listed it and it sold within a month.

Last year I had a studio to live in.
This year I have none.

The rents have jumped beyond ridiculous. As many of you know.
What used to be an apt tha rented for $650 2 years ago is now up over $1200 per month.

There are those who have known me for many years.
They've witnessed what they considered to be my struggles, but to me were just ordinary life and I believe I was blessed greatly even in the midst of struggle.

There are those that say to me now, "be patient, God will provide. He didn't bring you all this way to leave you homeless."

This coudl very well be true, but at the same time, such thoughts bring us down to the level of "deserve".
As if I deserve something.
I'll tell you what I deserve from God. It's the same as you deserve, as has every other human that drew breath deserves:

From God's perspective, I am a sinner. And I can't undo what I've ever done. Nor can I stop being imperfect.

Therefore, in the eyes of God Almighty, I deserve Hell and Death.
Do I have better?
Yes. So then why would I expect any more from God.

But WAIT! If you order now, you too can have all that Sin BS erased!
In one not-so-easy payment, God took care of it all.

Through Jesus sacrifice.

So do I deserve Hell and Death? Yes.
Do I have better? Yes.
Then shut up, Michelle.

So...
I do believe that God sold my house.
Logically therefore, I can equally believe that God will make sure I have a roof over my head.

What does that look like?
Who knows.

If all else fails, I will live in my camping trailer.
With my two cats.
They will get used to it. Because I will be there with them.

So as it stands right now, there is nothing available for me to rent at a price I can afford.
I need a 10x20 storage unit to put both my crap and my kids' crap into as of May 31.
There are no storage units available. And even those that are available in neighboring towns have gone up the way that rents have - to unreasonable.

So, this is my odyssey for 2016.
What will God do?

I will watch and pray and be ready.

Re-Thinking the idea of "Home".

The house finally sold!

Yay!
We close on May 31.

My plan is to have all of our crap moved off the property by the time the next Civil War event occurs - May 22nd.

This would give me that final week to deep clean everything before the new owners take the helm. The problem is that there is a shortage of storage units in the town. I am on a waiting list for one that may come available on May 9th. I am hoping and praying that the manager will let me have it!

Then I will just need to find one more, for the kids's stuff. It is an over whelming thought: to have to move all this crap again.

Fortunately over the course of the last year, I have down sized a lot. Even so, there are just some things that I am not ready yet to part with. There is a part of me that says I WILL again have a space of my own. In the mean time, there is a part of me that is REALLY excited about the possibility of taking a year off to live in a trailer and camp. Free from rent. Right now, there is nothing available to rent any way. I did find a couple of cute apartments in Prineville but that is 1.5 hours away from where I work in Sisters. I must be committed to this job for at LEAST two years, to see it through the Transition(tm).
After that, I may look for a "Big Girl" job in Bend.

 It is an opportune thing, that hte RV Show happens to be this weekend.
I have a pretty good idea already of what I want, and what I want to pay for it. But it never hurts to go to a place full of smart people and ask practical questions such as:
    -What are some practical tips on winter camping?
    -How DO I attach the sway bar correctly, to my weight distribution package?
   -I know that my Ford Explorer is "supposed" to be able to handle a towing limit of 7,000lbs, but
     seriously dude, what is realistic? Isn't it more like 3000-3800?
And other such questions.

 On the upside of this adventure in living, I have an excellent friend who, a few years ago, began to trick out her garage in order to turn it into an inhabitable apartment. She put in windows and started a bathroom and kitchenette, but then got distracted. She has VERY GRACIOUSLY offered to revisit that project, creating a space for me to rent at a price I can afford. The first order of business is to discover if the electrical panel needs to be upgraded, and if so, will it be sufficient to carry the extra load without having to re-wire the entire house. This is a huge investment on the part of my friend. And I need to make sure to invest in it as well, as a show of good faith.

Right now, in this area - and I am certain other areas as well - most people bring a take-home pay of approx. $900-$1600 per month. With rents being in excess of $1000 (for a 1 bdrm dump) to $1400-$2000 for a 2 bdrm apt, most people are looking into "alternative" housing options. It's just obscene what people charge for rent because they think they can get away with it. I would call down plagues on their heads if I could. People who give their tenants a 60 notice, because by Oregon Law they are only allowed to raise the rents by a certain percentage. If they want more than the law allows, they are allowed kick everybody out and make them re-apply for housing at the new, exhorbitant rate.
This is common here.
 I have no polite words to describe the sorts of plagues I feel these people need to experience. If you are some one I know and you are doing this, you better not let me know, because I will tell you to your face that you are absolute shit.

ANYWAY....

All of this to say that I am preparing my heart for new things. Sure. Everybody wants their own space. Sure I would love to use my mid-century dishware on a daily basis as I have been doing. But that comfort will have to wait. In the mean time, I CHOOSE to look forward to a life of "Adventure" in an RV.

 And I am sure that God will SHOW me a good time, in this life of "Adventure" in an RV. With the cats...Oh yes...

                                          My current trailer. 14 ft. 1210 lbs dry.

The Cats.
They had their first "adventure" in the trailer today. The home inspector was scheduled today so I had to get all of the pets out of the house. Ika went to work with me, but rather than cram the cats in a crate for 4 hours, I decided they should "train", by spending the afternoon in the trailer.
Funny thing, that...even though at the end of the afternoon, when I took them out and back into the house, they seemed none the worse for wear...somehow...I don't think they enjoyed it as much as I had hoped they would.

After doing a little bit of research, I have discovered that it can be difficult to live in a camping trailer all year round. Not because of the size necessarily - as I pointed out before, I do small really WELL.
The issue comes in the winter. Keeping the thing heated reliably, so that the water pumps etc do not freeze.

There ARE trailers that are designed for use in the winter temps, but they start at around $20,000 to $30,000 and on up.

 I could pay some one to build me a Tiny House for THAT price.
So no thanks on the RV. 
I know that Doug lives in his small RV - MiniWinnie, year round. I need to find out how he does it.
His is an older unit so there must be a way.