Category: Blog Entries

Well I am really starting to get suspicious. I realize also that this is quite (big word alert) narcissistic but I am beginning to believe someone in Pensacola is picking up all of the lost shoes around here.

There have been numerous instances where I have passed a shoe up and not gotten the photo for whatever reason, running late, bad spot to stop and so forth, with the intention to come back to it later and get the shot. Much like I have done for a long time. Well normally when a shoe is lost it stays lost for some time so there is never the worry that it will not be still there in a day or so. No big deal to pass one up. But that has not been the case lately here in Pensacola. Those shoes I have been passing up have been disappearing!!!! I would say almost 8 -10 shoes so far. So what I have been having to do, is either make myself stop and get the shot, or come back asap! I think I have been a step ahead lately as I have been getting the shoe photos and finding those shoes gone in a day or so.

I do recall a teenager tell me at one of my exhibitions here in town that he loved my project and has somewhat “borrowed” my idea. Which is not a problem, just stop taking my lost soles off the damn road!!!!! If it is you of course, and if you even read this blog. Not really sure anyone does but me anyway. i know Sharon doesn’t. I like to think that is because she lives it all first hand, or hears me tell the stories, and not because this blog bores here 🙂

Well it has been a while since I last blogged, I am going to start blogging more as we get closer to the birth of our first (and last 🙂 child, Noah. I just think if for no other reason than for him to read someday, I should start documenting his first years of life on this earth.

And those many that know us, know we do not do things like the rest of the world. Sharon and I kinda march to our own beat so to speak. So it should come to no surprise to you that we are not having this child in a hospital, but rather the traditional at-home-birth method, via a mid-wife. This is for several reasons, but most of all, we want to ease Noah into this world in the relaxed, nurturing environment of our home. As opposed to the almost violent and cold hospital environment. While we think this is the best method, it by no means is implying that everyone who gives birth in a hospital did something wrong. You should did what you thought at the time was the best for your child. And that is all anyone can ask. But please if you are getting ready to have a child, or planning to have one. Take a VERY close look into the practices and procedures of OB/GYNs. They are surgeons. They live in a very clinical world where humans behaving humanly is an inconvenience to them. Please if you get a chance watch the documentary “The Business of Birth” by Ricki Lake. It gives a very real and eye-opening look into the world of child birth. Another good one is “What Babies Want” by Noah Wyle. You owe it to yourself and your child to take these few hours to research and then make whatever decision you want to make. At least then you will see both sides and be well informed. We watch these videos per the advice/teaching of our doula friend, Elizabeth Taylor. She is an amazing person, her soul is very alive and bright. She has been a very positive energy in this birthing process.

So to that note, we are going to keep everyone up to date on how this whole home birth goes. We plan on having a birthing tub, but when it gets going, who knows where Sharon will feel most comfortable at the moment of birth.

We are not going completely blind through all of this without modern medicine. There are great tools and technology we plan to take advantage of. Specifically ultrasound. We want to know what is going on in there and if little Noah is progressing well. Thankfully, he is incubating just fine in there. He is a little on the small side of normal, but so were Sharon and I so it is perfectly normal for babies in our families. And if anything should go wrong during birth, then that is where the OB/GYNs excel. They are great when there needs to be intervention. We could not live without modern medicine at times. We just believe that doctors and hospitals are for trauma, not for normal healthy human functions such as births. That just is not there forte in our opinion.

So I guess little Noah will be the majority of my blogging subject for the next 18 years or so. But as the RV lifestyle was a journey, so is parenthood. There will be twists and turns, forks in the road, speed bumps, smooth highways, chewed up detours and ups and downs, I just hope we can just can the wheels on and always moving forward 🙂

It has been quite a while since we had taken a road trip, well in our terms 🙂 It felt to get back out on the road, but it was no in the CruiseMaster as we are weighing some heavy issues about how “green” the big RV is. And also to put it bluntly, we cannot afford to drive it 🙁 But that will be an issue for another blog.

After spending a great week with Sharon’s Nanny, visiting thrift stores, yard sales and eating a lot of food, it was time to give her a life down south to visit Rachie, Donny, Cookie and Scooter. Plus I had offered to donate a painting for a charity auction benefiting one of the servers from Deans South of the Border where Rachie works, Rena Darva.

The Charlotte Sun, May 16, 2008:
”Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dean’s South of the Border will hold a benefit for the 35-year-old single mother of two who is fighting liposarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue. Dalva began working at Dean’s a year ago, when the cancer was in remission. She has recently had a total of five surgeries — three to remove a portion of her lung where the cancer has recently spread — and she is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments.”

My painting was of underwater manatees as seen from above water, much like my dolphins I have been painting. It ended up going for $180, not bad as I was worried it may not sell at all in the down-troden economy of Charlotte County, and overall lack of art appreciation. It was bought by friends of Donnie and Rachie, and they really loved it. So I was thrilled to have it sell to them! If you read this blog THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPING ME HELP RENA!!

The auction went over so well, I believe they raised $6,000 or more in proceeds. And one other big gift was given to the cause by my great friend and buddy Scooter Ahrens. He is donating the proceeds of a raffle that is for one of his Tribal 14 fishing skiffs (a fish and skip to some). “Chop and bounce, Chop and bounce, Chop and bounce,…sorry inside joke 🙂 All he is asking for is the cost to cover building the boat which is around $4000 he believes. For more information on this cause visit his website at http://www.tribalboatworks.com .

Another reason for the trip was the baby shower. Rachie and Cookie were dying to see Sharon pregnant and to throw her a shower. They did a great job. The decorations looked great (I helped put them up:) The food was awesome and since it was a coed shower with beer it was kinda fun. We got many great gifts. One of the most thoughtful was the handmade Noah’s Ark print fitted crib sheet and mobile given to us by Kelly. Rachie and Cookie found so many cool Noah’s Ark stuff as well! I know I sound like a broken record but…we are so blessed for so many good friends in our life. Thank you all. And thanks for the boat Scooter 🙂

Well the trip is over, but it was a little bit of adventure which I had be so hankering for!! I discovered several lost shoes as well, even one I remembered from last time down there and did not photograph then. It was tough though when we pulled into a rest area and there was motorhome parked there, with car in tow. A coupel got out to walk their dogs. It all made me really sad. I miss those days on the road. Something about the call of the road. I loved those days and will NEVER forget them. Someday we will do it again, as a little family this time. Me, Sharon, Jack, Jinjer and little Noah 🙂

As I spoke of in an earlier blog, I have been building furniture. My first project was to create a platform bed with wicker storage baskets underneath. Much like the beds that go for over $1000 at Pottery Barn. I drew out my plans for almost a week, changing them here and there as I figured out better solutions. I finally just dove in and starting cutting and assembling. I was very happy with what I built and surprised Sharon quite a bit with my carpentry skills. So to follow that project up I decided to build our fishtank stand and hood.

The project went really well, with only a minor glitch in the staining process, but we got that worked out. We are now blessed with a big beautiful fish tank as the centerpiece for our tiny living room. Now I have the bug to build more. I am going to use this section of my blog to update all the furniture I create. And if anyone sees something I build that they would perhaps like in their home, I would be happy to build one for you at a reasonable price of course 🙂 🙂 🙂

Sharon and I have now begun what people refer to as nesting. We have begun filling our new little home with “stuff”. The very “stuff” we lost over 3 years ago. And what better and economical way to do it than to by buying “gently-used” stuff. After all it is a way or recycling instead of filling land fills more.

It has been a really nice way of spending quality time together for the family. We got into the routine of me waking up every saturday morning early and mapping out our attack route for the sales, usually in East Hill of Pensacola, sometimes Gulf Breeze. We then head out in search of treasures with the puggles coming along for the ride because after we are finished searching for stuff we go to the dog park to let them run around and get energy out so we can go out to the beach without worrying that they will get into something.

In the course of our bargain hunting, we have gotten a crib, rug, lamps, books, coolers, chairs, vases, glasses, curtains, and best of all for me…tools!

I have gotten the best deals on a sander, a saw, a weed eater, hedge clippers and more. Thanks to these tools my yard is looking great and I have been able to build some nice furniture. But we are not done yet, I am sure there are lots of stuff out there we need, just dont know it yet 🙂

Well, since we are up there in child bearing years, our pregnancy has been labeled a “high-risk pregnancy”, meaning we had to see a high-risk specialist, Dr. Mayer. We received a thorough ultrasound to calculate Noah’s size and assess his progress. We found out he has no noticeable defects, he has all his fingers and toes. The only thing that concerned the doctor was his size. Noah is a little small for his age but still within normal parameters so it is just something to keep an eye on but not freak out over 🙂 We were told to just try and have Sharon drink more water to help thin blood and increase blood flow to him to get more nutrition. So I have purchased an adult sippy cup for Sharon and I am trying to drown her she thinks.

We posted a couple more ultrasound pics that were taken in case anyone is curious to see him. For now all we can do is let him sit in there and bake. But I am sure it will seem like time is standing still, yet going so fast, if you know what I mean.

On another note, I set up the One Shoe Diaries exhibition this weekend for another gallery night in Pensacola and actually sold a print of one of my favorite shoes, #79!

Well we got rid of the Jeep in exchange for a mini van. Many of my friends are getting a kick out of me getting a minivan. But it wasnt that long ago that I had a Toyota minivan that i just loved. It was when I lived in West Virginia.

Originally bought when i still resided in Cincinnati, but the legend of the van really took life in Charleston, West Virginia. The van was perfect for me, I could keep all of my camping and fishing gear in there and load in my bike, still leaving room for the middle seat to fold back to create a nice bed for me to sleep on. It was an outdoors person dream.

I took that thing in so many places and also got it stuck several times. I remember one time at Babcock State Park when I drove it down a long and steep rocky hill road to get to a great fishing spot I had been told about by a local. I was so impressed by the van for making it down, I really was worried it would get stuck. Little did I know I was on a dead end road and would have to retrace that route to get home. I did not think there was going to be any way back up it. I started out going slow but the van did not have the power for it. So I had to get a running start and just attack the hill. What seemed like small rocks when going downhill earlier, felt like boulders going up! I was bouncing everywhere, things shook and rattled in the van. I was just hoping it would hold together. Rocks flew up and hit the bottom of the van with thuds. My gear flew everywhere. But somehow the van stayed together and rambled its way up the hill like a champ!

There were many more great van adventures and stories (ask me about Mark and surfing on the van. I loved that little van. It ended up catching on fire one night in the garage. I awoke to see smoke filling my townhouse and immediately started taking all my valuables out of the townhouse and putting them into the van, only to notice that the smoke was coming from it!! I used the extinguisher to put it out. Apparently transmission fluid leaked onto the alternator which was still hot from driving and started smoking, not sure if there were ever flames but it did smoke A LOT! After that I decided it was time for a new vehicle.

I ended up giving the title over to a waiter as a tip at a restaurant we visited often. He fixed it up and it ran just fine. I was always sad seeing someone else driving her around town. I loved that van, but I fell in love with my new Jeep Cherokee pretty quickly also.

And it has now come full circle back to a minivan. A Dodge Grand Caravan. I wonder what adventures it will hold for us. I am sure there will be some, there is always adventure somehow for me 🙂

Caravan Update: While the exterior and interior of the Van is in great shape. I cannot say that much for the engine 🙁 First we replaced the exhaust manifold, the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. While it did sound 100% better it did not run any better. So we ended up replacing the CMP and CKP sensors, replaced the timing belt, cam key, and spark plugs…nothing. On to clean out the fuel injectors, still nothing changed. We are currently in limbo now awaiting more tests and attempts to find the problem. $900 so far and still hoping to find the issue and get it fixed. This is kinda par for the course for us, but it is getting old. We need a working vehicle soon 🙁 🙁 🙁 And when it rains it pours! The flywheel is now broken and will cost $400 to fix. Unbelievable 🙁 HAPPY UPDATE! The van is running!!! And running like a champ, just gotta get the A/C working now, and new tires and shocks!! *LMAO*

Lately it seems like there has been a lot to be down about, and most recently I have been down about the world losing a great animal. A warrior in his own right. A good soul…BoDog.

BoDog was Scooter’s, one of my best friend’s dog. But I do not like the term dog for him, he was a friend…a best friend to Scooter. If we could make a dog an honorary gang member (story for another time), BoDog would for sure be in. Actually I would like to formally make a motion to allow BoDog as a full fledged gang member. All in favor say I!! Motion Granted!

I get choked up thinking about him and the connection Scooter and him shared. It was a kinship that transcended species and now time. BoDog was a great soul. They bonded on such a level few people can understand unless you saw them together. One that comes along only once in a while, perhaps once in a lifetime for some. But even though the time was short, it is well worth the while. Scooter gave him the best life any creature could ask for. He was king.

Since I love to tell a story, let me indulge for a minute with one about BoDog and Scooter. Some years back BoDog had been hunting squirrels in the back yard to no avail. But he was persistent. Eventually he did catch and kill one. Scooter celebrated with him in Tribal fashion, both so excited to get a kill. And to memorialize this event Scooter put the squirrel in the freezer with the intention to go get it stuffed that week. Well it sat in that freezer for a couple of years until Hurricane Charlie rendered the area without power for a couple weeks and the squirrel thawed and he was forced to throw it out. I do not believe Bo got any more squirrel kills, but was a terror to lizards. He hunted and killed hundreds. I am sure he was a dark legend in the lizard world. He even got his final kill on his final day on this earth. He had not hunted like that for almost a year but for some reason felt he needed one last kill as if he knew what that day was to be 🙁

This is a very hard and emotional blog for me to write. BoDog touched many people’s lives, there was just something about him. Something good and pure. Something that I wish were more present in human’s spirits. Sharon and I loved him.

So I want to dedicate this portion of my electronic world to him. There are a lot of people who will miss you and never forget you. You were a one of a kind soul. Goodbye BoDog. And these quotes sum it up.

“If there are no dogs in heaven, then it is no place I want to be. I want to go where they are”
– Will Rogers

” He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. 
You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”
– Unknown Author

Well I now have respect for those people that blog without travel and exploration as their source of material. I am now finding that mowing the lawn, sweeping the floors, cleaning dishes, doing taxes and running to the grocery store are tough subjects to write about. I am finding it hard to find material by which to be inspired to write about. Although maybe with a baby on the way I will have stuff to write again, but will I have the time or the energy to do it, that will be the big question.

But even in my mundane, ordinary existence there are a few things to write about. We have “turned in” our Jeep Liberty and purchased a mini-van. Which i hear is perfect for unloading and loading a stroller and car seat. Scary stuff there. It is a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, that has perfect interior and a pretty good exterior on it. It does however come with 184,000 miles! And needs an exhaust manifold and catalytic converter totally $400. This is not bad considering our purchase price of only $1300. We will keep an update on the total amount sunk into it 🙂 That should be fun and interesting right? Oh boy!

— Update: As of May 10th, 2008 we have had to replace the fuel pump, fuel filter, distributor, engine computer, timing belt, cam key, a tension pulley, relays, CMP sensor, CPK sensor, fan and many more little parts here and there, the grand total now spent on the van is at $2800, and sure to rise more as we need the air fixed —-

I have to admit it has been nice being able to get back into tennis and volleyball again. It was really hard to do while on the road. The big semi annual Fudpucker’s tournament in Fort Walton Beach was this past weekend which I have not participated in since Hurrican Ivan in 2004. Just in Men’s A division alone there were 40+ teams!! It is a huge draw for people all around the midwest. They make a whole vacation of it and you see a lot of the same people down from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois to name a few. The tournament events run from tuesday until sunday with numerous parties in between. It really is fun and a must-attend event for any volleyball player within driving distance.

I played with my long time friends Mocha and Catfish along with our fourth, a new young buck, Matt. Our first day of pool play could not have went worse unless we lost all the games instead of pulling out the one lone win to stave off the donut. But day 2 held better fortunes for us. The only thing that

stopped us in the semi finals was 3 bad calls by our referee. And I mean bad. We were livid. There may have even been a few curse words being thrown arounnd. But in the big picture no one really rememebers the wins, we remember the stories that inevitably come from the night before’s parties. I will not be divulgiing those here as what happens at Fud’s stays at Fud’s, right Matt? 😉

There was my attempt to keep on blogging to keep momentum going. We are currentlyt planning a trip down south in the new van. There may be some blogging potential there. I hope so as I am dying to hit the road again!!!!

I recently saw the movie “Into the Wild” and it really struck a chord in me. So many things that the character Chris McCandless experienced reminded me of what we discovered in our journeys on the road in the motor home. We too feel like we connected and got to touch others lives, we made some very lasting impressions and many people did the same on us.

There is something about wondering around without much of a destination. It allows you to stumble upon the unexpected. You become open to whims which lead to real live altering experiences. When you are off course you really find out who you are and what you want.

Also noticing he spent a lot of time in the desert, it caused me to recall something a desert local had told us in Las Cruces, New Mexico…
“Here in the desert, most people are running from something, it may be a place, it may be a person, or it could be just the voices in ther own head, but make no mistake, they are running from something”

Another desert native shared with us their theory on why they seem a little off…
“Think about it, we live in 100+ degree heat most of our lives, that kind of heat has to eventually take a toll on the brain, it just has to. I mean our bodies were meant to stay at 98.5º.”

I just really connected with this movie, there were some great quotes in it, and some great characters. Much like in our trek. We are always amazed at all the people we met and really bonded with.

The quote that rang closest to me was the “Happiness is only real when shared”. This is something I have pretty always said. I told my friend Kevin one time that if I experience something wonderful, what good is it if there is noone there to share it with, I might as well have just dreamed it. It is not real.” Sharon asks me sometime why i always want someone to mountain bike or other things with and I tell her the same thing.

Sometimes I really miss those travels. I do miss the adventure 🙁 But we are still young, there are plenty left for us and little Noah I am sure. I can only pray he will have the same adventurous spirit I have, and then again. But I remember the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true”