Settling In
I want to show you my new camper, but I have to clean before I take pictures. A twenty-some foot camper requires always picking up after yourself. Two things out of place, and it looks like a disaster area.
I can’t get the water to work. See, I need a hose with two female ends, but my hose is a normal hose, with one female end and one male end. I tried cutting off the male end and doing one of those hose repair kit things to put on a female end, and it’ll work for five minutes and then the end just pops right off. Water spurts everywhere, and my cat gets wet. She doesn’t like that.
I think I need to find a picture online so I know I’m doing it right.
I was evidently muttering “female to female” in the store, and my best friend was very patient and accepting. About ten minutes later, as I’m puttering in the garden hose aisle, she goes, “Oh! So that’s what you meant by female to female!” I then imagined her setting herself up to be supportive of my coming out.
(Yes, we writers live mostly in our imaginations. I didn’t ask what she was thinking because my imagination was more interesting.)
My cats, while crawling in all the cubby holes, have disabled my 12 volt electricity. So my lights, my exhaust fan, and my furnace (all connected to the 12 volt line) are not currently working. I just have to take the time to follow the wires and figure out what’s going on. Good thing I brought electrical tape.
And I’ve lost a cat. I am trying not to be worried. He is not in a cubby hole. And the ONLY way he could have gotten out is if someone came and opened the door, because he sure as heck didn’t open it and then slam the door and latch it after he left. All the windows were closed because of rain.
He is really friendly though, so he will ingratiate himself to people, and I will find those people and get my cat back. He would not be scared outside, so that’s cool.
Still. I want my cat. Now. He’s my big lug.
On to the good news: the stove is working! I procrastinated turning on the propane for a week because I was nervous. (I don’t know why.) But it works! And I’m currently making quinoa and lentils in veggie broth. Yum, yum.
Other good news? My two and a half weeks of moving, sorting, and hauling stuff up and down stairs made me go down two pant sizes. Very cool! Hence, my first meal made in the camper will be quinoa and lentils, and not chocolate pudding made with almond milk.
I’m inordinately pleased by this. I keep standing up and looking at the flame and grinning and saying: my stove works! I feel like I’m a kid playing house. This is the first “house” I’ve owned. And it’s allllllll mine. Tee-hee.
The bathroom is nearly a football field away. I would like to think I’m getting more exercise, but I’m just getting a stronger bladder.
And finally, this campground feels deserted and dead quiet. My backyard is a cute little creek, which my niece waded in. My front yard is a cornfield. When I went out walking to look for Caesar, I was surprised to find at least two or three hundred more campers here. Astonishing. I would’ve bet I was the only one.
Oooh! My lunch is done! It cooked! Like for real and everything!
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
Sounds like you are settling in! And I’m totally jealous you dropped two pants sizes! I went home last week and couldn’t fit in my jeans, lol. Maybe I need to move?
I hope you find your cat soon!!
I still need to drop three more, but I’ll take it!
Next time I’ll eat well and workout. Moving sucks!
I hope Caesar comes back soon, too.
I’m jealous of your pant sizes, though I’m a bit worried about your cat, too. I hope you lock your camper door now. It’s scary to think about someone doing that.
Congrats on the cooking! The meal sounds wonderful.
I’m worried about him, too, Edie. I still have to install a lock, though; the one on the camper doesn’t lock. And even then, the top part is easily opened, even if it did lock. So I’m not sure how much good a lock will do.
All I could really think about through the post was that you’ve got a lesbian camper that needs two female ends.
LOL, Charles!
put something of yours outside the camper that smells like you–a t-shirt you sleep in for example. He may pick up on that scent and follow it back to you. No guarantees but it did work for a girlfriend of mine. Also ask all your fellow campers to keep a lookout. I’m thinking positive for you, and the kitty.
PS: awesome job on the pants sizes!
I put a t-shirt out. How long did it take your friend? I keep seeing white flashes. I get my hopes up, but then it’s not Caesar.
Thanks! About the pants!
I think her cat was gone about 48 hrs or so. They had just moved into a new place, so she figured nothing smelled “right” to him and that was why he wandered off.
Does Caesar have a collar/tags on? Have any of the other campers noticed him?
Caesar has a harness on, plus a rabies tag that I think might actually be Ittle-Bittle’s. I got them mixed up.
Still no sign of him.
Hope you find your cat. But cats also do sometimes get the wanderlust and just take off. My parents had a cat return once after — they subsequently discovered — spending almost a year with a family some distance away out in the country.
Your home is even smaller than our cottage, but not by as much as you’d think. But we have indoor plumbing! My parent’s had a cottage with an outhouse when I was growing up so I had to trek our back during the summer. Luckily my bladder was younger and stronger.
Eric, REALLY?! Wow! You are kidding! A year? I hope he comes back within the month. Before Glenn gets home. Glenn would kill me. He and Caesar are best buds. Caesar is the cuddly one, so I miss him bunches, too.
I’ll have pics soon, Eric! I just have a small sink.
I’m sending positive vibes to your kitty to come home.
Camper people are a different breed. I think they are free spirits. We used to go camping all the time and met many people who did it year around. They’d go with the weather. I was amazed by them and always wanted to try it. I envy you!
Thanks, Aimless! Now that it’s been 24 hours, I’m unable to procrastinate the worry any longer.
Glenn thinks this was his idea, but it was mine. He’s less free-spirited; he likes his stuff. For this year, we’ll only be moving about once a month, but next year, whenever we feel like it!
It sounds like your life has become a true adventure! The quinoa and lentils sounds really yummy. That stinks about the cat. I really hope he comes back soon. You’ve tried the “Hey, Kittty, Kitty, Kitty!” thing, right? Yeah. I sort of thought so.
Yeah, Robin, LOL! I’ve been saying that all day.
No effect, yet. There are pawprints (I think) on the table outside, which means I missed him last night. I’m hoping if I stay awake all night tonight, he’ll come back. I’m setting out food, too.
Okay, I’m a little freaked out that you don’t have a lock. WHAT?
Yay for dropping two pants sizes. I think I went down at least one before I moved to Mexico, and that was despite the fact that I stopped going to the gym. Hmm… I gained it all back pretty quickly, so you’re smart to cook healthy.
I do understand the fear with the propane — I’d be a little nervous too. You don’t want to blow up your home!
LOL, Melanie! There’s a lock, but I don’t have a key. Which is, sadly, fine, because all I have to do is unlatch the top half of the door, reach in, and unlock it.
Which makes having a lock in the first place a bit pointless, LOL!
Yikes! I’m off to go walking for Caesar again. I don’t want to gain it back!
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that you lost your cat
I am sure that he’s just exploring, but I know that you miss him. I hope he comes back to you soon 
I am hoping so, Lauren! Thanks!