I failed.
Yep.
I failed. My goal was to be consistent on many things. The first was this blog. While I have an “excuse” — really I don’t.
Last Monday, my mother had shoulder surgery. The day I normally tie up the grammar, spell check, re-read, get graphics and post, was her first day after surgery. Needless to say it was not an easy day. She did not react well to the pain meds and couldn’t keep food down. She was also very weak and my worry and nerves were fried. I could do nothing but constantly worry about her and focused on trying my best to help. I was annoying. She won’t tell me that, but I’m SURE.
Shoulder surgery, unlike knee replacement, is widely different. Recovery for a knee replacement requires walking an hour after you wake. You must move, must bend and use the knee to prevent stiffness and bending issues. You are also (minimally) kept overnight — average is a two night stay at a hospital.
When you have rotator cuff surgery they do not want you moving your shoulder in anyway, as it could tear the muscle they repaired. It’s also out-patient. The at-home exercises force you to rely on gravity. Dangling the arm and moving the booty to get it to sway on it’s own. They do not want you to lift, carry, or use the arm/shoulder. While the pain meds are significantly better for shoulder surgery (I was provided ibuprofen for my knees), the strength in which they help the body heal can be harsh on a system. After some advice from the pharmacist, I cut the pills in half. This helped significantly.
She is very much set in her ways regarding daily activity (like we all are) and this experience I don’t think has been enjoyable for her in anyway. She’s most of the time comfortable, but not being able to use her right hand has been very hard for her to accept. It’s been exhausting for both of us.
While this is a reason for not posting a blog last Tuesday, it’s not an excuse. Honestly I could have written the blog over the weekend, but my habit or “routine” is typically to sit up stairs after coffee on a Monday and write out my thoughts of the previous week and what’s been going on. That was failure #1.
Failure #2: I’ve not been exercising / walking / hula-hooping like I had intended. It’s a stupid, vicious circle of getting caught up aka lazy and not actually making it a habit. I often wish I was back to 2019 when the weight was melting off because I was swimming everyday and walking 10k steps a day. Actually if I were going to wish for anything, I wish for my HS body weight back but unfortunately the genie is not real and Wil Smith ISN’T going to knock on my front door and grant any of them.
That’s on me.
On this Day 10/12/23
In taking the next big step towards a truck camper; I have officially upgraded the truck. I found my needle in the haystack. It’s a gasser, crew cab with an 8 foot bed. Now unlike most people in America that believe the truck manufacture says something about the person you are; that’s not me. I need the truck to do two things — work and carry a camper. I do not care which manufacture. It needed to be the right price, length, side steppin’ (because your girl is short), roomie back seat, lowish mileage model. I had a Dodge Ram 1500, the interior looked identical to a Jeep, so I knew it. I understood it, it felt comfortable.
That being said…
This big old girl, yes girl, is a beast. I do feel like growlin’ 🐯 or making that Tim-the-Toolman grunt when I see her. It feels big, but I also drove a massive 12 foot tall, 24 foot box for a couple of years, so I just need to get used to the length and watching the ass-end until I learn the vehicle.
I just haven’t named her.
Just like Sawyer, I will wait until her personality shows up.
She will be able to handle some of the back country and mountain roads I plan on exploring.
I’m still learning her ins-and-outs and while I could (should) read through the manual, so I can get to know her. I’ve not had the time, in fact a few days after having her, I plugged in the phone and was surprised to see Apple Car play pop on the screen. I did a mental happy dance. Having this upgraded feature will makes it easy to get to Apple Music, Audio books and other apps. It also has on-star and wi-fi connections. This may lead to the research of Starlink and how best to set up this connection.
I do miss the dash I had with the Ram. It had the perfect place for the phone and the Garmin Nav system, which I will still use when I get on the road.
The truck I got is a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 LT Z71 Midnight Edition. The bed has already been spray lined, it is not a diesel, which I honestly didn’t want to deal with the headache of def. This truck for now is perfect and should last quite a few years and seasons as I move towards the goal of traveling part-time. I have no intention of ever having a truck camper that weighs over 2000lbs. In fact the two different models I want weigh under 1700 lbs and are priced over 25k but for now, I will settle on a more affordable and reasonable truck camper; which means it’s gonna need some TLC.
The space though with a crew cab is — WOW🤯 and this particular version of the truck, I will be able to easily remove the back seats so I can create the garage space — this will be the place I store most of the things I need for shows & events, products, where I store my kayak and hang my coats. It will become the junk drawer / closet space. The front seat can quickly become a bench seat, which provides a secondary spot for Sawyer or second dog/cat?
The goal is to build and create a drawer / storage system that will work in the back seat. This is something that I need to research, ask friends and determine the best way to create. I also need to measure, and research ideas. My idea (very rough idea), I’ve drawn out.
I will create a base that will level the floor behind the seats. From there a front and back wall for support, a dividing wall that will run the center — perpendicular to the back of the cab. It will also become the support for the top which needs to be no higher than the armrest on the back door.
What I’ll need to store.
Camping chairs
Folding Tables
Pop-Up Tent
Kayak
Dog
Coats (on a bar)
Backpack
Hiking Shoes
Other essentials
I still have the trailer for sale. My goal is to get it sold for what I owe. Camping season is over and most people are not really looking, so it will stay until I sell it. I did confirm that Camping World will buy it back, but I am going to assume it will be nowhere near what they financed it for and what I owe.
So it’s listed in a couple of places and a few friends have shared it and it’s still sitting in the driveway. I could trade it in on a truck camper I want, but…. I really don’t want a payment. Not right now.
Right now, I just want to enjoy what remains of fall, learn my truck and help my mom with recovery.