Hibernating
Our 2022 Family Christmas Card
With it being the *official* first day of winter, I thought it would be the best time to come back out of hiding (it seemed) from our blogging hiatus! We’ve both been so busy, if there is an excuse to be had. I’ve been working very hard on my business, Black Cat Studios (shameless plug). I had the honor, these past four months, to work with such amazing people as I navigate this world in which I thought was much simpler than it really is! Caleb has been working and mostly keeping us warm in the rig.
As far as the details of exactly how Caleb winterized our rig (he can get into more of the specifics of it all if you ask), but mainly: we’ve insulated all of our slideouts with 3M -40⁰ rated foil tape to seal air gaps, foam boards around the slideouts, and skirting around the bottom to keep the cold air out from underneath the fifth wheel. He also placed heat tape around the water spigot, sewer line, and insulated the pipes. We were able to get all of this done right before the very first snowfall of the season! We’ve been staying pretty warm, it isn’t toasty by any means, but we are comfortable.
The animals are also doing well, besides Hope having the new habit of lying in front of the heater vent by the kitchen island (she has so much fur, so we don’t think she’s actually that cold!) Henry just seems to go a little stir crazy at times since we had to block off a few of his favorite windows to insulate the slideouts, he isn’t too thrilled about that— but that’s what all of his toys are for! We also have our pet camera set up, which uses a red laser light to play with him when he looks bored/walking around. Roger is our main concern lately, since his cage sits on the ground of the slideout…we’re looking into either building or buying him a dresser/table to sit on so he’s off the ground. For now, we cut some of that foam board to fit around the sides and bottom of the cage.
Besides the ‘staying warm’ aspect of the time being, we have also been parked in the same spot for about three months! It feels strange to not be ready to go whenever we want; we have a trip planned for my birthday next month, and Caleb says we can’t take the RV since it is pretty much set in its place until Michigan thaws out in a few months. All we want to do is travel, but the circumstances keeping us in one place are also a blessing at times, helping us slow down where we can in life. Being at my parents has been so nice, they even let Caleb create a full hookup site in their driveway! We have reliable internet right now, which is really convenient because we were able to hook up our old google home, and we also have Hello Fresh delivered again (both of which we kinda missed when we moved into the RV, but could give up if needed).
Time lapse of parking the fifth wheel for the last time until spring! So it had to be “perfect”
So that’s been our life lately! Working and lots of family time! We love planning our future (as much as you can plan your future) and looking ahead to the next best things. 2023 is going to be exciting, I think. It will be our first full year in the rig with plenty of adventures planned. Most of you reading this know my absolute favorite holiday is New Years Eve! I love new beginnings, celebrating endings, and remembering all of the great times in between. I have a feeling our life will be so much different next year, and I can’t wait to see what happens!
Stay Adventurous!
-E
