Explanation of our Title

I thought that I would try writing a blog and get into the vernacular of this century. I still don't know what a twitter is!

It was only going to be an try-out and when I had to set up a home page I was at a loss for a title. Without a lot of thought I typed in a first,temporary title.

What made me think of "Wind At Our Backs"?

After 14 years of full-timing and travels and living a very different lifestyle, it is time to reflect.

We started out by putting many of our belongings in storage,where we would retrieve them in 3 or 4 years. We loaded our small motorhome with what we needed and hit the road.

Friends and family either admired us or thought we were out of our minds. No home, no home base, no plans for the future. With heads down and determination we knew that this was something we had both looked forward to. You might compare it to setting sail into a head wind.

Each year was a new adventure.

New highways and places to explore. New friends along the way. From cities along the thruways to small towns and villages on the backroads. We followed the sunshine and the warmth. We have stayed in luxury resorts and boondocked in the desert. Parked on the beaches and stayed in the deep woods. We've changed motorhomes and left the furniture in storage. We added a pet named Pixie and when our Zack no longer travelled with us, we added our newest dog, JJ.

The winds began to change. Life on the road became easier. Saying goodbye to our family was not as difficult.The wind had shifted to our backs and were pushing us along to places we had only dreamed of. We travelled from ocean to ocean.We saw mountains and plains, canyons and broad rivers. We've been across Canada,visited most of the United States and spent time in Mexico.

We hope that those who doubted our adventure all those years ago,now admire and envy us.

The wind is blowing today and the wind will blow next spring, next year and the year after that. It is now at our backs,taking us wherever it blows!

A Global Experience

Our friend Ed received a most unusual Christmas gift. It was a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. He took one look at it and passed it to me.My sister Carolyn,my friend Jan Hounsome and I love to work on jigsaw puzzles.The puzzle was set aside until we had some cool weather and could work indoors.

I took the puzzle to Carolyn's on Thurs. and the fun began.

The finished puzzle is a 9 in. globe on a stand.

Carolyn and I knew we were in for a great geography lesson or a mathematical equation.The 540 pieces were plastic and snapped together very tightly. Each piece was also numbered and a directional arrow on the inside of each shaped piece. We started at 1:00 PM with Antarctica and slowly worked north.We worked in a circular direction, piece by piece. Eventually Jan joined us to contribute her pieces. As we began to reach the Arctic, the space became very crowded and needed one person to finish.

At 3:00 Carolyn was able to put the last piece,Finland into place.We joked with Pertti about the last piece being stubborn and difficult to fit in.

Pertti put the frame together and by 4:00 PM we had our completed globe. A few uneven pieces that didn't snap together evenly gave the appearance of waves or mountains or perhaps a slight earthquake (our excuse).

Friday morning we presented it to Ed and it now sits on his desk.

A not too perfect globe,but what an accomplishment!

Late Addition

I tried entering this in yesterday's blog,but I'm a slow learner and can only do one step at a time.Give me a little time and I may catch on to blogging.

A Bucketlist

Have you made your bucketlist? It was the topic of conversation at Carolyn and Pertti's this afternoon.Cousin Pat (Thirkill) Sitko and her husband Dave were part of this discussion. Some may call it "goals of their lives", but when you reach your sixties and seventies it's referred to a "bucketlist". You know that old expression about "kicking the bucket"'when you pass on from this place on earth. Bob has started checking off a few items on his list. One of his ambitions was to fly in a glider and he was thrilled with his silent glide through the sky. Last week he added another check beside something on his list. What's on your list? Should I be worried?

And So It Begins

This will be a trial run as I have no idea what I am doing. The age of fun computer communication is way beyond my knowledge. So,Sue tell me if I have at least made a beginning of a blog.