great blog post on the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous

great blog post over at "RVly ever after" about the RTR. so sad i missed it! check it out:

http://rvlyeverafter.blogspot.com/2011/01/rubber-tramp-rendezvous-quartzsite-az_29.html?showComment=1296408519891#c8579735365047561120

the value of empty

i get a daily meditation from the tao te ching. todays was especially meaningful because it speaks to me on so many levels.

"Thirty spokes are joined together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that allows the wheel to function.

We mold clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that makes the vessel useful.

We fashion wood for a house,
but it is the emptiness inside
that makes it livable.

We work with the substantial,
but the emptiness is what we use."

when i first read this, i thought of my van. on my first couple cross-country trips, i was proud of how much i could fit in all the nooks and crannies, and how many valuable, useful things i could haul along while remaining organized. on my last trip, though, i began to realize the value of emptiness.....of useable space. for many of us, downsizing is an ongoing project, a renewable goal. 

the last few months have been a downsizing in many other ways. i have been doing things more mindfully and with greater focus than i am usually capable of.   it is very hard for me, slowing down the inner turmoil and the cacophony of thoughts tumbling around in my head. even when those thoughts are positive or cheerful, as they often are, the are tiring. my mind does not always feel like my own..... it is crowded and busy and all to often self-absorbed. i said to a friend not long ago "i will really attain minimalism when i can downsize my brain".

i thought of that statement again after re-reading the above meditation a few times. "we work with the substantial but the emptiness is what we use". it hit me this evening how meaningful that is to me.  i don't think i have come close to understanding it....if anything, i don't want to overthink it, and miss the whole point. for now, i'm just going to let it be what it is.

i've been really scarce on the internet lately, been on a kind of digital diet. i have been practicing slow-down kind of things (i am reluctant to use the word "meditation" in the same blog post that references my thought processes!) and i have been having some success which delights me no end. i have fallen in love all over again with knitting and have taken up colorwork which involves counting and following charts.....mindful and purposeful and satisfying.  i am appreciating simple things in a way i haven't in a long time. i am grateful for the snippets of stillness that i stumble over, when i least expect it, and i have no doubt that there will be more........

new vandweller forum

wanted to get the word out about the new vandweller forum over at Bob Wells'  "cheaprvliving" website.

so many of us have gotten our start, or benefited from Bob's website in some way. there is a ton of information there, and now a new forum where we can ask questions, share our stories, and glean information on the mobile lifestyle. please come join us, we will be glad to have you!

http://www.cheaprvlivingforum.com/

be careful what you dream

watched this last night after seeing a link on you tube:

silent monks hallelujah chorus

i got quite a laugh out of it! til later.....

i fell asleep lying on the cot, surfing the net with my laptop on my chest. i fell asleep and dreamed i was participating in this chorus, and flipped my laptop over my head and out of bed. fortunately it landed on a box of yarn at the head of the cot. scared the bejeepers out of myself. the laptop survived.

paleotools blog

i am still incredibly busy, 36 hours til my next venue to sell hats and add a little money to the coffers, but i had a comment from a new reader who goes by paleotool. if you know me, then you know how i get a little excited about the word "paleo".  i clicked over to his blog,  and it's a VARDO!

those who know me also know that i have been carrying around old building plans i found on ebay, with the dream of building a sheepwagon to live in. then recently a friend started building a vardo and i was hooked! so i am thrilled to pieces to see this new-to-me blog. i can't imagine i hadn't seen it before, and can't wait to read it all. pop over there to check it out............

http://paleotool.wordpress.com/plans-projects-and-patterns/the-vardo/

i am going to knit on something i don't need my eyes for, so i can read and look at photos!

welcome, paleotool! so glad you dropped by!

van yogurt

while i'm busy knitting, pop over to sarah's blog at "trail cooking" and see what she has been up to. all good! since i rarely use my cooler in the van, i love getting ideas about how to have some occasional treats that normally take refrigeration or ice. i don't eat a lot of yogurt, but this is how i shall have some yogurt when i've a hankering out in the desert,  far from civ :-)  thanks sarah!

http://blog.trailcooking.com/2010/11/30/food-find-instant-trail-yogurt-via-the-baby-food-aisle/

as many of you know, and as we have mentioned on vandwellers, sarah is the guru of freezer bag cooking. you can find her on facebook too!