Sucked in, again!

Every now and then I see things with great clarity, and then I blink and the vision is gone. I simply have to stop getting sucked into the drama's that are manufactured by other people. Marie finally cut the chains to Brock and told him to "get your life together, man!" I've been telling her that for years. And now, I'm visiting my old roommate Little Bird, and she got us sucked into a bigtime 17 1/2 year old drah-mah! It's is still a bit of a roommate situation, where I pay her $100 a week towards expenses, plus I help her declutter. Sigh...

I admit, I saw this one coming with the 17 1/2 year old. Verona came to Little Bird with a horrible tale of woe. We've known the kid for years and we know Verona came from an abusive and unstable background, with foster homes and children's homes, before becoming adopted, with her younger sister. The family has been in turmoil for six years now. Verona rages at them and they were afraid to come into the house when she was home--and that's what we learned after giving her some requested help.

The tale of woe did not include anything that would cause the police or social services to intervene, but it was bad enough that two old birds got temporarily sucked in. Within three weeks of housing her, with the express permission of her "evil parents," we got the picture. The only tale of woe was to stir up chaos and instigate drama on a 24 x 7 basis. So, Verona (has NOTHING to do with veracity!) was booted back to her tale of woe a few nights ago. I like to call that "consequences".

In the meantime, I'm trying to finish up my own projects with back taxes, paperwork, a lucrative software engagement, and outfitting my new van. The accident settlement money is on the way, and that would sure help in getting things done right from the beginning. But I'm happy enough to cobble together what I need. I wish I had the time and the inclination to figure out how to install and outfit my own electrical and HVAC needs. But I have no interest in building this shelter. I have to farm the good stuff out to experts.

My new SUV mattress from Coleman is perfect for my set up. I sleep the short way in the van, not the long way. That takes up far less room. I like to see a cozy bed made up in the back with a hidden storage space underneath. It makes the van look more like a home. I am using a thick plywood board to hold the air mattress, and still have room to fit six one foot deep plastic bins underneath. If I raised the board about 8 inches onto a railing, then I could fit six smaller bins on top of the deeper bins, for more storage and organization. Ideally, jewelry making supplies would fit under the bed.

I'm using two Snap 'n Stack craft organizers (http://www.acmoore.com/p-31381-snap-n-stack-craft-organizer-large-square-3-layers.aspx) to organize my cooking, eating, and drinking implements. One organizer has small pots and pans, cooking utensils, cutting board, knifes, and miscellaneous accessories. The top is empty and ready to be filled with herbs, sea salt, spices, and my collection of dehydrated vegies (onions, shallots, tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, spinach flakes, etc.). The other organizer has my smart mug and hot drink fixin's in the top, with plates, bowls, cups, and eating utensils in the bottom.

A milk crate holds four one gallon water jugs, two large white rubbermaid three drawer storage units hold clothes, extra food, cooking items, and miscellaneous. I have a large toolbox, a medium sized cooler, a rectangular folding table, a folding chair, a toilet hassock, and a bike. Then there's the hiking and outside camping stuff. Oy, vey! Where does all this stuff come from?

Pictures are coming soon. In the meantime I'm playing hookey from work and need to get back to it.