A dream I keep dreaming

Last fall I sold the house I’d lived in for about 12 years. A lot of firsts happened there, and the house itself was a first– the first one I’d ever purchased. Great neighbors, decent neighborhood, close to everything from the interstate and groceries to dog parks and creeks. But as wonderful as it was, it was time for me to sell. Time to move on. Just tell my brain that, will ya!?

Somewhere deep in my mind there must be a connection with this home because I have a reoccurring dream and in it, I’m in the house even though it belongs to someone else. The dream goes like this: I’ve recently sold the house (just like real life) but then it goes in one of two directions. In one dream, I’m still in the house and the new owners could be there any minute to move in. I’ve still got stuff to move out and I have a certain type of anxiety about them arriving with me still there. In the second dream, I’ve moved out of the house completely but the new owners are away for a couple of days. I use the house while they’re gone and fear I’ll still be in the house when they get back.

Weird, huh? I haven’t researched what it could mean, just chalking it up to having good memories from my time in the house. But maybe there’s something deeper? If any revelations happen, I’ll be sure to post an update but for now I’ll just be thankful I haven’t dreamed of Taylor Swift in quite some time.

-Out of the Wilderness

I went on a date to a coffeeshop

I’m definitely in favor of coffee shop dates for a multitude of reasons. The biggest reason is that they can be as short as long as the two people want them to be. The details of my date don’t matter to the general public so I’ll just cut right to the chase: I’m so awkward at the end of dates!

In this particular instance, I was the one to steer the conversation towards an ending and I guess I never took that class in school. “How to smoothly transition out of a date 101.” I hope she didn’t think it was socially awkward but if she did, she wasn’t the only one. I firmly believe it was super abrupt because, hey, that’s me. Tact? Nope. Smooth with the ladies? Nope.

I have a friend who went on a dinner date. Once they spent a few minutes together at the restaurant, my friend knew it wasn’t a match… but still had to suffer through an entire dinner/conversation with the person.

My coffee date wasn’t bad but if it had been, at least we would be able to get out of it quite easily. No bill to wait for, no dessert menus… just a “Hey, this has been fun. Welp, see you later!” and we’re done.

Pray for me.

-Out of the Wilderness

Restless nights on a cheap camper mattress!

As some of you know, I’ve been living in a travel trailer since the end of 2021 and pretty much loving every minute of it.

One of my favorite things in early on was the mattress. But that excitement fizzled pretty quickly when the foam (I know, I know, foam is cheap!) started to deform as the sleepy nights progressed. In fact, a depression was formed in the area where my hips usually rest. Here’s a pic so you can see the dip.

Crazy, right? I figured I’d just roll with it until my back started to pay the price. Waking up with a sore back ain’t no way to live! So I knew a new mattress was on the horizon but I still didn’t make any changes until…..

After being out of the trailer for roughly three weeks (getting some work done on the slide-out, as I blogged about here), I returned to the trailer and to the uneven mattress. I kinda didn’t even notice that in the few weeks I was sleeping somewhere else, my back was fine. After 2 nights on the trailer mattress– soreness, tightness, and barely able to bend over and touch my toes! That was the last straw.

I went online and found the one I thought would best fit me and the trailer, and it arrived within a few days! Now I have a great mattress, and I’m so glad I made the switch. If you’re suffering with an old, cheap mattress in your trailer, it would be very worth it to upgrade!

Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

A new pair of flippies

I said a flip, flop, flippity flop, flip and the flop to the flippity flop, flip and the flop and you don’t stop!

Hip Hop Grandma GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

All that to say, I started a relationship with a new pair of Cobian flip flops recently. The pair being replaced was good for a few weeks, until they started to come apart! I guess that’s what I get for putting $10 down for them at Walmart. When I tried on the new ones in the store, I thought, “Oh my, my.” They were so very comfortable.

Eric Cartman GIF by South Park - Find & Share on GIPHY

I’ve been wearing them a lot since I got them and I’ve decided that I’m never, ever, ever getting back together… with a pair of cheap flip flops. And since that the Taylor Swift song is stuck in my head now, I’ll shortly be jumping off a cliff. And if I do jump off a high cliff, I’ll have the perfect hiking boots to soften the landing! How’s that, you may ask? While flip flop shopping, I also picked up a new pair of Merrell hiking shoes.

So if you see me around town sporting a comfy pair of flip flops, say hey! Or if you see me in a pair of Merrells with orange laces, tell me I stuck the landing!

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

Vive La Différence

An attractive man walks across the room and two women standing nearby take notice. One stares longer than socially acceptable and the other exclaims, “Vive la différence!” Neither woman is French, and the man is about as southern as a pair of dusty overalls. But the phrase means what it means. Long live the difference. It’s an example of the women understanding there is a whole list of differences between men and women, even way beyond just the physical.

Long live the difference. Here in the U.S., there’s a lot of chatter in the news and throughout social media that people are all the same, a man can be a woman, a woman can be a man, a person can be both, or neither. It’s gotten a little absurd and by “a little absurd,” I mean way, way, way past absurdity. It’s become such a ridiculous thing that even something like the possibility of alien life takes a backseat.

A comparison. I reckon, at least for me, this view that anyone can be any gender is right up there with someone who says (in regards to their views on race), “I’m colorblind.” I mean, I understand what they mean — we’re all equal and worthy of respect, value, etc. But it’s a fact that we are different colors and I think that’s really cool! Celebrate the beauty. Cultures are different, skin color is different, my life experience is different than yours. And all of those differences are, dare I say it, OK!

Final thoughts. Men are not women. Women are not men. My sister and I recently drove through the campus of a big university. Along one of the streets was sorority row. A few twists and turns later, we were on a street where the fraternities were housed. Maybe you’d totally understand how different the residences were but she and I both laughed at the stark contrast of the well-kept, pretty buildings and landscaping of the sororities compared to the trashy, dirty, neglected buildings of the frats. Guys are gross. 😉

But seriously, though, vive la différence!

-Out of the Wilderness