Simply, Lesa

From my friend Bob's blog..... http://cheaprvlivingblog.com/2013/09/forewarned-is-forearmed-emotional-reactions-when-you-start-vandwelling/

Refrigeration or coolers or ice or don't ice or dry ice or 12 volt coolers or way expensive 12 volt refrigerators or low-tech zeer pots or .... This was a simpler decision once - living off grid with no electricity and minimal at best solar or battery operated stuff.  Living as a raw vegan - growing my own food in a land of year round growing seasons.  Add to this my love of all things natural and home made...and 2 years spent living with NO plastic (there is another story for another day) So now, living in my Simply Van - I have chosen not only a mobile lifestyle but also a life inside a dark colored passively solar heated (when you want it or not) small metal box with windows!  I live inside an oven.  Yes, I can, thankfully, open all of my windows.  Unfortunately not every van can do that.  I have chosen not to install a rooftop vent or an air conditioner.  I haven't added Freon to the air conditioner system that came with the van and I don't us...

Ive been busy and ive been sick÷well, actually I have asthma.  my asthma can be brought on by excertion/excersize, food alergies, cold air temps or mold n mildew.  ive been helping a dear friend clean up thier stored stuff that had been thier life in a 31ft motorhome.  shortly after their live in and elderly mother passed, the troublesome motorhome died as well.  it has been nearly three years that my friend has kept the old life in storage.  it was time to dig out and bring her inportant things back to life.  we have been handling the project in stages.  some items were stored at friends homes, some at a storage facility and some in a utility trailer.  we began this project by going after the utility trailer which was stored a couple hours away.   i recall my exhusband and I having a travel trailer at one time. i dont, however, recall if I ever drove with it...so, i pulled up my proverbial bootstraps and off we went into utility tra...

I just found these kewl playing cards.  They would make a good gift as well as teaching aid for all you like minded naturalists out there! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/permaculture-playing-cards

I'm back in Simply Van and traveling! It seems like its been so long.   New York State is filled with lovely and friendly small towns.  I was glad to have the opportunity to meet and make some lovely and hopefully lifelong friendships while I was visiting and having work done to my van.  Cindy and her grandchildren, Rashaun and Davian were lots of fun to hang out with. We shared healthy food preparation ideas, organic and local food gathering from farms and farmers markets, and even

Hey take a look at this!  My friend Cindy's Etsy store is offering Simply Lesa blog readers a 20% discount on all purchases during August!  Cindy talks about her creative process on her blog - check it out here: http://bellycrochet.weebly. com/blog.html Cindy has some lovely jewelry, belly dancing costumes, clothes, assesories that are all handmade unique works of art!  And her prices are truely reasonable.  Check out the Belly Dance costumes and more... Help support cottage industries and all things handmade! To get your discount, simply type "SimplyLesa" into the coupon code at check out!  You can find her store here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ BellyCrochet?ref=search_shop_ redirect Simply, Lesa

EDIT: Fri Aug 8 to reflect requested change, delete double cut and paste error and spelling error. (Sorry and darn I'm starting to think blogging from a tablet is harder than a laptop) Over this past weekend, a 2013 Winter RTR and Vannin buddy came to visit with me.  Yes, I am still in Upstate New York.  It seems that God wants me here a little longer, things just keep coming up - and incredible things at that.  But then I am not the only person who has these kinds of things happen.  Many people seem to understand about coincidences that aren't really coincidences. Anyway, as I was thinking over my upcoming travels, my son called to ask me a favor--to please have my brakes checked before I leave this area. Good thing too, because I needed rear brakes!  I am so glad that I had found a local mechanic shop that I feel is fair and reliable and I scheduled an appointment with John at Swift Automotive. He fit me into his schedule and

I'm not a stupid person.  I even know a thing or two about computers and electronic gadgets --- geez I was a subcontractor for IBM even!.... I built databases before Access was user friendly.....  I KILLED off the Big Blue F (Facebook) from my online life - and geez now the Big Red G+ is trying to take over ----- seriously!

Tomorrow will be pay day for me.  I will see a counselor again today - perhaps I will talk more about that soon...I'm not sure yet how much of that info I want to keep private.  I learned last night that I will be getting a visit from a northern RTRer on Saturday.  I will try to find some touristy and interesting as well as budget friendly (preferably FREE) thing to do while she is here.  

Well, we all know that running red lights on the road is NOT a good idea...  and on my way to church with a friend yesterday I did just that.  I ran a red light - I couldn't stop - the road was wet, I was traveling at the speed limit and the light seemed rather short...and I just couldn't stop.  Then the flashing lights and I was opening the window ...

   

I've been hanging around in New York State - cleaning up some online stuff.  Working on the blog, journaling, fixing SimplyVan, getting a little healthier, making some new friends and saving money for the next BIG trip westerly and on to South Dakota.  I was previously scheduled to leave yesterday

I have been house sitting in New York State this week.  I have been blessed with the use of a full sized desktop computer and internet service so I have been taking advantage of the opportunity to organize my online life!  Being a traveler and minimalist and having a tendency toward a recurrence of depression...my simple online life and photos and files was getting rather cluttered.  Okay, it was down right messy.

I've been wanting to blog about this subject for ages.  I just love gear.  I love stoves.  I love to prepare food and share it with others.  I like knowing how to make things happen....

My friend Vonbrown and I were visiting and chatting and he told me that he has taken to calling himself The Nomadic Grampa! I was thinking about that over my morning cup of coffee today...so I looked up the idea of Nomad...because I travel a lot and I don't know how to describe

Freedom comes in many different colors and flavors and styles...yes it does... and today I am celebrating my liberation and freedom from

Wow, what do you do when your van/home/rv just mysteriously stops running?  I mean, it was running, I just started it and then it just shut off - no surprise sounds no nothing.  Just not running and won't start. Well in my case - I take a deep breath and text my mechanically

Darn Blogger Graveyard! Okay, I now know what happened.  I was writing and posting in my Blogger Dashboard and the wifi went down for a moment or two during a thunderstorm.  All the work I've done in the past 2 hours is GONE! Drat, double drat and darn...

I know I wrote and posted, or tried to, a Sunday post and I guess it has joined the mystery graveyard of blog posts that were sent from odd locations with tethered wifi which can be iffy at best... sooooooo  I did find the pictures???? I remember it being witty and good (aren't all my posts witty and good? Lol) Saturday, June 29th was my 55th birthday.  I spent the day alone.  I traveled the final couple hours to the Syracuse NY area and checked out some campgrounds that were full in preparation for July 4th.  Then found myself a spot to overnight at the Syracuse area Camping World.  What started out as a rather lonely evening was filled with phone

As adventures go this past week and weekend rate up there as one of the best. Perhaps a little mild kind of adventure as adventures go.  In my travels, I meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends.  Now that I am Road-Tripping the USA, I visit friends along the way.  A friend that I made in Arizona this past fall, invited me to visit his 'life' for a few days.  After leaving Beaver Lake Dam, Arkansas we met up outside of Saint Louis, in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. I got to see inside of his trucks semi cab and even watched WWE Wrestling in a truckers lounge. We met up again a couple days later in his tiny hometown to participate in their annual Summer Fest.  While traveling from Pontoon Beach through Illinois, my tablet kept beeping weather warnings.  After spending almost two months in Arkansas with threats of Severe Thunderstorms and Tornados, I have a healthy respect for weather alert beeps.  I also have a bit of leftover trauma from mountain top hail and lightening s...

Hi all.  I have made a few blogging decisions.  Aren't you all just so exited to hear that?  So first off, I set a new goal and I am going to send out new blog posts on Wednesdays and on Sundays for the next two months!  And secondly I am cleaning up my internet presence and on next Monday I will be deleting my Facebook account!  I am on all things Google and that includes Google+ . I am excited to give myself a schedule and my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 Mother's Day present from my son is so very helpful, this morning, I  got myself a Verbatim bluetooth keyboard to go with it.  Omgosh it is so much easier than the old typing on the teeny tiny Huawei Android cellphone.  One of my Full-time RVer buddies sent an email yesterday with some requests for blog posts....a wonderful idea! Thanks Dianne. So I would love to hear what my other readers and friends want to hear....please comment or send me an email. This could be a fun way to inspire me to write more. My Facebook decis...

In most everyone's life there is the excitement and anxiousness of a moving day...in the life of Fulltime RVers and Nomadic types there are many more. My campground volunteer friends Dee and Walter had yet another moving day experience yesterday - thier park, Beaver Dam Site near Eureka Springs, Arkansas is beautiful.  You can even camp on a lake here. And they say the trout fishing is amazing!

Maybe its 5 times recently that I've woken up with some lyrics to a song stuck in my head or in my dreaming memory.  Each time its the same song and it starts on the same phrase - "...tell me why I, never seem to make you happy though God  (heaven) knows I try.... make up to brake up thats aaall we do. First you love me then you hate me thats a game for fools..."  I lay in bed waking up and knowing that this is about a past relationship (and borders on some other peoples relationships that I've seen recently.)  I tend to be a long-term relationship person, even with major issues I try to keep improving myself and my relationships.  I don't give up easily - which, perhaps has annoyed former partners or maybe even family members that may have been unable to say that they didn't want to be with me and end it all quick and clean?  Of course some people feel more alive with drama beating down thier door, I've been too close to that a few times. Back to lyri...

To all my peeps, my readers, my family and friends...hope yoir day was as unexpectedly special as mine was, it sure feels good.

I didn't forget about you readers out there...and I sure don't want you to forget about me.... I've been kind of busy with traveling to Arkansas and catching up with both EMT-Sarah and my son.  It's been raining here and with that cold wet damp and spring -- think of my asthma and allergies! Omgosh I sound like a seal when I cough.  I actually have taken Benedryl (yuk chemical meds :( )  The cashier at the grocery today mentioned I should try out Nettles and order them through Amazon. I will look into the idea. I will blog more this week and include some of those travel pictures of the van in New Mexico and stuff.  I do like to drive.  Driving can be a kind of busy meditation...  more of that sooon. Keep it Simple!

So I think its about time for me to comment on food and health.  Any of you who really know me, know I prefer natural, rustic, handmade, even wild..in most things, including health and food.  For 4 years of my life I was a raw vegan, I was a vegetarian for nearly 8 years.  I also have health issues that affect my choices.  My asthma, for example, is exasperated by excersize, cold temperatures, food allergies and evironmental allergies and sensitivities.  I studied and dabbled in natural hygene. herbal cures, tribal & native medicine and other alterative cures.  I especially like medicine plants that are wild and foraged.  And yes Ive dabbled with foraging as well. And, yes, I love to prepare food - especially for others to enjoy.  My favorite preparation methods are using minimal ingredients and simple preparation....often the best food is the way it comes straight from nature.  Then add some loving thoughts and handle with caring hands and whala! Food is a social mix...

Its incredible how I can spend days hanging around a nice little town like Payson, AZ putzing with errands and steath camping at Casinos, Walmarts and Home Depots.  Then a 'camp buddy' suggests a retreat a few miles south because of cold, windy stormy weather and low and behold..... its wow incredibly beautiful and warmer and       only 10 miles from town..... Yesterday, in the morning our buddy EMT-Sarah said her "see ya laters" and headed north toward home.  The rest of us caravaned comfortably to our new south of Payson location around Rye, AZ. Driving in the mountains has been challenging for me personally for a number of reasons.  One being after my nervous breakdown that resulted in my becoming disabled, I have experienced hypersensitivity.  it often shows up in unexpected areas of my life when i do something both stressfull and physically challenging.  For example, I dont recall being afraid of heights, yet while hiking on the Appalacian Trail not too lon...

Hi all.... I used to blog.... Not sure why I'm procrastinating on that whole thing right now, could be the change in lifestyle and all...and occasional lack of cellphone signal. I figured a few of you might like a little check in - so here goes, I'll work the kinks out of my blogging life some other day. Sooooooooooo I got out of Arkansas in early December and drove out to meet up with Bob and the Pre-RTR group.  I was there in 3 days and my van (gosh I love her now! ) didn't have not even one issue.  I was so excited and thrilled to meet the group and Bob...we took morning and afternoon walks with Homer , made pots of Cowboy Coffee and cooked on the firepit, and talked and talked and talked.  Joey arrived the very next morning, and in a similar fashion was excited and thrilled.  We made lots of camp-buddies pretty quickly.  The group kind of ebbed and flowed as people came and went before the actual RTR event.  We convoyed over to Ehrenberg (sp?) for a while which chan...

Soon, I will send some pictures again. I've been at Mittry Lake, AZ with a beaver for a neighbor. It's finally warming up a bit and I can take off the winter bundle of clothes!  I'm so sorry about being 'incommunicado' but wilderness boondocking campsites don't always have cellphone reception!   I hope all my RTR buddies and friends are doing well, please let me hear from you soon.  I'm hoping to have service at the next campsite....   REMEMBER the first Sunday of the month is on March 3rd.  I will make breakfast for who ever is around...I'm thinking breakfast burritios this time!  Come find me...   Hugs -- Keep It Simple Simply,  Les a   Lesa NeSmith USA phone: (347) 410.6480 CR cell: (506) 8545-2575 www.simplylesa.blogspot.com   Skype - Facebook - Gmail - GoogleVoice

My friend MA loves quotes, she shared this 'MA's Quote of the Day' "and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music" Nietiche..... Dance to your drummer! Live your tempo! (thanks JZ) enjoy the warmpth of this day - its finally short sleeve tempurature in the desert.

Hi yall, I really didnt expect either Arkansas or the desert of Arizona to be so crazy cold! brrr... about froze my smartwool socks off a few nites.  I have been so very grateful for all the help and advice of fellow full-timers to get me through this. Dee n Walter in Arkansas gifted me reflectix n helped fit it to the windows.  A stranger left a mighty warm sleeping bag outside the van at Toad Suck COE Park.  Peace Lutheran Church too me under thier wings and blessed me a few nights at a campground, a lovely lunch and some warm blankets.  Pastor Ben from Central Church in AR brought me Thanksgiving dinner and firewood and also helped me with nites at a campground so I could plug in an electric heater.  After arriving in the AZ desert, Bob Wells and his tribe of Cheapgreenrvliving full-timers were a wealth of knowledge and assistance.  Charlene (swankiewheels) especially befriended me and not only helped me stay warm with her xmas gifted blanket, she and I worked together to build my...