Newbie Surprises

These first few months on the bus flew by. I kept intending to write a blog post to keep you all updated but there were so many surprises  

There’s an expression in many cultures but I’ve heard it as “people plan and God laughs.” I’m one of those people that thinks that because I have a plan that’s what will actually happen. Of course my carefully made plan never happens. So instead of saying I encountered some problems so I’ve decided to tell you that I encountered some surprises.

THE GLORIOUS BED

One of my biggest indulgences for this adventure is my first brand new mattress. With new pillows and comforters from IKEA I am supremely comfortable and warm every night.

OH, THE VIEWS

One of the things I love most about school buses is the abundance of windows. Here are a few morning views. 

I’m in a flat 20 acre field that’s surrounded by mature trees at the edge. I ling passenger side faces south and I watch the sun rise from my left and set on my right. Every day is a beautiful visual adventure.

SURPRISE!

The number of things that have broken surprised even pessimistic me. A few of the things that broke: chair, wheelchair, toilet, hot water heater. With each problem my health got worse. So having a fabulous bed is wonderful since I’m spending most of my time in it.

RAINBOWS 

I made some minor improvements this week that are providing visual joy and practical storage. The visual joy comes from a window film that makes rainbow patterns inside the bus while providing visual protection from people walking by. 

Translucent laser cut window film in the lower half of the bus window. Beyond the window other RVs and a blue sky are visible.

The window film has laser cuts that make beautiful rainbow designs on the inside of the bus

I added shelves above the windows over the bed and kitchen  

12 inch deep Wood shelf supported by L shaped brackets above the bus windows

DOORS 

The two large bus doors, the wheelchair door on the side of the bus and the emergency escape door on the back of the bus are easy to open from outside but were impossible to open from the inside. We created a system with just a simple piece of piping that pivots up and down to get the wheelchair door open. A rope secures it so that it cannot open too far. 

A piece of galvanized pipe extends from inside the bus and slides onto open hooks on the bus side door. Yellow para cord rope prevents the door from flying too far open.

HANGING HANDCYCLE

Another challenge with getting the Firefly hand cycle, which weighs 30 pounds, in and out of the bus. Up until now I’ve been lifting it from the 4 foot bottom of the bus. But we found a place to mount it inside the front door with a pulley.  The system is surprisingly easy and effective.

The fire fly hand cycle is held up by yellow para cord rope that goes through a pulley at the top of the door frame and comes down to a cleat inside the door. UM

 HORIZONTAL LIFE

 I’m spending my days more horizontal than I planned. I learned there’s a lot I can do from bed including learning to use Apple‘s new voice control system, which although far inferior to Dragon dictate, is far better than Apple‘s typical dictation system. I’m enjoying short phone calls and FaceTime with friends, doing a little bit of writing every week mostly on my Library novel, and as always doing more reading and enjoying retirement.

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