Nailed it….

Hello and welcome to the blog!

It’s been a good week so far.  I’m doing a “Snoopy dance” today.  (feel free to click on this PEANUTS THEME link to play that cool song in the background.)

I’ve had two recent job interviews, both offering the same amount of money… and it’s a nice increase over the previous gig.  The job selected will start in two weeks and it’s a great fit with previous experience.  For now, there is a little time to do some camping and play with the drone.  As you can see in the photo, I’ve been having some fun this morning with the HD camera on the quadcopter…

Hospital and Fawn Creek Trailer Park — taken from the Anamosa Walmart.

This good employment news came at a terrific time – especially after going through a difficult case of the winter blahs and plenty of self-doubting; not having a job will play tricks on a person’s mind.

Recently I had been thinking a lot about whether or not the investment in the trailer house had been a good idea.  A few friends said I should dump the mobile home and go on the road.  With everything going on I was half thinking about packing up… but have since found clarity and hope.  Some things – including a permanent dwelling – really are worth keeping.  A home base provides a lot of stability, motivation, and plenty of opportunities to work on enjoyable projects like the one below.

About a week ago we had one heck of a windstorm and it tore some shingles from the northwest corner of the roof of the trailer. On Monday (the 16th) the temperature was a balmy 20 degrees but with yet another strong arctic cold front approaching, it was time to fix it now or never.  The repeated blasts of 45+ mph Canadian air would have surely caused more damage.

The neighbor was kind enough to loan a ladder so I could get up and replace the missing shingles, nailing and tarring them down.  Despite a very slight variation in the shades of grey (no, not the movie!), the repair looks pretty nice!  As they age, the new shingles will match even closer.

While freezing my a$$ off on the roof, it was then I realized that it doesn’t matter if you’re fishing, hiking, mowing a lawn or repairing a roof –  there’s nothing like being outside and getting a little fresh air in the process.  This place really IS home…  and I enjoy taking care of it.  There’s all the peace and quiet one could ever want, the cost of living is relatively low, and it’s safe… (if you don’t mind freezing your butt off part of the year)

The Walmart in Anamosa, Iowa as seen by the quadcopter. It’s a great place to dry camp!

With the new job starting in a couple weeks, I’m already planning to do a little camping some time in the next week or so.  Stay tuned!

Take care and thank you for stopping by!

Brad, Serena, and Jesse James
in Jones County, Iowa

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