Day One Hundred Two

Learned something interesting today.  I suppose this won't be news to a lot of you but I had never heard of "couch surfing".  Actually, I have heard the term but assumed it just meant moving around from one friend's couch to the other.  It is, in fact, a very well organized world wide network of people who are willing to host you on their couch for a night or two while you travel.   Might come in handy when I have long distances to travel from one stop to the next to be able to break up the trip.  I'd much rather meet new people in their own environment than resort to KOA parks or something like that.  From the CouchSurfing website:

We have a vision of a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Each CouchSurfing experience shared by our members brings us closer to that vision.

CouchSurfing members share hospitality with one another. These exchanges are a uniquely rich form of cultural interaction. Hosts have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world without leaving home. "Surfers," or travelers, are able to participate in the local life of the places they visit. We also give more people the chance to become travelers, because "surfing" lowers the financial cost of exploration.

I learned about it from a friend of my son's who came by today.  I hadn't seen him since they shared a house in college and sat down to ask him what he's been up to.  Seems he "couch surfed" all over Europe for a month.  When I told him about my Gypsy Tour plans he said he has been thinking of doing something similar.  He is a gifted computer tech, can troubleshoot any problem on any operating system or set up an entire server.  His idea is to travel around the U.S. couch surfing and solving computer problems for people.  I guess wanderlust is more common than I previously noticed.


Solved another mystery about the interior of the gypsy wagon.  I want to maximize the interior space while making it a very functional art studio.  Most art supplies that I use can fit in narrow spaces.  I have been looking for narrow kitchen cabinets everywhere but not finding anything like what I had in mind.  Last night I stumbled upon CD/DVD storage cabinets designed like old apothecary chests.  Perfect!!

While traveling I can imagine a tricky network of ribbon that ties the drawers closed.  As Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge..."  In my case I'm hoping that works in my favor as I figure all of this out.  I'm not setting out to build a perfect replica of a particular gypsy wagon.  I'm setting out to build a gypsy wagon that is perfect for me.  Big difference.

Today I let go of:

1.  A pair of tan linen crop pants

2.  A little table top ironing board

3.  A leather dog leash - way too wimpy for my dog

4.  A purple sleeveless nightgown - never worn

5.  A Corelle serving bowl