The battery pack arrived fully charged and is suggested to be kept plugged into an outlet at all times...so I did that. It does not overcharge as per the instruction booklet. I discovered I need a male to male plug so it can be recharged from my van's power outlet! I decided to order the plug, Amazon had the better price. I can't wait to be using this on my future travels. :o) It's been so hot n humid I haven't done any traveling or birding lately. So I decided to share some old memories. This post is a little diversion away from my norm...I know I always enjoy when I read your blogs and you share bits of who you are and to me that makes us human and not just words on a page, as stated in my blog title,
My Life, this post falls under that heading.
When I tried to checkout suddenly "THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TO BE A PRIME MEMBER" YOUR FREE ONE MONTH TRAIL BEGINS NOW!
O.M.Gawd
I do not want to be a Prime Member, I was ambushed! It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to cancel that and I hope it actually is cancelled...what a dirty rotten trick! It happened while I was trying to click the free shipping option. I have to wonder how many people they have scammed out of money this way? I used to think Amazon was a good thing...
container ships bringing goods to NY Harbor was an hourly event viewed from my studio.
So I went back to the item and found one directly from the seller Free Shipping total $6.75! Amazon's owner Jeff Bezos (his worth is over $90 billion) decided he needs to spend his excess wealth by "exploring space-force." Bernie Sanders had a better idea "how about you give your employees a decent wage, better health care, and other humane necessary benefits." Message to Bezos...don't let the Ozone Layer hit you in the ass on your way outta here! I hate that I'm adding to his disposable income.
So most of you have seen these photos before...but since I'm going to talk about my life in NY may as well share some of the very few photos I have from that time.
this old 3 story house on the beach is where my studio was located , Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. There was 12 apartments in this building the Army COE was constantly repairing beach erosion. Behind that sand was a 16 ft sea wall below ground and by the time I left NY you needed a 12 ft ladder to get over that wall to the beach below thanks to stronger storms coming to land.
(sand recovery vehicle below.)
I put up an affiliate link in my last post for the first time in recent history. When I lived in NY I used to sell books on Amazon and became an affiliate back in 2001. I averaged about $30 a month profit. I'd sell a book for 3.50, then the shipping would be about $1.06, it was fair I was charging actual cost using Media Mail then I started offering free shipping and sell the book for $4.75. Amazon decided to raise the shipping to $3.00 per book Amazon greed drove my Books By Sondra right out of business. I was making extra cash for my "Get out of NYC fund." So I put up the link thinking this could take money from Bezos and put it in my
buy a Kayak Fund! (Im dropping my loose change in my piggy bank)
You can choose to be happy with what you have or you can think you're poor. I chose to love the simple life. One based on need and not greed. I had lived my first year in the city as a room mate. I was on 4th st just blocks north of the Towers and after 9/11 I decided I wanted to get out of the city and shed of a room mate. So I got a copy of the Jewish Free Press and began to look for my solo apartment. Many of the Jewish landlords are Hasidic Jews. They would not rent to me because I was not kosher, literally and even tho I don't even eat meat...and they do, made no sense to me. I kept looking. I found this place and I loved it. The landlord was Jewish but he was not practicing and was a retired FDNY fire chief...so he let me fill out an application. Stanley and I had our differences but for the most part he was fair. I will never forget how happy I was when he called and told me I could have the apartment! I had zero furniture and it was unfurnished and I didn't even have a car! I used to walk from buses and trains and used my bike to get around. When I was on my shift I saw various pieces on the curb..and my friend helped me go back later and we filled up the back of her SUV! I moved in on Saturday with all my found objects! Sea Gate is the only gated community in NYC!
All the humble furniture for my apt was FREE right off the curb! I just cleaned it up and used it.
the chairs and table all found at different locations, and a Hollywood bed frame, a chair, nightstand, 2 folding beach chairs (for company) and the shells found on the beach became artwork. Friends gave me the microwave, the lamp, and the mattresses set. The only thing I purchased was the hanging lamp, and an air conditioner at a used shop for $40 during my second yr.
My online book sales was the perfect set up since I had access to thousands of used books in the many book stores around the city. One in particular just off 14th St in Union Square ,The Strand, had an entire section of books for $1 and they even had a free section. I bought lots of Self Help, DIY, Natural History, Cook Books, Coffee Table Books, Travel Guides...and more. It was so much fun! I sold books for about a year.
The kitchen in my studio I did over using contact paper! The black thing in the middle is the fridge! The map on the bathroom door is the Appalachian Trail. And the bohemian bead curtain was dropped with the homemade screen on nice days when I had my door open.
I bought a folding/rolling cart to bring my books home via the subway. At first I used my backpack but it was too heavy for the trip home. Riding the subway from
Coney Island where I lived to the City (normally on Tuesdays) became part of my routine. My work schedule was Wednesday - Friday 9 - 9. As ya'll know I worked in EMS as an EMT and later as a Paramedic. Most days my shift turned into a 14 hour one and legally they could mandate me up to 16 hrs! And sometimes they did that. My day started with a commute on the Belt Parkway. I got a car about 2 months after moving to Brooklyn, (that is a story for another time) I had sold the Ford Explorer when I lived in the city because parking is a nightmare. My shift began at 9 am then home most nights about 11:30 pm, to bed, rinse and repeat Thursday and by Friday night I was a Zombie! If you have never seen the movie Bringing Out the Dead (Nicholas Gage 1999) I suggest you see it, so true to form of the life of a medic in a big city. Many times I took extra shifts on my days off to add to my moving out of NYC and getting out of EMS fund. Time and a half was nice!
COLLECTED SHELL ARTWORK
The Cyclone is the wooden roller coaster at Coney Island, here it is in off season, after Labor Day on a miserable cold Brooklyn day! Winters to me were brutal with the windchill constantly being a factor.
About once a month I made my book runs as I called it. I'd fill my cart with $10 worth of books. I'd list most for $4.75 and they sold fast. I'd wrap books in heavy stock brown paper and drop them at a post office in the city on my work days, I never had to make a special trip to mail my books as there are post offices all over the city.
This side of the studio was my "bedroom" area, I had all my little girl things out to comfort me in a city that can be hostile without really trying to be.
The $30 extra a month helped me save money to make that move out of New York City and I never looked back but I have to say I learned more in those 6 years about me than in all the years that I had lived before! I did miss my book biz when it was gone, and I missed the monthly trips to buy the books, which meant one less subway ticket purchased, one less lunch eaten out, and less sales for Amazon. The greed of one only takes away, it does not enhance the lives of many.
My easy chair a curbside find with cushions and pillows I made myself, with a folding
footstool. Even tho my studio was basement level I had tons of natural light and my own entrance!
I furnished my 20 x 16 Studio with curbside finds and this wicker shelf unit was totally adequate for an entertainment center....My sis sent me this HUGE TV for Christmas one year. I nearly died because it was HUGE! I had an old 13" with the knobs from the 70's. I gave that one to someone else and found a way to put the big one in my unit. I never had Cable, later I did get hooked to an outdoor antenna. This set stuck out by 6 inches...I removed one shelf put legs on it and attached it to the other shelf making it wider. I had this DVD /VCR player,and I used that for entertainment. I was one of the very early Netflix customers, and my sis used to tape CSI and she mailed me a VHS full of CSI episodes monthly. That was the highlight of my evenings on those days off! That's my player on the top shelf blue light shining, I still use that one to this day...still have that old stereo and speakers too! My studio became my haven, a place where the city and the ugly job I had was left at the Gate.
and yet a medical drama..lol
On days off I walked this beach. I could see the Verrazano Bridge over the Narrows leading to Staten Island and New Jersey beyond. I looked forward to driving over that bridge for the last time heading out of NYC, and finally that did happen! Notice the lighthouse on the right...yes we had one...this was a typical New England shore side community it just happened to have a New York connection.
after Labor Day I was usually the only person on the beach
Beach combing was my favorite thing to do once the summer crowds no longer made the trip down on the F train to invade our little piece of heaven. Our beach was private but there was a beach club and so many sunbathers would set up on the beach on warm days. Coney Island proper is open Memorial Day to Labor Day. The attractions are the boardwalk, the beach, Luna Park with all the Carney attractions, a Minor League Ball Park, (the Brooklyn Cyclones) and the NY Aquarium all just blocks away. I enjoyed going to ball games and a few visits to the aquarium but people watching was by far the most prevalent activity. Living by the beach is the only thing that kept me sane during that era of my life, nature has always been my savior.
So that's a little look into my giant step back to my future.
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
A couple of days I was sewing all day! It's way too hot to enjoy anything outside that doesn't have to be done. I put into action my plan to do over the sleeping quarters in my van. Just so happened my mom had one of those memory foams she wanted rid of so I am going to try it out, if I like it I'll just keep it. It was not quite long enough because I folded it in half to make it thicker it's 3 inch so folded over it's a 6 inch If I decide to keep it I will cut it in half so it will lay flatter... I will add some stuffing to the top and bottom about 6 inches each end, and my pillows cover over that area anyways will make it even softer. SO soft at the head and foot and firm in the middle sounds good. I used some of the material I designed if you recall from several years back; so USE what you have is the theme here. My short success in fabric designing came in handy as I was able to retain all the yardage of the sample materials. I hope the foam will be comfy, I know it will save time, no pumping...and the cover is cotton, (the citrus one) so it should be comfortable and easy to brush dog hair off of! That's important in my case. 
The wedge shaped bolster is nice to prop against to read, use the laptop, do mapping, or preparing a blog post...so I covered it in the rusty/red microfiber. I also had that piece of patch work tie-dyed cotton, I made a cover for the pillow I bring along. Makes life on the road more comfortable...
This privacy curtain I picked up at Goodwill a couple yrs ago. It's just a regular window panel with grommets at the top made of a fawn colored microfiber we used to call this ultra-suede. It is sort of wrinkled because I usually have it stuffed in an overhead bin in the van. I'm not really concerned with that, as long as it provides the privacy I want. I don't know, can you iron microfiber? It was always too long and not wide enough so I just hung it up sideways to make it work. And it did work, but I finally cut the bottom off and undid the side hems. 
