Camping

Its summer again. When I was a kid the funnest thing about summer was if we got to go camping or not. Usually at the Farnsworth Reunion. When I was a child I LOVED IT. I loved sleeping in a sleeping bag that was never quite warm enough. I loved the aches and pains. The smells, the pine trees, the forest after a storm. I loved the sites, the bear in the river with its cubs. The beavers, squirrels, rabbits and other creatures we saw.

Campfire smoke... I LOVED The smell of it. It didnt bother me as a kid to inhale it...

Today...

I am allergic to smoke. Any kind of smoke, kitchen cooking smokes, campfire smoke, etc.

Triggers my asthma. So Lee Barbeques outside. I stay indoors if there are forest fires in the area. I bring my inhaler if I go see my parents when they are camping and try to stay out of the fire's smoke path. We have two fans in our kitchen and if we get smoke in the kitchen, every window and or door is opened to air it out as fast as possible.

Its LAME. Drives me absolutely nuts. Cigarette smoke makes perfectly good sense.. its not healthy for you. But this.. I cant roast marshmallows and hotdogs without worrying if it will trigger a stupid coughing fit.

I use to light candles all the time. I loved that. I cannot do that anymore. I can use a candle burner for my candles but I cannot light a flame on them. So I watch them on TV on shows and in movies and wish.

There was a time I tried no matter what just to ignore it. I had friends that smoked, I would hang around them. If someone was burning something I didnt avoid it. If there was forest fire in the area. I didnt avoid it, I just kept trying to pretend that if ignored it ... maybe it would go away.

It didnt in fact I made myself very sick and came down with Chronic Bronchitis. It lasted for about nine months and it severely hampered my life. I could not function somedays.

There are two types of asthma. The one's that can't pull in oxygen, and the ones that can't push the bad air out. I can't push bad air out. I have a condition that has a medical term but in laymans terms.. I have sticky bronchials. I have this sticky substance like the stuff that comes off of okra when you slice it. Its a sap. It makes it so I get pockets of air trapped in my lungs. When it is really bad I start choking. This is my bodies attempt to force it out. Ergo an asthma attack.

My doctor says it is like breathing car exhaust all the time. After a while you start getting weak, unable to move, drowsy a headache...

Yeah its not fun. Although on the end point when I lose my voice it is somewhat comical because I dont have the ability to push air through my vocal chords.. I think I sound like Pee Wee Herman on crack. My expression, but it fits.

So back to camping.. When I was young the aches and pains of sleeping on a rock.. bothered maybe for as long as it took me to get dressed and get out of the tent.

Today.. DAYS it is so annoying. I bruise easily because of Hypoglycemia so things like a rock poking in my back, wind up a bruise ... I always have bruises and most the time I don't even know where I got one from. No clue. Sometimes I will wake up and have a big black one and I will try and try for the life of me I have no idea how it occurred. I guess that could just be a little bit of senility working on me...

Bugs.

When I was a kid they fascinated me. I LOVED them. Even the ticks. Jim and I once went in an area camping with Mom that we saw lots of ticks crawling around on the ground. They were feeding off an ant mound. We were fascinated. Mom was not she searched us thoroughly that night for them and burned any she found.

Spider's were cool. It didnt bother me when one crawled on me. Sometimes I would pick them up. Jim also loved them and did a science fair project. He also had a pet tarantula.

Then well... when I was fourteen.. I woke up one night, with a big spider crawling in my mouth. I choked on it but could not help as I swallowed it. It quite literally crawled down my throat while I was awake. It was a very tramatic experience for me. All except for Daddy Long legs bother me now. If I see any other variety I kill it.

Did you know that we eat in our sleep an average of 7 spider's a year. Gross fact.

So we live in an old house...

Yes it is spiderville here although not so much as it use to be. Taffy, our dog that got lost, was a spider hunter she would willingly hunt, kill and eat them. She was big.. so I just let her do it. One night she started barking at our Bathroom. I was like what is it girl and I went to go in and she blocked me. Wouldnt let me go in the Bathroom.

Then it moved. It was almost as big as Jim's Tarantula had been. Nearly as large as my hand. A giant wolf spider was in our bathroom. When I lived in Florida they had these big spiders called Garden Spiders and you would randomly find them all over the place. Crystal Stringham that I lived and worked for there would scoop them up and garbage disposal them. Yeah not nice. Gross even but very very effective. Well now I have a great husband who I have dubbed Spider Killer and he kills the little beasties for me he just scooped it up with some toilet paper and then squished it with his hand and then flushed it down the toilet.

Not a big fan of most bugs anymore. Unless it's a butterfly outside of my house. We get moths here all the time that die I have to clean up. Not a fan.

So... this all sums up to my idea of camping now.

A camper trailer, mobile home with built in bathroom or a cabin. If I have a fire... I want it in a gas fireplace. If I cook over a flame I want it on a propane or gas camping stove. I want a place to sleep that has some comfort and I wont wake up feeling all black and blue.

My parents appear to be of this same mind set and they still go camping but take a mobile home with them. They cook on a stove. They sleep in comfortable beds, they even take DVD players with them.

So I reminisce about Girls Camp, Family Reunions.. and when I do go out into the great out doors it is usually for a picnic or a few hours. I take a few pictures ... of wildlife and call it good.

What brought all of this on? Well Girls Camp is coming up, I am not sure if Dazee is going or not but she is in Young Women's so it is possible. A lot of my friends are going ... So I was thinking on how much fun it was, to play pranks on tents, do secret sisters, sing and cook around the campfire... Then reality set in.

So I started thinking of how I could do camping now and I have turned into my parents and grandparents. I believe that Lee and I at some point will get a Motor Home. A driveable moveable home. We will use propane to heat water and shower while on camp instead of taking a bath in creek water.

I have turned into a wimp and surprisingly enough, I am okay with it. I will enjoy listening to music, Trevor's speakers in his camper are amazing, great sound system. I will take a laptop and watch dvd's or TV on it.

I may get some four wheelers and go riding around instead of hiking. So the two favorite things I enjoy about camping .. the sites and smells, ( especially after a rainstorm), will still be there for me. That and the occasional spider or mosquito. I will plant trees in my backyard and put in a tiny fire pit that may or may not be lit by gas instead of actual wood etc. I will put in a fountain and make a little oasis in my back yard.

I may get a trampoline, set that up and sleep under the stars...