Hey there my fellow yees and haws! I hope this finds you well…. and warm.
We have had very little movement except the arrival of winter. I certainly feel like I’m frozen in place while straining to get this bish going. Literally she moves in my dreams. I’m traveling an obscure map that seems very familiar. Continuously driving into spots with little success rate but always late and meeting obscurity.
It seems we might be here for my birthday. My mom’s already asked what I want to do for it. “not be here” and “dancing naked around a fire” were not sought after responses, yet I really couldn’t come up with any other real idea.
So where is Matilda at? I replaced the wrong fuel pump. It was the one in the tank that was in pieces. Blew out some fuel lines and getting her re primed is seeming an issue? Something isn’t going right. The next step I’ve been dawdling on is reattaching the tank completely, adding diesel winter additive and filling the fuel filter repeatedly between cranks? Maybe….
I’ve been getting some help from Adam, father of my friend Molly’s children with a brother (or maybe cousin? Certainly a relation) that’s a 7.3 expert but generally busy so he’s been trying to get this done with his brother’s (?) guidance, but his brother has been unavailable for the last week and a half. So we’ve been struggling together trying to get this lovely bus back to cold escape mode.
I’ve found Adam to be quite adorable trying to wrangle stubborn Matilda. I haven’t had such an easy flow of conversation in a while. He’s got plenty on his plate and is all over the place (in his head and the area) so getting things done has been pretty sporadic. I was warned ahead of time, so I’ve been practicing my patience, telling myself that time moves on it’s own and we’ll be out of here on time. Whenever that happens to be. Both kids have expressed the wish to get back on the road. Most everything is set for us to go, just as soon as Matilda decides she’s a go…
I am making continuity plans, minor ones of going to a party with my brother on the weekend, tentative birthday wishes, possibly meeting up with someone tomorrow evening for drinks? to major ones of getting a shop mechanic involved, hoping for someone with more expertise to reach out, insulating the bug……
I made an insulation curtain for the kids bed to also give some separation to their sleep and my kitchen. I repaired a sweater sleeve by hand while sitting next to my perfectly good sewing machine. Pitched the 100ft tarp a few times and took it down as often. The trailer hasn’t sold, though I’ve had multiple close to takers. Reorganized and stored and organized and re-stored tools and crafting materials….. and my brain. I’m really trying to use my time here. I don’t know why we’re still here, but I’m super grateful that the time we’re having here is pleasant and peaceful. A place where the kids have a chance to be bored. That’s a good thing. A time to process and grow.
I recently “freed up space” on my celly and it just so happened to take all my photos, and right after I received the notification that they’d been deleted, I realized I’d forgotten to blog before deleting recent pix. Yay! I checked to see if there were any worth downloading to put on this post but it’s basically snow pix of the kids playing which you can see in a tiktok I uploaded right before I cleared the space. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9FLrE3/
With the arrival of snow came the hit to my conscious that I’d given Galixy’s coat away and had made no note but mental. Galixy said she stayed warm enough, but a snow coat in snow is indispensable. When I asked Adam about his Eta so I could plan when I would go thrift store coat hunting, he reached out to his mom to see about warm coat and clothing. As she was in the process of sorting through things already, Adam picked me up to stop by there in hunt for the elusive coat. I got plenty of other pretty and warm things (that picture of galixy in the dress is one of them, more pretty than warm.) However, we found the right enough coat at Once upon a Child. I scored a pair of super warm wool pants. I’m amazed at how easily I sorted the hand me downs into the spaces of the stuffed Bugus.
I should go get on my to do list. I almost called them chores, but I felt it implied someone gave me a list of things to do to contribute instead of a list concerning my needs and things to contribute. I don’t know how big of distinction it makes, but it just feels more congruent.
I am sending you many smiles and a deep comfort in who you are and what you have. A gratitude for you. And your experience.
I must take a moment to mention that we do run mainly on your kind donations and I greatly appreciate your contributions. Every little bit helps and gets us to explore just a little more of this exciting world. Especially right now when there’s no movement or exposure. The bonfire campaign is live, so if you want to get yourself a tshirt or sweater with the original Matilda Bugus design, click here: https://www.bonfire.com/bugus-life/
I accept donations via CashApp: $MatildaBugus and paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/matildabugus
If you’d like to peek at our Amazon wishlist follow the link below. We really appreciate those special wants/wishes/deferred needs finding their way to us possibly via your help! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3LUAOP5L0M5FY?ref_=wl_share
We now have merchandise ready for you to order! Represent and support at the same time! We love these shirts and we love you! Check it out!
https://matildabugus.bigcartel.com
CashApp: $Matilda.Bugus
Venmo: available upon request.
Feel more than free to Contact me. You can establish such via the Contact Me page here on the blog, OOOOOOOORRR! get on your facebooks and join the group “Spotting Bugus” or like the Matilda Bugus Page. Also availble on Instagram, Youtube, and the TikToks.
Matilda the Bugus 