A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we adopted a semi-feral cat. We had our reasons: our pre-existing tomcat had just lost his companion and was feeling lonely and needy. And we needed a new companion who wouldn’t compete with him for our attention. So when a friend told us about Tilapia,…
Author: Nancy
Settling In
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already been here two weeks! And at the same time, it feels like forever. We were the first ones to arrive, so we got our choice of sites! There are six RV spots in the employee campground, which is basically on the edge of the parking lot for the…
Bison or Boulder?
We’ve made it to Yellowstone! And I’ll definitely have more photos about our arrival soon, but in the meantime, you’re invited to play a little game that Rob and I call “Bison or Boulder?” Basically, when you’re driving (or even hiking) you are sometimes called upon to make snap judgments about your surroundings. Like, “Is…
Waldorfing
Did you know that anyone can park an RV and stay overnight in any Walmart parking lot, anytime? Not that you’re dying to run right out to do this. At least I wasn’t. But it’s become such a staple in our Airstream life, that we’ve given it a name: “Waldorfing.” As in, “We Waldorfed our…
Radical Sabbatical
It sounds like something out of the Bible—and it is—but the sabbatical as we know it actually became a practice in the United States thanks to Harvard University. In the 1880s, Harvard’s administration rolled out a policy designed to aid faculty in “resting and recovering” but also to facilitate “advancements in knowledge” that could only…
Fixing Up the Airstream, Part 3: Bringing in the Pros
A lesson my dad taught me when I was young that I’ve never forgotten: There will be points in your life when you’ll have more time than money, and points when you’ll have more money than time. It’s rare to have an abundance of both at the same time. As our plans to live in…
What’s In a Name?
So by now you may be wondering what the name “Flavors of the Day” has to do with anything I’ve been talking about. Well, in early January, 2025, Rob had a job interview for a “lead grocery supplier” at Yellowstone. He had held a similar job last year, and lived in the employee housing at…
“Just Enough”
If you’ve ever spent time in Zen spaces, you have probably heard someone mention the practice of oryoki. A Japanese word that translates roughly as “just enough,” the word oryoki is used to describe both a ritualized way of eating meals during extended meditation retreats, as well as the actual set of bowls that is…
Family Camping, 1975
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Picture this: you and your family load all your camping gear onto a motorboat that belongs to family friends. These family friends have invited…
Fixing Up the Airstream, Part 2
With the basic bones of the bedroom and bathroom completed, it was time for me to work on the interior. The previous owners of our Airstream had completely replicated the original drapes in white muslin–I couldn’t believe the amount of work they had put into them! And a cursory look at the drapes themselves revealed…