Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist, and I’ll share my current projects. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

December 24, 2023

Picking Up the Truck and Visiting Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park

December 23, 2023 On December 20 (Wednesday), the dealer called to let us know the truck was ready to be picked up. We took Nox for a walk and I snapped this picture of the RV with the loaner car. The dealer fixed all the recall items, changed the transfer case fluid, and hopefully fixed […]

A Small Visitor

December 21, 2023 On Tuesday, after we dropped the truck off for service, Bruce drove the loaner car home. The day was so nice that I sat outside for a while with Nox. I looked down and noticed this anole at the edge of the patio pad. Nox was out with me and decided to […]

Getting the Truck Repaired

December 19, 2023 Last week, Bruce was able to get an appointment for Tuesday, December 19, to get the truck repaired. We really want to get the sunroof leak fixed. After the deluge we had on Saturday (December 16), the truck headliner was soaked behind the driver’s side rear seat. The back of the seat […]

New Step Covers for Outside RV Steps

December 17, 2023 Soon after we got the RV, we covered the outside steps with carpet. Nox had slipped on the steps in March of 2021 and we didn’t want to risk her falling again due to slippery steps. The steps were also slippery for Bruce and me as well. The carpet has worn out […]

Quilt I Made as a Gift for my Mother-In-Law

December 17, 2023 When I was in my early twenties, I made a queen sized quilt for my mother-in-law. I knew she would cherish it. I based the quilt off of a stained glass window I saw. The flowers and steams are hand appliquéd onto the “window” and then I hand quilted the edges. All […]

Questions We Get Asked a Lot About RV Life

December 16, 2023

Julia and Bruce, the Nox Elevators

December 15, 2023 Nox’s right front leg is giving her more problems. She walks with a limp most of the time now. She is having trouble going down stairs or jumping down. She loves to be up high and being on the couch with me seems to be one of her joys. We put her […]

The Big Blue Bus Next Door

December 15, 2023 A few days ago (December 9), we got a new neighbor for a few days. He pulled into site 1. Bruce and I admired his RV, a converted school bus aka schoolie, while walking Nox. Bruce was removing the burned out headlights bulb on the motorcycle later in the day. It was […]

Regular Living Task – Replacing Motorcycle Headlight Bulb

December 12, 2023 This morning, at the grocery store, on the way back to the RV from the Webster Farmers Market, Bruce noticed the motorcycle headlight was out. He turned on high beams and it worked, but low beams weren’t working. It is time for a new headlight bulb in the 14 year old motorcycle. […]