Tennessee

Yeehaw! We made it to another state!
We've named the bus Marian, after Jacek's grandfather. We bought the bus one day and then the next day sold the car that was passed down from his grandfather for the SAME EXACT PRICE! I felt the bus was kinda unisex and Jacek wanted to honor his grandfather so, his name was a perfect fit.
We spent yesterday at Purple Heart Tattoo & Punk Rock Flea Market's one year celebration in Knoxville, TN. We were going to spend today at the quarry and Market Square with some new Knoxville friends but, once we got to the quarry and met a couple whose car had just been broken into, we decided to head out 1.5 hrs away to a free camping spot for some much needed shade. It's hard to just sit still in a big ol bus that needs shade and ya have no clue where anything is but, we found a spot called Jackson Island in Spring City, TN that allows 14 days of free camping and is managed by TVA. We have already gone swimming and washed up in the lake, collected fire wood, let the kitties go for walks and Jacek even played some guitar by the smoking fire. We are gonna spend a few days here if the neighboring campers are nice. We have a show in Birmingham, AL this Friday. Jacek's 38th birthday is this Thursday! I've collected some little things along the way for his bday that he doesn't know about and starting today I will give him a present every day til I run out. Birthdays only come once a year so they really deserve at least a week of celebration!

His dad gave him some restaurant gift cards for his bday which has helped us along the road. It was nice to eat at an Applebee's after a long day in the sun. We were pretty exhausted after the punk show and a little sunburned too.

It was a bumpy ride leaving Knoxville today and the kitties absolutely hated it. We didn't care for it too much either. But now, we finally get to rest up for a couple days and get some much needed booking and R&R taken care of.

I would love to upload way more photos but I am frustrated with this very slow computer. I hope for another one once we get some money saved back. And it won't be a mac with all that iPhoto shtuff.

A belated post from the day we said goodbye to Casey.

On the Road Again

There is so much to update that I just might have to hit the highlights. I will say it has been a mental challenge for us and the kitties getting started on the tour. Finding a save and inexpensive place to sleep every night and shade during the day AND a spot the bus will fit in where we are allowed to park is still a learning process. I did download an app called RV Parky that is super helpful. It shows where all the RV campgrounds, Pilot gas stations (where we have gift cards from my mom and her fiance), Walmarts and for some reason… Cracker Barrels are. We stayed one night on Kentucky River at an RV campground and it was really nice to have a hot shower. Otherwise, it has been unscented baby wipes along the way, essential oils and washing our feet in the sinks of bathrooms. Luckily we do have a potty. We only pee in it for now because the cleanup factor of anything else just seems too scary right now. So, we make pit stops along the way. Walmart has been the easiest lot to sleep in and free. Though we have had someone knock on our door to ask us about the bus when we didn't want to be bothered. We are in Dry Ridge, Kentucky now between Lexington and Covington. It's a really small town but we managed to find a coffee/bakery/deli shop with wifi called Beans so we can update you fine folks.

The last couple days before we headed out were really stressful trying to clean and organize a bus and clean and empty a house, find homes for our two foster kitties (Percy and Annabeth) which we miss very much, hunt for performers for Via Colori Street Painting Festival in Elizabethtown since other performers backed out at the last minute and taking Jacek's 3 kitties to a friend's farm in Bardstown where they could continue to enjoy the outdoor life and be looked after. I never want to experience that amount of stress again and especially not in that combination. I was also trying to sell my car before we left but it didn't happen so, right now it is sitting at my mom's house. If anyone wants a 2005 Mazda Tribute SUV for $1500 OBO please let us know!

Not to mention that the early part of the week, we organized and managed our going away event, got the bus painted by some old and new friends while I inadvertently pissed off 3 people that were dear to me. I was so torn up by unintentionally hurting loved ones but i couldn't cry. It was right on the edge. I was painting something on the bus and as I was climbing down, I bumped and scraped my shin really hard. That was all it took to literally let the waterworks burst out as I melted to the ground. I attempted resolution with the 3 folks and attempted amends to others that were long overdue. I have to say at least one resolution was made and that is okay. Others need to process their stuff in their own time.

Jacek is usually happy but there are definitely moments of stress for him too like rehoming his kitties, weening off of nicotine and driving a huge ass bus.

Yes, we are on an adventure and having fun times. There are also growing pains as we adjust to this new lifestyle. We have to make sure we eat properly, drink plenty of water, get plenty of rest, prayer, snuggles and laughter to stay sane. If we just keep pushing forward without those things, we will surely lose our mind. We have the most fun when we are performing for a great audience and interactive crowd. We had a blast at Natasha's Bistro & Bar in Lexington, KY. I hadn't felt so much at home since we left that I cried leaving. It was great to see old and new friends and get so much support. Friends even stuck around to help us carry props in and out. We got to perform with the extremely sexy and talented, Daisy Ramos. That girl is going to be national and we are lucky we got to dance with her now. Our buddies of Tinderbox Circus Sideshow came to support us. Michael Sikora AKA Just Michael who used to juggle with us in Louisville came out and helped with props. That guy is the bees knees! Stacy Jones and Skare Kro got a tour of the bus and helped us load in props as well! They were in between comic conventions. We are lucky to know some talented and kind people. It's great when you can find that in combination.

Last night I started work on Bitch, the crow. It's one of my shadow puppet characters. Working on that gave me such joy. I am addicted to shadow puppets! Stay tuned because you've seen Kibbles… but now see Bitch! up close and personal. This crow's got tricks.

As far as art goes, I am feeling really stumped on our NOLA masquerade poster but I think I may have the perfect idea and am just going to finally get it out there. I wanted it to be done and sent out a month and a half ago but I was just plain stumped and didn't have the money or the time to trade anyone else to do it for us. But! Here is the event if you feel like spending October 25th in beautiful New Orleans:
https://www.facebook.com/events/864258493666088/

So, our timeline of events with photos to come for our next update (If we had a documenter with us, there would be photos of our freak outs too!):

Trying to find people to make discontinued parts of our bus
 borrowing money to replace the radiator
 paying a friend to help us replace thermostats, brake switch and a radiator
Cirque De Virgo
getting the bus painted
send-off party
rehoming fosters
taking kitties to the farm
prepping and painting the bus
send-off party
Via Colori
and life on the road thus far with kitties and such!

Adventures await!

Tomorrow Jen Goodell will join us on Great Day Live! to start the epic bus painting adventure while we circus and side show it up on live television!

Here are the stencils she created:

So rad! We feel like movie stars to have our images painted on a bus!

Saturday from 6pm-? Our bus painting will be continued even more by some of the best graffiti artists (writers) around during this event at Tim Faulkner Gallery:

https://www.facebook.com/events/107160642962627/

THEN on Sunday, our great big tour send-off party starts at 3pm where our bus will be painted on even more by some amazing artists including Jen Goodell as she finishes up her pieces. 

Please read all about the event and bring some friends! We will have $20 workshops of balloon animals, fire eating and juggling. Anyone taking a workshop will get into the $3 event free.

Additionally, we still have room for vendors if you would like to participate. If you would like to be included in the lineup of performances, let us know!

502-718-5929

SEE YOU THERE!

https://www.facebook.com/events/523642031136159/

We still have Percy the Magnificent and Annabeth that are fosters we need to find forever homes for on Sept 11. Please call Shamrock Foundation if you can give them forever homes together. They are best buds. Percy treats Annabeth like his baby. He grooms her and plays with her. Percy is a very talkative 3-legged kitty who suckles on blankets when he is super happy. He is at least 2 years old. Annabeth is around 4 months old and is shy and playful. She is less shy when Percy is around. With a lot of human interaction, Annabeth becomes more snuggly. She is ready to play anytime all the time!
502-245-6803 or 502-244-4715. Leave a message as Shamrock is an all volunteer organization and return calls as soon as possible.

Bus Conversion Progress and Furry Things!

We have made much progress on the bus conversion since our last post. We have electric, a dining room, a toilet, a sink, a bed, storage and shelving. Also, we have some great events that have passed and are coming up!

But let me tell you, finding insurance for bus conversion in the state of Kentucky is quite the challenge! We have got many reasons as to why we cannot be insured by different companies. Some cannot insure because it used to be a school bus. Some cannot insure because they don't know how to write the policy for something that can be used as a home that can drive. yadda yadda yadda
We are gonna keep on trying though cuz we gotta follow our dreams!

I was thinking I would give up on some hobbies and get rid of lots of art supplies but I know myself and I would just buy them again so, we created shelving to store lots of craft supplies, bathroom supplies and miscellaneous. It has been hard for me to shed material possessions cuz I wanna hold onto them and make new things or rehome them to specific people. The house is almost empty and we just can't wait to have everything we need on the bus.

We are trying to break kitties of bad habits but some of the habits have gotten worse lately with all the changes in the house. They are stressed and acting out. We want them all to get along and not pee on the bus so we can take them with us. We are thinking we may have to get some of them some anti anxiety medicine to ease the transition and calm their nerves. We are following lots of suggestions to quit their squabbling and little messes. We still have two fosters up for adoption- Percy and Kitty Kitten. They would love to be together cuz they are buddies now. Percy is helping raise Kitty Kitten who was a wounded kitten eating off of our porch that Shamrock Foundation helped us with.

We have decided too that Italy, Jacek's male cat would never be happy on the bus as he has made this neighborhood his stomping grounds and loves to be outdoors. A friend of his offered to take him and let him roam his farm. We think he would love it and we will check out the farm soon to see if it is a good fit. We want to follow our dreams and have all the kitties with us. We are just not sure if they will all be happy on the bus. We still need to build some walkways for them up high along with attaching their giant cat tree in the bus. We do have two kennels in case some of them need to feel more secure while traveling. 

Speaking of furry creatures, we have a benefit for Alley Cat Advocates and Shamrock Foundation tomorrow night with Drunk & Sailor! We will be raffling off cats! (Just kidding… but maybe it's not a bad idea!) We will be giving more info about Percy and Kitty Kitten at the show to find them forever homes.

Percy, the three-legged wonder!

Kitty Kitten is a brown/gray tabby that is less than 4 months old. Adorable! We will have photos of her available at the show!

Here is the event, Fur the Love of Animals! Invite everyone!!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/470080283158891/

Birthdays, memorials and bus snuggles- oh my!

On the Friday, the 17th, we went to Angela's apartment and helped family and friends sort through her things. We took some things to Book & Music Exchange to get her family some gas money, bought a sword, took things to Goodwill and took Medusa, her beloved snake, home with us. We are ridding her of mites and trying to get her used to human touch again. Then we will rehome her. She is a lovely ball python.

That evening we went to Dragon King's Daughter (Louisville, KY) for the most delicious sushi and then across the street to Nowhere Bar for dancing. I have to say that I may have only known one song that I was dancing to. I didn't care cuz I just wanted to dance and Jacek makes the best goofy dance partner! Jennifer Watson got wiggly too. Meredith Dooley and James Michael Hite boogied for a bit before turning in. Lisa Douglas and Christopher Mills came out and shot pool with us. Lisa gave me a really fun book about gross attractions around the U.S. that we will use on our trip along with a pumpkin scented candle from Chris's work. The bus smells GOOD! And when the candle is done, I get a jewelry surprise inside. Rebekkah Trigg made an appearance with her sassy self. It was a tough day for us having gone through Angela's stuff but, we managed to squeeze out some laughs.

When we realized it was pouring rain we ran home to close the bus windows and luckily nothing really got wet except the middle where the ventilation hatch was open. It was so beautiful to see the storm through the windows and hear the rain hitting the metal roof as we slept.

We have slept on the bus 5 days now?

Saturday was the first memorial for Angela. It was really tough and I didn't expect so much honesty from everyone who shared about their experiences with her. I also didn't expect so many emotions. I had a gig later that night at Chill Bar with Jacek and Wednesday for Chill Bar's 2nd anniversary. I was trying to find someone to replace me at the gig but in the end we needed the money to work on the bus and I committed to it so, I went. I didn't think I was going to make it and prayed for rain but once I got there, I got into the groove of things and was able to smile through flaming lips.

Sunday, we went to my granny's for my birthday celebration and that was a lot of fun. My uncle Timmy cooked a delicious lunch and even though I don't eat cake, the cake was beautiful and glittery… just like us from Lisa's birthday glitter wrapping. My mom made a butterfly theme to the birthday :) My uncle made a fruit salad for me while most everyone had cake. Let them eat cake!

Then we went to yoga and really challenged ourselves. During the hip openers I got really sad and angry about Angela. I started crying after the class. I insisted we go see a movie at Village 8 since the rest of my birthday had been overshadowed by death and bus work. We got to see Mad Max Fury Road and it was sooooo cooool and badass. But seriously, what is up with the guitar dude? That is all I am going to say so I don't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. We moved all of our props into the one empty room of the house so we could see what we have left to go through. 

Today we kicked more butt in cleaning the back room and I swept the bus out. I could sweep the bus out every day the way it collects dirt so easily from us going in and out. There is soooooo much stuff to go through. It can be overwhelming at times and we have to take breaks.

We are slowly getting the cats used to the bus and invite some of them to sleep with us at night. We have taken Percy on the bus to sleep every night except once when it was really really hot. That night we left the kitties in the house with AC. We are concerned about how the cats squabble and how it would be to take them on the bus together in the significantly smaller space. We even thought about writing Jackson Galaxy for advice and ideas on how to get them to be calm with each other and on the bus in general.

The AC was broken in the house for a few days and sometimes Jack was able to push the blade of the fan to get it going but mostly it was hot hot hot in here at 85 degrees at one point. We kept the fans going with windows open. The AC was fixed today, thank goodness! 

We still have a very talkative Percy that needs a forever home. If you are interested in giving Percy a loving, affectionate forever home, call us for a visit. 502-718-5929. If you like him, he is adoptable through Shamrock Foundation. He is a sweet 3-legger who gets along well with other cats. He may hiss from time to time but doesn't fight. He and Dexter love on each other and play hard. Percy is just about the best behaved cat I have ever met.

yard sale ready!

Today we readied ourselves for a yard sale to get rid of more stuff we can't take on the Forever Tour. Our bedroom is empty and polished clean except for this computer. We slept on the bus last night and from here out.. it was wonderful and comfortable. We have dinner on the bus every night as well and discuss travel. Tomorrow Ember turns a year older (still hot!) heeh... so we plan to eat sushi with friends and dance like crazy! WEEZE GON GIT DOWN!!! .. on a sad note Italy got an injury so i think maybe the doc tomorrow too..ugh Next step is to get the electric ready on the bus, probably with an extra battery hooked up to the alternator and plugs strung along the top interior of the bus with a plug out the back..guess we'll see. It's a learning experience. Jacek signing off!

                                                       B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y    G-I-R-L