Problem Solving... accept that there is always a bigger fish!

During the past two years, we have completed over 24 sits across the USA -  from California to Pennsylvania and from Washington state to North Carolina, crisscrossing our fabulous country. Just about every month we begin a new grand next adventure with different hosts, new cultural dynamics, customs, and cuddlable critters in all shapes and sizes! 

For us to adapt and truly soak in the life lessons in an ever changing canvas of experiences, we realize
that we must remain open to both the challenges and opportunities that come with the gig. In other words, we must constantly problem solve as a team and determine the best collaborative strategy to address a host of predicaments ranging from how to use automated kitchen gadgets (i.e. Brava, Jura, Bosch, Zojirushi etc.) to how to sort the trash (i.e. in Seattle one has to sort compost, garbage and recycle separately; while in parts of Tennessee - y'all just throw everything into one huge bin!). Said another way, what pond are we swimming in and what are the house rules?!

Then there's the weather! From Rocky Mountain snow and altitude issues (where our potato chip bag exploded) to windy Wyoming where the gusts  easily exceeded 60 mph - we had to put our Audi Allroad in sport mode so that it hugged the road better (note: hurricane force winds start at 75 miles per hour).

We've loved experiencing it all; and, one state stands out for us for the most diverse weather conditions we've encountered to date - Oklahoma.  During the course of several sits in the OKC area we have actively navigated killer tornados, wild fires that forced us off the highway, hail, wind storms that exceeded 70 mph and tore out sections of fence on the home we were at, blistering heat, contrasted by below zero temps in an area where homes aren't built for that (and neither were their pool pumps!), ice storms which shut down much of the state, an earthquake measuring 4.4, and a new one for us - freezing fog!  

We have needed to keep an open mind and stay centered and diligent to be able to address freezing pipes, power outages and water main breaks which actually crippled sections of an entire neighborhood. We both believed that we knew all about weather having grown up in Illinois, but we both concede that Oklahoma sure wins the prize for the most unusual weather!

As the saying goes, if you can't take the heat (or cold), get out of the kitchen (or in our case the nomadic lifestyle).  So, we accept the challenges - they keep our wits sharp and our experiences filled with diversity and adventure - and new weather conditions!