Wonderful, Winter Weather

Last night, I went to bed at 7:30 and slept through the night. I’m still not feeling up to par as a result of my encounter with the dust, insulation, and wasp spray. I took some Nyquil and read for about 5 minutes then slept through until 6 this morning. I feel much better today, though I’m still coughing.

I am so glad I had my sleeping bag with me; the weather was wintry – cold but no snow. It got down to 60 degrees or so. For someone who has lived in Florida for 20+ years, it seemed like winter.

My brother Ray, his wife Margie and my niece Kristian arrived yesterday. We met at Ramblers’ Rest (or better known by my sister-in-law Kathy as Ramblin’ Wreck), a favorite of my family since I was a kid. We used to go there for hot dogs and fries with their delicious meat sauce and then afterwards get a milkshake or ice cream cone. They are still the only restaurant in the area that I know of that serves dill pickle relish. They also have sweet relish, but the dill just adds that extra bit of pizzazz. The hot dogs are as good as I remember. In fact, I had another one today while I was out rambling around.

I finally finished all of my photo presentations for Saturday at brunch: one for Mom, one for my cousin Alger and one for Mark(his had been done; I just had to find it on my old laptop). There are lots of pictures most of the family hasn’t seen, pictures that will bring back good memories, pictures that will make us smile and pictures that will bring a tear to the eye.

Today, as I was coming back to my cousin’s where I’m staying, I spotted a deer about 15 feet from their driveway. What beautiful creatures they are (and they’re so tasty too!).

Last night I spoke with my brother-in-law Don Dillenbeck and his wife Rose. They’ve been seeing a lot of wildlife near their house: turkeys, deer, etc. They’ll be picking up my sister-in-law Esther who is flying in today at 4 pm to the Ithaca airport. She’ll be here for the buffet on Saturday, then will go to visit my sister-in-law Joyce and her husband Mike Knefley. I’m going to be taking her back to the Ithaca airport some day next week then I’ll go visit Don and Rose for a day or so.

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by.

It won’t be long and I’ll be hitching the camper up and heading back toward Florida. I have a wedding to attend on July 24th near Atlanta, then it’s on my way to Florida via visits to my niece Dawn and her family, my nephew Bruce and his family, and my friend Kathy McGrath whom I haven’t seen in 30+ years. I’ll probably also stop to see my brother Jeff in Lawrenceville, GA.

Well, I guess I’ve blabbed enough.

Until next time…

Church and More Visits

Today, I accompanied Ethelyn to church. We were supposed to talk with Pastor Gary Brown about the committal services we are holding during our breakfast buffet this Saturday at 10 am at Papa Dale’s in Elmira. Unfortunately, he was very sick – even running a fever – but was able to deliver a shortened sermon. It was short, but it was good. The basic point was the Jesus Is Lord. He is the potter and we are the clay.

We will be getting together later this week to talk about the three people who will be buried this coming Saturday and Monday: Mark (died 12/4/2002) and Mom (died 3/7/2010), who will be laid to rest on Saturday, and my cousin Alger (died 3/26/2010) who will be laid to rest on Monday.

I’m still working on the photo slide shows for Mom and Alger. Mark’s was done when he passed. We had a wonderful memorial service for him in Brandon with family and friends celebrating his life.

We will be celebrating the lives of our dear family members. Death is especially tough on those left behind, but we know our loved ones are in a better place, resting in the arms of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We will meet them again either at the resurrection or when we pass on too. Until then, I am “looking for that blessed hope.”

This afternoon, we went to visit my cousin Bobby Harrison and his wife Marion. We had a great time catching up with one another. They live about 1/2 hour away from Ethelyn’s and the ride over and back was great – forest and homes with lovely lawns. The roads, as most of them are in New York State, were extremely rough, but I guess that’s one of the prices you pay for living here – that and the high taxes and fees. They sure aren’t spending their tax money on roads.

Well, I guess that’s all of the news.

Until next time…

What Beautiful Weather

This year, in Florida, we went from freezing cold temperature to broiling, unseasonably hot weather with hardly any spring. It’s been so hot there, but New York is different. It gets fairly warm most days and then cools off during the night. It sure makes for comfortable sleeping

Today, I chose and mostly organized the pictures for my mother’s memorial service. While I was doing that and doing the same for my cousin Alger, I must admit that there were times when I became incredibly sad, but for the most part, the pictures bring back great memories. They help me remember the smiles and expressions, the great times we had and the generosity of both of them.

Last night, Elwyn, Ethelyn, Dickie and I attended a birthday dinner at Pierri’s Central Restaurant in Painted Post. There were probably about 40 people there to celebrate a rather belated birthday for my mom’s friend Irene Miller.

Over the last several years, I have come to know and appreciate Irene. On May 31, 2010, she marked her 90th birthday. I was so pleased to be able to take part in this celebration. Her daughter Vivienne and Vivienne’s husband Bill, who live in Florida were also there. Funny how we have to come to New York to see people who live close by in Florida.

Irene was completely surprised by the party. Dinner was ordered off the menu. I had a 12-oz NY (what else would you eat here?) strip steak with spaghetti and a tossed salad. I brought home half the steak and half the spaghetti. Everything was delicious. A lot of people had the fish fry, which looked very appetizing, but since they also fry a lot of shrimp and scallops and clams, I thought it prudent to have the steak.

When we got home, it was still daylight and we were able to see that a bear had tipped over a garbage can, had ruined two finch feeders, including bending over one of the poles holding a feeder and had run off with a basket holding a new piece of suet.

Fortunately, the bear was gone when we got home, but I still had to make my way to the camper at 11 pm when it was time to go to bed. I had my Maglight but I doubt it would have helped me fend off a bear.

I had to cover up last night because it got down pretty cold. It’s such a pleasure to sleep in cooler temps.

I’m reading Janet Evanovich’s new book (Sizzlin’ Sixteen) and enjoying immensely though I think I’m driving everyone crazy laughing out loud as I read. It’s a good thing I’m not listening to it on tape while I travel or I’d probably drive off the road.

Well, we’re going to visit my cousin George right now.

Until next time…

Finally, Here

Yesterday, about 1:15 pm, I finally arrived at my cousin’s house in Corning, NY. For the most part, the trip from Winchester, VA to Corning was uneventful. I drove through rain for a few hours and there was quite a bit of construction the last few hours. Some areas were accessible through narrow lanes. In fact, vehicles over 11 ft were not permitted to travel in those lanes. Fortunately, my camper is around 9 ft wide.

I don’t know what I would have done if my cousin Elwyn hadn’t been home when I arrived. It was raining and slippery. The camper has never been on such hills as the ones in Hornby and my great PVC pipe I had lashed to the back bumper scraped the driveway. My spare tire did also.

Elwyn and my cousin Kevin worked so hard to put the camper where it is and to level it. They both did a fantastic job. I may have to kidnap them and stow them in the back seat of the pick-up so they’ll be available when needed.

I slept in my camper for the first time last night. My new pillow-top mattress is extremely comfortable. The temperature hovered in the cool to comfortable range. I slept so well.

Hindsight, so they say, is always 20-20. My great idea about putting plexi-glass on the shelves didn’t work as well as I hoped. Today, my cousin and I went to Home Depot where they cut me some 3/8” plywood strips. I think (and hope and pray) this will work much better.

The weather here is great, though this afternoon it got fairly hot??? – 86 – what a relief from the high 90’s we’ve been experiencing in Florida. And, at least here, it gets pretty cool at night.

My cousin Dickie arrived today from Florida while Ethelyn and I were going to the doctor, Home Depot and WalMart. I can’t go anywhere without visiting WalMart. How about you?

I got some red, white, and blue washcloths to go with my towels, some pillowcases for my 4 brand-new pillows and some t-shirts. And it’s only the first full day here!

Tomorrow, we’re going to Joanne Fabric to get some foam for the small twin bed in the camper. The mattress I thought I ordered was really a mattress pad. As I told everyone today: “I used to have a mind like a steel trap and now it’s like a sieve.”

Well, just wanted everyone to know I’m doing okay.

Until next time…

P.S. Did you hear about the 5.8 earthquake some people here felt today. Nobody in this household did, but friends and neighbors noticed it. I guess it was centered in Toronto. Aren’t you glad you weren’t at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto? You can already feel the sway without an earthquake. Just imagine!

Definitely On My Way

On Saturday morning, about 9:45, I drove from my home in Thonotosassa to my brother’s house in Lawrenceville, GA. Considering that this was my first real trip with my camper, I have to say that everything went fine.

It only took me about 8 1/2 hours, which is only one-half hour more than it usually does. The camper pulled like a dream: no swaying, very little effect from trucks passing or cross-winds. The only real problem was that it takes twice as much gas as with the truck alone.

My nephews Chris and Greg were home for part of the weekend, so I got to see them. Chris is in the army and Greg is a swim coach. Both are fine young men and we got to talk a little.

My brother Jeff and his wife Kathy just refurbished their kitchen. It is spectacular. They replaced their refrigerator, range, microwave, dishwasher, cabinets, sink and countertops. I was seriously tempted to just sit and look at their kitchen all weekend.

I left their house this morning about 6:30 and arrived in Winchester, VA (almost to Maryland) about 7:15 this evening. Again, the camper drove beautifully. I finally hooked up my tire temp and pressure monitor. That gave me a great deal of comfort, knowing I would be alerted if a tire lost pressure or got too hot.

I had surprisingly little trouble pulling into gas stations. Rest areas were a breeze; I just pulled in where the big rigs park. It’s easy to park within the lines since the lines are so much wider.

Tomorrow, unless something unexpected happens, I’ll finish my trip to my cousin’s in Corning.

Until next time…

On My Way--This Morning

This morning, I will finally be on my way.

I have about 2 hours of loading left. The trailer is hitched up and ready to go, AND SO AM I.

Until next time…

Not a Lot Done Today

It sure is hard to shake this respiratory problem. Today, after a kind of restless night, I was worthless.

Knowing that I had no energy for anything productive, I decided to go see The A-Team. Being a great fan of the old TV show, I expected to be disappointed. Believe me, I WAS NOT. It was a great movie! The actors weren’t the same, but they held their own and then some. The story line was intriguing – a lot about how they were cashiered out of the Rangers.

A couple of times, Liam Neeson, who played Hannibal Smith, said one of my favorite lines: “I love it when a plan comes together.”

It was exciting with lots of special effects, car chases, bizarre flying scenes with Murdock at the controls. In the movie, you’ll learn how B.A. Baracus becomes afraid to fly.

In short, if you get a chance, go see the movie. You will not be disappointed.

After stopping at WalMart to buy two more sleeping bags for the camper, I went home with the intention of reading my email then taking a nap. Well, after 4 hours of fooling around with my Outlook, I finally ordered the new Outlook 2010 and installed it. Finally, I got to read my email. By then it was time to eat dinner.

I think I’ll go to bed right after I post this blog. I have a long to-do list for tomorrow.

By the way, I received the following email yesterday about using wasp spray in place of pepper spray: 

I know some of you own GUNS but this is something to think about...--- 

If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you. Did you know this? I didn't. I never really thought of it before. I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat. 

Wasp Spray  -  A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection. Thought this was interesting and might be of use.

On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life. 

Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School . For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed. 

Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them." 

Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades. 
It's also one he wants everyone to hear. If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray. "That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life. 
Please share this with all the people who are precious to your life

Did you also know that wasp spray will kill a snake? And a mouse! It will! Good to know, huh? It will also kill a wasp.!!!!

In view of the fact that part of my respiratory problems are because of the two cans of wasp and hornet spray I used after my roof caved in, I guess it’s a miracle I’m alive.

Anyway, I think I’ll keep a can of wasp spray in the truck.

Until next time…

A Lot Done Today

Since I felt a little better this morning, I was able to get quite a bit done:

1. Removed the rest of the curtains from the camper
2. Laundered the curtains
3. Removed the brackets from the valances and tossed them in the garbage; they just didn’t seem that necessary
4. Took a couple of loads of stuff from the house to the camper and took care of it
5. Finally got the last corner of the fitted sheet onto the double bed mattress
6. Disposed of a lot of packaging from the camper
7. Moved a box of books out to the pickup
8. Got the scanner box out of the shed
9. Packed up my scanner and put it in the pickup
10. Got my electric cooler out of the shed and plugged it in
11. Put a 24-pack of Diet Mountain Dew in the cooler after it got cold.
12. Set up my Tom Tom on my new computer, which took a long time because the new computer treated it like a new Tom Tom and downloaded the maps to it, wiping out all of my Favorites, Points of Interest and my Homer Simpson Tom Tom voice.
13. Hooked my Tom Tom up to my old computer and restored it
14. Hooked my Tom Tom up to my new laptop and backed it up (it should be noted that every time you perform something like this it takes a couple of hours

It seems as if I had a productive day. Maybe that is why I am so tired that I’m going to bed at 9:10. Of course, I’ll probably read my new Glenn Beck book, The Overton Window. I’m anxious to spend a little time with the book.

Tomorrow, I’ll work more on loading the camper. After consulting with my brother, I have decided to wait until Saturday to leave. That way, I won’t have to contend with Atlanta traffic on a Friday afternoon.

Until next time…

Another Lazy, Crazy Day

Sorry for the whining and complaining, but this respiratory problem has really taken the life out of me. This morning was easy, however, since I just had to drive down to Plant City to Jarrett-Scott Ford for my truck’s FIRST oil change; they also put Nitrogen in the tires. Knowing I was heading out for New York this week, they did a very careful check to make sure everything was working okay. I feel very comfortable that the truck will get me there with no problems … well, except the driver, maybe.

When I got home, my cousin Richard was waiting (he had just arrived). We chatted for a couple of hours and then went to Wal*Mart… where else! I needed to get a case for my new laptop, since I had to use the case I already had for my old laptop.

I also got a sleeping bag for my camper’s twin bed. I fully intended to get two bags to zip together for the double bed, but the Wal*Mart associate couldn’t tell me if the bags would zip together and “didn’t have time” to check it out. After I got it home, I discovered that they would zip together. I’ll go back and get two more tomorrow or the next day.

We then had a great lunch buffet at Brandon Hometown Buffet. Small wonder that after that meal, I was ready to just relax. And that’s exactly what I did. I basically just took it easy. I’m hoping that by tomorrow my normal (incredible??) energy will return and I can get a lot more done.

When I think about it, I’m so glad to be retired. It’s great to have the luxury of adjusting my schedule and being able to wait to leave until I feel better. Even the drive to Atlanta can be a bit grueling and I don’t think I’d have been safe to go tomorrow, to say nothing of the fact I still have a bit more to do before I can leave.

Until next time…

Sorry for the Delay

Before anything else, I want to apologize for taking so long to post another entry on my blog. Unfortunately, I’ve been extremely sick. In fact, I lost my voice for a couple of days and didn’t think I should type either for fear of making my voice worse :)…

On Friday, Esther and I spent the morning at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the afternoon at Epcot Center. As the day progressed, my voice got worse and worse and I began to feel just awful. Still, we had a great time. It’s always fun being with Esther. We stroll along at about the same pace though it was difficult on Friday to get my breath so I may have seemed a little slow.

I took a lot of pictures (91, in all), but won’t bore you with them. As I’ve indicated before, Animal Kingdom is not my favorite park. In fact, it was my intention to never go there again, but Esther had never been and the park is exceptionally shady compared to the other parks, so I didn’t put up too much of a fight.

I’m still feeling pretty weak so I haven’t gotten much done even thought I’m still scheduled to leave on Wednesday.

I did manage to put the mattress cover on the double bed in the camper, but am having a lot of difficulty getting the bottom fitted sheet on. The bed is surrounded on 3 sides by walls, so you have to crawl on the mattress to make the bed. It was very frustrating and I finally had to leave one of the back corners undone. I’m going to try to finish it later when it’s a little cooler.

Well, I’m going to cut this short and take a much-deserved break. I’ve been doing that a lot the last few days.

Until next time…

Waiting for Buddy

Yesterday, Buddy said he’d be here today to put the spackle on my ceiling. Since he had left his trailer filled with 1/3 of my old roof, I figured he’d come and get it fairly early. Can you believe it didn’t all fall out? I think it would have but they covered it with a tarp before taking it down the highway.

Before 8 am, I had taken my laundry basket filled with mattress pad, sheets, shorts, socks, towels, washcloths, a box of garbage bags and pillow cases out to the camper. As you can see from the picture, I had to use my hand truck to move it because it was so heavy I couldn’t lift it. I just set it outside the camper door and carried in a few things at a time.

While there, I unzipped the covers from the two pieces of foam that make up the twin bed, and took down some of the curtains so I could wash them. I kind of ran out of time, figuring I’d better get back in the house in case Buddy called or stopped by.

Well, about 10:30, one of Buddy’s trucks and two of his workers stopped to hitch up the full trailer. They knew nothing about Buddy coming by and suggested I try to reach Crystal at their office. As soon as I got in the house, I called but had to leave a message on the answering machine.

When I hadn’t heard anything by 1 pm, I grabbed my dBay packages to mail and left the house. At Sam’s, I got some charcoal, charcoal lighter, Swiffer liquid, Febreze, wasp and hornet spray, cheese puffs, a case of water, and 9-volt batteries. I also got a neat charcoal holder as you can see from the following picture:

This caddy doesn’t look very big, but it holds a full 20-pound bag of charcoal and is designed to prevent the charcoal from getting wet. I’ve been wondering what I was going to do with the charcoal. Leaving it in the bag can make for a big mess especially after the bag is opened.

Buddy came and spackled over the drywall. He’ll be back Monday to finish up.

I should probably tell any of you who were wondering that I haven’t had any serious repercussions as a result of my new hobby – not even a headache. My brother Ray called to tell me if I fell on my head again he was going to start calling me “Knot-head.” Let’s hope that’s not necessary.

My shoulders are sore if I touch them, but I remembered the advice of the HeeHaw doctor who when told, “It hurts when I do that (touch my shoulder)” replied, “Well, then, don’t do that!” So I don’t.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Disney World with Esther. I’m debating whether to take my camera, but it’s so hot and I’m so lazy – whine whine whine. I guess we’ll see.

Until next time…

In Everything Give Thanks

Today, about 7:15 am, the guys from Buddy’s Roofing arrived and started working on my roof. By noon, when they took a break, they had removed the old roof. As they uncovered the roof, they discovered that whoever had previously replaced the roof, hadn’t replaced it at all, but had instead just “roofed over” the old leaking roof. Apparently, they left the rotting underlay there. They estimated the need to replace about 10-12 pieces of plywood.

I’ve been trying to get the leaky roof fixed for some time, but the roofer I originally called tried a bunch of stuff that didn’t work. Well, then came Angie’s list. Through them, I learned about Buddy’s Roofing over in Dover right near here. He said the roof should be replaced. As you can see from the pictures, it’s pretty evident that he was right.

The above picture is deceptive. By the time I got my camera out, they had already placed a piece of plywood over the hole. The roof literally caved in over the back door. The plaque above the door says, “In Everything Give Thanks.” In this case it was so appropriate—nobody was standing on the roof or under it when it caved in. And I had been doing laundry. In fact there’s a load in the dryer behind all of the dirt shown below.

 

The above picture is of the pile of rubble (my roof) in front of my washer and dryer. The dark stuff is the insulation. They brought in a big shovel and push broom to get rid of it. What you can’t see at all are the thousands of ants that were crawling everywhere. After the application of Ant & Roach spray and Wasp & Hornet spray, a couple of crew members cleaned up the mess quite efficiently.  The ceiling may be a bit difficult to replace since it has a textured paint job.

When Buddy, the owner of the roofing company, came to check on the hole in the ceiling, i was talking with him, backed up and fell. I hit my head on a small filing cabinet so hard I put a dent in the drawer. Boy, am I ever glad that drawer caved in. I guess I have a new hobby: falling on my head.

He said that they will fix the ceiling. In fact, Paul the job supervisor is already putting up a piece of drywall. Buddy will finish the patch tomorrow.

I’m afraid I didn’t get much done on my camper today, but I did start selecting clothing, towels, sheets, mattress covers, washcloths, etc. to take out to the camper when I can. I did four loads of laundry and worked more on archiving my tapes. Even without a lot of physical labor, I still feel as if I’ve done some serious work today. I’ve certainly been active and busy.

You know, I can’t believe it but Paul told me they will finish the roof today and there will be peace and quiet tomorrow. Well, except for the drywall – but no nailing required for the finish work.

Until next time…

It’s Been a Long Time

This morning, after going to Camping World and getting a 50-amp to 30-amp adapter and installing it, I went to Brandon to meet some friends for brunch. Every few weeks, I meet my friends Joan and Joyce for breakfast/brunch, but today a friend of ours whom we haven’t seen in three years or so was supposed to meet us also.

As I usually do, I arrived a little early. We were meeting at the Brandon Hometown Buffet, which is located where the old Village Inn used to be. After about 20-25 minutes, Joan and Joyce showed up. Since the restaurant wasn’t open yet, we stayed outside to wait.

After 10 or 15 minutes a lady got out of a car near us. Joan said, “Nita!” She said, “Joan!” She looked a little different, but people do change after 3 years.

We all hugged one another and began talking. It soon became apparent that Nita had lost her mind. She was talking about her husband of 47 years who had died 13 years ago and when we mentioned her current husband Bob, she acted like she didn’t know who we were talking about. Well, Joan had just spoken with her on the phone and Nita had told her that she and her husband Bob had a house in Riverview.

I finally asked her if she was Nita. You’ve probably guessed that she was not. She was a lady Joan had worked with at K-Mart 30 years ago. That is why she knew Joan.

As it turned out, Nita never did show up, but we had a great meal, the pleasure of which was enhanced by re-living our case of mistaken identity.

Lots Done

Today, I installed my smoke detector and was able to use one of the holes from the old (missing) one. Doesn’t it look great? I feel a lot safer now. Wouldn’t you know that the battery that came with it was practically dead – it started beeping ever 15 seconds or so. Fortunately, I had some 9-volt batteries.

Following is a picture of the neat step rugs I installed yesterday:

A while ago, I mentioned the cookies and neat tin I got for my birthday. As you can see, I’ve found a good use for the tin: a place to store my bungee cords. Awesome, huh?

The electrical box in the next picture may seem familiar to you if you are a regular reader of this blog. The adapter is my favorite (<—this is sarcasm, in case you don’t know) color. The red thing on the 30-amp plug is called a “Plug Dog” and allows you to pull the cord out straight.

I also removed my sewer hoses and adapters from the boxes so I could stow it in my magnificently-fabricated (heh heh) PVC pipe. You can see it peeking out at you in this picture:

The piece shown here has the fittings already installed. I also have a 5-foot pipe I stowed in the other side that I have yet to put the fittings on.

The last thing I worked on today was my 9’x12’ patio mat. You can see that it came in a fairly compact package, which I hope to be able to fold it back into.

It starts out being folded into thirds lengthwise, then is folded back and forth. I just hope I can get all of the fire ants, dirt and other stuff out of it before packing it up and slipping it into the carry bag. It looks easy, but we’ll see.

The mat, which is laid out in front of the trailer is held down with long nails that serve as stakes. The mat has loops on each corner for these.

 

Doesn’t the mat look neat?

Until next time…

The Day the Music Really Died

Today, I heard that Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes in Ellenton, FL has closed its doors due to lack of business. How sad. Those who played the organ there brought so much joy to so many people. The food was good too.

I’m so glad I was able to get CDs of the music played there. I’ll never forget the first time Mark and I visited there: Bill Vlasik played the William Tell Overture (for those who don’t recognize it, that’s the Lone Ranger theme song) and the trumpets that were right over the place where you picked up your food nearly knocked us out of our seat. After that I think my favorite song was the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. The organ had all of the bells and whistles that added a lot of richness to almost every song.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Today, I went to Camping World to get a surge protector and picked up a few other things while I was there, including a 9’ by 12’ patio mat, some RV toilet paper, some rugs for my trailer steps, a knife holder that fastens on the cabinet door, and a smoke detector. After that I went to see the movie Marmaduke. It was okay, but just okay-nothing to write home about.

On the way home, I stopped and talked with our park manager. She said the gusher problem had been fixed and I could plug in my camper.

Since it was raining when i got home, I took a nap. Boy, do I ever love being retired! :)

Later, after the rain stopped, I took my new surge protector out to the camper so I could hook up the electricity. Unfortunately, the electrical outlet I had to use was too close to the ground; I couldn’t use my surge protector. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t even use my 30-amp power line. The electrical box was for a 50-amp connection, but my shore power line was a 30-amp.

Tomorrow, it’s time for another trip to Camping World to get a 50-amp to 30-amp adaptor.

I did get the rugs installed on my outside steps, but managed to poke a hole in my thumb in the process. Thank heavens for band-aids.

Working on the camper is a lot of fun. I’m kind of anxious to get on the road. Next week…

Until next time…

PVC Pipes, Fire Extinguisher and CO Detector

This morning, I started working about 7:30 am. My first job was to glue together the PVC pipe I plan to use to hold my sewer hose. The following are some photos on how I built and installed this PVC pipe.

The above shows the cracks and rust inside the back bumper which necessitated finding another place to store the sewer hose. I’m sure you can imagine the damage such sharp bits of metal would do to a plastic sewer hose after removing it and putting it back several times.

 

 

As you can see, the small hacksaw, the only one I could find in my tool box, didn’t allow enough room to make any kind of cut in a 4-inch pipe. My new hacksaw did a great job of cutting the pipe. The neat thing about it is that you can switch to a different blade and use it to cut branches like a bow saw. Alton Brown of the Food Network would really appreciate this multi-tasker.

Though the picture doesn’t show it very well, the saw also has a guard so you don’t scrub your hand on whatever you’re cutting.

 

 

The end caps, coupler and pipe strap.

     

The pipe all glued together and waiting the prerequisite 2 hours before installing it.

By the time everything was glued together, this pipe was very heavy. I put some blocks under it to lift it off the ground, but it wasn’t nearly high enough. I was able to put my foot between the block and the pipe so I could hold the pipe where I wanted it while I installed the bolts, washers and nuts.

 

In this picture and the next two, you can see how great this project turned out – at least, for now. It’s good and tight right now.  I’ll need to remember to check it once in a while to make sure it stays that way.  

The above picture doesn’t show it, but I also added some pipe strap over the coupler shown here. 

I know it looks like the pipe is pretty low to the ground, but the bottom of the spare tire is even closer, so I shouldn’t have to worry as long as I’m careful going over speed bumps. Also, the ground is rising toward the back right here.

LP Leak Monitor Beeping

While I was waiting for the glue on the pipe to cure, I decided to install my new fire extinguisher and also my Carbon Monoxide monitor. Unfortunately, when I opened the door to the camper, I heard a beep. It was coming from my LP Leak Monitor. I didn’t smell anything, but went to the front of the camper and turned off the LP tanks.

After a few minutes, even with door and a couple of windows open, the beeping continued. The LP Leak Monitor is installed down near the floor since the LP gas is heavier than air. This makes it difficult for an old lady who’s just order new glasses to see the printing on the front. It looked like it said “Low Volume Alarm.”

After checking my camper manual, I discovered that my eyes and glasses had let me down: what it said was “Low Voltage Alarm.” I went and got my truck, left it running and plugged in the camper to charge the battery. The beeping stopped.

Since I’m parked in a campsite, I should have been able to plug in the camper to shore power, but some idiot knocked the thing over the other day and I don’t know if it is ready to use yet. :)

The Fire Extinguisher

In any case, after the LP Leak Monitor crisis was resolved, I went to work on installing the bracket for the fire extinguisher. It would have been too easy for the brackets from the old and new to be interchangeable or for the screws from old to be in the same place as the screws from the new. I was able to use the top screw hole, secure the new bracket with that, then drill the second (lower) hole and put in the second screw.

However, as you can see from the picture, my only problem is that I can’t get the straps to fasten; they seem too short.

After about half an hour struggling to do this in the heat (it was 95 when I finally got in the house), I decided to give up and try again later.  Perhaps I’ll be able to fashion some kind of extender from the old one.

Carbon Monoxide Monitor

My next project was installing my Carbon Monoxide Monitor. Since the furnace and the range both use propane, it seemed a good idea to have one of these.

For installation, the Kidde company supplied 3 screws and some red things you put in the wall to put the screws into. This didn’t seem very practical for purposes of a bouncing-all-over-the-place travel trailer. Since an alternative to this type of installation is to place it on a counter or table top, I decided that until I could discover a way to securely attach it, I would just prop it up while I’m occupying the camper and put it in a drawer when I’m traveling with it.

As you can see, it sits up very nicely when the camper isn’t moving. I just have to add taking care of it to my checklist of things to do before I hook up and leave.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to go to Disney with Esther, but we’re changing it to Thursday so now I have to decide what to work on tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I decide.

Until next time…

Making Progress

Before I describe the progress I’ve been making, I want to share some of the emails I got regarding the “gusher” blog-post:

My cousin Richard said, “Liked today's pictures.  Now you do not have to drive way to yellowstone to see that park.”

My neighbor Don Martin said, “KATHY: WE WHO ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS IN THE PARK WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CREATION OF A MINIATURE "OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER" THAT YOU PUT FORTH FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT! PLEASE GIVE US ADVANCE NOTICE OF YOUR NEXT EVENT SO WE CAN GET FRONT ROW SEATS!”

My friend Dianne wrote on my Facebook wall: “I'm still laughing after reading your blog!  You are too funny.  The parking did end up perfect though.  :)"

You can also see the comments my sister-in-law Rose made on the blog under that post. In short, she thought it was hilarious.

As you can tell, I LIVE TO ENTERTAIN!

Yesterday and today, I’ve been making some progress on my camper and buying some things I still need in order to do what I want to do.

First, I had to put the stabilizer jacks down. At the recommendation of the Camping World tech, I had bought some grease in a can to spray on the jacks – they were quite rusty and hard to move. Since the jacks were in the up position, the part I needed to grease was almost completely covered. On the first jack, I turned it down manually and then sprayed the grease on the insides after I got it opened up.

When I got to the second jack, I realized I’d forgotten the blocks that need to go under them so I went back to the first one, turned it up enough to get the block under it, and put it back down. The grease made a big difference in how hard I had to work to turn it up and down.

At the second jack, I got smart and put the little red tube that was taped on the side of the can into the nozzle, slid it inside the jack and sprayed the track before letting the jack down. It worked great! Much easier than the first one. The rest were just as easy.

After the stabilizing jacks were in place, I opened the steps and went to get in the camper. I realized I needed some kind of rug to keep from tracking all of the sand and dirt on my clean camper floor. I slipped out of my shoes on the steps before going in, but knew I couldn’t do that all day long or I would end up on my backside tripping over my shoes.

Realizing it might be time for a trip to Wal*Mart to pick up a rug, I realized I also needed some kind of box to hold my hitch-related and camper-setup stuff: spring bars, sway bar, pry bar, lighted triangles (do I ever wish I’d used them during that day of all days - gusher Thursday), chocks, blocks, re-chargeable drill, socket with adapters for raising and lowering stabilizer jacks, jack cover for the A-Frame jack, leather gloves, and (spray) grease in a can. I also went to Ace Hardware and got the socket and adaptors I needed so I could use my re-chargeable drill to turn the jacks up and down.

My shopping trip was a success: I found the box I needed and a terrific rug to put just inside the camper door. I spent most of yesterday re-organizing my pickup truck bed.

Today, using 4-inch PVC pipe, I started fashioning a place to store the sewer hose. Normally, the back bumper is used for this, but the inside of mine is rusted and has sharp edges. Needless to say, holes in sewer pipe can present problems I would rather not think about. I’ll be fastening the PVC pipe to the bottom of the bumper.

I was originally going to put a permanent cap on one end, but decided to go to Home Depot to get another removable cap and a hacksaw, since mine has disappeared.

When I started to assemble the PVC pipe, I realized that the screw-on caps did not slip over the pipe as I thought they would, but needed a couple to attach to the pipe. Back to Home Depot where I bought a couple of couplers.

Tomorrow, I’ll go into more detail about how it all goes together and will include some pictures of the process. I’m also planning to install my new fire extinguisher and the carbon monoxide detector.

Until next time…

Practice Makes Perfect; OR, That’s What They Say

If you read my blog yesterday, you know that I took my camper to Lazy Days for detailing inside and out this morning. It took about 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

After I paid the detailers, I stopped by the service manager’s office and he checked out the way I had hooked up the camper. He pronounced it perfect. In response to a question about how the sway bar looked, he also warned my that the sway bar should be loosened whenever the camper is backed up.

On the way home, I stopped at the Truckstops of America for gas. I didn’t want my first time getting gas with the camper attached to be on my way north. Everything went fine.

I then went home … where the fun began.

You would not believe what a perfect job I did backing up the camper. The camper went into the campsite perfectly. I watched carefully to make sure I didn’t hit the picnic table on the one side or the sewer hookup on the other. When I thought I was where I should be, I got out to make sure I didn’t have to back up any further.

When I got to the back of the camper, I noticed water coming off the roof. Since the detailers hadn’t touched the roof, I was very puzzled. Then I thought I might have a water leak, that a pipe had burst. How naive!

As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I didn’t have to back up any further; in fact, as you can see by the pictures, I went a trifle too far.

I really thought this kind of gusher only happened in the movies.

I immediately ran into my house and called the manager; never even thought about the cell phone I had on my person. Byron came over and turned off the water line for this section. Fortunately, it only affects seasonal camping sites and there’s no one there at this time of year.

After you’ve picked yourself up off the floor from laughing at my “perfect parking, ” I hope you’ll notice the great job I did backing it in. It’s right where I wanted it, at least from what I could see.

If things like this keep happening, I may have to start charging you for enjoying laughing at the “Kathy Katastrophes.” :)

The worst part of this whole thing is that I have three lighted triangle markers to help me park the camper where it should go and to make sure I don’t do things like this. To my great chagrin, they are still in the packages they came in, resting harmlessly and uselessly in the back seat of my pickup truck.

After I got the truck unhitched from my very wet camper, I then drove over to to St. Petersburg to have lunch with my cousin Richard at Quaker Steak and Lube, but smells much better. The restaurant looks like an old Quaker State gas station. Inside there are cars, boats and motorcycles hanging from the ceiling and all kinds of vehicle . One day while a bunch of us were there, we got to sit under a ‘57 Corvette. There are several in Pennsylvania and a handful of others in four or five other states. If you should ever get a chance, be sure to stop in.

It’s always fun to be with Dickie. Today, he had brought some OLD NYS license plates to see if the restaurant wanted to hang them on the wall. They were so old and deteriorated that they decided not to use them. Along with the license plates (NY requires a front and back plate) he also had the miniature license plate NY provided for you to put on your key chain. In that way, if you lost your keys, whoever found them could drop them in the mailbox and NYS would get them back to you.

The food was deliciou and there was enough of my lunch left over to bring home for tonight. In fact, I think I hear it calling my name right now.

Until next time…

Hookin’ Up Is Very Easy To Do-Yeah, Right!

Since I have to take my camper in at 8 am to Lazy Days RV tomorrow for a thorough cleaning in and out, I decided it would be prudent to hook it up to my truck tonight.

I was so happy not to have to do this alone. Instead my friend Karen helped me hook up the camper to the truck.

My trusty back-up camera really helps. The hitch ball went right under the hitch coupler first time.

To hook it up, you must do the following:

1. Raise the camper A-frame enough to get the hitch ball under the coupler.
2. Secure the hitch coupler to the hitch ball by lowering the hitch coupler onto the hitch ball.
3. Once the hitch ball is secure, raise the camper to make it easier to get the spring bars on.
4. Pivot one end of the heavy spring bars onto the hitch.
5. Put the chain on the other end of the spring bars (did I say they were HEAVY?) onto the bracket attached to the A-frame, using a bar to raise it up.
6. Secure a fastener through the bracket so the spring bars can’t fall off.
7. Go through steps 5 and 6 on the other side of the A-frame.
8. Put the sway bar on the holders (one on the hitch frame and one on the A-frame.
9. Use retaining clips to keep the sway bar from coming off.
10. Fasten brake release cable into one of the safety chains.
11. Fasten the safety chains onto the hitch.
12. Plug in the electrical connector.

Now, that doesn’t seem too hard, does it?

Keeping in mind that I had never hitched up before, you might understand why I missed some specifics about how to fasten the spring bars and the sway bar. I forgot about the retaining clips that were supposed to go on the sway bars as soon as I put them in my pocket when I took them out of the truck. Then, I tried to put the fasteners that were supposed to go on the spring bar brackets (to keep them from coming down) onto the sway bar. Needless to say, they did not fit.

I decided to forget the sway bar and have Camping World show me how to secure them once I got there, but later this evening, after it was too dark to take care of it, I remembered how the fasteners and retaining clips were supposed to work. Tomorrow morning, before leaving, I’ll try to put them on the right way.

I should probably take a couple of pictures so you can really see what I’m referring to. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow morning.

Until next time…

Home Again, Home Again. Jiggety-Jig

Today, after getting 9 packages ready to send to eBay customers and after visiting Lenscrafters for an eye exam and to pick out new glasses, I received a call that my camper was ready at Camping World. I took it over there and waited a few hours until they installed the sway bar. They gave me a brief lesson on how to hitch it up, after which I went in to pay. Driving it home was a breeze.

Well, too bad you all missed my finally successful efforts (it only took about 45 minutes) to back the camper into one of the RV sites that are right behind my house. In fact, the following is an email I got from my neighbor across the street:

“DID WE SEE YOU PRACTICING BACKING UP YOUR TRAILER...OR WERE YOU JUST FOOLING AROUND?”

Obviously, my efforts did not go unnoticed. Of course I was at it so long, it’s a wonder everyone in the park didn’t watch me making a fool of myself. Once I got it where I wanted it, I was able to  disengage my truck from the camper. Funny, but I didn’t get frustrated at my efforts, just counted it practice and tried to pay attention to where the camper went when I steered this way or that. I backed it in successfully a couple of times, but it wasn’t just exactly where I wanted it.

Tomorrow, I have to get the camper ready for Lazy Days RV to clean the inside and outside. It is apparently a policy of Camping World to put the parts they replace into your camper. I have to remove all of those before Thursday so they won’t have to work around them while they’re cleaning.

On Thursday afternoon, I’ll once again park the camper behind my mobile home and then load it up with all of the bags and bags of stuff I just can’t do without. Then, on Friday, the plan is to haul the camper to a nearby campground and make sure I have everything I need before heading up north.

Next time I have to back up the camper, I hope all of my “unplanned” practice will make a difference.

Until next time…