Friday, January 20, 2012

Interesting Week, No Transportation

 

It has been very cold this week, down to 19* over night.  I have resorted to letting the water run overnight  so that the pipes don’t freeze.  I don’t know about you, but listening to the drip can aggravating, so I have figured out a way so that I can’t hear it drip.  I turn the water to the smallest stream that I can and place a cloth above the drain and then put an old tooth brush vertical between the opening of the faucet and the cloth.  NO sound!

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Along with the cold there has been RAIN, sometimes heavy, sometimes light or sporadic, but cold.   I am sooo ready to go where it is warmer. I just hope that the weather will be clear when head that way.

Monday, I dropped of the truck to have the transmission upgraded.  I got a ride back home and settled in by putting all the stuff together to donate.  There are three of the flip-top crates full.  I still find the decision as to what to get rid of, is the hard part, although once the decision is made, I don’t go back.  I’ve gone through my artwork (the master copies of my note cards that I sell), the extra paints and brushes and odds and ends out of the cabinets.  I still have quite a bit left and will probably keep some art stuff for the Grands. 

Tuesday was just a continuation of Monday. I did get a call from Mimi, fellow worker at my former job. ( I just love saying that)   We made plans for her to come over for lunch on Wednesday.  I just made a chicken and mushroom casserole to reheat.  The rest I would make in the morning.

Wednesday morning , I cleaned the screens on the Fantastic Fans.  Even though,  I have a central vacuum system, I used the one gallon wet/vac instead, mainly because of where I have to empty the dirt is in the basement, but not convenient.  Later after  it warmed up a bit, Angel and I took a walk to the dumpsters.  On the way back we stopped to talk to one of my neighbors and his dog Beauregard.  When I got back it was time to reheat the casserole, put together a salad, open a bottle of Riesling and bake some brownies for dessert.  (Mimi also brought some ice cream and some cake that she had made – very good.)  We sure had a nice visit.  I shared some of my extra unpainted notecards with Mimi and she showed me how to download some free books on to My I-pad. 

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                                  Mimi and Angel getting ready to give her a kiss.

Thursday, another friend, Linda picked me up to head over to Applebee’s for lunch.  We both had salads and then took a quick run over to Costco to try to find some apple chips for a low calorie, gluten free snack.  They didn’t have any but will check out their store in Folsom when I get my truck back.  They did have the steak jerky, also g free another great high protein snack.  After that we went to her art class at the senior center in Fair Oaks.  It would be the last chance to say goodbye to those in the class and to offer some of the art stuff to whoever can use it.  (don’t worry Sandi I still have some for Mary when I get to TX)  She had volunteered to take me to pick up my truck, but won’t be finished until tomorrow.

It’s now Friday and am go through things one more time, seeing what more I can add to the St. John’s donation stack

The truck should be ready later this afternoon,   Helen, a friend from church will give me a ride.  One really good thing about not having the truck is that I’m not spending a lot of money and I’ve gotten quite a bit of purging done.

It’s raining again and I think that I might just take a nap and /or figure out how to transfer the cassette tape onto my laptop.  I also need to figure out where to stay in Quartzite for a few days (no cost).  How and where.  Any suggestions from anyone there in February would be appreciated.

I hope that you all have a great weekend.  Stay safe dry and warm.

Thanks for visiting

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                                     Mom, when will I have something new to look at?

Susan and Angel

9 comments:

  1. Hey Susan,

    Once you're on the road and getting close to Quartzsite, if you see a bunch of RVs in an area off the road, chances are you can pull in and park free for 14 days.

    I felt like you do when I was first on the road, and I KNOW I passed a bunch of great free parking because I didn't know for sure if it was BLM or US Forest land that is free.

    Once I got to Quartzsite, I understood much better. If nothing else, stop at one of the LTVA little brown buildings that are at the entrances to the four LTVA areas, like where you visited me, and ask the volunteers. They have maps that show ALL the free BLM 14-day areas in the Quartzsite area, as well as other places. Then you'll know exactly where you can go.

    I'm looking forward to visiting some of the LTVAs in March through April 15, so I can continue using my permit for free parking. There are some in California not too far from San Diego, one with hot springs. :)

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  2. Tell Angel, "It won't be long, now, dear", then give her a nice hug from us. Those low temps are sure hard on a person, aren't they? We've warmed up to 40 here in Eugene, and it's just raining, and raining, and raining....you get the picture.

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  3. Sometimes having no transportation for a day or two is really okay; one can get a lot done around the house or rig! Are you leaving your gray tank valve open when you let your tap drip? If not, just make sure you don't overflow! We let ours drip with valve open last winter in MO and ended up with ice in the sewer hose. Not good either way. Now we use a heat tape and then insulate the hose over that. Also put a light on the valve . . . Temps down to single digits and no freezing! Just something to think about. :)

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    1. Just wondering, would those swimming Noodles, split, work to insulate the water hose?

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  4. Time is flying and you are getting really close to your departure date. You will be glad you had your transmission upgraded, I think. I have to take my car in for a recall fix, and need to find a Toyota dealer that is close tnough and not in a high density traffic area.

    I will try to get in touch with you next week and hopefully we'll have a sunny day or two.

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    1. Gypsy, There's a Toyota dealer east of Hazel on Folsom Blvd.

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  5. I don't have anything to add here since I don't have my RV yet. I just want to say that you guys are so awesome! I love how you love and take care of one another. Reading your comments touched my heart.

    Susan, 19?? I thought you were in CA. I lived in Laguna Beach during the '80s. Never knew ANY of CA got that cold. Duh, me. Stay warm. I feel guilty blogging about doing work by the lake these last few days. HugZ!

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  6. Mom it's been in the low 70's the last couple of days and maybe high 60's. Still wish I was there. I miss all the green. Brown is not my favorite here in Phx. Tell Angel we miss her. Glad to hear you got a lot done! Please when it's time for you to travel just stay safe. Love you! SO PROUD of you mama.

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  7. I am in northern CA until the end of January. Will then head out to AZ to visit my daughters there and then on to TX for my 1st Workamping position from April through the summer.

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