Charging It Up .....

 Wait ..... did I read that right?  It's 54 degrees outside?  I actually had to put on slippers this morning instead of running around in bare feet on the wood floors trying to get cool.  I may even have to put BLANKETS back on the bed.  WHOA NELLY!!

So here we are at 6:00.  Mr. Cooper decided 4:30 was the perfect time to get up and lick my nose ... ewwwwww ... so he could go outside.  I guess I should be thankful he wakes me up.  Now I'm wide awake and he's fast asleep on the couch!!

It was an unusual morning with weird color across the sky like someone tried to paint it in.

"WE" did not sit on the patio, but I did for about 30 minutes until the sun came up and the colors faded.  Except for the dogs barking and the neighbor going out on his motorcycle, it was very nice and quiet.

Time to get to work.  I spent the first solid three hours trying to get my email to work on my computer.  It appears that Microsoft (Hotmail) and Apple (G.Mail) do not play well together.  In fact, not at ALL!!!  I admit, I have WAY too many accounts.  Two were set up for business contacts and two for junk mail.  I've no idea why I have FIVE now.  

After changing the passwords on each and every one, I finally figured it out.  I forced Microsoft to play ball with Apple, though there are still some settings I can't seem to get straight.  At least I'm now getting all the emails with bills attached.  That's important since I don't get REAL mail any more.  By the way, the post office is currently charging 79 cents to mail one tiny letter.  

On to more fun things .... I finally ordered this solar battery trickle charger.  No one from Mercedes would call me back.  I tried plugging a phone into the cigarette lighter, but apparently it is not "live" all the time.  That would supposedly let me sit the charger on the dash and charge through the lighter.  I don't want to wonder or stress about whether it's going to start or not, so this should work either way.  

When I went out to check the panels and make sure the solar was charging, I discovered several error messages on the touchpads from its trip to the shop.  If you don't turn things on and off in the correct order, that's what happens.  After a few minutes of trying to remember the order, the error messages disappeared and I "think" I am back to square one.  

To help in that respect, I'm going to spend this weekend in the van instead of the house.  If I want to get it down, I have to use it.

My van friend has recently discovered she had a visitor or two in hers ... you know, the ones who like to chew wires.  I'm truly not positive this is a sure fire cure, but it has worked for me for 13 years.  Maybe I'm just lucky.  This is Rid-A-Rat.  It's a battery powered flashing strobe light held on by powerful magnets.  I've never lost one on an RV ... and in fact, used this one under the house in Arizona.  They are not exactly cheap at $44, but so far it has worked well for me.  The added bonus is folks think it's an alarm system of some kind.

When she mentioned her sewer hose was not long enough to dump her tanks in two of the parks she visited, I offered up one of my extras.  I added one to my rig and I have three more, so I might as well share.  I'm taking it over today to see if it will fit in the pipe running down the side.  Though our rigs are the same, they are also different.

I was gearing up for a four hour trustee meeting at the Elks Lodge when I got an invitation to dinner at my favorite Mexican food restaurant.  They use HUGE plates and give you HUGE servings.  My chicken enchilada is usually 12 inches long and at least 3 inches wide, smothered in the best red sauce ever.  I just had one 7 days ago.

Wasn't I surprised when they put the plate in front of me.  My amazing enchilada must have had a baby.  Sitting on my plate was a measly little thing less than HALF the size.  FOR THE SAME PRICE!!  Just another sign of the awful economy and increasing inflation costs.  They have cut the size of ALL their meals in half, without cutting the price one bit.  How sad ... I expect they won't be in business long.

The meeting was long and contentious at times, but a money saving one.  We like those discussions a lot!!  Lucky for us we do not need to make a big profit.  In fact, since we are here for the benefit of the members, our prices have stayed the same for quite some time ... and we won't be changing that any time soon.  

The BEST news is I have ALL WEEKEND OFF!!  Maybe a road trip into the mountains would be good.