T - I - M - B - E - R !!!!!

 I'm late ... I'm late ... not for a very important date, just late getting up.  I spent a good deal of time outside in the heat yesterday, which just takes it out of me.

The good news is a tiny bit of cool has returned, to the tune of 72 degrees this morning instead of 81.  I turned the AC fans on and am pulling it in as fast as I can.  The next five days we should be in the mid to high 80's ... a nice respite from the energy sapping heat.

I finally made it to the mailbox.  Actually, I finally REMEMBERED the mailbox and went to see what ads I got this time.  Lo and behold, there were my license plates and the new manual for my rig.  I read through a bit of it, but mostly it said go find the manuals for that particular item.  Not a big help, but better than nothing.

Then the problem arose.  There's those weird screwdrivers once again.  I can't get the screws OUT of the license plate holder because I don't have the right tool.  I was sure I had one from my other rig, but it's playing hide and seek.  

And then the fun began.  This is the old dog kennel cover turned hay shed which needs to be removed.  Problem number uno was the lawn mower parked on the other side.  It belongs to my gardener who asked if he could leave it here since he didn't need it at any other location.  The key is in it he said ... move it if you need to.

Well ... there was NO key and it wasn't going to budge even one little inch.  I already called a friend/handyman to remove the shed, so the mower had to go.  The gardener came by, but could not find the key ANYWHERE.  He tried a rolling jack, but that didn't want to work on such a hot day either.  

I could feel the tension, so I just went in the house.  Better to just let men do their thing!!  Almost an hour later, it was moved.  How, I don't know and I didn't want to ask.  An hour after he left, he called to say he found the key in his clothes dryer.  OKAY THEN!!

NOW YOU SEE IT .......

NOW YOU DON'T ... kinda sorta.  Ralph came by and we discussed how it would come down.  He used a pry bar to remove the nails from the bottom of the posts holding it to the concrete, then sledge hammered out a couple of braces.  

We both began rocking it back and forth as hard as we could until it slowly crashed to the ground.  THEN came the hard part.  As much as I thought this was a cheesy little shed, it was built pretty sturdy.  I think it was 1:30 at this point and a lovely 103 degrees.  I suggested coming back at 7 am the next day.  Well you can imagine how THAT went over ... this is a MAN.  No offense to other men out there.

Once again, I made a beeline for the house.  I know when I'm in the way.  Twenty minutes later I came back outside and it was completely gone, stacked in his trailer.  I was shocked he got so much done in so little time.  To make it even better ... he refused any payment.  Come on Ralph ... you spent hours out here in the hot sun, and there will be dump fees.  I will feel bad if you don't let me pay you.  He said HE would feel bad if I did.  I threw some cash on the truck seat when he wasn't looking.  

So NOW the problem remains ... just exactly WHERE will I put the new cover.  The far side is too close to the property line.  The middle is perfect but will block the gate.  The closest side will block the walkway to the house.  Decisions ... decisions!

Dinner was easy ... my famous chicken salad.  Yeah, it's not famous at all, but I love it loaded with pecans, apples and cranberries.  And yes, that's a can of Costco chicken.  It was just too hot to cook.

And so ended a VERY productive day in the back yard.  Time to sit down and read that RV manual to figure out how to use the heater ... not that I need it NOW mind you!!!

Someone Give Mother Nature A Hot Flash Pill

 I'M MELTING .. I'M MELTING ...... not really, but it is stinking hot around here, causing me to turn up (or rather turn DOWN) the air conditioning.  WHAT?  She's actually going to use more electricity? 

Yes ... yes I am.  You know there has to be a good reason for that happening!  It's partly because it's again 82 degrees this morning and partly because I got my true up bill.  That is the difference between what my solar panels produced and what I used for the entire year.  Generally folks around here will owe about a thousand dollars.

It helps to be gone for a week or two.  My bill for July was a nice credit of $184.00.  That meant that my final bill for one entire year of electricity was ............. wait for it ............... MINUS $135.00.  WOOHOO!!    Of course I won't ever SEE that $135.00 credit because it will dissolve into thin air when they BUY BACK the electricity at 4 cents per KWH.  I think we pay something crazy like 50 cents per KWH.

I even turned the AC up yet again so I could sleep better last night.  Ahhhhh the cool is so refreshing!

The day started out nice enough ... I had a company come by and give me a bid on an RV cover.  It's pretty simple because the concrete is already there.  I have been stressing over making sure there was a gate into the corrals just in case.  In case of what, I don't know.

The "rules" say I need to be 10 feet from the property line, which is no problem, it just wastes a lot of space along the fence and covers up the gate.  The bid came in at half of what I expected in spite of upping the steel gauge.  BLAST the gate!!!  I'm going for it!!

With that done, it was back to ordinary house things.  The drip drip drip kept me up for at least 15 minutes last night, so I hit the ground running.  The faucets in this house are not cheap, but they sure don't last long. Been there, done that ... it's another cartridge that I'll have to order.

Speaking of orders ... I got on Amazon and ordered another round of gallon DEF bottles, along with some filters for the AC return.  What's up with Amazon?  This is the third time I've gotten a message the next day saying there was a "problem" with my order.  There will be no DEF or filters arriving at my door.  Why do they put stuff on their website if they can't get it?  

I had one filter left, so up it went.  I guess I will have to brave the heat and Home Depot to buy more filters.  I'm just spoiled by having things delivered to the door!

Time for some sustenance!  Can you smell it?  UMMMMM BACON!!!!  I picked it up on a quick run to Wally World for Jonathan food.  Oh for a nice big fat BLT sandwich.  Sadly, no tomatoes made it into my cart.  No worries though ... this stuff will disappear in egg McMuffins for breakfast.

Since it was too hot to go outside and I was finally a bit motivated to get back to sewing, I put the three sections of this together, along with the first border.  I just LOVE this pattern.  I should be able to get it finished up today and off my table.  My big quilt needs binding!

Okay, honestly, you KNOW that I will probably just get out the Cowboy Squares fabric I bought in SLC and begin work on it.  The sooner I finish it, the sooner I will get to practice my new quilting skills Ray taught me.

Dinner was just a salad since nothing else thawed out quickly enough.  Dessert however ... was quite tasty.  These little pastries came frozen in a bag from THAT store in SLC, so this is for Cindy.  I air fried them at 350 for 8 minutes.  They needed a little more time, but were quite tasty.  It makes you wonder if all the stuff in your neighborhood bakery actually comes to them FROZEN and they just bake it.  

I have one more shout out to KennyD.  I spotted your Applegate sign ... what a beautiful place you get to hang out in.  Sadly, I missed the turnoff for the burger and didn't stop.  I was so far behind schedule due to the road work that I just kept going.  I'm keeping that info however ... I'll make a point to stop next time!!

I hope everyone made it over the HUMP of hump day in spite of the weather.  There is one good thing about it ... it's too hot to eat much so dieting is a breeze.  I'll be on the couch with a nice cold glass of Arizona Tea!!!!

The Magic Land Of Bingo

 It's 82 degrees this morning at 4:30 ... not the kind of day I like to wake up to.  I'm pretty bleary eyed and could definitely use more sleep!

I thought it was weird that I kept having to turn the AC down more and more yesterday afternoon.  I'm usually comfortable at 80 degrees.  I think it was too much of that lovely air conditioned house in Salt Lake City that spoiled me.  

I spent most of the morning unloading the rig.  GEE ... only TWO wagon loads and a few extras.  That's one for the record books.  I'm liking this minimalist camping a lot!!  Even better, I like not having to cook!!  Those chicken pot pies are now my go-to!!!

Of course the house is a wreck, with stuff stacked all over everywhere.  It will have to wait.  It's time for the Magic Castle.

My Fairy Godmother waved her magic wand and VOILA!!  My station was ready to go.  She even made two huge bags of nuts appear out of nowhere.  Roasted almonds and walnuts for my baking pleasure.  You've got to love help like that!!

In no time we were off and running.  It was nice to have so many folks say they were glad I was back, even if some never missed me at all.  "You were gone???"  

It didn't take long however for the pitchforks to appear!!  Just like THAT I heard loud voices and bad words.  It seems someone got a little too close to the stack of bingo packets before their turn.  Oh the words did fly!!  

Ladies ....... please!!!  There was no stopping them.  The expletives got louder and louder as I tried to concentrate on the one in front of me.  I was waiting for the first punch to be thrown.  There was maybe two seconds when it was quiet ... and I thought it was over ... but NO.  Someone had to make just one more comment.  

The call went out for the Knights to come to the rescue.  I rang up the first one as fast as I could and off she went.  The second one kept up the rhetoric the entire time she was at the table.  Just STOP I said and pointed my finger, which never phased ANYONE before!  She was bigger than me, but I was closer to the exit if I had to run!!  

The Knights did their job well and I never heard from the ladies again.  Instead, I had two more come up and complain that someone was sharing cards.  That's a no-no ... and so the night went from one disgruntled player to another.  I think it was the heat, though it was so cold inside the building that folks went OUTSIDE to warm up.

The best part of all?  NO MORE RED TICKETS!!  Woohoo!!  No more counting out 130, tearing them in half, then tearing the tickets individually.  Many were disappointed, but Nancy was a happy camper, even though I kept reaching for the place in the cash register where they used to live.  

Here's two of our lovely Castle Decorators/Money Changers who work the other side of Bingo ... the pull tabs.  We had a little bit of a problem at the end of the night.  Someone won the $250 prize (there's one to every box sold) but never came to collect the money.  That's beyond weird!!  The money was saved in case they find that winning ticket on the way home.

The infernal machine was nice to me on this night, though the mini machine caused some problems.  Folks like our fee-free cash back option.  The problem with that is I run out of cash to make the payouts.  Sure enough ... this week I was $800 short.  No worries, I borrow from the two ladies above.  It all goes in the same pot anyway.

Otherwise, the infernal machine came out to the penny, in spite of over 60 dollars in change.  You can imagine just how happy the King was at having to count all THAT!!

I walked out the door at 9:30 and it was still 100 degrees.  I have to admit, I cannot remember when it was ever this hot all night long.  We must be edging towards the sun a little further.  In spite of the 85 degree forecast, we continue to be at 100 with 80 degree nights.  That doesn't bode well for my electric bill, though I do have some news about that.  I'll share tomorrow.

Keep cool if you can .....................

Hot Time In The Old Town

 God could you please turn the oven off?  We are cooked and the meat is falling off the bone.  Just give Mother Nature a kick in the patoo so we can be done with this.

Here I am parked in good old Winnemucca for the night.  It was a hot time in the old town on this day.  I again forgot the time change and landed a little early.  It did however, give me a chance to give the AC a good once over.

Like any AC unit, I set it on Auto.  That means it will turn off when it reaches the desired temperature, yes?  Not this one.  That just means it quits cooling while the fan keeps running at breakneck speed.  It took awhile, but I finally figured out if I set it on LOW fan, it would keep cooling nicely and at least quiet enough not to break my ear drums.  

Don't bother saying I should go have them give me instructions.  I already went through that and I knew more than the kid doing the walkthrough.  I tried reading the instructions, but they don't address that feature at all.  If anything however, I am STUBBORN as a mule ... and I WILL figure it out sooner or later.  At least we were comfortable the entire afternoon.

That's when the wind came up like crazy and it began to rain.  It was like being in my instant pot pressure cooker.

Nighttime was a different experience of trial and error.  YAY the bed went down!!!  That was a plus.  There was actually room for both Cooper AND me.  I finally opened the top fan, setting it on low where it made no noise whatsoever.  I added the quiet battery fan for a breeze.  It wasn't as quiet as advertised, nor was the fridge that ran all night long, but we did get a little bit of sleep.

And we are off into the wild blue yonder of Nevada.  I tried to wash the window for your viewing pleasure, but I couldn't reach.  A long handled brush is on my list.  In the meantime, you'll see lot of bug guts.  

Here we are finally coming into Fernley.  If you've ever wanted to watch paint dry, this is the place.  It's where Sherwin Williams tests out all their paints ..... outside.   

As I drove into Reno, things got a little dicey.  Traffic was pretty bad as I headed for fuel.  I really wanted to stop and rest a bit ... maybe have a bite to eat ... but it was STILL too hot.  I got fuel, let Mr. Cooper out for a minute and we were off once again ... once I put the key fob in it's magic hiding place yet again.

Sadly, we didn't get far.  Just around the corner I ran into this.  FOUR lanes of traffic .......

Down to ONE.  Can you imagine?  One of the busiest highways in California and they have BOTH sides under repair for miles and miles.  I got very well acquainted with a couple of truck drivers as we passed the time.

I mean what else is there to do when you're driving 3 mph for 20 miles.  At least it wasn't too hot for the AC to keep running.  It just made for a VERY long trip.

HEADS UP DAVE ... GO ANOTHER WAY OVER THE MOUNTAINS.  This is an awful mess not once, but TWICE before you get to the bottom.

No more pictures, since traffic was cray cray the rest of the way home.  And so we made it .... home sweet home .... to the hot Central Valley.  It was 102 when I landed, and only got hotter.  

I can tell you I had one happy little puppy when his feet hit the grass.  Cooper did his best impression of a race horse while I lugged stuff into the house.  

The last order of the day was to let my Bingo replacement know I was back.  She was pretty happy about that!!  The best news is I have hardly ANYTHING to unload out of the rig.  I think one wagon load should do it!!  This minimalist camping is pretty fun ... especially when trying to figure out how to do more with less!!

For now ... IT'S BINGO TIME!!

If It Can Happen, It Will

The time had come.  The quilt was done and I didn't want to overstay my welcome, even though I know Ray and Cindy would have let me.  Mr. Cooper gave me his shy don't-take-my-picture pose before we loaded up and packed up.  Actually, he's weird.  He washes his eyes and face like a cat does, licking his paws.

One last look at the pear tree and the beautiful garden before I unplugged and headed out.  Of course, only because Dave said he had a RATTLE, there was a RATTLE I could not figure out.  It didn't help that the medicine cabinet wasn't quite closed and half the stuff fell out on the toilet.  That was the first stop.

Second stop ... I STILL could not get the doors to lock.  It's crazy.  Apparently it is a child safety thing that even if the doors are all SHUT, you still cannot lock the doors when the engine is running.  I turned it off and the doors locked.  I think I've finally got it.  Turned the engine back on and we were finally on the road ... in construction.

For Ray ... this time my GPS took me over to Hwy 111 and North.  You see, there's no way to get to the freeway going south unless you drive WAY north and catch it up there.  Soon we were on the Salt Flats.

The THIRD stop was me kicking over Cooper's completely full water bowl.  It dispensed it's cool deliciousness all over my shoes and the floor.  It took almost an entire roll of paper towels to clean it up.  Big sigh. 

In spite of the 80 mph speed limit, I cruised along at a nice 65.  Of course that darn LANE ASSIST thing turned on again, which caused a lot of problems.  There was construction with those big orange barrels, pushing you over into the white line.  The lane assist thing went crazy, trying to push me back.  The rig was going back and forth, back and forth!  Finally I moved over to the rumble strip, which was AWFUL!!  Past that was MAYBE 12 inches for that tire to ride without running off into the sand.  Stressful to say the least.

We finally made Wendover where I decided to stop for something to eat.  I was starving!!  I found a gas station and pulled in, to find a nice parking spot.  Oh yeah .... DONETTES!!  They are terrible and dry, but the sugar fix I needed.

Okay Cooper ... let's go!  The rig would not start.  I took the parking brake off.  Nothing.  Foot on brake, push button ... key fob in pocket.  NOTHING!!  Oh but wait ... the doors lock!!!!  I threw that fob to the back and grabbed the one in my purse.  It finally started.  

I slowly pulled out of the parking space but it would not go.  It said the parking brake was ON.  NO IT'S NOT!!!!  I pulled it up and released it again.  Nope ... we are not moving forward.  BIG SIGH!  At last it decided the brake was released and I drove right out the IN lane, making a nice man very unhappy.  At last ... back on the road.

These are cool ... crossovers for deer and critters so they don't get hit by cars.  

We went along fine until Elko.  Time for fuel.  I took the wrong exit.  No problem, I'll just keep looking for a station.  FOUND IT.  A nice Shell station with a creepy guy in the lane next to me who walked SLOWLY around my whole rig taking a hard look.  I just kept pumping fuel.  

Finally done, I jumped in and locked the door.  Phew!!  Foot on brake, push button.  NOTHING once again.  I could have screamed.  It's 103 inside, I'm sweating like a luau pig and I can't get it to start.  I tried the second key fob.  It kept saying it did not see the fob.  "Put in on the hidden spot on the dash".  WHAT hidden spot?

Please Lord ... just let me get back on the highway!  I googled it.  It appears the key fob battery may be dead.  It's brand new ... how could it be dead.  BOTH of them - dead.  I found the hiding place, slammed the key fob into the hole and VOILA it started.  It's a good thing, because I was about to give it to the guy still walking around the outside.  So I guess now I'll have to find batteries for BOTH key fobs, but at least I can get the thing to start.

The drive is long and boring.  Not much traffic and I was getting pretty tired.  Finally ... at long last ... we were in Battle Mountain, not far from Winnemucca.

What should happen now?  It started RAINING.  Anyone have a clue how to turn the windshield wipers on??  Me either.  I had accidentally hit the little knob on the end and they worked once, so I just kept hitting it until I was out of the rain.  Good grief ..... what next?

Thankfully ..... nothing ..... at least not yet.  I am happily parked in an RV park with the AC screaming as it's 96 degrees out.  And then it rained once again.  The good news is I MAY have figured out the AC.  It doesn't work like normal units.  I'll get into that later.  

And so in a short time I will be off towards Reno.  Please PLEASE don't let anything else happen.  I admit, it's all stuff that I just need to learn about this rig ... but MAN OH MAN ... what a learning curve!

New To Me ... Yard Sales

It has cooled off a tad in Utah, down to the low 70's at night.  I can deal with that.  Jonathan is a happy camper too since his little house is now cooler.  He can take the heat better than I, so he sleeps in the rig.

Bright and early we were off into the world of estate and yard sales.  I've never hit up any yard sales in my town.  If you want tons of baby clothes or old car parts, that is the place to go.  Here?  My oh my ... you could furnish an entire house with amazing stuff picked up at yard sales.  This was our first stop. 

It was a 55 plus retirement community.  I think I could live here.  Nice and quiet ... no noisy neighbors, but I'm sure the streets are only 8 feet wide.  This one advertised fabric, so we hit the ground running down to the basement where we found a closet with quite a bit of what we were looking for.  Their prices were a little bit in outer space, but there was enough for Cindy and I to share.  I found this pattern book, which we found out contains MANY patterns.

More fabric to go with the book.  I got out without too much damage at $12.00.  I think they completely missed the book even though the fabric was sitting on it.  Cindy paid a little more, but she had several bags.  This is pretty FUN!

Then Cindy found THIS!  The artwork she has in their house has most all come from yard sales.  They are some of the most fabulous EXPENSIVE things you have ever seen ... and she paid practically nothing.  It's amazing what you can find in a big city.

We ran into a parade for their Pioneer Days, which completely blocked our next location, so we hit up a few more, with no results.  No one ever said it's always a win.  On the other hand, when we got home, it was a BIG win!  Almost!!

Cindy went out to her garden and picked TWO tomatoes for a BLT lunch - the first of the season.  When she reached for the second one, wasn't she surprised that the only thing left was the skin.  The entire inside was gone.  Some critter had a tasty lunch.  No problem, she thin sliced the other first tomato and made delicious sandwiches.  Oh the taste of a FRESH tomato!!

Mr. Cooper and I wandered the garden after lunch, taking in all the beauties that were flowering.

We were all pretty tired after this week of shopping, quilting and yard sales, so I spent the afternoon with Mr. Cooper.   Ok, truth is I fell asleep.  

Dinner was my treat.  You guessed it ... Panda Express!  We had a little trouble ... no habla espanol, but we made it back with plenty to eat.  

And so it is sadly time for me to hit the road.  My previous plan to head south to the slot canyons went right out the window when I found out how hot it was there.  I'll be heading back the same way I came to await cooler weather.  

It has been no problem when plugged in ... the air works okay ... but I'm leery of leaving Cooper and Jonathan in the rig while I'm gone sightseeing.  Once I get a temperature gauge for inside, I'll feel better.  In the meantime, I will actually be back in time for Bingo, but MUMS the word.  DON'T TELL!!!

This has been the perfect trip to work out the kinks in this new rig.  I've still got lots to learn, but I'm getting there.  I actually ran the AC AND the microwave today.  AT THE SAME TIME!  That's a big plus!

I can't thank Cindy and Ray enough for their hospitality and quilting expertise.  I'm so happy to have met such wonderful people on this RV road.  I'll see them again in Yuma in December.

And so we are OFF ..............

Shop Hopping

Here I am again, being treated to banana pancakes with macadamia nuts, butter, whipped cream and syrup.  Add in two sausages for good measure.  We are dining on the patio.  Woohoo!

Mr. Cooper slept through it all.  We hung out on the couch for a bit, gearing up for the trip of the day.  We were going on our own Quilt Shop Hop trip.  I have two shops within 60 miles of my house.  Here in Salt Lake City, I think there are probably a dozen or more.

 

And we are OFF!!  It was supposed to rain, but held off.  It might have been better had it been wet because the 103 degrees made it pretty hard to stay cool.  Except ... well it's fabric!!!  QUILT fabric, so it didn't deter us one little bit.

Immediately, in a gorgeous rock building, I found this ... a Cowboy Squares quilt.  These squares can all be quilted with a different pattern.  Perfect to practice my new skills on.

Next stop ... a cute little honey bee panel that I can whip up.  Don't ask what these cost.  I just closed my eyes.

Off to the next three stores .......

A cute little pumpkin man panel for Halloween.  Yes it does seem a little early, but it takes some time to make quilts, so patterns come out early in the year.

It was a bit of a walk at the next place since we didn't know exactly where it was.  I got completely distracted by these beauties.  You will be surprised to learn I did not buy ANYTHING there.  Oh wait ... a pattern.  I bought a pattern.  I wonder where it is?  Squirrel!!

NEXT ... oh yes, there were MANY!!  In this store I found the pattern I've been looking for for over a year.  There it was ... FREE if you bought $50.00 worth of fabric.  Okay then ... here's another cute Halloween witchy quilt ... and the pattern I was after cost me nothing.  Probably would have been cheaper to just buy the pattern.

At the last two shops, I didn't purchase anything.  It was hot, I was tired and out of money.  I love this wedding ring quilt and actually HAVE a pattern at home.  Maybe ... after I finish the other ones ... I'll find some material like this.  The good thing is all this close proximity to beautiful quilts, gives me the motivation to get back to it.

At last we were home, after almost seven hours I think.  We did make one sharp left turn and came home in between stores to be sure the AC was working for Mr. Cooper. I'm going to order a Marcell unit that will sit inside, accessible by my phone, which will give me the temperature.  It's a necessity in my book.

So what's up now?  YARD SALES in Salt Lake City!!!  This should be fun!!!  Oh and gee ... they have FABRIC!!