Duck Butts

With the wind chill in the air yesterday, it really wasn't comfortable to be out early in the day.  A few cups of coffee remedied that and I hit the road to see how many birds have migrated this direction.  I know I've mentioned this before, but when the cattle business got tough, my dad went to work at the newly created Wildlife Refuge running caterpillars (and not even big ones that long ago) that shaped 10,200 acres of rice and grass land into a waterfowl refuge.

Back in 1951, the enormous number of migrating birds that would land on local farmland was unbelievable.  They would completely cover up 200 acres of pasture grass on our ranch and leave nothing for the cattle to eat.  You cannot imagine walking out to see the entire field moving like a ball of worms.  The noise was defeafening!  If you made a run at them, thousand would take to the skies, fly around two turns and land again.

For the farmers trying to grow rice and corn, it was devastating.  The Lea Act was created to make a refuge that would attract the waterfowl away from the farmland.  It pretty much worked because they took all the end-of-the-season irrigation water and diverted it to this area, which attracted all the waterfowl flying south.

This entire area will soon be flooded with about a foot of water.  They were just turning the pumps on when I arrived.  Really, someone should talk to those guys about how fast they drive on this dirt/gravel road throwing up so much dust and rock that I had to stop so I didn't drive off the roadway.

It's easily accessible every day of the year, with an audio tour if you want, as you drive around the narrow roads.  I was surprised there were quite a few mud hens.  There are so many different kinds, I couldn't even begin to name them all.

Mr. Cooper went with me and he was not impressed.  Though the snow geese and swans have not arrived yet, the first couple hundred of the expected 15-20,000 sandhill cranes have arrived.  By next month you will not be able to see any grass or water.  The land will be covered with them.

It was a pretty windy day and you can see the water coming in while this guy was digging for critters in the mud.  Oh by the way, it's time for the baby snake hatch also.  I stayed in my truck.  No rattlers here, but they can give you a nasty bite.

All of the ducks not feeding were gathered against this little island for protection from the wind.  This was taken from so far away that I did not see the cranes in the distance flying around until I loaded the image on my computer.  Early arrivals get the best and most distance nest sites.

Duck butts!!  Everywhere you look ... duck butts.  

I think this is an American Coot.  They should have a handout with a picture and a name.  These guys have arrived first and are everywhere!!

But it was these guys I was after. They are pretty wary and stay far away from vehicles and people.

You can definitely see the difference between the males and females.  He was following these two around the entire area.  These kids are four foot tall and have a wingspan of about 6-1/2 feet.  

I'll have a few more pictures tomorrow after I finish going through the 151 I took.  As for now, I have to figure out how to make the new AC/Heater control change from cold to warm.  It sure seems like the old turn-the-dial-up kind were easier to operate than the magic push button, turn, push button three times, turn thingy they have now.  

We are down to 50 degrees at night and Cooper is cold, not to mention ME!!  I think fall lasted one week and winter has arrived.

And Just Like THAT -- WINTER!

 Ooohhheeeeee!!!  It just turned to winter overnight in Central Cal.  57 degrees this morning with a wind chill of 32!!  It's blasting through my back yard, probably killing all three of my flowers.  

It brought in quite a few strange looking clouds, but no water fell from the sky.  Hopefully it wiped out the flies and mosquitos that have been hanging out on my patio.

This is pretty much how yesterday went!!

It started out with these Kirkland (Costco) batteries.  Don't buy these.  I put them in my computer mouse a short week ago and they are already dead.  I usually buy Duracell which last for a LONG time.  They didn't have any this last trip, so I got the cheapies.  I won't be doing that again!  By the way Terry ... it's still working just fine!!!

By noon the clouds had turned to this, even more threatening of rain, but still not a drop.

That's when I was almost throttled by my local spider population.  Clotheslined as it were!!  When I opened the door, this nice long web reminded me it's time to go on the hunt.  Good grief, those guys have been busy little spinners.  

I can't be too mad though, since I saw a few mosquitos had become dinner.  In the old days we had mosquitos like you cannot imagine.  Totally covering our horses shoulders and backs.  Luckily we lived in a eucalyptus grove, which they didn't like too much.  There was no way to kill them back in the day.  

Nowadays, with the Eastern equine encephalitis virus having hit the West coast, they spray quite often.  Apparently they didn't do such a good job because this is the first time I've seen mosquitos here in 15 years.  Hats off to the spiders!!!

Here is another good mosquito deterrent.  Yup Jonathan HATES anything flying around his head and can catch them mid air.  I also had to put his heater back up for warmth. 

It's Thursday, lodge night ... meaning I had to get all dressed up.  Why they don't allow Levis is beyond me!!  If you are an officer and not dressed according to the "rules", you will be fined.  It's all in fun they tell me, but sometimes it can cost you $20 for that FUN!!  It's almost worth it for me!!  I always was the rabble rouser!!

Dinner was once again amazing.  Actually, one of the best I've had.  This is a full sized restaurant dinner plate.  Just look at the size of that rib eye steak!!  Ewww peas you say?  Oh man ... they were so darn good, mostly because they were NOT green beans.  Full of bacon and onions ... how could you go wrong?  I brought the entire steak home to share with Cooper.

The meeting was same-o same-o, but I'm going to brag a bit.  We approved donations to various organizations (high school water polo, high school football, grammar school soccer, two flooded lodges back East, on and on) to the tune of $16,000.00.  The money comes from our RV Park and Bingo.

We have become the largest donation entity in our County and pretty much in Central California.  Yup pretty proud of that!!

I got home too late to catch the moon rise, so here's one pulled off the internet.  It always looks largest just above the horizon.

This is one from a couple years ago.  It was too late and WAY too cold to stand outside with my camera last night.  Supermoons happen when the moon is closest to the earth, which is this time of year.  The Nez Perce called this the falling leaf moon.  I would have to agree with that one because my lawn is now covered in leaves.  The harvest is in and it's time to go hunting.  Aren't you glad we just go to the grocery store?

I would like this to be a day of rest, but once again an ugly problem arises.  We mailed a check to a vendor in August.  They just called to say they never got paid.  Come to find out, someone stole the check, washed it, typed in a new name with address (?) and cashed it electronically at a Chase Bank in Texas.  

Too bad for Chase, they did not make sure there was a deposit account number on the check.  It's going to take some time on this one because we have to file a police report in Texas.  How much was the check?  Felony worthy ... $1,275.00.  

Little do they know they barked up the wrong tree.  We have MANY Sheriff and Police Department members, along with Private Detectives who just LOVE this kind of thing!!  Stay tuned ........... I'll let you know what happens.

Just Hanging Out

Fall has finally arrived in Central California.  This is usually September weather for us, but things keep getting pushed further and further along the seasonal highway.  On the other hand, I see it's down to the -40's in Alaska with the first big snowfall.  It's why I live here ... not a lot of rain, no snow, never below zero degrees, usually sunny and no deadly critters hanging out.  How can you beat that?

Mr. Cooper and I lounged on the patio for coffee, watching the clouds do their dance in the sky.  I don't throw the ball as much as I used too since his eyesight isn't what it used to be.  It means I have to go get it MYSELF and toss it right to his feet.  

With not much going on except an afternoon meeting ... nothing like ruining a perfectly good day ... I spent another hour or so playing with the control panel in the van.  Instead of a nice expensive quilt, I opted for a magnet connected cover to keep the dust off the windshield.  It was so bad last time that it took me an hour to clean off all the dirt so I could see.  

This way I can see while I'm driving really fast to blow off all the dirt on the REST of the thing.  By the way, here's an interesting tidbit I found out at Bingo from a long time RV repair guy.  They tell you when you buy this rig NOT to let it idle for any length of time.  I never could understand that, since it's a diesel engine.  

Come to find out, the catalytic converters of today can be "killed" if you let the engine idle for hours trying to recharge the house batteries.  Why, I've no idea.  I didn't get the particulars, but apparently many have had to be replaced at shock-inducing prices and on all kinds of vehicles!  

First test on this day ... unplug, turn the charger off and see if the gas heater will work.  Oh yeah!!!!  It runs off the battery while the inverter is OFF.  That's good news ... Jonathan will be toasty warm when I'm NOT plugged in.  At this particular moment, I had plugged BACK in and the charger/inverter was roaring.  I have to admit, I like all the little green arrows that tell you where the power is going and what you can run.  You just need a degree in engineering to figure it out what to turn on when.

Back inside, with a pan full of enchiladas sitting in the fridge, I once again tried the rice.  As Shirley said, try try again!  This time I toasted it in a cast iron skillet.  MUCH better!  

Looks like the Hunter Moon, yes?  I love this old Aroma rice cooker.  It makes it perfect every time, no matter how much you make.  YUM!!!  It hit the spot.  

I did absolutely nothing the rest of the morning, since yet another meeting was in the works.  I have to admit, I'm getting rather tired of these meetings.  Sometimes I think it's better to ignore the questionable things and just trot on by.  

Anyhoo, I was pretty surprised when I arrived back home and no one met me at the door jumping up and down.  WHERE IS HE?  I snuck over to the couch to find him fast asleep.  I mean REALLY asleep.  I put my hand by his nose and watched it wiggle as he began to smell.  He stood up and looked at me with the sleepiest of eyes before beginning his happy dance.  I just love this kid!!

It finally dawned on me that he knows I'm home when he hears the driveway alarm.  I had turned it off on this day because the gardener was here.  

I leave you with yet another Hunters Moon image ... the biggest moon of the year.  None of these pictures were mine.  

Unfortunately there's ANOTHER lodge meeting tonight that I have to attend, so I'll probably miss the moonrise at 6:30 tonight.  It's going to be a good one, so get out your cameras.  The moon is closest to the earth this time of year and should be fabulous to view.

Full Moon Exposure

Happy HUMP Day!!  It's the morning after for me.  I'm drug out and brain fried after only a few hours sleep.  It's like having a big hangover, but without all the fun of drinking in order to get there.

Tomorrow is the full Hunter's moon ... the biggest of the year.  I know you know what that means for Bingo.  All creatures big and small come out of the woodwork to regale us with their bad habits.

Let's get to it!

This is a quick respite before the melee, hiding in the upstairs hallway where it's quiet and peaceful.

First, let's have a policy meeting with he that knows everything about it.  My brain was swimming when I left the room and headed downstairs to meet and greet the infernal machine.  He always gives me trouble just for fun.  Although at least the cash drawer opened, it did so with a hitch, every single time.  This guy gets so much extra work, we probably need to acquire a new one.

While quietly counting the jackpots, a lady came in yelling HE ALMOST HIT ME!  It seems one of our players who sadly has had several strokes and can barely (and I mean BARELY) walk with a cane, DROVE himself to Bingo.  Really?  How can you drive when you cannot lift your legs up???  He almost ran over her as she crossed the alley.  It's a good thing she can run fast.  It was a sign.

We continued on.  One of the benefits of becoming a member is so you can get in to the Dungeon early and save your special seat.  We initiated 4 folks 2 weeks ago and their codes have not been entered into the system.  I pled the fifth ... it's not my job.  I gave them my code so next week they could come in early and rearrange all the chairs around the tables to their liking.

No kidding ... it's a madhouse from 2:00 on (we open at 4:30) because people are moving chairs all around the room.  They don't want anyone sitting too close to them and DEFINITELY NOT across from them.  They all carry burning torches and pitchforks, so I try to stay out of it.

There were a few miss-calls for the money on this night.  I'm sure they were affected by the golden rays of Hunter Moons.  I can't believe we have so many new players showing up who are not aware of the RULES of the game.  SO many boos and hisses went off every single time!  At least they weren't directed at me, so no Knights were called.

I was sure there would be some hair pulling when someone at my table made a comment about the next person in line.  Why oh WHY?  Just ignore them!!  Apparently she got a little too close while peasant number one was picking out her speed coverall cards.  A bump was made, a slammed fist on the table and the fight was on!  

Come to find out, they knew each other and it was a teasing gesture ... but the second one never looked up to see who it was.  I expected a bloody nose and was ready to run, but alas they finally laughed it off.  Whew ... that was a close one.

I couldn't take any pictures of the current fashions because ... well ... you know, privacy and all that.  If only you could see the fashionistas in person.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how they get all that into a 12" wide piece of stretchy material.  There is nothing that doesn't show, if you know what I mean.  Short shorts does not describe it even a little bit.  Add to that a crop top made from a head band and you may get the picture.  

I'm pretty sure I never owned a onesie, even when I was a baby, but they are very popular now, especially with the over endowed.  It's blinding when it's WHITE in color.  I should have worn my sunglasses.  Please oh please let them win a jackpot and buy a new wardrobe.  

If you think plumbers crack only belongs to male plumbers, you would be wrong.  Truly, it's hard to sit and look at that, but sit there I did until the end of the night. 

The fact that we had TWO $1199 pots to give away did not go unnoticed.  Piggy banks were broken and pennies spent.  On nights like this, we rake in lots of moola, even if they don't have it to spend.  We do allow debit cards, and I'm sure some are going to go without food for the rest of the week.  

Many were rejected by the mini me infernal machine for lack of cash.  One for a measly $4.00 said I would receive 51 cents, the rest to be collected at a future day.  NOPE ... cancel cancel cancel.  We don't do that here.  The second card had the same problem.  It took three cards to get the $4.00 bill paid. 

 At long last it was time to talk sweetly to the infernal machine.  It worked ... he spit out a tape that matched my count exactly.  Maybe the coming full moon didn't have all its strength yet.

And so ended another lovely night of BINGO with me wondering what their kids will have for breakfast and dinner today.  I was on high alert as I walked across the alley to my truck.  No worries, he's still inside playing bingo.  I prayed he would be the last to leave the parking lot and not run over anyone.  

Happy Hump Day!!!  It's recovery day for me!

Never Count Your Chickens

 Happy COLUMBUS DAY to one and all.  There wasn't much celebrating going on around here.  No fried chicken or potato salad, just some leftover enchiladas.  I did however count my chickens ... five roosters crowing the morning away.  You have to listen closely because it sounds like someone screaming for help.  

I crawled out of bed hefting Mr. Cooper to the floor.  There's no asking this old guy to "hold it"!

This is pretty much my view ... blurry eyed and STILL thinking about how to turn the noise off.  Yessiree ... it's still humming away like a jet engine cruising through the sky.  It just refuses to land.  I finally had to unplug once again.  Funny how I can fall asleep on the couch with the TV blasting away, but I cannot fall asleep with the inverter fans running constantly.

At least outside the mornings are calm and quiet.  I even got a shot of the Big Dipper.  When I was a kid sleeping outside all summer long on an old metal spring army cot in my very old sleeping bag, I would look up at the stars in amazement until I heard GET UP ... CATTLE NEED TO BE MOVED!  Okay, that part wasn't all that much fun!!

After breakfast I went back outside doing a few more test things, only confusing myself even more.  I finally just gave it up.  I'll unplug from electricity and turn the inverter off at the main switch at night.  The good news is I'm not the only one with this problem.  I googled it and found a few more, none of whom have been able to come up with a solution either.  That makes me feel a little better!!

I did a little more work on this quilt ... adding the flying geese border.  One more border of the dark blue and it will be ready to quilt.

Since there's not much rodeo until the National Finals in December, I was forced to watch a little baseball and a little more football.  No offense, but boy are those games LONG and BORING.  I suppose it's because I don't have a favorite in the bunch.  

What do we do when we're bored?  We cook of course!!  I don't know if any of you have seen this stuff before, but it comes from our Mexican construction crew.  They swear by the stuff when it comes to the rice you see in restaurants.  

Here's the problem.  There's no pull date.  Does that mean it's nuclear?  I have my doubts, but it's just dry ingredients, so it can't be THAT bad, right?

I fried the rice in avocado oil (is that where I went wrong?), added onion, water and the Sazon to my old rice cooker.  This thing is HUGE and ANCIENT.  Maybe 39 years old?  Can you believe it still works?

I hit the GO button and waited in anticipation.  Finally ... Mexican fried rice!  YUM!!!!  As I said, never count your chickens until you open the pot.

That first taste test went right out of my mouth faster than it went in.  What the heck?  It tastes like burnt metal.  Nooooooo I can't have wasted all this beautiful rice!  I tried it again.  It tasted worse than the first time.  

The only thing I can think of is I fried it in a too hot non-stick pan and it picked up the taste from the metal.  It was so awful, the entire pot went in the trash!!  Lesson learned ... from now on, fry the rice in a cast iron skillet!!

Too bad, so sad ... I was forced to eat those taquitos by themselves, thinking about all the rice I had wasted.  Better luck next time!!

I spent the afternoon STILL working on this quilt.  So many little areas to quilt separately.  I was finally at the end where I take it off, turn it around and put it back on in order to do the sides evenly.  That was it ... that's all I did.  No quilting was involved.  Maybe tomorrow.

Why tomorrow you ask?  Because TODAY IS BINGO DAY!!  I'm praying it's not a full moon, because I know one is coming up.  My Moon Calendar says in TWO DAYS, so you KNOW there's going to be lots of bleed over with hopefully NO BLOOD spilled.  I'll let you know tomorrow!!  It can't be THAT bad, right?  The biggest full moon of the year??

I FINALLY GOT IT!!!!

 A good Monday morning to ye!  It's a lovely 63 degrees here in Central California, heading on down to the high 40's very soon.  We are soaking up the COOL as we are STILL trying to figure out how to quell the noise.  Obviously it doesn't bother Mr. Cooper at all.  He sleeps like a rock anywhere, any time!!

Here's the test for THIS night.  Leave the rig plugged in and the breaker (on my main house panel) ON.  Then turn both the charger AND the inverter off from the panel.  That should do it with minimal time and effort.  Notice I said SHOULD do it!!

In the meantime, since it was Funday Sunday, as well as baseball playoffs AND football ... I celebrated with a few more Oreos dunked in my morning coffee.

Then you're not going to believe it ... I actually VACUUMED the house.  Jeeves, or James, or whatever his name is hasn't been doing that great of a job.  

A couple more cookies and I was off to attempt more quilting.  How long has it been?  Three weeks I've been working on this one?  Gee ... only six more borders and it will be done ... probably sometime next month!!  As you can see, getting the triangles to work was tricky.  Enough for this day.

As you may remember, I was a Giants Baseball season ticket holder for about 10 years.  I loved baseball, only made better by getting to know the players.  They had a good coach in Boche back then, and won all those World Series Championships while I was there.  

Sadly, it is not the same.  Though I still love the game, I discovered about the second year that most of those players moved on or retired.  It made the games not as much fun.  Now, I couldn't even tell you who the coaches or pitchers are.  

So on to some football instead.  I can take it or leave it really, but it does provide a little entertainment in between trying to figure out the RV electrical systems.  As a distraction, I made some more salsa.  

It's not just for chips you know.  Having come from a German-Scottish background, which has nothing to do with anything, we learned it was really good on BEEF.  We used to have it quite often on the ranch, especially when we deep-pit cooked a chunk of cow for our branding helpers.  They raved about the "sauce"!!  We never told them it was from our Mexican ranch hand's recipe.

With baseball and football over, and Cooper sound asleep on the couch, I again went to prepare the rig for another night of frustration.

This time I left the breaker for my electrical hookup ON.  I went inside and hit the CHARGER button to turn it off.  Oh yeah ..... quiet.  For all of two minutes until the inverter came on.  It's almost as loud as when it's charging and no matter how many times I hit the button, it would NOT turn off.  

I went to the back of the rig and turned off the MAIN INVERTER switch.  Ahhhhh quiet once again.  

By crackey ... I FINALLY GOT IT!!  Just turn off the Charger and the Inverter switch.  That is the magic combination for a nice night's sleep!!  How simple is that?  And why didn't anyone at PleasureWay tell me!  I'll be passing this info on to all those on the internet that have the same problem with the same year van.

Of course I don't know if the heater is going to work in the meantime should I need it, so this morning I'll turn it on and see if it runs.  As far as boondocking, it should be the same two switches.  With the only draw during the night being the compressor fridge, which is pretty minimal, I should be fine.

I've written all this down and will tape it to the wall.  Eventually it will become habit I'm sure.  As for THIS night, I slept like a log.  I'm now very much looking forward to my oceanside trip next week.

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto

Here we are once again inside the cabinet of curiosities.  I will figure this out one way or another because I'm as stubborn as a mule ... and they are pretty STUBBORN.  I called the Pleasureway van folks ... nice guys who still answered my questions even though they were on the road driving ... and found out they speak some foreign language unknown to mankind.

I get the charger ... it takes the energy and charges the batteries.  The inverter takes the energy and runs the DC stuff.  I can turn the charger off, but the inverter and the fan that keeps it cool, continue to run.  

However, I'm getting closer and closer to learning Squidditcher ... my name for this panel.  By the way, there is no other way to turn anything on or off except here.  There are five panels.  The only one I get is that which opens the vent and turns on the fan!!  Tomato ... tomahto because apparently the inverter and the charger are the same critter hiding under the back seat.

Time to hit the sack.  Honestly, I'm sure this is much easier than I'm making it out to be.  I think if someone stood there and told you exactly what to do and you wrote it down, it would not be so much of a problem.  It's like trying to learn a computer when you've never used one before.

The good news is I can turn OFF the Charger whether I'm boondocking or plugged in.  They tell me the fridge draws directly from the batteries, no inverter required, and it should last for 3 days without ANY added power.  This is definitely a different animal.  

First things first, I cut out a piece of foam for the bed and got out my old sleeping bag.  No use carrying lots of blankets when a lightweight 36 degree sleeping bag is easy to set up and roll up.  

I turned the charger off but the inverter and its fan kept running.  I finally shut off the breaker at my panel where I'm plugged in and was able to shut off the inverter.  Oooooohhhh ..... quiet!!  The two touchpads continued to run on battery, but they shut off automatically.  Can I charge my phone?  Who knows, but I'll do that routine a couple more times today (writing it down as I go) for practice.  

Once I get that down, it will be a piece of cake.  If I'm plugged in, I'll just turn off the breaker.  In the morning I'll flip it back on because I don't care what's running in the daytime.  Truly, all this stems from having a solar system big enough to boondock forever, thus the huge inverter.  It boils down to me not being able to sleep with the noise.  I'm sure no one else would have a problem with it.

So .... the rest of the day involved Mr. Mr. getting a bath.  He hates it!!  He's still a little went around the ears, but got treats for being a good boy.  

And then there was lots of baking.  Yeah ... this is definitely something that would come out of my oven.  I got too involved in the rig and left it in the oven a tad bit too long ... like maybe 30 minutes.  Believe it or not, that's mozzarella on top.  Aren't you glad you don't have to eat it???

Here's another "I'll try it so you don't have to".  This is spinach/cheese ravioli (big ones) layered with sausage, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.  It called for ricotta but I didn't have any.  Though I didn't expect much out of this one, it was actually VERY good!!  Fake lasagne!  Who knew??  It needed a little more sauce, but I would make this again for the freezer.

This is one of my all time favorites ... scalloped potatoes.  I had only one lone russet potato left, so I cut it up, added onions, cheese and cream.  Yessiree ... a tip I learned from a Chef back in the day.  Heat some cream with garlic in it and pour over ... not adding too much.  YUM!!!  I had this for breakfast today.

And so I'm going to relax with my coffee this morning before heading back out to test my newly acquired language of the Inverter.  If nothing else, you have to admit I'm determined!!!

Well That Went Well

 I started the day out right ... walking Mr. Cooper past the neighbors at 7:00 am.  No one seems to be sure what happened, but by 8:00 the place was surrounded with Sheriff cars.  I was oblivious sitting on my couch.  We think a burglar tried to get in the house one door down from me.  That's a first!!  

By 10:00 I was headed to town for a truck wash and some groceries.  What the heck?  The neighbor one door down on the OTHER street has their alarm blaring like crazy.  Either there is a really big echo or the house directly across the street had the same problem.  I stopped my truck, listened and watched.

Down the street quite a ways was some guy walking away.  He turned, stood there and watched me for some time.  No one walks these streets but me.  I called the Sheriff and they came out once again.  I don't know if they found anything or anyone ... the guy disappeared before they arrived.  I'll be extra sure to lock my doors tonight.  Truly, this is a first in my neighborhood.

On to the car wash, which isn't what it used to be either.  No pretty colored suds any more, and a mediocre job of cleaning my windshield.  Okay, I admit, it was REALLY bad!!

On to the grocery store where I purchased one bag of goodies for $125.00.  This was the most expensive ... one package of hamburger for $25.00.  I think that made it $4.98 a pound.  I could have gotten it cheaper, but the cashier refused to rescan it while I put in my phone number.  I should have done that first they told me ...  five times.  

Lunch was once again Marie Callander's best pot pie.  These were $6.79 at this particular store, while being sold for $3.99 at Walmart.  Yes, this is the Walmart one.  Let's face it ... they are quick and easy for a single gal.

Here was the major plan of the day.  I was determined to figure out the noisy inverter and sleep in the van this weekend.  

As I walked outside, I saw the sign as big and bright as day!!  The new moon looking quite green.  I should have just turned around and went back inside to my nice soft warm bed.  But NOOOOOO .... 

Inside the rig, nothing would quiet what they tell me is the inverter.  There's just no sleeping with that noise.  Oh but WAIT ... there was a red flashing light on the propane detector!!  It's dark because I already shut off absolutely everything that could possibly use electricity.  I hit the wrong button and set it off.  Cooper panicked and crawled up my back.  It took at least three minutes of blasting noise before I found the reset button and got it to work.  

That's when I noticed the hot water heater button said ERROR.  Big sigh.  I turned everything off and back on, hoping it would reset itself.  Nope, not happening.  It took three tries to get the bed to lay flat (it seems to be hanging up on something) before I finally laid down.  Ugh ... this is a terrible pillow and I can't get to sleep, but at least the inverter turned off and it's quiet!!

At 3:00 I was wide awake and cold as could be.  With everything shut down, there was no heater to keep us warm, even with that quilt I brought just for that purpose.  

Well that went well .... I grabbed my keys and Cooper and we went in the house.  Not that it mattered, because I could not for the life of me go back to sleep.  So here I was at 4:00, back in the rig turning everything back on.  

This is what it sounded like when I first sat down.  I did turn the solar off because I thought maybe that was why it was so noisy.  

Crazy, yeah?  In a little while it changed to this.  I mean really just HOW could you sleep with this two feet from your head?  At long last it went silent.   

I imagine I'll figure it out sooner or later ... probably later ... 

As for the hot water heater error, I went outside, turned on the propane and the instant-on hot water heater before resetting the control panel once again.  YAHOO!!  The error message went away ... for the time being that is.  I mean really, they could not have made this rig more complicated.  

The inverter stayed off for all of 30 minutes and just came back on.  I don't think even ear plugs will help.  I'll be getting some extra strength sleeping pills for tonight.  I have about 8 days to figure it out before I head to the coast. 

Oh wait ... I just turned the CHARGER off and the noise stopped.  Woohoo!!  So what happens when the charger is off?  If it doesn't charge the batteries, that's okay until morning, right?  I can turn it back on when I get up.  OMG I THINK I JUST MIGHT HAVE IT!!