will remain unmet for a while.
The motorhome is up at the dealership again, for an extended stay to repair and repaint the part of the hood that was damaged upon delivery. The selling dealership in CA, those blaggards, finally agreed to pay the cost of the repair. We've been trying to get it fixed since October 31, 2011. Should be done the end of this week or sometime next week if all goes well. And we plan on getting out sometime in April for a weekend.
But I have to tell you, I do not miss the behemoth parked in the driveway. It's so much easier to get in and out without that huuuuge wall sitting in half the driveway. Probably easier for all the neighbors too. I sure wish we'd get to the top of some motorhome parking waiting list. (we're on 2 lists)
As for the motorcycles, it is still snowing around here and is way too chilly to go out riding without a snowmobile suit and heated gloves and sox. Brrrr! I have not seen many motorcycles out at all so far. Just wait til the first sunny, dry and slightly warm day and they'll pop out like bees out a hive.
However, I can tell you that we are planning a weekend out in the mh soon, and are planning to attend both a Good Sam motorhome rally (in the arcane language of the Sammers, it's called a Samboree) in Moses Lake in late spring and a sidecar rally in Coeur D'Alene later in the summer. We are going back and forth about simply riding bikes and taking the motorhome for hauling bikes on a trailer and for feed and shelter. In general, I don't much favor trailering bikes to an event, but in this case, the mh would be handy. Maybe I'll let Ray haul his bike and I'll ride mine. Unless the weather sux.
Jason and 2 friends borrowed the mh for a long weekend and went out fishing on opening day (for some species or other). They caught so many fish the first day they ended up throwing a bunch of fish back because they had more fish than they wanted to deal with. So wouldn't you know? The remainder of the weekend, nary a fish to be had outside of the Safeway.
Clark and 4 friends will borrow the mh during the Ides of May for an overnight casino trip. Cheaper than paying for the casino hotel, even with gas and propane refills, Clark says. And of course, they can cook for themselves, which is bound to be way better than casino food.
So, if you had a motorhome, would you buy a motorhome site in a single membership park when you already have a membership to all the parks? It would get the mh out of the drive and give us an out of immediate area meeting spot in case of natural disaster. Of course, that assumes the roads are driveable and in an earthquake, who knows? But we can buy a site in any of the Thousand Trails/NACO/Leisure Time resorts....What do you think?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Bleah!
This morning I visited my dentist's office for the purpose of making a mold of my teeth, so that they can make a set of nighttime retainers for me.
It didn't take long, thank goodness. Imagine sitting around with an expanding, hardening mass of chilled, over-chewed, tasteless pink chewing gum in your mouth. Ack! It was nasty.
Next Thursday, back to see if the retainers fit the way they should. Ought to be a lot less nasty but it will be more expensive. Next week I have to pay for the retainers. Insurance won't help. Dratted insurance.
It didn't take long, thank goodness. Imagine sitting around with an expanding, hardening mass of chilled, over-chewed, tasteless pink chewing gum in your mouth. Ack! It was nasty.
Next Thursday, back to see if the retainers fit the way they should. Ought to be a lot less nasty but it will be more expensive. Next week I have to pay for the retainers. Insurance won't help. Dratted insurance.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Chicken Fever!
No, we're not sick, we don't have a fever. It's just that spring is coming despite today's snowfall.
In the spring, I want chickens. And a coop to keep them in. Just a couple of hens for delicious fresh eggs. Homegrown eggs taste much better than store eggs and I know they are far fresher.
In the spring, Ray tells me we will be having no chickens. No coops. No fresh eggs.
Drat!
Here in the urbs, chickens are a good thing to have, providing one is not a rooster. It has been widely noted that neighbors do not appreciate rooster serenades. And from living in the barrio in the PI for a while, I concur. Those darn roosters seemed to think 3 am is a fine time to go crowing around. Not! Especially not for a person who was trying to adjust to a different time zone, different culture, different climate. Ray, on the other hand, being a Navy man, had no trouble at all. He didn't even hear the roosters.
But hens, they are pretty quiet. They cluck around and once in a while brag about an egg. But that's nothing very noisy. The dogs around here are way noisier than any chickens I've ever met.
Still, tho I am possessed by Chicken Fever, Ray says no. So once again, no chickens in my backyard. Sigh.
In the spring, I want chickens. And a coop to keep them in. Just a couple of hens for delicious fresh eggs. Homegrown eggs taste much better than store eggs and I know they are far fresher.
In the spring, Ray tells me we will be having no chickens. No coops. No fresh eggs.
Drat!
Here in the urbs, chickens are a good thing to have, providing one is not a rooster. It has been widely noted that neighbors do not appreciate rooster serenades. And from living in the barrio in the PI for a while, I concur. Those darn roosters seemed to think 3 am is a fine time to go crowing around. Not! Especially not for a person who was trying to adjust to a different time zone, different culture, different climate. Ray, on the other hand, being a Navy man, had no trouble at all. He didn't even hear the roosters.
But hens, they are pretty quiet. They cluck around and once in a while brag about an egg. But that's nothing very noisy. The dogs around here are way noisier than any chickens I've ever met.
Still, tho I am possessed by Chicken Fever, Ray says no. So once again, no chickens in my backyard. Sigh.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Random Stuff and Dire Thoughts
We took the mh out to LaConner in February and it was lovely. It poured rain half the weekend, but that's ok. We have a nice dry, warm mh to relax in. It was nice enough on Sunday morning that we took a walk around the preserve. There were only 60 rigs in the place that weekend, so it was super quiet. We could hear the birds and the wind in the trees and the waves on the beach. Lovely and restorative.
Jason will be taking the rig fishing next weekend. I have mixed feelings about that! I am glad to have it to share with him, but he a male and his idea of clean is not mine. I know he'll be careful with it and the fish will have to stay OUTside. He's not too sure yet where they are going, but somewhere on the dry side. Good thing we have chains for the mh...it is still snowing up in the mountains from time to time. Like all next week. They have plows up there, but do close for avalanche control. Even the sturdy Winnebago could not stand up to an avalanche. So we hope they come home safely, having hooked nothing but fish, and not each other's shoulders and rumps.
Finally, that dealership in CA has agreed to pay for the repair of the mh's hood. We got a second estimate that was even higher than the first estimate, faxed both to the CA dealer (again) and called Winnebago to complain again. Next day, lo and behold! Our repair was approved and the dealer up here notified. Those Corporate guys can surely shake the trees good. Yay! Winnebago Corporate! Thank you!
Ray and I are considering the purchase of firearms. Yep, you heard it here first. In fact, I suspect Ray will be home soon with a Ruger. I am undecided yet as to what kind of gun and even whether or not I will have a personal weapon. We are thinking it might be wise to have some "home protection" as things in this world do not seem to be getting better and occasionally, we will be sleeping in parking lots and possibly in some out of the way places where we will have no company in the form of other motorhomers or campers. And we'll still be in the house for a couple of years and who knows what might happen? (I hope you all have a goodly supply of toilet paper!)
I have seen the pictures of the devastation in the midworst. Tornadoes are one reason I do not live there any longer and do not care to live there in future! I can't even begin to think what one does when everything is gone but splintered trees and a huge pile of house debris. If I lived in the midworst, I'd surely have me one big, deeeeep storm shelter. And plenty of TP. Other than that, what does a family do to prepare for having the family home exploded by a tornado?
There are other things to prepare for though. Loss of income, disability, food shortage, snowstorms and ice storms, crop failures, electrical outages and even more. Toilet paper shortages! I know you are chuckling over TP shortages, but think about it! What's worse than being out of TP and you can't get to the store to get more because the snow is 3 feet deep in the streets and the store is closed anyway? Stores these days have just in time inventory systems, which means 3 days and the shelves are probably bare of anything edible. Sobering, isn't it?
So, are you prepared for whatever disaster is likely in your neighborhood? Have you ever even thought about it? What disasterous things do you feel are most likely for where you live? For us, we think there's a goodly chance of volcanic eruption, ice/snow/wind storms, earthquake. All those things could mean loss of shelter, water, loss of electricity and/or gas, food shortages, and the feared TP shortage. If there's no electricity, the ATMs and gas pumps don't work. If you have pets, do you have emergency supplies set aside for the pets? Can you feed yourself and your family for a week or more if something disastrous happens? Without gas and electric? If your house is destroyed or unsafe, where will you sleep? How will you keep warm?
We just received our Volcano Stove (aka Crisis Cooker). It will cook with propane, wood, charcoal. It takes about 6-7 briquettes to cook a meal with that stove. It bakes, broils, grills. And it will warm us up too. We think it's going to be fun to experiment with!
And there's your daily dose of gloom and doom. Don't just worry, DO something to prepare!
Jason will be taking the rig fishing next weekend. I have mixed feelings about that! I am glad to have it to share with him, but he a male and his idea of clean is not mine.
Finally, that dealership in CA has agreed to pay for the repair of the mh's hood. We got a second estimate that was even higher than the first estimate, faxed both to the CA dealer (again) and called Winnebago to complain again. Next day, lo and behold! Our repair was approved and the dealer up here notified. Those Corporate guys can surely shake the trees good. Yay! Winnebago Corporate! Thank you!
Ray and I are considering the purchase of firearms. Yep, you heard it here first. In fact, I suspect Ray will be home soon with a Ruger. I am undecided yet as to what kind of gun and even whether or not I will have a personal weapon. We are thinking it might be wise to have some "home protection" as things in this world do not seem to be getting better and occasionally, we will be sleeping in parking lots and possibly in some out of the way places where we will have no company in the form of other motorhomers or campers. And we'll still be in the house for a couple of years and who knows what might happen? (I hope you all have a goodly supply of toilet paper!)
I have seen the pictures of the devastation in the midworst. Tornadoes are one reason I do not live there any longer and do not care to live there in future! I can't even begin to think what one does when everything is gone but splintered trees and a huge pile of house debris. If I lived in the midworst, I'd surely have me one big, deeeeep storm shelter. And plenty of TP. Other than that, what does a family do to prepare for having the family home exploded by a tornado?
There are other things to prepare for though. Loss of income, disability, food shortage, snowstorms and ice storms, crop failures, electrical outages and even more. Toilet paper shortages! I know you are chuckling over TP shortages, but think about it! What's worse than being out of TP and you can't get to the store to get more because the snow is 3 feet deep in the streets and the store is closed anyway? Stores these days have just in time inventory systems, which means 3 days and the shelves are probably bare of anything edible. Sobering, isn't it?
So, are you prepared for whatever disaster is likely in your neighborhood? Have you ever even thought about it? What disasterous things do you feel are most likely for where you live? For us, we think there's a goodly chance of volcanic eruption, ice/snow/wind storms, earthquake. All those things could mean loss of shelter, water, loss of electricity and/or gas, food shortages, and the feared TP shortage. If there's no electricity, the ATMs and gas pumps don't work. If you have pets, do you have emergency supplies set aside for the pets? Can you feed yourself and your family for a week or more if something disastrous happens? Without gas and electric? If your house is destroyed or unsafe, where will you sleep? How will you keep warm?
We just received our Volcano Stove (aka Crisis Cooker). It will cook with propane, wood, charcoal. It takes about 6-7 briquettes to cook a meal with that stove. It bakes, broils, grills. And it will warm us up too. We think it's going to be fun to experiment with!
And there's your daily dose of gloom and doom. Don't just worry, DO something to prepare!
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