Week and a Half in Sacramento Area

Bubba Update:  Bubba has fallen in love with a Ceramic Turtle.  This is NOT a staged photo, he really was laying on Sandy/Arny's carpet with his head on the Turtle.  It was a HOT DAY that day, so it could be the coolness of the turtle that is the attraction.  However, he has been seen laying near the turtle a few times since.  Perhaps he misses the real turtles that Sandy and Arny use to raise, and got rid of (gave away, not in Turtle Soup) a couple of years ago.

When we are at Sandy/Arny's we have everything we need to live in the motorhome.  Good 30 amp electricity, water, and for sewer, we have this Blue Tote which we fill up with grey/black water, wheel it to the far driveway and dump in the sewer outlet.  I typically do this twice a week, so that the 25 gallon tote is not so full and heavy.  Filled all the way, it weighs around 160-180 pounds.  Pulling that can be labor-some...so half to 2/3rds full is much easier.  I have dumped twice since we have been here.

After 2,800 miles of being pulled behind the motorhome, the car always needs to be washed.  There is a good car wash not far from their house that I always take it to.  You get out, they vacuum, wash, hand dry and wipe down all the interior and the wheels for $25.  It can take 40-80 minutes depending on how busy they are.  I bought a Upholstery Cleaning Kit before we left home and used it to clean all the seats.  It turned out just fine for a 11 year old car with nearly 90,000 miles on it.

One project which I had planned on doing today, but decided to put off until next week, is replacing our 'Batwing' Antenna, which needs to be cranked up, turned to where you 'think' the TV tower is at, and then remember to turn back and cranck back down when you drive again. 

Our replacement will be the KING OA8500 Jack HDTV Directional Over-the-Air Antenna with Mount and Signal Finder, which I got from Amazon for $109, along with a mounting plate for another $20.  The 'Signal Finder' will allow us to turn the antenna, and see how many led lights light up...you stop when you find the number which is the largest.  At some location we have found TV Towers which are in different directions, and depending on the channel we wanted to watch, we would have to turn it to the direction of the other tower...which is guesswork.  With this, we will be able to tell by the LED lights.  And the best thing...no cranking up and down...don't want to tell you how many times in the past 8 years we forgot to put it down, and either someone told us, or I saw the shadow of the antenna.  Leave it up too long, at high speeds, and you are looking for a crash on your roof.  (We never had that)

We have enjoyed visiting with family, took mom down past South Sacramento to visit Aunt Florence (dad's brother's wife), and on Monday, driving down to Modesto area to see mom's only surviving sister Mary (she also has a brother who lives in the upper mid-west).

California has locked down a number of counties, where you no longer can eat inside restaurants (but to-go and outside dinning is fine), mandatory masks (YUCK), and all bars and casinos are closed down (does not affect us).  Of course, being in far northern part of the county, we 'could' go into Placer County and eat at a restaurant there (3 mile drive), which Sandy and Patti did today with Mom just to get her out.  Good news is that the Assisted Living Facility is going to allow meals in the dinning room with limits on how many they serve at one time, and no mandatory quarantine for those who went out due to a doctor's appointment, dental appointment, etc.  Mom thinks she will go back to the facility after her hearing appointment and doctor's appointment at the end of next week.  That would put her out for a month, and she will have to be tested and quarantined for 10-14 days when she goes back.  They also will allow short (30 minute visits) from family, although we don't know how that is going to work out.