Another "How Hot Is It?", Toys For Indy, LED Lights

Seems like every year we run into a HOT week, especially while we are in the Sacramento area.  Well, this is the week...and when I say the week, I mean 8 days.  Yesterday it was 102, 107 now (5 pm Friday), and the forecast is...well, pictures tell it.

And DON'T believe it when it shows possible showers...there are NO showers in sight!  Thank goodness we have this nice tree throwing shade on us, along with the neighbor's Italian Cypress.  But around 3:00 we are halfway in the sun, and as any RVer knows, the AC will only cool it so much.  The other bad thing is that the nights are not cooling into the 60's like they usually do.  Any breeze we have is coming more from the north than the cool delta breeze which comes from the west.  There is always hope for that breeze...

I have taken Indy for a ride in the car five or six times now.  Twice to PetSmart for exam and then haircut, twice to see mom, and today to see mom AND another trip to PetSmart.  She tossed up her breakfast the first three times, the last very little since I did not feed her much.  The last time she did just fine, but without breakfast...today she did fine with breakfast.  She wants to sit on my lap while I drive, but that can only happen on a few non-busy residential areas.  Saw mom first (she is doing fine and there is nice shade if you get there early enough...she looks down from her balcony as we park just below), then I found some shade when we got to PetSmart.  Got her on my lap and out the window her head went.

She sure looks like she wanted to jump down, and I think she would if given the opportunity.  "Don't worry little girl, this trip is for fun...", I tell her.  I got my new mask on, and we had fun looking over the many chew toys, tossing toys, etc. etc.

 

I got her two new toys...the red ball with all the holes, and a squeaky squirrel.

So far, it has been too hot to play...sleeping is the order of the day.  In the photo above you can see a smaller ball, that is her favorite toy.  It is called a "Nobbly Wobbly" Rubber Ball, but PetSmart did not have any.  This one is just starting to come apart...so it looks like we have another Amazon order.

 

I did change out our two living area fluorescent lights with LED lights.  I did not take pictures, but I did use a video as a guide.  Once I understood what I was doing, it only took about ten minutes per fixture to change out...and we LOVE the brighter light that it provides.  Below is a link to one of the videos I watched.  Essentially it was cutting a few wires, removing that circuit board, connect a few wires and insert the LED lights.  

Back on July 7th I did a online order with the USGS for a National Park Senior Pass.  On July 30th I called and the nice lady told me that they were processing July 1st orders, so it would be another week or so.  Well, I called today and a different nice lady, after having a few "Oh No" and "I can't believe this..." type of conversation with herself told me that there was a mess up with the order...a mess up which many others have faced too...and that she was going to FedEx through two day shipping a card to us...but being Friday, it was too late for FedEx so she "HOPES" it ships Monday, and we should get it Wednesday or Thursday.  "IF" I don't get a shipping confirmation email by Wednesday, I need to call back.  Our fingers are crossed.  Truckee has temps in the mid-80's, with mid-40's at night, and it would have been nice to be up there this next week.

I Can Blog Again…because the Florida Election is OVER

Home in Holiday / Tarpon Springs area, FL

We voted two weeks ago today…well, actually Marcia and I pre-voted, but election day was on the 6th.  What looked like everything was going to go along smooth and easy…by Wednesday night we knew things had taken a turn for the worse.  And when I say “turn for the worse”, I am describing for a smooth, everyone agrees the outcome, Florida election.  That, just was not going to be…

When it comes to elections, I am sure some of America just wishes we would go away.  They love our beaches, our winter weather, our miles and miles of ocean and gulf views, and even Mickey and his friends over in Orlando…and I can’t forget the Oranges.  But when it comes to easy, peaceful, orderly elections…NOT TO BE.

In the end…it is still part of America, and Florida is not the only place having election problems, but it is now time to celebrate that it is all over for another two years.  Today the State certified the election results...it is finally OVER.

In the meantime…our dishwasher sprung a leak.  It is the standard, Kenmore dishwasher, 12 years old.  Marcia LOVES the Fisher Paykel Drawer Dishwashers sold by Lowes (among other places).  Our washer and dryer are Fisher Paykel…the dryer opens on the top much like a standard washer does.  Much easier for someone with MS to get clothes in and out of.  Well, the drawer dishwasher is much easier too.  At twice the amount of a standard good dishwasher one thing about the duel drawer dishwasher is that you can load and run one drawer at a time…and boy is it quiet.  Tomorrow the install guy is coming by to look things over, and in a week to ten days, it should be installed.  The price is about $200 lower than it was a couple of months ago, but the sales person at Lowes promised me that it is not part of the week long Black Friday special they are running.  Yea, 40% off would have been nice…

Yesterday our fluorescent light in the kitchen went out.  It is a 48” duel fixture.  I thought it just needed lightbulbs, but it turns out it was the ballast.  A new ballast is $22, and “might” fix it…a new 42” LED is $39 and if it did not work, I can take it back.  Well, that is what I did this morning…bought a new LED light fixture and installed it.  Getting the heavy old fluorescent down was harder than getting the light LED up…but it took longer to install than it was to take down the old one.  I think the weight difference is probably a factor of three…  As for the lighting, this is a bite whiter and brighter, and will use 1/2 the electricity as the fluorescent one.

Hope you all have a wonderful THANKSGIVING, and if you are with family…lots of family…it is best to not talk politics.  Yes, laugh at “those crazy Floridians”, but keep it civil, enjoy your family and friends…you never know when it will be your or their last Thanksgiving, last family get together.  Just have an enjoyable weekend.

66 Years–Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

One’s 65th Anniversary is called the Blue Sapphire Anniversary.  When you have your 66th Anniversary, there is no such honor.  So instead we made up our own….the Black Angus Anniversary.

Stuart Anderson founded the Black Angus Steakhouse chain in 1964.  They entered the Sacramento market when I was working for Mr. Steak back in the 1970’s, one in South Sacramento and one in Citrus Heights.  Only the Citrus Heights location is still in business.  As a restaurant chain, Black Angus once boasted over 100 locations….now down to 45 locations in six Western States.  As the name suggests, they serve Black Angus Beef, although they also have Seafood, Salads, and the normal items you would find in a classic Steakhouse.

Here is mom and dad above giving grace during our Memorial Day BBQ nearly two weeks ago.  I failed to take my camera to Black Angus today because I got caught up in the time…thinking it was a 5:30 dinner, instead it was a 4:30 dinner….barely had time for my shower after getting a few repairs done with the motorhome today.  (The above picture of the steakhouse was taken off the Internet from their website.)

Today I finished installing our LED floor lights which I got from Amazon, pack of 10 for $9.99.  Thought that was a pretty good deal.  Getting down on the ground to replace them, not such a good deal…but it was worth it.

Wednesday I replaced three of our lamps with these LED lights.  These were $9.95 each, and each lamp took two lights.  Not as good of a deal, but it was needed to in order to keep the draw of the battery down when we are not plugged into power.  They also give off a brighter, whiter light than we had before, so that is a bonus.

Also installed this AVIVA TRIO Dispenser in the shower.  This is our second dispenser in a motorhome, and we like having the convenience of not having to open and shut the soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles during each shower…and especially like not having to bend down and pick up said containers when they get knocked off a shelf, or fall from our hands.

We are having a slight problem with a few of the windows.  The window cornice is in two parts, and the inner part is stapled to the outer part from the inside.

As you can see with this one, they have a tendency to separate.  The one in the bedroom on Marcia’s side had a massive seperation…so much so that it was hard to raise the window shades because the shade would get caught up on the inner portion of the cornice.  So I took the cornice and shade down (all in one piece, which made that easier….only four screws!), and Arny used his staple gun on it and I put it back.  It now looks like the first window picture above.  I am going to get us a staple gun because I KNOW that it will need to be used from time to time.

Need to get back over to Camping World and get one of these Pleated Shades First Aid Kits.  Had one in our last motorhome…and of course, it went up in flames too.  Need to replace some of the cord retainers on a few windows too, and having the strings, springs and guides will come in handy “IF” a shade completely falls apart…which I am hoping never happens. 

    

Previous I talked about the missing propane line…well, Kerry McColloch at McColloch’s RV repair and storage called today and the line he ordered was in.  So around 3:00 pm Arny and I crawled under the motorhome and Arny installed the line in about 10 minutes or so….with the “or so” being the time needed to go back to his garage and get the proper tools…along with an “or so” for the time to find the white silicon tape used on the threads of the new fitting.

The new line did not need this elbow, which Arny removed first.  One end went where the elbow was, and the other went on the reverse side of the yellow cover in the picture above-left.  Then it was a matter of using tie downs to secure it, and it was done.  We should be able to get propane now, which I plan to do on Friday or Saturday.  And since we started this project at 3:00….and dinner at Black Angus was at 4:30 and not 5:30 like we both thought, it made for a quick shower and out the door in order to get there…and now you know why I forgot to take the camera for the 66th Anniversary Dinner at Black Angus.

And how was dinner?  Two had Prime Rib, three had New Yorks, and two had Filet Mignon (the coupon we used had Filet Mignon on it in place of Ribeye).  Since six of us were using three “Campfire Feast”, they came with three appetizers, and three desserts.  All I can say is that we were all stuffed when we left, and the three desserts came home in boxes for later consumption.  And mom remembered to share a little of her Filet Mignon with Skruffy and Bubba, who gobbled it as fast as they could.  We are blessed to still be able to enjoy mom and dad and to celebrate their 66 years together.