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.

L.P. has New Meaning

This is our Liquefied Petroleum Gas tank, also known as the Propane Tank.  Ours is located in the middle between the back tires, just south of the axel.  Since it is so far, they have a filling up location on the side in which a high pressure line takes the propane to this tank.

    

This fill-up area is along the passenger’s side, far back corner next to a storage bin.  In the picture above left you can see the yellow cover, which is removed and the propane filling nozzle is attached, the switch at the bottom is turned off shutting off gas from the motorhome, and the middle relief valve is opened so that when propane starts spurting out, it is time to turn off the pump.  The right picture is the back side of the left picture…and you can see that the high pressure line is missing.  Well, when I tried to top off the propane in Evanston Wyoming nearly two weeks ago, that is when I found out about the missing line.  If you look at the first picture, the line goes into the valve in the upper left, near the middle, of the tank.  Another of the small things one discovers as they use a “new to us” motorhome.  I sure did not see it on my brief inspection under the motorhome as we were buying it because I was looking more for rust and potential road salt damage.  LP’s new meaning?  "Lost Pipes"

Above is the FedEx shipping history on the progress of our awning being shipped to my sister’s house in Citrus Heights, California.  In the upper right corner you can see the proposed delivery date, which I saw last night for the first time….and oh no, there it is…..Holiday, Florida.  Yep, they sent it to Florida instead of California.  Today it arrived in and departed from Orlando.  I talked to the folks at PPL Motorhomes in Houston and pointed out their error, and they were going to try and have it re-routed to Citrus Heights….this is hours before it arrived in Orlando.  It departed Orlando tonight, and it looks like it is still headed to Holiday.  Perhaps it is bundled in such a way that they have to move it on to Tampa before they can re-route it….or perhaps PPL did nothing about correcting their mistake.  Tomorrow I will know one way or another, but it seems like this awning thing has been such a circus.  GRRRRR!!!  Perhaps LP means Lost Parcel, or Losing my Patience….take your choice.

Have you ever heard of Bag Balm before?  This is some great stuff.  Here is what Wikipedia says about it:

Bag Balm is a salve developed in 1899 to soothe irritation on cows' udders after milking.  The product is officially only meant for animals and is inspected as such by the United States Food and Drug Administration, but it's also often used as a treatment for chapped and irritated skin on humans and can be found in places such as drug stores, ski resorts, online vendors, needle-work stores, and of course farm and feed stores. Its uses are many, for example "squeaky bed springs, psoriasis, dry facial skin, cracked fingers, burns, zits, diaper rash, saddle sores, sunburn, pruned trees, rifles, shell casings, bed sores and radiation burns." ….. The active ingredients of Bag Balm are 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (antiseptic) in a petroleum jelly USP and lanolin base.

Well, my use is for dry feet, which developed while we were in Wyoming.  We had some last year, given to us by my sister in a small container, which we carried in the motorhome….which burned up and became ashes a few months ago.  Well, the other day I broke down and bought some from Walgreens….a bit hard to find unless you know where to look…in the lotions and skin creams area.  It works great, and this “tin” will last us for a long, long time.

As for my knee, it is doing much, much better.  No problems since a week ago Sunday, which means it was probably just a pinched nerve, probably from the hectic drive.  Since I was favoring it, it put more pressure on the other leg which was sore, like a sore muscle, but nothing to worry about either.  Thanks to all who were concerned.

The great squirrel hunters are so happy to be back in Arny and Sandy’s backyard.  Skruffy runs and barks and barks and runs and never comes close.  

Bubba, on the other hand, is a true hunter.  He will sneak right up on the little creatures and with a big, final pounce, he always comes up empty.  It is at that point that he lets out a large, resounding BARK, and sits there and stares at the squirrel which is typically giving him a squirrely chirp.

I just love the trees over at mom and dad’s house.  The lady who use to live there, now deceased, was a great gardener…and from what I have been told, the yard looked even better when she was alive.  Her surviving daughter, who lost the house in a foreclosure, did nothing to keep it up…many plants and even a few trees were lost over the years.  Mom sure enjoys going out and watering….to the point that I had to rescue her the other day when she got her little GoGo stuck out on the lawn.  No pictures of that, unfortunately.  

    

Later this week we hope to visit with Mary-Pat who writes the Butterflies and Heart Songs blog.  She is recovering nicely from recent knee surgery…and we look forward to seeing her again since our initial meeting at Crater Lake last year.