Category: Uncategorized

As I said in my last post, I set out to run errands in the rain.

Looking at my fuel gauge as I drove into town it said I had a full tank and had only driven 10 miles since my last fill up. What?! My furnace had used so little fuel in the last week and a half that is didn’t even move the gauge? Then why did my furnace stop working?

So I skipped the gas station for now and made Walmart my first stop. I’m not supposed to ride my Scoot in the rain so I needed to park close. The Walmart in Parker, Arizona, has one of those over-sized handicapped parking spots in which my over-sized van fits. There was a Jeep in it. So I sat off the side of the driveway in the fire lane waiting for a place I could park near enough for me to be able to walk into the store. Finally a car pulled out of one of those nose-in spots next to the long one so I drove around the row and pulled in across it and the striped area of the big spot until I pretty much cleared the drive itself coming fairly close to being nose to nose with that Jeep.

Luckily there was a fully charged cart available so I was able to do all my shopping in one go.

When I cam back out there was a VW Beetle in the over-sized spot. Do people not think at all? That driver has to have seen the maneuver I had to make to park next to him yet he took the big spot!

Now, it was time to decide what to do about my furnace. So, I called Dave, of course. He walked me through several potential problems checking things like the possibility of a blown fuse. Nope the fuse is fine. Nope the system for checking for error codes says there were no errors. Yes, the display on the remote works. Yes, the fan blows but the air is not getting warm; it’s just bringing outside air in through the furnace without heating it. We decide this is beyond our ability to solve so I will have to call someone. There is an Espar dealer in Phoenix so I may have to head there this week.

In the meantime, I head back into Walmart to buy a small electric heater. I’m not going to freeze while we figure out this problem.

When I come back out this time there is a pickup truck parked in the long spot. About time someone got it right.

Then off to do laundry. There are two women in the laundromat. They promptly tell me the water pressure in the machines is not up to doing the job. The sink works, though, so they have been using buckets to fill the machines for the wash and rinse cycles. They insist I stay and they will do the filling for me. So, I do and they do and I give them each one of my string bags as a thank you.

As I’m transferring my now clean clothes to the dryer, I realize my lingerie bag never got in. Guess I’ll be doing some hand laundry this week. Wonder what else can go wrong today?

I decide I’ve earned a reward so I take myself to Pizza Hut for my favorite chicken and mushroom pizza. They are out of mushrooms. Of course they are. So I settle for chicken and olives

Finally back home I decide to practice one form of insanity. The one defined as doing the same thing while expecting different results. I didn’t expect different results when I turned my furnace on but I decided to try it anyway.

It worked. Maybe it just needed a day off on my off day.

TTYL,

Linda

ps. Not wanting to stress my furnace too much again, I plugged in my new space heater to see if it worked. Wow, does it work! I got something right!

When your vehicle is also your house and you are plugged into all the utilities (water, electricity, and sewer) you think twice and ask lots of questions before going out to run errands.

How many more meals can I make with the groceries I have on hand before I have to go to the grocery store?

How many changes of clean clothes do I have before I have to go do laundry?

How much fuel do I  have to run my furnace before I need to go get fuel?

Are there any other errands coming up I should wait for so I can do them too while I am out?

I have some of everything. So I wait.

But today is Sunday, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and the next day is New Year’s Day. What things will be open when?

And how much did I say I have?

Suddenly, I don’t get to decide.

My furnace decides it is done keeping me warm. And the nighttime temperatures have been in the 30s lately which is colder than I like to be. So I go out to get fuel. And groceries. And to wash my clothes.

In the rain.

TTYL,

Linda

Wonder if I’ll ever remember to take pictures? Hauled my camera around but still forgot. Anyway, today was a good day.

I went out with my license plates to see about installing them and a neighbor promptly asked me if I needed help. I said, “No.” Then added, “But I never turn down offers of free help.” So he came over and installed my back license plate and told me I needed to get washers to install the front plate. Then he replaced my broken electrical connector. Then he rehung my backup camera monitor which had detached itself from my windshield and added a safety strap to it so if the suction cup lets go again it should at least stay up there.

Shortly after he left, two new friends arrived. Sue I’d been emailing with and she’d met Diane just a week or so ago. As women traveling alone in vans we thought we had enough in common to make a visit worth while. We walked down to the bar/cafe’ here in the park and had lunch. And talked. And talked. And talked. We had a lot of history to catch up on and a lot of tips to share with one another. It was a very good visit.

But no photos of any of that activity. Sorry.

TTYL,

Linda

Many years ago I learned to crochet.  Since I could never learn to keep all my stitches the same size I needed a project that didn’t care about gauge. I was happy to find one that was also useful. Carrying bags made of string. The ones I make store in their own pocket.

When stored they look like this:

This makes a soft-sided ball good for keeping young kids entertained for a while.

Eventually, they discover they can pull the middle out like this:

Most young kids get stuck at that point. But us big kids soon learn that if we keep pulling we can turn the pocket inside out and get a double bottom on the bag like this:

then we can stuff it full of all kinds of things. Here it is holding my iPad, a full-sized box of Kleenex, and my 20-oz water bottle:

Yes, it is strong enough to carry that weight. And it’s not yet full!

I am constantly amazed at what all I can carry in one of these bags. Recently I used one to carry out my food and beverage from Boston Market. You just pack it so that everything will stay upright when you pick it up, grab a handful of the top of the bag, and head on out. The bag changes shape to accommodate whatever you want to carry.

Which is why I seldom carry it by its handles. I’m short. If I don’t stuff the bag in such a way that its load is wide it would stretch its length until it scraped the ground. But by sticking my fingers through some loops I can make it be any height I want it to be.

Another thing I like about these bags are they are machine wash and dry-able.  So if the lid pops off that beverage I put it in or I sit it down in a poorly selected spot or  some baby drooled on it I just throw it into the laundry.

Which brings me to another use. You can put your dainties in this bag, tie it shut, and use it to protect them in the laundry. Untying it can be a challenge, though, so I only did that once.

I keep one or two of these with me most of the time. You just never know when you are going to need to carry more than you could otherwise handle.

No, I don’t take orders for them. I make them when my mood strikes–usually when Dave & I are watching TV. But, if you want one, ask me the next time you see me. I might have an extra one hanging around. And there’s only so many of them I can use myself.

TTYL,

Linda

I met a group of people who call themselves Rubber Tramps or Van Dwellers. What a wonderful group of people!

I had only been here a few minutes when people started helping me with projects.

You already know I broke the cover off my electrical connection.

Here’s Phil figuring out what to do about it.

First he straightened the one bent prong. Then we went looking for a temporary cover to protect it from the elements. The best we found was the lid from my Klean Kanteen. It was the same dimensions as the outlet. So Phil used his electrical tape to attach it.

Now I don’t have to worry about today’s forecast of rain.

Then Lesa helped with a different project. My daughter had told me I could use a space blanket to make covers for my windows that would let me see out while others couldn’t see in. This would also cut the solar heat that beats on my back when sitting at my desk. Lesa is interested in doing this to her van so she was more than willing to help me experiment on my van.

Here’s our materials.

The space blanket, obviously, scissors to cut the blanket to approximate size, water to spray on the window to make the blanket adhere, and a cloth to smooth out the wrinkles.

We decided to cut the pieces oversize to be trimmed later. That make the installation a bit more challenging but it feels safer. So here’s the first round of cutting.

Looking out.

Looking in.

I need to do some major trimming so I can smooth things easier but I think this will work just fine.

Here’s the circle where we gather to chat. People come and go very much at will.

Today I am going. On to Parker, Arizona, where Dave can send me my new license plates. It is important to stay within the law when you live in a van.

TTYL,

Linda