Tired -- is there any cheese for that whine?

Hi everyone, hope all is well.

Yesterday was spent redoing all my moving windows. I'm beat. It was a long day of removing the glazing bead, soaking & cleaning the glazing bead & cleaning window tracks. But it stopped one window from leaking! So I thought I'd do them all & am glad I did. I could not believe how much "stuff" gets embedded around the window frames under that glazing bead & on the track! So although some windows weren't leaking, I did it for all of them as preventative maintenance.

I took pics & vids of the process. I'll try to share that with ya'll tomorrow.

I am beat.

Too tired right now to even get the RV ready to take back in.

Have to do that today!

And I have to move my dogs back into the kennel again. :-( 

I really like having them in here with me, not in a kennel. It's my friend's kennel here on the property. I know I should be grateful to have that convience, but I hate not having them with me in the same space. One of them is nearly 13 years old. It just makes me want to cry. But I need to suck it up & do what I need to for now. I'm just being emotional right now, probably just from exhaustion.

I spoke with Mitch at Felton's this morning, he says he knows what needs to be done with my RV. I told him I wanted him to be there when I drop it off tomorrow. He said he will be & that it will take 2 days to fix.
So today, I begin the process of once again, cleaning out the fridge, taking essential items out of the RV, including important paper work. Just in case. And stripping the bed off again! Who has the energy for all this! I swear, I just want it to be done. No more leaks. No more problems. Please!

I also have a doc appointment tomorrow. I kind of hope they just release me. I'm tired of being held back. Had major foot spasms for hours last night though. But I was on my feet nearly the entire day yesterday too.

Anyhow, sorry to be whiney. I just want to load up & leave. Travel through Texas, visiting friends on the way out & enjoy the bluebonnets before they are gone!

And I really need to mentally detox. Badly!

The other day, I aired up the tires on my bike. Oiled what needed to be oiled, grabbed my point & shoot camera & took a bike ride around the block. The block here is 2 miles. Spotted the wildflowers, unfortunately, no bluebonnets here, but caught the Indian Paint. And fireants!! Yikes! Feet are covered in them. So I'm doing a jig in the middle of the road. Toss my camera bag on the road, rip off my shoes, realize anyone can run over my camera, scoot it over. A lady slows down, she probably can't decide if I'm crazy or need help. So she goes on. I now have a zillion fire ant bites & could not wait to get back to the RV to get my benedryl cream!
So here's a picture of the Indian Paint. The quality isn't as good as it would be had I grabbed the bigger camera. But I love driving the highways spotting the bluebonnets & the indian paint blooms. Need to do that soon!!

I have no idea what kind of bee that is. Anyone know?

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Here Kitty ...kitty...kitty

Hi, hope all is well with everyone in blogger land today.

Not much happening here. I'm having a VERY lazeeeeeeeeee day & am enjoying it!

So in lieu of my lazy day, I'm taking a break from movies & thought I'd share some funny kitty stuff  with ya'll instead of wild flowers, RV things, the weather, etc. (although it's another nice day with windows open & fans a'blowin')

So get ready, here's some crazy cat stuff that I just found on my external hard drive!

Enjoy!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Dumb bell - got boots?

Welcome Bargirl2381   I'd love to share your blog, but one doesn't show up on your name. Glad to have you along!

Hey everyone, hope all are well & ya'll are having a great day!

Once again, I'm leaking!! ARGH!! Maybe I'll just put a tarp over my overhead cab window! grrrrr. So another call needs to be made to the RV place & this time, it has to be fixed right! At least it was another drip & this time, in 2 spots instead of the whole length of the window, but still. I want to be dry! What's the point of having the overhead rebuilt if it's still leaking somewhere :-((  So this happened around 7:30 yesterday morning. It was pouring outside! I knew it was coming & actually got up at 5 & walked my dogs before the rains came. It was thundering & lightning then, so I wanted to get them out asap.
Went back to bed, then the rains came. And came. And came.
I wake up & think, oh, check the window. I turn over & the body pillow I have under it is WET! Again! So I'm thinking, oh forgot to grab my tarps. They are in the van. I don't want to go out in the downpour to get them. Then I think, OH, shower curtain! So I go & grab it. Grab a towel & some bowls. Secure the area...once again. Lets hope this is the LAST TIME! It's supposed to rain more today, so the area is still secured. :::grrrrrumble:::  

So I thought I'd focus on essential items today. Items that are essential for the RV lifestyle & yet keeping things healthy & clean.

So here are the healthy items:

Yes, I carry dumb bells.

They work well.

They are even better for things other than your arms.

They work GREAT for this!!

Heehee, I use area rugs in the RV. I actually have two different vacuums. When I use the shark, I drag out the rugs outside & put the dumb bells on them to hold them down. Then I can do a deep vacuuming with the Shark vacuum. That thing rocks! Or sucks. Sucks well! Might even suck a rock?

Here are my two vacuums:

The Shark really deep cleans. It's the lavender one.

The Hoover NanoVac does a decent job, but isn't as intense as the Shark.

So for weekly or bi-weekly vacuuming, I use it in the RV. It doesn't eat the rugs.

For deeper cleaning, I drag out the rugs & pull out the Shark to really vacuum the carpeting in the rig deeper & use the dumb bell on the rugs to vacuum them outside. My RV doesn't have slides, so it's easier to take the rugs outside to vacuum for the deeper cleaning when using the Shark.

I LOVE the Shark. If I didn't use area rugs, then I'd only be using the Shark. Both vacuums have cleaning tools & the hoses come loose for the use of the tools. That way, I can use the brush assemblies for cleaning the a/c & other things as well. I think when I take my trip, the Hoover will have to stay behind & I'll take the Shark with me. After all, I'm from the Texas gulf coast, why not take a Shark along my travels?

Now for the BOOT! Or boots in this case!

It's been a pretty wet season the past month or so. Too wet. One day, I soaked 3 pair of shoes just walking the dogs. So I took off for WalMart to get a pair of rubber boots. (which still kind of hurt to put on & even moreso to take off due to my wankle). I find the last pair of rubber boots that I can still fit. They are one size bigger than I wear, but I realized that would make it easier to get them off & on. And I can wear thicker socks in them when I need to. So I bought them. Then on my way to another dept in the store, I pass hiking boots on clearance! Woah, STOP! Look! BUY!

I planned on buying a pair once I got up to Pa, but wait! These are on SALE! Clearance! Cheap!

So I bought two pair. They had a waterproof pair & a regular type. The waterproof $10. The other $8.50. WooHoo! I'm buying! So I did! Glad to find that score. So I walked the dogs in the waterproof ones to test them & they work well.

Oh & I bought this rug after I picked Ellie up at the RV place. They took my rugs out. They SHOULD have put my rugs in the hall of the RV, but nooo, they took them out. So they had to find them. They could not find my entry rug though. Which was a nice cute little grass mat. -- then later I discovered they also took out all my drivers & passenger floor mats too. Those are gone. grrrrr

So I bought a new entry rug as I like to use them to catch dirt as I enter the RV. But honestly, although it's really cool. The grass mats work better. So I might use this one as an outdoor mat eventually.

Thanks for stopping by ya'll & have a great day!

**OH, I almost forgot. I learned how to address another type of window leak. I'll share that later as I fixed one window & it works! So I'll do a video & photos to share on another blog. **

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

A Feather through my screen door & Bird of a Feather

Hi everyone, hope ya'll had a really good weekend. I went to a dog show - yay - more about that in a bit.


First of all, yes, a Feather DID go through my screen door!


And ripped out the Screen!


Yep, you read that right.

And the Feather also broke a part of the frame.


But I was able to fix it.


Fortunately.


Now that you think I've gone over the edge, the cliff, the wall, the fence...whatever it is that one goes over.


Well I have.

But that's not what happened.


Here is the Feather:

::::sigh::::

Here is a video on how to fix your screen door if she ever decides to enter your rig upon the same manner too:

Now for Bird of a Feather -- that's her daughter!! Who did the same thing last fall...what's with these girls!?  Actually, it's ReignBeau's Bird of a Feather, SC

This is a picture of Birdie from last year. She has longer ears now & looks more like an adult now. But my current pics of her aren't very good.

What we did this weekend:

Ellie ate up the dogs & myself & we went to a dog show! Yipee, a trip out! Finally! Our first trip out camping since the damages in November. 4.5 months later. Sure felt good to be out. And although Ellie ate us, she let us escape.  Sometimes. But then she'd eat us back up again. In fact, we're back in her right now! I digress.

This is also my first trip out as an exhibitor (hey, not that kind of exhibitor!) since my surgery four months ago! It felt so good to be back out in the ring again with a dog! I only showed Birdie in the Bred By Exhibitor class. First day, she won 3rd place out of 3 in her class. Oh well, that day didn't go so well. She did not show very well & actually deserved that placement.

Next day was way better! She won BEST OF BREED!! Yay! So that gave her another necessary major towards her championship, so she has what she needs major wise now. I think I'll hold off on showing her now till I get up east & show her some there at their great outdoor shows.

She beat 4 Champions for that win, including the Best Of Breed Westminster Saluki winner in this years Westminster event. I'm very proud of her! Ellie ate her back up.

I wish I had some ring pictures to share of us in the ring or any dogs in the ring. I did not take my camera inside, so I don't have any pics to share. But I do have pics to share of RV's & such out in the parking lot.

Where we parked, it was in the 2nd parking lot in the back 40's. I always park back there. It's much more private & quiet. I don't like parking really close to the other rigs in the first parking lot. It's crowded  & fumy. Too many generators running in a close vacinity. I like it when I can park where I still get the camping experience for myself & my dogs. So I park near the grass so we can take a lot of walks in the grass & exercise.

Here are some of the other rigs in the parking lot. Most of our shows here are total boondocking, so generators are a must. Especially in Texas. It was warm enough to run the gennys & a/c's here.

**click on each photo for larger images**

You will see rigs of every type at a dog show. The travel trailer belongs to a friend that is a professional handler. She lives in her TT fulltime & travels everywhere each weekend for shows.

I think the dog logo in this van is an Irish Setter. Not positive, but it looks enough like one to be one.

I used my zoom on my camera to catch these cute little Lhasa Apsos at play.

So there's your outdoor tour of RVing at a dog show!

Hope everyone enjoyed it.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Shock-ing news & a picture of me!

Hi, hope all is well with everyone.

So today, I took Ellie to town...or rather she took me. There's no way I can carry a motorhome to town, not even a small one. Nope. No way. No matter how shocking the image might be.

Beautiful entry to Rosenberg, where it states on the sign:

Something like shop in Rosenberg first

Alrighty then. I say buy Rosenberg some flowers & make that welcome a bit more purdy. And more welcoming. I digress.

First we went to Bluebonnet RV repair to get their opinion on a few things. I was hoping I could order new glazing bead for my windows. He came out, we discussed it. He thinks if I remove the old glazing bead (Only on the moving parts of the two leaking windows), soak it in water to give it a good cleaning, the glazing bead that is (can't soak moving parts, because they keep moving I guess). And clean the window channels really well, then they'll probably be ok. Debris works it's way into there & he thinks that's the problem. So I'll give that a try next week. I tore off the white tape I had over the windows to finally let some fresh air breeze through them.
Ahhhh, mucho nicer.

Shocked yet?

No?

Me neither.

Want the shock-ing news yet?

So OK, here it is:

Then we went across the street to Tucker's Tire Shop to discuss getting new Shocks! Yes, that's the Shock-ing news!

So here's Ellie awaiting on her new shocks. She was a little afraid when I told her she was getting a new shock treatment though...but hey, at least she didn't try to run & jump on that tow truck passing behind her!

We show up at Bluebonnet around 11am. Tim, the owner had just left for lunch. I say that's ok, I'll go across the street & talk to Bo at Tuckers for new shocks. Good then. I go across the street, discuss what I need with Tuckers, they say they can work me in at 2. So I agree to come back. I go back across the street (we're well traveled huh?), & sit & wait for Tim to return at Bluebonnet. He returns after an hour's wait. Good thing I have an RV to wait in huh? We discuss things, then I go back across the street to Tuckers. I wait. And wait. And wait. And wait...well, it's around 12:30 now. I think, where can I go? Um. Nowhere. So I wait. Had the door & windows open, cool breezes are flowing through, so at least the dogs were comfy. I should have taken my laptop out, but nooo, why should I make myself comfortable! I'll read mail on my phone. But I can't read blogger on my phone. So oh well. They finally come around at 2:25 for me to pull Ellie into a bay. They start to take tires off, they order the shocks, they come in within 15 mins. I thought that was pretty cool. So I'm thinking, OK, I'll be out of here in about an hour...or...2. Or.....2.5   So yes, it was a looooong day.

Then I spy a tire. Woah, now that's a REAL tire! Oh yes, a tire all other RV's would envy!! I want one. No,  one won't do. I need 6! Because who ever heard of a motorhome rolling on one tire?? Then reality smacks me back to my senses. So no new tires. I got new tires on Dec 2010. Besides, I'm paying for new shocks. Not tires. So ok, I'm back, I think I kinda left here for a min too ;-)

But wow, whatta tire!

Now just imagine Ellie in those shoes!

And well, while I'm waiting, waiting, waiting...this again is before they took me in. I spyed myself! Oh what fun!! Oh, it's really fun! Oh wow!

So, I take out my phone to shoot a picture.

Drats.

Card full.

So I delete pictures so I can take a pic of myownself.

Ready?

Really?

Well,

OK

Then. 

Here

I

Am.

Now aren't I just what you imagined me to be??!! :-*

Oh & the drive home was much, much more pleasant!! A much smooooother ride, so it was worth the cost & time! Actually, the cost was really good. I could not believe that they only charged me a $60 installation fee! Wow! If you are ever near Rosenberg, Texas & need new tires or tire related items/service. Check them out. They also service all the city trucks & such. Including the fire trucks. Down to earth type of folks. They were also the ones that put on my new tires in 12/10 & the tire extensions last spring. Best thing I ever had put on my RV. It's so nice to fill my own tires when needed!  

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

(& avoid crazy people)

Cross those fingers!

Hope all is good with everyone here.

I took Ellie back to the RV place yesterday...um..the leaking window. Um..they FORGOT to caulk around it!! I've been doing some reading up on caulking windows. Seems it's a controversy within the RV industry. Some say, no need to once the window is set in with the rubber butyl tape. Some say, yes do it for extra insurance. Some say it's pointless. But I'm on the fence for extra insurance. I asked the RV guy about that yesterday & he apologized for not caulking. I told him I did the coach lights as they weren't done either. Then I asked him about the rubber butyl. He believes that it's good for keeping moisture from entering screw holes & such, but it's not 100% effective to keeping moisture from entering around window frames. Had I known that the problem was just caulking, I would have done that myself instead of driving back into Houston & wasting 1/4 tank of gas. I did find a station on the way home that was selling gas at $3.52 per gallon, so I topped my tank off. Otherwise, it's $3.79 everywhere else around here. I'll be boondocking at a dog show this weekend in the RV (hope it doesn't leak), so needed to have a full tank to use the generator.

Oh & Sunday, I turned on my water heater. I don't use it often here since I use the shower in my friends house. But to keep it maintained, I turn it on from time to time. It would come on, then click off. I tried that a few times through the day with the same results. So I wondered if there was a propane cut off switch on it somewhere. But it was raining, so I could not go out to inspect. When I got to the RV place, I asked them about it. The darn thing worked right off! I said, it's like taking a sick dog to the vet. You get there & the dog is fine! He laughed. But I did have the gas turned off when I took the RV in for the rebuild. I had trouble getting the stove light at first when I turned the gas back on, but it finally came on once the gas made it through the lines. So I guess since I turned off the gas, then turned it back on, the gas just wasn't getting through the line on Sunday. I also flipped my fridge to propane before I left for the RV shop, so maybe that helped feed the gas through the lines more too?

I'm really tired today. After the stresses of the overhead, then the new leak, moving stuff out, moving stuff back in (which I've yet to find the time to put it away), stuffing stuff in my tub & bathroom so I could drive the RV, etc, I'm just plum worn out today. I still need to get Ellie in for new shocks & tire rotation, possibly an alignment too. Was going to do that today, but I'm beat. So will get to it tomorrow to find who can do it & what kind of prices I can get. I don't know what to expect cost wise. I have a general idea, I think.

Another thing for Ellie is an oil change & tune up. I might go back down to the bay for those jobs. There's a mechanic there that has worked on her before & he's done a good job at reasonable rates. Last time I asked him about a tune up, his quote was $250. That was a couple of years ago, so he might be higher now. BUT I got a quote recently from another source that is around $800! Um, I don't think sooo..

And I want to take the RV to the RV place across the road from the tire place to discuss my other windows that need attention. I have two windows that leak & I think they need new glazing bead on them. So want to discuss it with them for their opinion. Right now, I have white duct tape over them. My RV is a constant work of maintenance!
Oh & I also want to discuss the looks of my fiberglass with the RV place in town just to get his opinion of the work done. Feltons said they will fix it, but I have to drop it off & let them keep it overnight to let it set. Which is fine so long as it gets fixed right this time. So far, they've stood by their work & they tell me to come back, no matter how long after the work is done because they stand by their work. Course, that would not help me when I'm on the road or up in Pa, so it needs to be done correctly now. And the caulk situation should never have happened. It cost me a weekend of stress & sleeping on the sofa. Two of those nights, I was so upset that I didn't even make the sofa into a bed. I can't let myself get that way again. And if you've ever tried to sleep on an RV sofa in sofa position, well, it's not easy. Not much room to sprawl out in!

It's muggy today. Muggy & balmy. & sticky.

If I get all done & all goes well medically, I plan on leaving in about 20 days - yikes! I gots work to do!

Zeus's dog show crate. ;-)

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Drowning in drips - waaaahhhh

Hi everyone, yes, it's me again. Boohooing again! This has got to STOP! Maybe that's it. Maybe I need to paint a stop sign on the overhead cab? Hmmm...it's a thought!
I hope all is well with everyone here.


So yesterday, the rains came. And came. And came. And I thought I'd take a look at my overhead bed area. Uh oh. Not good! Oh Blast it anyhow! (actually, I said much stronger words)

Oh No! Water is dripping on my bed! Yep, from the upper part of the overhead cab front window. Waaaahhhh!! So I jump to work. Again. Dammit.

Half soaked body pillow.

Containers collecting the drips...drips...drips...

Fortunately, the body pillow took the brunt of the leak before I discovered it. All things could have been way worse! Not that any of this is good. I'm so upset! Another night spent on the RV couch. This time I did not even inflate the air bed. Ironically, earlier that day, I wondered if I should take the airbed out of the RV or just keep it in here. After all, did I really need it anymore? Well, yes. I guess I do.

:-(((

Body pillow went to the dryer. It's lucky for me that I'm where I have access to a washer & dryer.

All bedding was stripped off the bed (boohoo, again, boohoo). Folded & placed on my drivers & passenger seats. Cept the wet sheets, those went into the washer. Fortunately again, the pillow saved the comforter & the rest of the bedding from getting soaked too. (oh great, the news is on now & they say more storms on the way - NOT music to my ears!)

It was pouring down rain, I rolled up the memory foam pad (folded it actually) & moved it out of the way. Whew, it didn't get wet. Plus I keep a plastic zip bag over it since I tried to drown it once by forgetting to close my vent over it. oops. So after that, I bought a plastic cover for it. Much safer for it that way. I might forget to close the vent again someday. I like to open the vent at night & look up at the stars. Otherwise, I'd put a vent cover thing on it, but that would block any views, so I don't have one for that reason.

So I grabbed any plastic garbage bag I could find in the RV & put them to use. Then used plastic food containers to grab the drips that were coming off of the window's upper ledge. What a mess! I don't need this. I thought things were good & they told me they tested it. It didn't show any signs of leaks when I washed it, but then, I don't use a whole lot of water when I wash the rig either. No power washer hits my rig! Ever. (I think you might understand why huh?) I use a long pole auto brush to wash Ellie with, even behind her ears. Yes, they have ears. What do you think those things are on the sides of your motorhomes? Side mirrors? Nah, they are ears silly!

So anyhow, as time progresses & I get a break in the rains, I grab the tarps out of my van & put them to use. Today, had a nice long break in the rain & took the memory foam pad into the house & propped it up in one of the spare bedrooms of my friend's house. Then got to prep that area better. Monday morning, it's a call to the RV place. Bummer, and another night on the sofa.

Here's a couple of vids I did of the water leaks. One is a short video just to show what was happening. The other is a detailed documentation of the leak. I wanted to keep a very detailed documentation of it for future use if needed.

I was going to share what I had for dinner tonight, but I'll save that for a later post. This blog is getting long enough. But it was comfort food & yummy!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Get Waxed - I'm half free!

Hi Everyone, hope all is well with ya'll.

I'm HALF FREE!! Huh? Only half? Which half? Left or right? Top or bottom? What the heck do you mean? OK, so the podiatrist released me today. So that's one doc down, two more to go! Actually, although I still have pain, the initial nerve pain is now gone due to the Tarsal Tunnel Surgery. The rest will have to heal in time. I have ligament pain, therapy will continue on depending on approval. The next step involves 10 sessions of heavy duty therapy - if it's approved. If not, I'll get on with my life either way. I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to put all this behind me. But I swear, sometimes someone does NEED to stick me in a big dog crate & LOCK THE DOOR!!! Why? Because I tend to over do things. It doesn't matter if I can or can not do things. I'll still try.

So, what did I do this time? Yes, I spent Monday washing the RV & waxing the truck part. You'd think that's enough, right? Well no. Because I tend to keep a supply of RV items. In those items is not only RV wash, but there's RV wax for the fiberglass too. Yep, I got carried away & tried to WAX the entire RV yesterday! I waxed till it got dark...but at that point, I had worn out the applicator. So it quit on the job. I threw it away, leaving myself with no applicator. Oh well. It was dark by now, so the rest would not have turned out very well anyhow. But I got most of it done. Just have to do the very top part of the back where it curves & the bottom section of the passenger side. Then done. And really, it's not that bad because I waxed the RV sometime within the past 6 months.
Am I paying for it? Yep. Ouch. Yep. But mostly in the foot & hand & a little in the right shoulder. But all in all, not bad. The foot is already used to abuse. As is my body because I don't know when to quit!

The wax I use & the pathetic sick, disgusted applicator that was mad at me at this point.

Ohhhhh, shiny! Unfortunately, the ripple on the edge by the drivers door pretty much stays the way it is. So long as all is good underneath though, it's ok. Bugs me, but it's really ok under there.

One good thing about paying attention to your rig & doing the maintenace stuff is that you notice things that need to be done! Such as this clearance light. Well, all the orange clearance lights on the overhead area. None were caulked down after the rebuild! So I ran caulk along all of them to keep moisture out. As we know, moisture is not good & this is one of the area's that it finds it's way inside to search & destroy! I stopped the little demons - hopefully.

I called Felton's RV service & we talked about the issues of the overhead cab area. He asked me to call him back for an appointment to bring Ellie back over to him so we could discuss these issues. He did promise me if there were any problems, to please let him know when he did the work on it. I hope I won't be without her again like I was before. I've moved some of the dogs back inside & am trying to get my things settled & organized back inside as well. Well, most of the stuff is still laying about. Tomorrow thunderstorms & no appointments, so I hope to get those things put away tomorrow! I will feel much better when that's accomplished!

 Oh & last year, I replaced all the rear clearance lights. What an improvement that was, plus they all show the light up so much better at night. I've done upgrades to her as I've gone along. I admit that I get insulted when people drive in the driveway here & ask if I want to sell them my OLD CAMPER! Grrrrrr. They have no idea what I've put into this rig, nor how much I keep it maintained. They think they can just pick her up at the drop of a dime. Ain't gonna happen. She'll be in better shape than some of the newer ones I've toured over this past summer. In fact, she is in better shape than some of them!

Another funny thing was Felton's wanted to check all my systems to see if everything was in working order. I know it all works. I live in it! But I said, sure go ahead. They could only find one thing they wanted to change. They wanted to disconnect my detectors because they run off my battery continually & wanted to put a shut off switch on them. I said no, I want them on all the time. I live in her! Plus if I were to store her, I'd shut off the battery switch & disconnect the cable. It's pretty easy when you are only running off of one battery anyhow.

I was alone tonight. I was hungry, so needed to cook something. Last night, I bought breakfast stuff, so I made breakfast for dinner  - yum! I fried up some OreIda hash brown O'brien potatoes (frozen with veggies in them), then mixed in scrambled egg & cheddar cheese. And of course, had to top a little picante on top! Had that with 3 slices of turkey bacon. I love turkey bacon. It was quite a yummy dinner! And not terribly heavy. I do like cooking & doing things in my little house :-) 

Oh & another thing I need to do tomorrow is get my dogs brushed out. Bravo thinks he looks great this way though! I went out to get him & he had a halo, which was, well, the entire way around his head & wrapped nicely into his ears. When I got it off, he tried to take it back! Silly dog! He said he liked his neat headress! Maybe he's actually a child of the 60's, but those were't posies. They were stickers!

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

Coach lights, roof tops, wash & waxing - OH MY!

Hi ya'll, I've been veeeeeeeeeeeery busy the past several days! In fact, too busy. I hurt. But my labor os the love of my RV & keeping her maintained. Outside looks great now, inside is another story. I still have to take the time to organize & put stuff away. I was rushed into bringing my belongings back into her on Thurs & Friday & have not had the time to really organize anything. Stuff just got tossed in. Then the weather got good. Really good. The inside could wait. Outside, more important outside things had to be done! I was going to redo my roof on Saturday, but the weather was too cold & way too windy. Plus I was in too much pain from moving things back into the RV. So it was a day of pain meds & not doing a whole lot. But Sunday & Monday were busy, busy days. Regardless of pain, I HAD to get these things done. I don't have an expense account towards getting these kind of things done, I must do them myself. But really, I don't mind. I rather like working on Ellie & making her look good. (but now she looks better than me!)  After I taped the plastic on the roof to keep her from leaking before the overhead repairs, I had to take the tape off. In doing so, it also took part of the sealant that was down. But that really didn't matter as it was time to resurface the roof anyhow. So I got busy yesterday. Saturday, I did get out to Camping World to buy the Dicor roof surface stuff. For rubber roofs. Mine is a rubber roof. They must be maintained to provide a longer roof life & to prevent leaks.
So yesterday morning was spent on top of the roof, cleaning it with my car wash brush & rubber roof cleaner. The Dicor stuff is a 2 step process. However, the first step process is a heavy chemical peeling type of product that also helps to adhere the new surface. However, I have some lung issues & was afraid to use step one due to the chemicals in it. So I asked Camping World & they said so long as I used the other roof cleaner stuff I had, it would be ok. Whew, so I was relieved. I also renewed my CW membership as that saved me $10 on the Dicor. Memberships are $25. & it gives you discounts on their store products & you also get a free nights camping along with it. I only renew though when I need to buy supplies. So back to the roof. I cleaned it, then let it dry. Then I went up & put the first coat of rubber sealant on. You use a paint roller to do the deed. It's not a tough process, it's rather like painting. Maybe a little tedious, especially if you are a perfectionist like I am. But not a tough job. Probaby less tough if you are in top condition & don't mind little RV roof ladders!
Then you let the first coat dry, go up & apply a 2nd coat. This will ensure the roof from leaking & keeping in good condition. I'm glad I did it, it's done now for at least another year! And it looks GREAT! :-)

You can see the part where I resurfaced & where I still needed to do. I took the pic midway to show the difference.

Roof done with first coat.

Roof finished! Yay!

I did a video of the roof process too, but it's not been edited yet. I will put that on youtube & also share it on my blog once I get to it.

Another thing I did was replace a coach light that I broke last year. I broke it at a campground. I was trying to park the rig in a pitch black park. It was full of trees & posts. I took the light out with a post. I gave up & left that park & went to a Walmart for the night instead!

Replacing the coach lights is very easy. I replaced all the red coach lights on the rear of my RV last year. It all looks so much better & none leak anymore as they were also properly sealed down during the replacement. I also did a video of this too, but again, it's not edited yet either.

And what did I do today? Well, I washed the RV! It was filthy. It looks soooo much better. And I waxed the truck part, so now Ellie has a lovely shine to her! I'd love to wax the fiberglass again too, but that takes me 2 days & I'm just not up to that deed right now. I waxed her several months ago, so it does need done again. At least the truck part is waxed now though.

I still have tape over the window till I get the glazing bead ordered & replaced. That window leaks otherwise, not a good thing. And I love that bonnet over my front windows! It has sides that roll down to expose screens. It's a great bonnet. I can roll my windows down & get fresh air through the RV & still have the benefit of screens!

One more thing - note the screws laying at my front window ledge & if you look, you will see a bunch of wood debris under my windshield washer. All that was left from the over head rebuild. I can't believe that they left it like that! And to think I drove home with all those loose screws on the windshield! I had no idea. At least none of them ended up in one of my tires! Geez.  

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

More overhead issues

**First of all, my thoughts & prayers go out to those in the path of tornadoes right now. Such destruction & sad to see lives lost. It seems early for these to be appearing? Am I wrong on that? My heart goes out to everyone effected by this. I just wish they'd go away. Forever. **

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Overhead issues -- sigh

I got my RV back on 3-01-12  -- Thursday. Around 11ish am. I found a gas station in that area for around $3.49 a gallon, so I filled the RV up as I know gas is only going to continue to rise again for awhile. ouch, that hurt. Around $135 worth. Was approached by a homeless man that wanted money & a salesman that wanted money while I was pumping gas. I was glad to get out of that side of town!

I am happy with some of the work they did & not happy with something that I think will be a serious issue in the not too distant future.

Things I'm happy with: the overhead bed area is sound & solid. I no longer fear falling through! They also rebuild an interior wall, which I wasn't expecting, so that was nice. They resecured all the padding around the cockpit area where it sustained some water damage as well. A good thing. They asked me if I wanted to replace it, but I said no, it was fine the way it is & I would clean it up myself.

The magic eraser is up there with one of the best inventions. 

Ever!

And they replaced all the cosmetic plastic stripping all along the roof line, which I was not expecting as well. So that was a really nice perk! I was expecting to do that on my own..eventually. It was old, shrinking, seperating & some must have simply broke off & left the building with Elvis. So wow, they put up new stuff - that makes me happy.

I'll get into what the issue is at the end of this blog.

I also labeled my photos for personal tracking records.

The first thing I did when I got the RV back home was turned on the generator & ran it for a few hours. I really was only thinking I'd run it for an hour on a full load to give it exercise, but it was warm that day & I was able to use my a/c on in full blast mode with the genny running. I needed that as I was preparing the overhead bed area again.

I washed the bunk area & surrounding walls with Mr Clean. (he's my friend too, but he's like a bad husband. I still had to do the manual labor while he just sat around in a bucket of water -- some friends are like that y'know)

Then came the hard work. Restuffing the cushions with the foam inserts! It was more labor intensive than I realized it would be (& to think I thought at one point I thought I could maybe rebuild the overhead myself when now I consider stuffing cushions labor intensive?). When I took the foam out of the cushions to wash the cushions & save them from the overhead flooding, they were covered in plastic! Wow, what a great idea & that really did aid in helping to keep those cushions from being destroyed from the water damages. Whew! So I opted to buy more plastic & recover first. That huge foam mold was NOT easy to do! First of all, it was too windy outside to attempt doing it out there. Space inside of a 22' motor home is limiting. So I put it on the overhead bunk & did my best...or really, did what I had to as it was a balancing act. I managed to get the plastic all taped onto the foam, then by a miracle & gritting of teeth (anyone know of a good dentist?), I got the job done!

Plastico!

Gee, it says frustration free. I didn't see that till now. Perhaps I should put some in my pocket for good luck for future events?

Yes, the cushion has arms. Those arms are what caused me so much work trying to stuff into their sleeves on the covering! They have muscles. They fought me every micro inch along the way.

Plastic taped on in a sad way, but who cares at this point. Now to stuff into cover. Fortunately, those covers washed up nicely & dried in the sun very well. They still look like new :-)

Viola - doners!! Yay! (bad photo, but you get the idea - and look how nice that bunk area looks!)

Ahhh, bed sweet bed! Ahhh, bed sweet bed! Ahhh, bed sweet bed! I can say that 3 times! :-)

And amazingly, I followed each step & didn't make a booboo this time. Anyone that sleeps in the bunk area & has made their bed there knows what I mean. I put a sheet over the cushions. Then put up the memory foam bed on top of the cushions & put a fitted sheet over that, then my flat sheet, then the rest of the bedding. BUT sometimes you make the bed up alllll nice & comfy to notice you forgot to put a sheet somewhere! So this time, it went right. Oh & you only make your bed once a year because it's such a pia otherwise (OK, not really, you make it up twice a year - heehee) 

The curtains aren't hung yet. I am going to make new curtains instead. I still have the curtains that close off that area that I want to rewash before hanging. But all the window curtains will be new. I do not like the cleated curtains or the cleated strip they have to slide over. They did save those for me & asked me where the curtains were so they could assemble all that, but I said  not to worry, I'd take care of that. So I have the curtain strips that I think I'll dispose of, or give away if anyone needs them. I think I'll just go with rods & make new curtains that simply slide over the rods. No more cleats to break that way! I put the reflectix back up over the big window for privacy & a sun barrier.

Unfortunately, with all that work, I thought I'd sleep like a baby. No, that didn't not happen. I tossed & turned all night in a very sleepless night. I was disturbed. Why? I will show you.

What it looked like when I paid for it a week ago on 2-25-2011. Looks pretty good, right? (other than the clean up that I need to do to take off old duck poop along edging. Ok, duct tape debris.

Well here is what it looked like when I picked it up! Oh no. What happened?? Why is the laminate buckling & it is popped at the top section! I mentioned it to one of the guys there. His way of fixing it was to put another layer of caulk over it! Now we all know that this kind of fix it will NOT last long!! So, the owner was gone, I needed to bring Ellie home as I needed my house back. I was so upset that I could not sleep. At all. Just tossed & turned all night long in my new rebuild bunk area. Yesterday was a day of doc appointments & unfortunately, I needed to get the rest of my stuff out of my friends house. Then she decided to bomb the house & kennel for fleas. We're having a flea explosion right now. So that meant that I had to bathe my dogs & get them back into the RV! Which took me hours. But I'm glad to have them back out with me, all nice & clean again. But the RV looks like a mess bomb exploded inside of it now. I'm in too much pain today to do much about it. So I'm sitting here in one section that I cleared for sitting to blog in. I bought rubber roof stuff yesterday to reseal my roof too, but am in too much pain to do that today too. It can wait till tomorrow.

I let myself get way too upset when I picked the RV up in it's current condition. I decided that I will address it on Monday with a phone call & see if I could email him the photos of what I'm talking about. But for now, I just needed to mentally detox & get the RV back in shape. He told me that if there were any issues to give him a call, that they stand by their work. However, how this was missed by me on the 25th is beyond me!! It was there. Staring right out at me & I didn't see it that day!

Do you see the problem? :-(

So I hope they can make good on these problems. I don't know if I'll have to leave the RV or if I can show up & they can reseal it all down while I stay there. I hope the latter. It's a part of town that I don't want to go often too & it's in a part of town that is hell in traffic to get to for me. So I hope I can stay there while it's resealed back down. I hope it's not going to be a difficult fix. :-(((

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~