Metro Bus meets freight truck

And I didn't think to take pics...go figure Although it wasn't as exciting as it may have sounded.

Had a doc appointment today.

A few feet on the road to the parking lot, a metro bus and freight truck sideswipped each other. BUT instead of moving metro bus so traffic could pass, they rudely - as in attitude -- made traffic back up and cut through parking lots.

You could bet if I had an accident there, they would make me move out of the way. I believe it's the law here that if a vehicle is moveable, that it has to be moved off to the side.

It did not appear that the bus had any passengers, fortunately.

Anyhow, made it through, did the doc appointment.

Scheduled 5 more sessions of therapy....the accident that will never end...ugh.

Left and went to the Dollar General Store. Got my items, am standing in line, a nervous, freaked out young man is sputtering things. I asked him if there was a problem.

He  said he saw a car chase that ended in the store's parking lot and saw guns being pulled. We did not see the cars he was talking about. He did not want to leave the store. I think perhaps he angered someone and they threatened him, so he ran into the store. The clerk did not seem concerned. I paid, observed and left. Did not notice any kind of action around.

Sure made for an interesting day though!

Tire Care And To Clarify

Hi, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day yesterday.

I was solo, but still wanted to follow tradition, so cooked a small turkey, stuffing, gravy, peas, a yam & cranberry sauce. I wanted to keep it relatively simple since I was to be alone. Once done, I really wasn't hungry anymore, so I just made a small plate for myself.

Cleaned the turkey off the bone, put all that in the fridge.

The bones are still in the slowcooker for the dogs. Once they get really soft & mash well, it's nutritious to pour a little bit over their food. So they will have a good Thanksgiving for the next few days too!

I had a leg for lunch today. Was going to make a sandwich, but that even seemed like cooking, so I grabbed a leg instead!
 

*****

 

OK, now to clarify. I was pretty down on my last post. I'm still grieving for Bravo & my father-in-law, so anything that isn't all that bad (as in it is totally fixable) seemed to be the end of everything in my head.

 

The overhead issues: They are covered by the place that did the rebuild. All I have to do is take the RV back to them & get insistent that they get it right this time & fix new issues that have arose from their work. There are no leaks. I did take the glazing bead off & can't get it back on. Which should not be my job anyhow as it's covered by them. So I taped plastic over the window for protection & will get the motorhome into them soon.

 

*****

 

The tires:

 

It's not as bad as it appeared the other day. I was stricken with grief. I was getting the RV road ready to go to the funeral, which was in Corpus Christi. 200 miles south. When I discovered that I had a flat tire & that the spare has a nail in it, that put me over the edge. I could not do the trip. It tore at my heart strings terribly that I could not be there for the family. In actuality, it may have been better that I could not make it because the drive would have been long & I was devastated. Driving under those conditions would not have been a good thing. I had two sick dogs that I feared leaving in anyone else's hands, so leaving them would only have added more stress to me.

 

I am human.

 

And I'm very emotional right now.

 

But I've gotten a grip & decided this morning that it's really probably not good for the RV to be sitting on one inflated & one deflated dually on the drivers side of the rig as they both need to support the weight of the rig.

 

So I grabbed my tire inflator & went to work.

 

I love this tire inflator. It's a 12 volt inflator, which means it plugs into the cig lighter. It is capable of airing my tires up as my tires PSI is 80 pounds. I keep them around 75 pounds each. It's a better quality inflator than the cheap types that you will find at retail outlets, but the cheap ones really won't hold out for RV usage. This one is a Bonaire model.

 

 

 

 

 

I have extensions on my dual tires. After a couple of years of frustration of trying to fill those tires without them, I finally gave in & got them! I was told they leak, they are awful, blah, blah, blah...well, I love them & I must be able to fill my tires on my own! You can see how tiny the holes on my wheels are. It's very hard to get your hands in there to find the tire stems, then try getting an inflator connection to that stem was yet another frustration! Even tire professionals had a difficult time with my tires.

My RV also didn't come with pretty hubcaps. However, I've never had a tire person complain about that!

 

Soooo, here was my problem...

 

You see the stem pin? Well it was loose & leaking! So it wasn't the tire after all, but the stem pin that was the issue.

 

The resolution:

A 4 way tool!! These are very inexpensive. It cost me under $5.00 at an auto part store. See the tip that I have standing? It fits over the stem pin & you just tighten that pin back down!!

Thanks to another fellow dog show RVer, in 2010 when in Kentucky for the Saluki Nationals, I was filling my tires. He noticed me doing so, so came over to see if I needed any help. Air came streaming out of that tire when I took the metal cap off the extension! He took off to see if he had his tool with him, which he didn't, but I had a pair of thin nosed pliers, so he kind of tightened it till I could get that tool. I got one & I gotta tell ya, it's magic!

 

So I'm happy to say that the tire itself is ok, it was the pin on the extension's stem that was just loose!

 

Whew.

 

And just like that day in Ky, I had a helper..I had helpers today too.

 

This guy came out to supervise:

 

This guy came over for moral support...or maybe to play with my stem caps in the possibility of losing them! Alas though, he didn't like the sound of the inflator & any running engine will get him running off in another direction -- which is a good thing.

 

So back to the inflator:

It has a nice functional accurate gauge on it. When using it, it's best to start the engine while it's plugged into your cig lighter as that keeps your engine battery strong. Plus since the RV sits so much, it also gives the engine a bit of a work out too. As you can see, the tire I was inflating was inflated to around 75 PSI.

 

Any woman can do this.

 

Really.

 

We need to be able to take care of ourselves, even if you travel with a partner, it's still a good idea to know how to do these things. For a solo RVer, this is a MUST in maintenance! You always want to be traveling on safely inflated tires.

 

Always.

 

 

I also keep my tires covered, so once done, I put the covers back on them. The covers are supposed to help protect the tires from sun damages. I used to use a tire spray on them as well that was supposed to help keep them somewhat moisturised & protect them from the sun as well. But I'm not sure it's a good idea as I've also read that it doesn't allow the rubber to breathe. It's one of those controversies I guess.

 

****

 

I'll get into my overhead cab issues in another post once the RV goes back for repairs. Again. Sigh.

But all in all, there are no leaks.

 

Still, it should have been done correctly in the first place...

The overhead cab with plastic sheeting taped to it. The window is still sealed down, but since the glazing bead is off, I don't want to take any chances.

Note the tape over the edge of the corner of the drivers side cab sidewall though...yep, one of the problem areas. It is becoming unglued!! So that will be addressed as well.

The passenger side of the overhead cab. Yep, it settled like they told me it would, although I didn't believe them at the time! I still don't like the crazy seam strip there, but at least the cab is functional & usable again. And no leaks!

 

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

 

 

Defeated

I feel defeated.

As ya'll know, it's not been a good past few weeks for me.

Now I have yet, another RV issue.

The glazing bead was popping off my overhead cab window!

OK, I can tackle this. Actually, I need to take it back to the repair place as some of their work is falling apart! Including the glazing bead on that window.

So since it was just barely hanging on anyhow, I got the ladder & pulled it off.  It was absolutely covered in caulk. Sticky gooey caulk. And rubber butyl gunk. So when they "thought" the window was leaking, they applied a bunch of caulk & rubber butyl around the window, then popped the glazing bead back on. Bad idea. Not good. All that caulk has caused the glazing bead to contract & dry up in parts. Not good. And this was fairly new stuff as I changed it out myself last year!

I cleaned it off as best as I could. Then I decided to pop it all back on. Nope. Ain't gonna happen.
The frame is also covered in caulk! So it won't pop back on. Then I was angry at myself for even taking it off, but it was about to pop off anyhow. I was angry at myself for tackling this again. Working on the overhead window is not easy. I have to borrow a ladder & the one I have to borrow is a fiberglass ladder. It's not a strong ladder, so concerns me every time I need to use it.

Plus there's the issue with my foot. I put a towel on my hood & step lightly on the hood in which to balance myself. I have to be extremely careful though as not to hurt myself.

So now the glazing bead is in a lump waiting for me to put it in a box. I cut plastic & taped it over window for temporary protection.

I am defeated.

She also has a flat tire. It's my spare tire. When the roadside service sent me a tire guy, they sent me one that only spoke spanish, so I could not converse with him. I could not tell him what I needed done. So he took off the tire, found a nail in it, put the spare on. He wanted to fix the tire, but since we could not communicate, I could not ask him about that. So now I have a flat spare tire on my drivers side dually & the spare has a nail in it...and it's hard to find someone with a jack big enough to change out the tires. I'm sunk.

I know I'll get past these things, but I sure wish life would just get good again & stop picking on me.
I also found a crack in my fiberglass on the overhead cab area. I think it's related to the rebuild.

I feel defeated.

I am defeated.

I give up.

Please, please tell me life does get better!!

I know it will. I'll get the tire addressed, then get the RV back to the repair place. At least no money will be coming out of my pocket, except for the gas to get there & back.

My world just looks rather black right now.

On the foot front, I'm pending again...and am not getting better. Never get hurt while working for the government...

Can't work & I have no income. Sorry, I'm mostly venting because I just have to let it out. All this is also part of the RV lifestyle...it's not always sugar & roses.

I did put a tab up for the RV as someone asked me to see it. So look for the tab on this page!

I will say one positive is that on the passenger side of the rebuilt overhead cab area is looking good now. It was all lumpy & they told me it would settle. I didn't believe them, but it has. The drivers side however has become unglued. Oh goodie says me sarcastically. I'm not sure, maybe they use Elmer's glue.

I hope all is well with everyone.

I'll be back

I'll be back in a few days.

I'm not quite myself right now.

Had 2 sick dogs, fortunately, they are better now.

Sadly, my father-in-law passed away early yesterday morning. This wasn't suddenly unexpected, but sad nonetheless.

May God rest your soul Manual Najera.
Husband to Ceila Najera, father to 4 children, grandfather to 5 grandchildren.

A good man, a good family man.

You are sorely missed.

Walk softly amongst the angels.

Sad Goodbyes...my buddy, Bravo

Specialty Best In Show - Champion Hajji-Reignbeau Int'l Reign, JC

"Bravo"

8-23-1999 ~ 11-03-2012

 

 

Bravo winning a coveted Award of Merit at the 2004 Saluki Club of America National Specialty

 

 

 

Bravo & Zeus taking a siesta

Bravo & Feather getting treats at the 2012 SCOA Nationals.

A very young Bravo standing by the Pampas Grass

 

 

Bravo, I miss you deeply. I love you dearly. I'll never, ever forget you.

 

Thank you for all the years of love & happiness.

 

Thank you for the smiles in your younger years of entertaining crowds with your antics of tail chasing.

 

Thank you for the pups that you have sired, letting your special temperament & qualities follow through .

 

Thank you for your kind, loving, gentle, yet exhuberant soul.

 

Thank you for sharing your life with me, although I feel it was too short. I wanted you to live forever...

My heart is sick.

 

As I've told you often, you are the best dog in the world.

 

~ I will always love you~

 

 

 

 

 

Nuturing Nature - another sunrise

Welcome to Joe & Betty! of Joe and Betty's Adventures. They have a 32' ClassA Rexall Aerbus, which satisfies their travel needs. I'm sure many of you already know of them. Glad to have ya'll join up with me. And it's great that ya'll take care of family like you do. I don't live near mine & I do miss them at times, but don't miss the winters where they live.

This is why I don't miss winters! Butterflies, flowers & nature. Course, there's nature in the winter, which holds it's own marvels as well. And of course, it's not winter yet, but there's snow out there in some parts of the country already, so to me, that's winter! Ha. And it's cold out there in somewhere else world. Not here. In fact, it's in the low 80's inside of my rig right now with the windows open & fan blowing. I don't mind, I like warm weather! But the 70's are nice & sleeping in the 60's at night are nice.

I love fresh air & have my windows open every chance I get when it's tolerable to do so.

And I should rename my blog because there's no adventures happening right now.

Well actually, my blog doesn't have adventures in it's title anyhow does it?

So there, it's just my little life in my little RV, parked in a big driveway, beside a big house that doesn't belong to me -- thank goodness. I love my little RV!

When I get time, I'll do a tab on it to show ya'll what it really looks like on the inside too.

But for now, I'm going to toss another sunrise - I'm seeing way too many of those lately! Not that that's a bad thing, but getting up o'dark 30 almost every morning is a drag...I'd rather get up at o'light 30!

So here's a sunrise that I shot on Oct 27th. Just got around to uploading it into the computer.

Too bad the camera can't really seem to see the blazing red sun! It's so pretty, but it just sees it as light instead.

And as I've been sitting here all day, taking the day off to catch up on emails & computer stuff, I've had my entry door open, with the screen door closed of course.

My eye keeps catching these cute little yellow fluttering butterflies, so I had to grab the camera & shoot them. I tried to catch them in flight as they swirl & dance around in the air, but they are too fast & I can't get them to flutter around slowly so I can focus on them!

I think the flowering plant that is attracting them is Virginia Creeper, but not positive about that.

Then this little guy dropped down onto the pavement & said, please shoot me too! So I did.

The bees were also hard at work today:

There's a black bee in the corner of a flower. He was camera shy...

 

So it was nice to have the day off from therapy. To relax in my RV & read mail. Work on photos, create things. However, the pay scale sucks ;-)

Well maybe not..the mental pay scale is nice. Monetary one, not so much.

 

Back to therapy again tomorrow. It will end some day, right???

 

I'm restless & need a road trip. That won't happen any time soon though as Bravo, my 13 year old Saluki can't be in the RV for now. His old body gets kinked up & he needs space around him. I won't leave him in anyone else's hands, so I need to be with him at this time in his life.

It's times like this that I wish I had a bigger RV, but he'd not be able to do the steps either. I have a ramp, but he will not use it. I will do what is best for him. I'll do anything for my boy...

 

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