Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Appointments


Monday

The alarm woke me at 7am this morning.  Looks like it is raining a little.  I ate a bowl of oatmeal, got dressed and headed for the dentist.  I was in the chair by 8 and he finished rebuilding my tooth by 8:45. I was actually home shortly after 9.  Bonnie was up and had been working on her peaches.

Next we are heading to the optician to look at new glasses for me and then out to lunch.  Wow I have not had to get new glasses for a number of years.  They sure are expensive.  I will be checking out Walmart and Sams in the future.  We had a pretty good lunch at Charlie's in East Aurora and finally have arrived back home.  Now for a nap before court tonight.  This mornings rain did not amount to much.  But it will make the grass grow.

Busy night at court tonight I did not get home until 10pm.  The rain has cleared and it has cooled down should be a good night to sleep.

Tuesday

I had a tough night.  I ate when I got home last night and then ended up with an upset stomach most of the night.  Finally slept good from5:30 until after 9.  It was cloudy today so decided today is the day to wash the coach.  I texted Alexus and let her know I would pick her up around 11am.  So I headed to the Post Office and Bank and then over to pick up Alexus.  I also picked up the RV waterline anti-freeze that Elizabeth picked up for us last night at Valu Hardware $1.49 after rebate, limit 4

Get it while its on sale, you will need it soon
Once we got home I changed and then got the brushes ready and moved the coach where the hose would reach.  Then we got to work.  Bonnie washed the top half, I the bottom, and Alexus sprayed and rinsed it.

First wash and rinse

Then put a towel on the brush and dry
 Alexus and I switched jobs on the second side, she did a really good job.  This was part of how she earned some money for her week at Kingdom Bound.  She stuck with me until the very end.

See she is still smiling
 Alexus did the back wheels and I did the fronts.

Images may appear larger than actual
 Alexus requested pizza from Praller's for lunch so we ordered it and picked it up after we put the coach  back on its parking pad.

It was good pizza and did not last long.
Now I need to take out the trash and then head to court and maybe cut some grass a little latter, sure sounds like a busy day.

Finally home for the evening and so far no rain.  We still have to take Alexus home and it cooling off some outside.  We got the quote on putting A/C in the house, pretty high, so I think we will pass on that.

Wednesday

Bonnie woke me at 6:15am this morning, wow way to early for me.  I had my oatmeal and coffee and then we headed to pick up Elizabeth.  Guess who was not ready.  We had to wait 1/2 hour.  We finally headed for Buffalo City Mission.  We dropped Bonnie off at the Woman's Facility where she plays grandma to the babies in the day care.  We made it to the mission and Elizabeth made me a cup of coffee.  We checked receiving and no donuts had come in yet today.  Then we attended a bible study and then I started working on a database for volunteer speakers.  I went through all the information I could and verified how up to date it was.  In the end I designed a form, turned it into a merge document.  We weeded out the inactive speakers and printed out forms to get updated information as the speakers cycle through this next month.

The day went by quickly and we picked up Alexus from a friends house on the way home.  Finally home and Bonnie made a nice supper.  We were both tired but Bonnie had to go out again for a meeting.  Been a busy day but now its finally bed time

Lunch at the Mission was delicious stuffed Peppers, rice and green beans
Thats it for the start of the week.  Thanks For Checking In!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Maintenance Week


Thursday

Another beautiful morning.  Plus the President is in town this morning to speak at UB on education, then takes off on his bus tour of NY State.  Storms are in the forecast for later and I am hoping it gets cloudy for a few hours.  If so I will get up on the Coach roof and wash it down and seal it.  Hopefully this will stop the streaks from coming down the side.

It looks cloudy out and breezy, so we headed out to work on the Coach Roof.  Well the sun came out and it is very warm and humid.  But-----there were three packages outside the basement door.  The batteries for the tire sensors, the mirror controller for the coach and a cap, filter, nozzle, and a gauge.

this should last a couple years

Should install easily

For the Hydro- Hot boiler

Fuel filter for the boiler
 So plans changed.  I installed the mirror controller and start to finish it only took a few minutes.  The last one was getting wet, so I sealed the screw holes and tie wrapped this ones up where it should stay dry.  The mirrors all adjust again so we are good to go.

All done and up where it should stay dry.
While I did that Bonnie decided to wash the car.

Both cars are clean now bring on the rain
 Both of us were soaked with sweat, its very humid.  The sun is still out and the breeze has stopped so we decided to retreat to the house.  Tomorrow is another day and it is to be cooler.

Bonnie made me a sandwich and then I headed for church for practice with the worship team.  It went well but I was gone 4 hours so it was well after 10 when I got home.  I had a bowl of cereal and now am headed off to bed.  I have to be in Warsaw at 9:40am.

Friday

Today was maintenance on me.  We were up and headed for Warsaw early.  Bonnie to pick up RXs and I had my annual eye check up.

Waiting my turn
All was good but for the first time in years my RX changed a little. They did dilate my eyes and here many hours later my eyes are still dilated.

Still wide open 6 hours later
So of course its a bright sunny day so I am stuck inside.  I am still hoping to clean the roof later once the coach is in the shade.  Otherwise I am just taking it easy and organizing Evernote.

My electronic rodent repeller came in the mail and I plugged it into the basement bay of the coach, hope it works as advertised.



Its been a beautiful day outside and the coach is mostly in the shade now.  I changed clothes and headed out to clean the roof.  I put my stuff together and mixed up some Simple Green.  I got up on the roof with my rags and wax.  Bonnie stayed on the ground to wash out the rags and throw them back up.

All set for the climb

Ready to get started
The roof was pretty dirty but the dirt came off pretty easy.  Then I put on a coat of Mop and Glow wax to seal the gel coat.  Most of the sealing looks good around the vents etc.  It took a couple hours but its done.

Back on solid ground, tired and hungry 
I put every thing away and took a shower.  Bonnie put a pizza in the oven and it was a good one.
Next project is to wash the outside.

Saturday

I was within a minute of climbing in bed last night when the phone rang, it was work so I headed up to court.  Home after midnight and then did not sleep well.  Up this morning early as I have to head back up to court for an appointment.  It looks like another great day weather wise.

I spent a couple hours up at court.  Bonnie and the girls went to Lantz's and shopping in Warsaw.  I am ready for a nap.  Nap never happened.  Bonnie got home less than an hour later we left the house.  Into a movie with Elizabeth and Alexus.  They say Incredible Me 2 and I saw Jobs, the story of Apple and Steve Jobs.  I enjoyed my movie not sure they did.

Then we sought out a Chinese Buffet and we ended up at the China Walk buffet.  Lots of a variety and most of it was pretty good.  Of course we ate too much.  Finally home.  Need to relax a bit and then bed.

Sunday

We try to make Sunday a day of rest or a time to visit family.  Today was mostly a day of rest.
We headed for church early as I was working in the Audio/Visual booth today.  So we were a little over an hour early.  We added the last minute files and visuals and were all set.  The service went well and we were home around 1pm.  After lunch we watched a couple movies and Bonnie looked at the paper.  I did nap a little during the movie but not much.  This evening will be more of the same.

Thats about it for this week so I will get this posted.  Thanks For Checking In!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A visit from a Shipmate


Monday

Today is an exciting day.  Kim a former shipmate of mine on the USS Guadalcanal LPH-7 is coming to visit with his dog Raven.  They arrived in the area sometime yesterday and will be over to the house today.  Kim came aboard way back in the 70's to run communications tests using satellites which were brand new at the time.  After the testing he was able to stay onboard and we became good friends.  Kim was also in our wedding when Bonnie and I got married so this is his second visit to the area.

Kim

Raven
Well we had a great time today catching up on the last 30 years.  We both have led good lives and it was fun to reconnect and recall some of our time together in the Navy.  Raven was a delight and once Bonnie got home she sat with her the rest of the afternoon.  The day passed quickly and before I knew it I had to head to court.  Kim came along and observed for a while and Raven stayed with Bonnie.  I told Kim to feel free to leave when he got bored.  He hung on longer than I might have.  I had a long night at court and now its just after midnight so I am heading to bed.

Tuesday

I woke up to another beautiful day today, had my breakfast and finally got the checkbook to balance.  I gave up at midnight last night.  I ended up finding 2 double entries, I'm still learning iBank.  Bonnie got up and had her breakfast, she was looking forward to seeing Raven again.  Soon Kim and Raven came and Raven seemed very happy to come back and see us.  Kim and I took off to run a few errands and visit some of the area.  Bonnie was more than happy to have Raven stay with her.

Bonnie is happy to have Kim and Raven visit
Kim went with me to the bank and post office and then we headed for Java Village.  Back in June of 1971 was the last time Kim was in Java Village, he stood up with us at our wedding.  We went to see the church and we were lucky.  The church was open as a new stair lift was being installed.  Kim said he remembered the church and we reminisced  about the day.

Last stood here with me in a Tux June 12, 1971
We made a quick stop at court and then headed for Attica.  We drove by the prisons and talked about remembering the riots back in the late 70's.  Then we headed for the Prospector for lunch.  We both had Beef on Weck, Kim's first.  Kim was hoping to get to Columbus, Ohio today so we headed home with a quick stop at the site of the POW and CCC camps for a picture.

Raven was happy to see us and after saying our good-bys they headed out for Columbus.  We had a really good visit, Kim and I worked well together in the Navy and it was great to see him after all theses years.   I had a few calls to make and was able to get that done and then I caught up on some rest and TV.  Tomorrow is trash day and so I took that out.  Bonnie spent several hours looking for black berries and came back with about 3 cups.

Wednesday

We were up this morning and after breakfast we both headed out.  Bonnie had a Dr appointment, drop off movies for Elizabeth, and deposit a check.  I had work to do at court so I headed up there.  We both ended up getting home almost at the same time.  I had what I thought was a ham sandwich but it was canadian bacon, it was good never the less.  I dozed a little and then headed outside.  I needed to clean out the basement bays on the Coach and vacuum them to clean up the mouse droppings that we found along with a dead mouse over the weekend.  The Decon did its job.  I also wanted to find some roof deflappers for a camping buddy.

Found the deflappers to hold his awning tight.
As I was sending him a picture he called.  They are on the way to a wedding in their coach and the transmission on their towed car overheated and was smoking like a fire when they pulled in to a rest area.  Three state workers came running with fire extinguishers.  No fire just smoke and they are safe.  AAA picked up the car and took it to Ford, they were able to continue to the wedding.

I finished the clean up and ordered an electronic pest repeller so will give that a try in the bays, we have one up in the coach.  I repacked the bays.  The CR-V really needed washed, but it was hot and humid.  But got the hose out and washed the outside.

It looks so nice now
We have been seeing bees going into the stone wall outside the basement door and yesterday I could hear them buzzing.  They do not seem real aggressive but it was time to take care of them.  So I sprayed them and today I see a bunch of them dead on the pavers.  I did see one bee looking for his nest.

Hard to see dead bees
Late afternoon when I went back in the house.  Bonnie wanted me to cook pork steaks for supper and partially cook some ribs to go in the crock pot.  While the grill was heating I used my adapter to fill some small green propane cans from my bigger tank.  It worked pretty good.  I had to put the empty bottles in the freezer for a while first and they fill them as soon as I took them out.

The Pork Steaks were good
 Bonnies were not crispy enough for her so she took hers back out to cook more after the ribs came off the grill.

Ribs waiting their turn

More ribs for the grill
 I weighed the empty propane bottle and then again after it was filled.  I got almost the whole 16oz into the bottle so I guess the adapter works as advertised.  One more test and that is to use the bottles.

15.2 out of 16oz pretty good
Well thats about it for today, will watch a little TV tonight and then call it a night.

Thanks For Checking In!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Camping in Byron, Southwoods Campground


Thursday

We woke up to a beautiful day today.  We were in no hurry so took our time getting ready to leave today.  I headed out to put the sensors on the tires of the CR-V and then took the Ranger up to get our tubs of clothes and food.

Sensor with the install tool on it.
We loaded up the coach fired up the CAT and hooked up the car.  Bonnie watched the lights and noted that the backup lights were now worked.  All the lights checked out, but when I went to adjust the mirrors they would not move, now what.  I have a switch that lets me adjust either the large flat mirrors or the smaller convex mirrors.  The convex mirrors are adjusting no matter what position the switch is in.  Another to do list item.  Not a show stopped so we headed for Byron, NY and the Southwoods Campground.  The Rindo's beat us there and were busy setting up camp.

Carolyn setting out the carpet after Bob turned the rig around
Yep Bob turned his rig around so the power cord would reach.  A while later Art, Donna, and Jake pulled in next to us on the other side.

Here come the Hanson's

Hi Art

Say hello to Jake
While Art and Donna set up I sent an email to the Beaver online group about my mirror and Bob started to take his door apart.  We were going to try to adjust his latch on his entry door as they were having trouble opening it from the outside.  We took out lots of screws and opened things up

Safety first so the window could not fall out.
 We ended up not having to remove the window screws.

Lots of rods and cams
We tried one adjustment but that did not seem to work.  Then we found the right one and hurray that worked.  The door works good and Carolyn is happy, she can now get the door open.  Best news is we got it all back together and did not lose any screws.

We looked at my mirrors but did not spend much time on it.

Mirror problem may be down in this mess
We also found the problem with my windshield washer not working.  A hose is off but its way up where I can not reach but we have a couple ideas.  Again an item for the todo list.  Now we need to relax a little.

Still have to put the tools away.
We all decided to go out for dinner.  The Hanson's had a recommendation from some friends about a place in Churchville.  We headed over that way.

Stones Countryside
Stones turned out to be a great choice and we all had lots to choose from and it was very good.  I brought enough Tuna Casserole home for a hearty lunch.

Back at camp we sat out and talked for a while, Bonnie listened to a sermon and talked to Elizabeth.  As it got dark we decided to for go the fire for tonight and all headed for their units.  Bonnie went to read and I used the Dish Anywhere connection to connect to our Sling Adapter and found out who got voted off Big Brother.  Then updated the blog and now its about midnight and I am heading to bed also.  Its been a good day and we have another couple arriving tomorrow and another on Saturday.

Friday

I heard the guys talking outside this morning just after 8 so I figured I better get up.  Art and Donna were ready to start making waffles, Bob was up to help them get some supplies.

Bob headed in to change for breakfast.
Whats that on your waffle Art?
The waffles were great and afterward we decided we were going to head for the Alpaca farm to check out some socks for Bob to use in his waders when he trout fishes.

All the ladies
 This is a breeding farm so most of these females will have babies soon.  The lady gave us a nice tour and provided a lot of information.  She has a small store and lots of items in it made with Alpaca.  Bonnie saw some things she liked but did not buy.  Bob bought a pair of socks.

This one was a spitter when she got tired of your attention

Feeding them some apples

A little brush fire.
Just as we pulled into the farm we heard a big boom and it was lighting this fire.

After the farm we headed over to Churchville to visit Camping World and we all managed to find something to buy.  We got back and I headed into the coach and started working on the mirror problem.  I had gotten some messages and suggestions from online and also Velvac the people that made the mirrors.  I opened up the coach and finally found the module I believe is bad after checking the switch and power.  I made a few calls and Monaco wanted $260 for the module and it would take a couple weeks to get it.  I called Velvac and they had it in stock and it will ship Monday 80 some dollars plus shipping I think.

Lots of wires here under the switched

Popped the switch out and it checked good
I believe this module is bad
Dinner time came quickly and we had a great meal at the Byron Hotel, the fish fries were great and I brought home a box again.  Lunch is taken care of for tomorrow.  I put the coach back together when we got home.

Now its time to relax around the fire.  We talked around fire and had SMORES until around 10pm.  Time to catch up on blogs and get some sleep, after I do the dishes.

Saturday

I slept great  as I added a light blanket and it kept me just right.  I could hear voices outside getting breakfast ready so we got up and got ready.  I took out some blueberries and we added them to the pancakes.

The Blueberries are ready to flip
Breakfast was a big hit and the 8 of us had a good time around the table catching up.

Time for the cook to eat
Dick and Marge had not been to the Alpaca farm, Bob needed bigger socks and Bonnie decided to but some things so they all too took off for the farm.  I did our dishes and Caroline finished cleaning up.  Its going to be sunny and 80 today so I turned on the A/C and put up the inside sun screens on the big front window.  The farm group is back.

Bonnie's new outfit.
We kind of skipped lunch today and took it easy.  Marge brought out some chips and salsa and we all had a little of that it was really good.  The sun was bright and since we only are hooked up to 30amp power we could only run one A/C unit.  I kicked the circuit breaker once before I turned the hydro hot off electric and let it cycle on diesel power for a while.  The one A/C only cooled the coach down to 80 but the sun was hot and we sat around in the shade mostly.  Scott and Joni pulled in for the night, it was great to see them make it.   Caroline brought out some cheese and crackers and before we knew it Bob was heating the water for the corn.

Dinner was hot dogs, cole slaw, potato salad, beans, german potato salad, etc.  Of course there were several great desserts.  We always seem to eat good on these campout.

Trying to eat a light meal
Everyone enjoyed dinner
 After dinner Art started the fire and we all sat around and told our campfire stories.  I got a call from Don, a friend down in Virginia.  He was out camping also.  We have been trying to meet up somewhere and I was hoping it would be in a few weeks.  But they are coming to the Hershey are a few weeks after we are.  But it looks like we will be able to spend a few days with them in Virginia in November on our way to South.  Soon one by one every one drifted off to their units for the evening.

The right side

and the left
 Someone on the other side of the campground was launching these Chinese lanterns.  We were amazed how fast they go, there must be a breeze up above the trees.

Hard to get a good picture of them with the iPhone
 Well thats about it for tonight, tomorrow we head home.  I put the awnings in tonight before the dew got them all wet.

Sunday

Another cool night for sleeping and I slept good.  Breakfast was supposed to be light but it turned out to be very filling and most of us over ate.  Bonnie got up and baked some very good biscuits and they were a big hit and so was her quince jelly.  Marge fried eggs and ham.  The two made good sandwiches.  Plus we had sweet rolls and coffee cake and even cookies.

Ready for the oven
Bonnie is getting pretty good using the convection oven in the coach.

I went to change the batteries in the sensors on the car tires but they are all working today, so fill let them be.

We left the campground around 11:30 and were home in about an hour.  We emptied the coach of food and dirty clothes.  Very humid so I needed a shower and Bonnie washed the bedding.  Now we are heading over to Elizabeths for supper.  So I will go ahead and get this posted.

Thanks for Checking In!