A trip to the dump makes a girl happy

Only someone who is dreaming about heading off in a large RV someday can be excited by the possibility of a trip to the dump!  

Yup, that was me yesterday.

We had decided the trim boards around the  doors of the attached three car garage were too far gone to repair, and so tore them all off and replaced them.  This produced a couple of garbage cans of old wood and I decided to go to the dump rather than put them out for the garbage man. 

 I lined the bed of my van with a tarp, threw in the wood, and then happily began gathering other stuff from the garage that had seen better days.  In no time at all I had filled the van, and cleaned up this garage  as well.  The other garages are much fuller.

I also finished the job of unearthing the buried MG Midget that has been parked there since 1996!  I started that when I was getting ready for the flea market.

(The picture was taken before I finished uncovering it.)

We have decided to get new garage doors, so the MG will have to be moved soon anyway.

When we inflate the tires and move it outside,   I will clean it up and list it on E-Bay motors.

For now I  just put a word ad on Craig's list.

Getting the MG on the market  is one of my "This Summer Goals."

Anyway, I went to the dump this morning and was mildly surprised how much I was charged.  The van wasn't  full and the fee was $45.  

I'm going to have to be more consistent about filling my garbage cans! 

 And next time I go to the dump the van will be stuffed!

Daily countdown:

450 days, or 1 year, 2 months, 24 days to go.

A plumbers hint

Last week I mentioned we had a leak under the kitchen sink.  It was not actually "under" the sink, as in the cabinet below, in the kitchen.

 It was in the drain pipe, and the drips of water were showing up on the deck below.

 Craig did fix it, but it involved removing a piece of the tongue in grove ceiling and a section of the wood shell of a pillar that encloses the various pipes from above.

All will eventually be restored, but we want to make sure the leak IS fixed, and give the area a good chance to dry out before putting in new insulation.

So what's the hint?

  If you have a small leak and you don't know exactly where is is coming from, or if you think it is fixed and you want to be sure without standing there and watching it forever, put a piece of a brown grocery bag under it.  A drip will show easily.

In this case we were pretty sure the leak was at the top joint of the elbow, but there was also moisture on the straight down pipe.

Both have remained dry, so one of these days Craig will have to close it up again.

A plumber taught me this.

I  just thought it might be helpful if you needed to to track down an elusive leak in an RV or sticks and bricks.

Painting update:  I've been busy, but I have almost run out of places to paint.  There is still much to do, but repairs need to be made first.

Daily countdown:  (Corrected,  somehow it got all wrong)
        Go date is   Nov. 1, 2011

454 days, or 1 year, 2 months, 28 days to go.

I shouldn't look!

Every so often I go online and browse the Used RV sites looking at the listings for used Class A Diesel Motor Homes.  I think of it as an educational exercise to help me get an ides of what is out there and what the prices are like.  Most of the time I don't see anything that "speaks" to me.

But yesterday I saw one that I would love to see in person.  It is a 2008 Gulf Stream Crescendo 38'  with Floor plan  W/2 Slides (8356)

It has two things that are on my wish list:  A big TV that is not over the  cockpit, and it is less than 40'.  It has one big surprise feature that I would love to have:  A dishwasher!

Oh well,  we are not ready yet.  It is not time yet, if there is one, there will be others when the time is right!

I shouldn't look.  
    Of course I will,
        How else will I know what is out there!

It is OK to dream.

Daily countdown:

400 days, or 1 year, 2 months, 27 days to go.

Eyes to the Sky tonight, and can you hear them yet?

I don't know where most of you are, but it might be interesting to check out the sky tonight.  I remember seeing the Aurorae in Milwaukee Wisconsin, (under city light) in the late 50's when there were big solar flares reported.  Please let me know if you see anything, and where you are.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this X-ray photo of the Sun
early in the morning of Sunday, August 1st. The dark arc near the top right
edge of the image is a filament of plasma blasting off the surface - part of
the coronal mass ejection. The bright region is an unassociated solar flare.
(NASA)  Watch amazing video of the eruption below.

Early Sunday morning the sun woke from a relatively quiet period of activity and launched a solar flare carrying charged particles expected to strike the Earth tonight. The coronal mass ejection (CME) was one of possibly two that will light up the night sky in some places tonight and in the coming days.

What is being termed a “solar tsunami” – a wall of charged ion particles – is expected to trigger a geomagnetic storm visible in the northern latitudes. The aurorae, normally only visible at extreme northern latitudes, are expected to put on a show for areas as far south as the northern contiguous United States the nights of August 3rd and 4th.

"This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on August 4th," said astronomer Leon Golub of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). "It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time."

above is from the San Francisco Examiner web site

The second subject I'm curious about is crickets.  While your out looking for the Northern Lights, do you hear any crickets?  We were out on the deck last night and it was very, very quiet.  No crickets yet.

   We thought we should start to hear them soon, and wondered if the first audible cricket night was different around the country.  So, if and when you hear them, could you let me know?

I remember an old saying from my childhood said something like first frost comes six weeks after first cricket song.  That would put it sometime in October.  Just about right for Wisconsin.

Do you remember any weather sayings from your childhood?

Daily countdown:

401 days, or 1 year, 2 months, 28 days to go.

First Flea Market

So,  my first flea market experience wasn't all that bad.  It wasn't like the big grubby sales at the drive-in's that are held every weekend.

This was a once-a-year, one-day event, held in the parking lot of a nearby church.

There were  20 sellers beside a large sales area taken up by the church selling donations, food, and fund raising crafts from Africa.

Considering I didn't have any large ticket items, (my most expensive were one $10 item and a few $5 things.) $1, $2, $3, and $.25 or even $.10 were good price points.

Anyway, I sold almost everything I had and made a grand total of $145.  After the $25 space fee and a  hot dog, nachos, and a couple of drinks, my big profit was all of $115!

Considering the number of hours I spent getting everything ready, I wouldn't say it was worth it in terms of money.

  But it did get rid of a full van of stuff, and what's left will go to Goodwill tomorrow.

I have to say the weather was pleasant and the people were nice.  I was delighted to find the space next to mine was taken by a fellow artist from the mountains that I know, and another was across the way.   So I had enjoyable  company.

We pulled our chairs together and shared the shade of their umbrella in the afternoon.

I took plenty of change and had everything priced.

A few times someone offered less than my asking price, and I just said no.  It worked everytime.  They paid what I was asking. I think my prices were fair, if not on the low side.

I knew that nothing would go back into the house, so it was good.

I got the low-down on several other flea markets in the area and will probably do several next summer when I have more and better stuff to sell.

I learned that books and VCR taped movies do not sell very well.  I did not take any clothes and do not intend to in the future.

But I had three fancy hats and they all went quickly.

So that's the flea market report for the year.

I will get back to putting thing in the garage boxes when winter comes.

Maybe I can talk Craig into doing the same.



Daily countdown:
403 days, or 1 year, 2 months, 30 days to go.

Exercise Goal:
1000 miles on the treadmill, 
Total walked = 185 miles
Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles in National Parks!

Repair I'm proud of

My knee was OK this morning.

  It was only as bad as a twist you might feel when you step wrong on a big rock while taking a hike. Hurt at the time, but quick to recover.  I have arthritis in my knees and one ankle so I baby them a lot.

  Rest is often the only thing I need to do. Although I liked Judy's suggestion of an adult beverage over ice the best.  Alas, we are trying to abstain on weeknights.  The operative word is "trying."

I finished working on one spot that I have been fixing for a couple of weeks. It is a stringer on the overhang above the laundry room door.  (the boards that are painted white primer were both replaced.)

This spot of dry rot was about the size of a lemon after I had dug out all the bad wood.

Over several weeks, I climbed my eight foot ladder many times and worked in layers of plastic wood.

I painted around the bad area.  Eventually the hole was full and sanded.

This is how it looks now.  From this picture I see I have to get back up there one more time and touch up that little line of white primer. Seeing results like this make it worth it!







Later this afternoon I am going over to the church and unload the van, and set up my junk.  It will be easier than doing it tomorrow morning.

Daily countdown:

405 days, or 1 year, 3 months, 1 days to go.

Exercise Goal:
1000 miles on the treadmill,  Resting the knee today.

Total walked = 185 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles in National Parks!

Slow day

After almost a week of not having time to work on the house, I went out to paint today.  I got a little done, and then I twisted my knee and decided to quit for the day.  There is not much more I can do by myself.  Most of the remaining areas either require some fixes by Craig or are to hard for me to reach.  I have one more area that I know I can do alone and will tackle that next week.

I think I'll take a nap!

Daily countdown:

460 days, or 1 year, 3 months, 2 days to go.

Exercise Goal:
1000 miles on the treadmill,  2 miles yesterday

Total walked = 185 miles

Someday I will be hiking 1000 miles in National Parks!