0058 - Bor-ring

Yesterday I turned to the internet for entertainment. As bad as local television is during the week, it's exponentially worse on a Sunday. Ironically, this sleepy little ghost town started to hop a little on Sunday. I saw several golf carts driving around, and a few cars/minivans as well. But I digress... First I watched Back to Eden, a fascinating documentary about gardening. It's overtly religious, but I would say that even if you find that to be off-putting, the knowledge you can gain is well worth it. If a garden can become that effortless, it's exciting to me, and man-o-man did those veggies look scrumptious. I really can't wait to be able to start working in the dirt... that is one downside to this transient lifestyle.

Then I decided to see what was on cable. Enter HBO Go. Even if I can't use the satellite, I can watch HBO on my computer. So I watched What's Your Number. It was pretty funny but ultimately predictable. It helped alleviate my cabin fever somewhat, and it was by far the most entertaining thing I've seen in days.

For dinner I ripped off a Tookie's classic. I didn't have buns... but I pan fried some hamburger patties, melted some cheddar on top, smeared bean dip over the cheese, crushed some Fritos and smooshed them into the beans, then topped all that with salsa. Delicious. I was attempting to make smashed potatoes to go with it... you boil new potatoes then smash them and fry them in oil to crisp them up... but when I smashed them they just fell to pieces. So... I improvised. I cooked them in the hamburger grease (win-win... no having to find a way to get rid of the grease and no having to add more oil), added some bottled queso, and some chopped bacon, and voila... a concoction of some sort involving potatoes! ;-p That sort of helped empty the refrigerator out a bit... it's all part of the plan.

I also tried out another raw pudding. You soak raw cashews in water for six hours until they soften, then blend them up with other ingredients, and as strange as it sounds, it comes out almost mousse-like. I thought it needed more sugar, but Mike liked it the way it was. I guess it's healthy and good for you? Regardless, it's fun to experiment with something new every once in a while, and any time I get to use my BlendTec, it's fun, I'm always amazed at how creamy everything is when it comes out.

I've spent the better part of the past few days calling around to find a place to stay while we have our RV repaired... no dice. This place has RV parks out the wazoo... but several are closed until September. Of the open parks, a handful have rental units. Of the open parks with rental units... 99% of them only lease by the month, but usually require a six month stay. It astounds me. I only found one park with a rental unit we can use, but it is undergoing repairs and won't be available for a few days. I told her to let me know.

I also found a nice home on a lake for $550/week and it is available... but the price goes up during the summer to $750. The lady said she can call the owner and see if they'll let us have the $550 rate... but once you add $125 in cleaning fees, plus taxes, it's back to $750 again. That's a lot more than I wanted to pay. Looked for condos... nothing. Hotels are an option but most won't accept pets and honestly... I think I would lose my mind if I had to stay in a hotel room for a week.

Nothing is ever easy... so the repairs will have to wait a bit and we are staying put in the meantime. Except for the maintenance building, it's not a very exciting place this time of year... but the few people who are around are very nice. Today the siren went off at 10 am. Then it went off around noon, long and loud. Well... the weather is pretty crappy out there so I got a little worried. The lady at the front desk explained their system, it's the five short bursts followed by a pause that I need to be concerned about. I also told her when the weather clears I'll make my way to the office to pay for our additional nights. She told me it looks like I should stay put for a while and if I don't make it today we'll take care of it another time.

Trying to figure out dinner for tonight... I'm sure I can come up with something but it's going to take some thought. Just another challenge... no biggie.