Ah Sweet Brown, you are etched into my vocabulary and my psyche, and today you are especially relevant.
So there I was in the bathroom when I smelled something foul. You may think this is normal, but since I was doing my hair, it wasn't. It smelled sort of cabbage like at first so I leaned over to take a whiff of the toilet. Since the bowl doesn't hold water at the moment, it's entirely possible that sewer gasses can come up and cause an odor, but it didn't smell like methane. Then I heard a couple of pops in the living area so I stuck my head out and smelled burning electrical components. As I came down the stairs I saw dark grey smoke billowing from the large vent next to our refrigerator.
At this point I freaked out and everything seemed to happen at once.
My first thought was... is our RV on fire? Then I worried about where to put Gracie... could I get to the cage in time? The windows were already open because it was nice outside, so the smoke had somewhere to go, but the heater had come on and since the smoke was coming out of the vent I figured the two might be related. I shut that off and went out to open the storage compartments to see if I could see anything there. I couldn't see anything from the vent because of the smoke, and I couldn't remove the cover because I didn't have an allen wrench handy. There was smoke in the storage compartment, but I couldn't see the cause and the smoke seemed to have stopped.
I came back inside and shut the fuses off because the tv power indicator lights were flickering and going crazy... didn't notice that initially because I was more worried about a fire. Then I shut the breaker off at the pedestal. I called the mobile RV repair guy and scheduled him to come out and I called our dealer and asked for a copy of our extended warranty, which I had done a couple of days ago... apparently there are only two people qualified to email that to me and neither of them are available. I told them I couldn't wait any longer, my RV almost caught on fire and I needed at least the name of the warranty company. After I calmed down a little more, I called the office and asked them to come check their pedestal.
In the meantime, I tried to disconnect the plug from the back of our RV and it wouldn't come out. I came to the conclusion that the power surge melted the plastic enough to warp it and it was now stuck... half-in, half-out. Great.
The maintenance man said that there was power at the pedestal, so that wasn't the problem, it would have to be from the surge protector to the RV. Since he didn't check the voltage I can't say that's the case... The maintenance man tried to dislodge the plug from the back of the RV and couldn't get it out. The two guys staying next door came over and asked if we were having problems with our electricity because their power has been coming off and on for the last couple of days. They both tried to dislodge the plug... No dice. They did get it back into the receptacle and we turned the power back on... everything seemed to work, but I have kept the load low... just the television components, my computer and charging my phone. Except for the times when I have the washer going and I'm cooking, I don't usually keep a lot on the circuit.
The mobile repair guy came out. He looked behind the vent and said there's nothing back there that should smoke. The furnace looked fine. Then he said if it's been a while since the furnace has been on, it sometimes smokes a little. That's not the kind of smoke that was coming out, and we have been using it off and on since we got the RV back. So he said if the fuse panel started to smoke it could have been drawn into the vents. He checked that wiring and said it was fine, putting out 120 volts on both sides. He checked an outlet and it was fine. He checked the pedestal and it was fine. I was getting a little frustrated. Finally when I had him try to remove the plug, he said the same thing I thought... it melted the plug and we have to replace the receptacle and the cord. He said there is no way to predict a power surge, they happen sometimes, and our surge protector is probably what caused the power indicator lights to go all schizophrenic, because it was shutting the power down... probably saved our electronics.
In the meantime, everything should be safe to use. We turned the furnace on and it ran fine, no smoke. He said the receptacle should be covered by our warranty and he would also see about getting the toilet replaced. He thinks he might be able to get the parts by Monday or Tuesday.
I have lost all confidence in this fifth wheel. I'm afraid to leave it unattended at this point with anything running, because what if that had happened and I wasn't home? Losing our stuff would be bad enough, but to come home and find it burnt to the ground, knowing that Gracie was inside is a horrifying thought. I just don't know what to do anymore. At this point I've had all I can take. I know things can get worse, they can always get worse, but fucking hell... between the truck and this shithole I'm at my wit's end.
I feel stuck. My house is rented until June, so even if I wanted to go back - which I don't - I can't. We can't qualify for a loan, so we can't get out of this thing and into a house, and we are stuck paying $625/mo in storage fees in the meantime. There are some dumps out there that we could probably afford through owner finance, but that's just digging a hole deeper and delaying our ability to get into something we do want and I refuse to make another bad decision. My car is in Georgetown, the rest of our vehicles are still in Houston... truck is in the shop. Any time we start to make financial headway, we lose more ground than we gained. Every time we turn around it's bad news.
Hell, at this point, we can't even move onto our land and just keep the RV stationary because we can't afford to have it leveled again, we can't afford the concrete for our building, we can't afford to put the building up, we can't afford to insulate it, we can't afford to put end walls and doors on it, we can't build the inside out, we can't afford the utilities... we can't afford shit.
Stuck. And pissed. And tired of worrying about everything.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
105 - Good vibrations
Well, I'm pretty much boondocked. Since the weather is supposed to hit 32 or below tonight I am taking the advice from the forums and the fresh water tank has been filled. I didn't disconnect the sewer hose, but I did make sure that all standing water went down the drain. It's amazing how much water just sits in that hose and ferments... gross if you think about it. Water hose is disconnected, not sure it matters or not, but just in case. And the heating pad is keeping the LP tanks warm so they don't freeze up.
We had a mobile repair guy come out to check our propane tanks this morning. He didn't find a leak. He said that we have a 35k BTU heater and that, depending on how much we run it and how much we cook, we can drain both those tanks in 2-3 weeks. He also told us that when they get down to around 1/4 tank, we will start smelling LP because of the way the valves work. He told us that we should refill them before they hit empty because most filling stations don't purge the air, and we won't get a full tank if we take in an empty bottle. In addition, we learned that during the winter months, you should take the bug screens off the heater vent because it affects your efficiency and it could void your warranty since there is not supposed to be anything within 5 ft of the vent. Even though they're minimal, he said it affects the output. Add that to the list of things that are good to know...
He was a fountain of information. He also said that we need a new toilet. Our bowl doesn't hold water anymore, and when Lazydays 'fixed' it they probably just put vaseline around the gasket so that it would temporarily seal, but you can't order parts for those toilets so I need to find our extended warranty info and see about getting that fixed. He thinks he can order the toilet and have it installed before we leave.
It sucks that he came out and didn't really fix anything, but we have peace of mind and learned a lot so it was worth it. Having purchased our rig from Michigan and had it brought to us, we didn't get a walk-thru to teach us how to live in this thing. We've been doing it by feel, and it's worked okay for the most part... we could probably have done better. We've had some catastrophes, but we have avoided several too.
Mike is at the Augusta airport waiting for his flight to Pittsburgh. He was going to fly out of Atlanta... no one likes to fly out of Atlanta. When I started thinking about it I remembered that we were 73 miles from Atlanta, and 90 miles from Augusta, which has a much more pleasant airport, so he'll avoid all the hustle and bustle and foot traffic.
I'm here with the trailer. Our truck is in the shop so we couldn't pull the trailer with us, and I didn't want to leave it here to freeze with us gone, plus Gracie can't fly and I can't just leave her here either. I'll be here for ten days... it's good that I've been learning how to make things work and the tanks are filled.
There are very few good samaritans left in this world, so today I took a thank you note with some cash to the office for our tow truck driver. He saved us over $100 in cab fare, and a lot of headache, by bringing Mike home. At first we were going to give him a Walmart gift card, but then I figured, if we paid part of his rent, he most likely won't know it until we're gone and it will be a nice surprise for Christmas when bills typically run high. They (he, his pregnant wife and their toddler) live in an RV with no slideouts, probably not much room, guessing they don't have a lot of money. Right now, we don't either, so we couldn't do much... but we wanted to acknowledge his kindness.
After Mike gets back we're heading to MS to see family for Christmas. This year my generation is going to take care of preparing the food so that mom and grandma can relax. I can't do much in the way of gifts, but I can do that. In addition to the regular crew I'll get to see my Aunt Rose, and I think Brian is going to drive out as well. Laura is still in California and if I could devise a way to get her to MS I would, but I only have $150 in flight credits and the tickets were waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than that. So... I can't make that happen, but he'll be heading to CA in a couple of weeks to bring her home for good so it won't be too long a wait.
We had a mobile repair guy come out to check our propane tanks this morning. He didn't find a leak. He said that we have a 35k BTU heater and that, depending on how much we run it and how much we cook, we can drain both those tanks in 2-3 weeks. He also told us that when they get down to around 1/4 tank, we will start smelling LP because of the way the valves work. He told us that we should refill them before they hit empty because most filling stations don't purge the air, and we won't get a full tank if we take in an empty bottle. In addition, we learned that during the winter months, you should take the bug screens off the heater vent because it affects your efficiency and it could void your warranty since there is not supposed to be anything within 5 ft of the vent. Even though they're minimal, he said it affects the output. Add that to the list of things that are good to know...
He was a fountain of information. He also said that we need a new toilet. Our bowl doesn't hold water anymore, and when Lazydays 'fixed' it they probably just put vaseline around the gasket so that it would temporarily seal, but you can't order parts for those toilets so I need to find our extended warranty info and see about getting that fixed. He thinks he can order the toilet and have it installed before we leave.
It sucks that he came out and didn't really fix anything, but we have peace of mind and learned a lot so it was worth it. Having purchased our rig from Michigan and had it brought to us, we didn't get a walk-thru to teach us how to live in this thing. We've been doing it by feel, and it's worked okay for the most part... we could probably have done better. We've had some catastrophes, but we have avoided several too.
Mike is at the Augusta airport waiting for his flight to Pittsburgh. He was going to fly out of Atlanta... no one likes to fly out of Atlanta. When I started thinking about it I remembered that we were 73 miles from Atlanta, and 90 miles from Augusta, which has a much more pleasant airport, so he'll avoid all the hustle and bustle and foot traffic.
I'm here with the trailer. Our truck is in the shop so we couldn't pull the trailer with us, and I didn't want to leave it here to freeze with us gone, plus Gracie can't fly and I can't just leave her here either. I'll be here for ten days... it's good that I've been learning how to make things work and the tanks are filled.
There are very few good samaritans left in this world, so today I took a thank you note with some cash to the office for our tow truck driver. He saved us over $100 in cab fare, and a lot of headache, by bringing Mike home. At first we were going to give him a Walmart gift card, but then I figured, if we paid part of his rent, he most likely won't know it until we're gone and it will be a nice surprise for Christmas when bills typically run high. They (he, his pregnant wife and their toddler) live in an RV with no slideouts, probably not much room, guessing they don't have a lot of money. Right now, we don't either, so we couldn't do much... but we wanted to acknowledge his kindness.
After Mike gets back we're heading to MS to see family for Christmas. This year my generation is going to take care of preparing the food so that mom and grandma can relax. I can't do much in the way of gifts, but I can do that. In addition to the regular crew I'll get to see my Aunt Rose, and I think Brian is going to drive out as well. Laura is still in California and if I could devise a way to get her to MS I would, but I only have $150 in flight credits and the tickets were waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than that. So... I can't make that happen, but he'll be heading to CA in a couple of weeks to bring her home for good so it won't be too long a wait.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
104 - Things that make you go boom
This morning I woke up to the sound of gun fire. At first I thought it might be hunters in the woods behind the RV park, but after the initial shotgun blasts there followed the pop of a handgun, and the rat-a-tat of a machine gun... followed by more booms, pops and machine gun fire. Felt like I was next to a small war zone, an idea that the dark grey plume of smoke rising from the treeline did little to dissuade. Gracie went low to the ground and finally sought refuge under the kitchen table.
So I got up and went about my day... I have a routine... I make the bed... I open all the blinds and windows... I turn off the 'fire' in the fireplace... I turn the gravity feed off and switch back to city water... I empty the tanks... I do dishes... I tidy up... I have a soda. I would be incredibly easy to stalk. And then I fixed a loose blind which made me feel all cool and stuff.
The gun fire happened a couple more times throughout the day, so either there is a gun range nearby, or someone was having a good time in their backyard. Gracie almost lost it when it started up again and the wash cycle hit spin, which shakes the RV. She jumped behind the television after darting from spot to spot with no relief.
Instead of Hallmark Christmas movies I watched SyFy disaster movies all day. It seemed appropriate. Sometimes I just get in a SyFy mood. It's background noise while I do data entry or clean up my iTunes library... which is a neverending task. I am determined to organize it and clear up some hard drive space on my computer. I have a ton of duplicates, sometimes they're different versions of the same song, sometimes they're exactly the same. I have a few that are missing pieces of information like the genre or artist. There are Parton, Dolly and Dolly Parton's to fix. And eventually I need to re-rate them so I can make playlists.
Around 6 pm Mike asked if there was a problem with the truck, would Good Sam cover that, or did he need to call the Allstate Motor Club... that's never good. Apparently a belt slipped or something. Our a/c has been out for a few weeks now, which normally wouldn't be a problem this time of year if the weather was normal, it sometimes does suck with the temperatures being what they are, but we haven't had the time to troubleshoot. I guess that's all related. Anyway, he was trying to come home, and there was a lot of noise and then the power steering and brakes went out, which I imagine made driving extremely challenging. I already know that the warranty company is going to gyp us again and this time we probably won't be able to dispute it because 'technically' it's not an emergency repair. It's like we almost get ahead... and then we fall further behind. I told Mike by the time all this is done, we're going to have a new truck.
As (our) luck would have it, it's Saturday, and all the rental car agencies close early on a Saturday except for the airport locations... which were 73 miles from where he was. The Dodge dealership closed at 6 pm as well. There was a shuttle from the University of Georgia to the airport for $34, but then it would be a three hour trip to the airport and then home - in addition to the time he had to wait for a tow truck (90 mins). Cab fare was going to be around $100, or he could stay in a hotel and go to two of the rental car companies that would open at 11 am on Sunday. I really didn't know what to do. As it stood, he could ride in the tow truck and end up at the dealership... and then...? I called Good Sam's concierge service, which I thought was supposed to help me, but they were worthless. They could give me phone numbers that I could find on the internet. I should be thankful they paid for the tow (out of our membership fee).
So, all that said, I wasn't exactly expecting a diesel truck to pull up next to the trailer and sort of hover there. Sometimes people do drive by, but they typically don't stop like that. When my spidey senses go on alert I tend to make sure that the 9 is at hand. I sort of thought it might be one of Mike's co-workers bringing him home, but I didn't know. Then Mike was at the door and I could relax.
Maybe our luck isn't always bad. The tow truck driver happened to live at this park, so he brought Mike home and said when the truck is ready, he'll pick it up and tow it to the park if we want. Mike said he was a really nice guy. I'm thinking about cooking dinner for his family or something as a thank you, after all, he brought Mike home safely and saved us a lot of stress and money.
There is an Enterprise just down the road from the park. They don't open until Monday at 8 am, but they come to you, so anyway, that means Mike gets a day off... which truth be told, he could use. He hasn't really had one in weeks and he's lucky to get through a meal before he falls asleep. Being stuck here with no transportation sucks, but I do it every day and we have food so... we can watch movies, take a walk around the park, he can play video games and just... relax.
So I got up and went about my day... I have a routine... I make the bed... I open all the blinds and windows... I turn off the 'fire' in the fireplace... I turn the gravity feed off and switch back to city water... I empty the tanks... I do dishes... I tidy up... I have a soda. I would be incredibly easy to stalk. And then I fixed a loose blind which made me feel all cool and stuff.
The gun fire happened a couple more times throughout the day, so either there is a gun range nearby, or someone was having a good time in their backyard. Gracie almost lost it when it started up again and the wash cycle hit spin, which shakes the RV. She jumped behind the television after darting from spot to spot with no relief.
Instead of Hallmark Christmas movies I watched SyFy disaster movies all day. It seemed appropriate. Sometimes I just get in a SyFy mood. It's background noise while I do data entry or clean up my iTunes library... which is a neverending task. I am determined to organize it and clear up some hard drive space on my computer. I have a ton of duplicates, sometimes they're different versions of the same song, sometimes they're exactly the same. I have a few that are missing pieces of information like the genre or artist. There are Parton, Dolly and Dolly Parton's to fix. And eventually I need to re-rate them so I can make playlists.
Around 6 pm Mike asked if there was a problem with the truck, would Good Sam cover that, or did he need to call the Allstate Motor Club... that's never good. Apparently a belt slipped or something. Our a/c has been out for a few weeks now, which normally wouldn't be a problem this time of year if the weather was normal, it sometimes does suck with the temperatures being what they are, but we haven't had the time to troubleshoot. I guess that's all related. Anyway, he was trying to come home, and there was a lot of noise and then the power steering and brakes went out, which I imagine made driving extremely challenging. I already know that the warranty company is going to gyp us again and this time we probably won't be able to dispute it because 'technically' it's not an emergency repair. It's like we almost get ahead... and then we fall further behind. I told Mike by the time all this is done, we're going to have a new truck.
As (our) luck would have it, it's Saturday, and all the rental car agencies close early on a Saturday except for the airport locations... which were 73 miles from where he was. The Dodge dealership closed at 6 pm as well. There was a shuttle from the University of Georgia to the airport for $34, but then it would be a three hour trip to the airport and then home - in addition to the time he had to wait for a tow truck (90 mins). Cab fare was going to be around $100, or he could stay in a hotel and go to two of the rental car companies that would open at 11 am on Sunday. I really didn't know what to do. As it stood, he could ride in the tow truck and end up at the dealership... and then...? I called Good Sam's concierge service, which I thought was supposed to help me, but they were worthless. They could give me phone numbers that I could find on the internet. I should be thankful they paid for the tow (out of our membership fee).
So, all that said, I wasn't exactly expecting a diesel truck to pull up next to the trailer and sort of hover there. Sometimes people do drive by, but they typically don't stop like that. When my spidey senses go on alert I tend to make sure that the 9 is at hand. I sort of thought it might be one of Mike's co-workers bringing him home, but I didn't know. Then Mike was at the door and I could relax.
Maybe our luck isn't always bad. The tow truck driver happened to live at this park, so he brought Mike home and said when the truck is ready, he'll pick it up and tow it to the park if we want. Mike said he was a really nice guy. I'm thinking about cooking dinner for his family or something as a thank you, after all, he brought Mike home safely and saved us a lot of stress and money.
There is an Enterprise just down the road from the park. They don't open until Monday at 8 am, but they come to you, so anyway, that means Mike gets a day off... which truth be told, he could use. He hasn't really had one in weeks and he's lucky to get through a meal before he falls asleep. Being stuck here with no transportation sucks, but I do it every day and we have food so... we can watch movies, take a walk around the park, he can play video games and just... relax.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
103 - Different Strokes
I don't often post recipes, because typically I find them on the internet and there is no need to do anything more than post a link. In this case, it's something I've reconstructed on my own. Not that it was difficult. But still. :)
The picture doesn't do it justice. Nor will it inspire confidence when I tell you that I first tasted it at a cafeteria. Nonetheless, this salad is ad-dic-tive. They made it in limited quantities and you had to be competitive if you were going to get some. Sometimes I bought two containers at a time and hid one in the fridge for a rainy day. You probably think I'm kidding - I got some dirty looks and I didn't care. You snooze, you lose. It's that good. And it's healthy. And it's easy. I eat it for lunch, and Mike takes it to work as a snack to boost his energy during grueling twelve hour days at the job site.
Starport Cafe's Chicken Tabbouleh Salad
Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I have listed ingredient quantities, what you're really looking for is pretty much a 1:1 ratio of everything but the wheat. What I'm saying is, the wheat quantity is definitive, the rest is like your grandmother's cooking... a pinch of this, a handful of that... adjust as you see fit.
5 oz bulgur wheat
8 oz hot water, or enough to cover the wheat
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 tomato, diced
10 kalamata olives, seeded and chopped
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I use rotisserie chicken)
A handful or two of lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I used spring mix)
Feta, crumbled, to taste
Juice of two lemons
A few thin strips of lemon zest
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
Olive oil
Salt (I use Pink Himalayan Salt)
Put the bulgur wheat into a bowl and cover it with boiling water. I typically put water into a measuring cup and microwave it for 2-1/2 mins on high and that does the trick. This step makes it perfect for summertime when you don't want to turn on the stove, and it really speeds the process along. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, then rinse it under cool water and drain the water off. While the hot water is doing its thing... take each cucumber half and slice it lengthwise into thirds, then slice it crosswise into bite-sized pieces. Prep the tomato, olives, chicken, lettuce and feta. Make your vinaigrette: Combine the lemon juice, zest, garlic cloves and some salt, then add olive oil. I don't know how much, I generally add the same amounts of oil and lemon juice then taste to see how strong the lemon is. I like lemon so I use less oil, you may like it more diluted. That's okay. This is definitely not an exact science. Once the wheat has been 'cooked', rinsed, and drained, toss everything but the dressing into a bowl and mix it up. Admire how pretty it is. Add the dressing as you serve it so that the lettuce doesn't wilt. The salad stores in the fridge pretty well for three days - if it lasts that long.
This is an interesting RV park. It got mixed reviews and one person basically said it was a parking lot that had been converted into an RV park. Not true. There is no concrete here, just grass and gravel and trees. All RV parks technically look like a parking lot in some respects because there are RV's parked everywhere. Duh. I've seen some truly depressing parks on the side of the road... fields with no trees, just spots for a rig to park and hook up to the utilities. So I don't like when people leave misleading reviews because a review is the only way I have to judge a park without going there on my own. In my opinion, it's actually a nice place with trees and well laid out roads. I want to know if you can navigate the roads with a 39 ft fifth wheel. I want to know if the sites are relatively level. I want to know if the utilities work and if the place is 'clean'. Personally I am drawn to the trees and hills and rural look of a place like this. Some people are city folk and want concrete pads and fancy clubhouses with pools that a handful of people use and a playground for the kids.
There are several full-time residents around us, and they run the gamut: There is a bus with a rusted propane tank chained to a grill. There is a Class A that appears to be empty. There is another fifth wheel like ours. There is an old RV with three slideouts on one side of the RV. There is a semi. Then there are the eyesores... the guy who is selling his truck with fluorescent flames on it, which is parked in front of a grey metallic tarp has been made into a tent, which... houses a BMW. And the guy who lives in a 29-foot pull along with a blue tarp on top to, I assume, keep the rain out. He drives a very old maroon cadillac, the kind that has squared edges that existed before the bubble cars of today.
People live all kinds of ways.
I changed the propane tank out last night. We got up at 4 am to drive to this campground and arrived by 6 am. I probably slept for an hour last night so I was exhausted, but I didn't want to go to bed until everything was done. Mike leveled the RV and left for work and I did the rest, which is cool, I like the fact that I know how to. He usually handles the propane and the water heater though. It was cool outside and I had the windows open so I didn't realize the propane wasn't on until I attempted to cook dinner. Then it became a problem as I had already defrosted the chicken and chopped all my veggies.
Today I cleaned the bathroom and changed the bed linens. I did three loads of laundry. I terrified a kitten. I heard a meow and looked out the window to find a small ball of grey fur and white feet on my first step. Gracie was riveted to the spot, growling a bit. I said, "Well hello there," and the kitten's eyes got big and he scampered off into the woods. Poor little baby. I told Gracie how lucky she was that she had a family to love her and take care of her.
I think she might have become diabetic. She's been drinking a lot of water lately, but she wasn't peeing a lot so at first I wasn't concerned. When we packed up to move it had only been two days since I scooped the litterbox and there were a lot of pee chunks in it. Pee chunks, what a nice picture... it's clumping litter, that's what came to mind. Pee chunks. It upset me. I dealt with it once before and never wanted to go through that again. Last time it happened, I was in Ireland and my fire alarm went off for several hours after lightning struck my apartment building... between that, me being gone for a week, and the experience of the firemen tromping through my apartment, the stress caused my cat to become diabetic. This time I feel like it was the stress of us having been gone for three weeks and leaving her with Brian. She was fed, her litter was scooped, and she got water, but she was basically isolated because she just doesn't trust anyone and always hid under the bed when Brian came into the room. She had no way of knowing we were coming back, even though I told her we would.
This time I do have the time to manage it with insulin, but it would be difficult to keep it stocked and at the right temperature, and I'm not sure how much it costs. Losing Gracie is the last thing I need on top of everything we've been through lately. I decided that I'm going to find a way to make it work. According to some articles I found online, diabetes can be reversed, especially if found early. We feed her primarily dry food, but we also feed her canned food. I'm going to eliminate the dry food and only give her wet food, plus some raw meat before I cook our meals and see if it stops the process. Next step would be taking her to a vet and seeing it there are pills instead of shots, or a shelf-stable insulin.
The picture doesn't do it justice. Nor will it inspire confidence when I tell you that I first tasted it at a cafeteria. Nonetheless, this salad is ad-dic-tive. They made it in limited quantities and you had to be competitive if you were going to get some. Sometimes I bought two containers at a time and hid one in the fridge for a rainy day. You probably think I'm kidding - I got some dirty looks and I didn't care. You snooze, you lose. It's that good. And it's healthy. And it's easy. I eat it for lunch, and Mike takes it to work as a snack to boost his energy during grueling twelve hour days at the job site.
Starport Cafe's Chicken Tabbouleh Salad
Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I have listed ingredient quantities, what you're really looking for is pretty much a 1:1 ratio of everything but the wheat. What I'm saying is, the wheat quantity is definitive, the rest is like your grandmother's cooking... a pinch of this, a handful of that... adjust as you see fit.
5 oz bulgur wheat
8 oz hot water, or enough to cover the wheat
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 tomato, diced
10 kalamata olives, seeded and chopped
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I use rotisserie chicken)
A handful or two of lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I used spring mix)
Feta, crumbled, to taste
Juice of two lemons
A few thin strips of lemon zest
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
Olive oil
Salt (I use Pink Himalayan Salt)
Put the bulgur wheat into a bowl and cover it with boiling water. I typically put water into a measuring cup and microwave it for 2-1/2 mins on high and that does the trick. This step makes it perfect for summertime when you don't want to turn on the stove, and it really speeds the process along. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, then rinse it under cool water and drain the water off. While the hot water is doing its thing... take each cucumber half and slice it lengthwise into thirds, then slice it crosswise into bite-sized pieces. Prep the tomato, olives, chicken, lettuce and feta. Make your vinaigrette: Combine the lemon juice, zest, garlic cloves and some salt, then add olive oil. I don't know how much, I generally add the same amounts of oil and lemon juice then taste to see how strong the lemon is. I like lemon so I use less oil, you may like it more diluted. That's okay. This is definitely not an exact science. Once the wheat has been 'cooked', rinsed, and drained, toss everything but the dressing into a bowl and mix it up. Admire how pretty it is. Add the dressing as you serve it so that the lettuce doesn't wilt. The salad stores in the fridge pretty well for three days - if it lasts that long.
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This is an interesting RV park. It got mixed reviews and one person basically said it was a parking lot that had been converted into an RV park. Not true. There is no concrete here, just grass and gravel and trees. All RV parks technically look like a parking lot in some respects because there are RV's parked everywhere. Duh. I've seen some truly depressing parks on the side of the road... fields with no trees, just spots for a rig to park and hook up to the utilities. So I don't like when people leave misleading reviews because a review is the only way I have to judge a park without going there on my own. In my opinion, it's actually a nice place with trees and well laid out roads. I want to know if you can navigate the roads with a 39 ft fifth wheel. I want to know if the sites are relatively level. I want to know if the utilities work and if the place is 'clean'. Personally I am drawn to the trees and hills and rural look of a place like this. Some people are city folk and want concrete pads and fancy clubhouses with pools that a handful of people use and a playground for the kids.
There are several full-time residents around us, and they run the gamut: There is a bus with a rusted propane tank chained to a grill. There is a Class A that appears to be empty. There is another fifth wheel like ours. There is an old RV with three slideouts on one side of the RV. There is a semi. Then there are the eyesores... the guy who is selling his truck with fluorescent flames on it, which is parked in front of a grey metallic tarp has been made into a tent, which... houses a BMW. And the guy who lives in a 29-foot pull along with a blue tarp on top to, I assume, keep the rain out. He drives a very old maroon cadillac, the kind that has squared edges that existed before the bubble cars of today.
People live all kinds of ways.
I changed the propane tank out last night. We got up at 4 am to drive to this campground and arrived by 6 am. I probably slept for an hour last night so I was exhausted, but I didn't want to go to bed until everything was done. Mike leveled the RV and left for work and I did the rest, which is cool, I like the fact that I know how to. He usually handles the propane and the water heater though. It was cool outside and I had the windows open so I didn't realize the propane wasn't on until I attempted to cook dinner. Then it became a problem as I had already defrosted the chicken and chopped all my veggies.
Today I cleaned the bathroom and changed the bed linens. I did three loads of laundry. I terrified a kitten. I heard a meow and looked out the window to find a small ball of grey fur and white feet on my first step. Gracie was riveted to the spot, growling a bit. I said, "Well hello there," and the kitten's eyes got big and he scampered off into the woods. Poor little baby. I told Gracie how lucky she was that she had a family to love her and take care of her.
I think she might have become diabetic. She's been drinking a lot of water lately, but she wasn't peeing a lot so at first I wasn't concerned. When we packed up to move it had only been two days since I scooped the litterbox and there were a lot of pee chunks in it. Pee chunks, what a nice picture... it's clumping litter, that's what came to mind. Pee chunks. It upset me. I dealt with it once before and never wanted to go through that again. Last time it happened, I was in Ireland and my fire alarm went off for several hours after lightning struck my apartment building... between that, me being gone for a week, and the experience of the firemen tromping through my apartment, the stress caused my cat to become diabetic. This time I feel like it was the stress of us having been gone for three weeks and leaving her with Brian. She was fed, her litter was scooped, and she got water, but she was basically isolated because she just doesn't trust anyone and always hid under the bed when Brian came into the room. She had no way of knowing we were coming back, even though I told her we would.
This time I do have the time to manage it with insulin, but it would be difficult to keep it stocked and at the right temperature, and I'm not sure how much it costs. Losing Gracie is the last thing I need on top of everything we've been through lately. I decided that I'm going to find a way to make it work. According to some articles I found online, diabetes can be reversed, especially if found early. We feed her primarily dry food, but we also feed her canned food. I'm going to eliminate the dry food and only give her wet food, plus some raw meat before I cook our meals and see if it stops the process. Next step would be taking her to a vet and seeing it there are pills instead of shots, or a shelf-stable insulin.
Monday, December 3, 2012
102 - Ho Ho... Hum...
Another beautiful day in Georgia. Looking like it might rain before the day is out, but it's still nice out and I have the windows open to let the fresh air in. I always love it when I can open the windows.
Started reading a new book last night. Couldn't get into the new JK Rowling. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't in the mood for it... the tone is so different from Harry Potter and I haven't quite found the purpose of the story. It's very disjointed. Maeve Binchy and Pat Conroy do something similar... introduce a lot of characters, tell their stories and start weaving them together. It can be magical. There are just too many characters in this book to weave together, or at least not fast enough. And I don't really like most of the characters. So I'm back to old faithful, Anita Blake. Yea for vampires.
I'm in a relatively optimistic mood today. It's hard for me to wallow for long... not because I don't want to, but because I have to keep going and it's pointless to let life get me down. I guess I'm a fighter. And possibly an optimist. Who'da thunk it...? I have a husband that I am head over heels in love with, I'm able to see him almost every day, our bills are getting paid, and we have food in our bellies. I realize that while our life has been rough for the last several months, we have endured. Even through the hard times, we have it better than some.
Still upset about the house, but mom gave me a good suggestion and I'm having Hannah check into it. You never know.
We're pulling up stakes in the morning and moving to another campground that's closer to the sites Mike will be working on for the next few days. It's only a couple of hours from here so at least it's not another long drive. I'm having another mail shipment sent. It's hard to get mail sent when you aren't at a park for more than a couple of days at a time. Mail is like Christmas to me... it's something mysterious to open, and contact with the outside world. Plus we have a couple of checks coming our way and that really is a gift.
And I might get to hang out with a friend this weekend. She recently moved to the Atlanta area. We're both kind of homesick, not for Houston, but for people. It will be nice to get out of the house and hang out with someone from back home. :)
Started reading a new book last night. Couldn't get into the new JK Rowling. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't in the mood for it... the tone is so different from Harry Potter and I haven't quite found the purpose of the story. It's very disjointed. Maeve Binchy and Pat Conroy do something similar... introduce a lot of characters, tell their stories and start weaving them together. It can be magical. There are just too many characters in this book to weave together, or at least not fast enough. And I don't really like most of the characters. So I'm back to old faithful, Anita Blake. Yea for vampires.
I'm in a relatively optimistic mood today. It's hard for me to wallow for long... not because I don't want to, but because I have to keep going and it's pointless to let life get me down. I guess I'm a fighter. And possibly an optimist. Who'da thunk it...? I have a husband that I am head over heels in love with, I'm able to see him almost every day, our bills are getting paid, and we have food in our bellies. I realize that while our life has been rough for the last several months, we have endured. Even through the hard times, we have it better than some.
Still upset about the house, but mom gave me a good suggestion and I'm having Hannah check into it. You never know.
We're pulling up stakes in the morning and moving to another campground that's closer to the sites Mike will be working on for the next few days. It's only a couple of hours from here so at least it's not another long drive. I'm having another mail shipment sent. It's hard to get mail sent when you aren't at a park for more than a couple of days at a time. Mail is like Christmas to me... it's something mysterious to open, and contact with the outside world. Plus we have a couple of checks coming our way and that really is a gift.
And I might get to hang out with a friend this weekend. She recently moved to the Atlanta area. We're both kind of homesick, not for Houston, but for people. It will be nice to get out of the house and hang out with someone from back home. :)
Sunday, December 2, 2012
101 - Another lesson learned
So we are continuing to learn about our new home as we go. This week's lesson was ice. When it gets cold enough outside, water freezes... you might have heard rumors to that effect... whether that water is in a hose, in a pipe, or on the ground. As we awoke on Wednesday morning and attempted to flush the toilet, the water did not come swirling around the bowl as it usually does when the lever is depressed. We made due with water bottles, but it brought to light a problem that we'll need to learn to deal with during what's left of winter - frozen water, aka ice.
Forums are great informational repositories... thank goodness for forums. They can be confusing at times, and they are sometimes so full of opinions that you don't know what to believe, but in this case, the forums probably saved us from a catastrophe. Apparently, you should NOT allow the water to drip from the faucets during a freeze as you would in a house... which is exactly what we were about to do. I'm not sure how it happens, but they say it will leak and there was something about waking up to icicles inside your RV and having to rent a steamer to shampoo your carpets that we decided we would rather avoid. Instead, you fill your fresh water tank, disconnect the hoses (water and sewer if you've emptied the tanks recently) and stow them in the belly of the beast where it is warm and toasty. So instead of using city water, during a freeze, you use the gravity feed from the tank. It's little things like this that are really good to know. They really ought to have a school for people who buy RV's.
We still haven't identified and remedied our propane issue. Mike thinks it might be a leaky hose. Right now, the spare tank is still half full, but then it's been relatively warm for the last few nights and we primarily use our space heater... which makes it kind of stuffy in here sometimes to be honest... it's a beast. Anyway, there is a mobile repair guy in the area (so says the brochure that the camp gave us) and I am going to call him on Monday. It's not something we can ignore, and Mike doesn't have the free time to figure out what's happening. Mike doesn't have much free time at all really.
We went to the grocery store tonight. That's my big outing for the week. I was running low on supplies, and while Mike loves beans, I needed to replenish some pantry staples.
There is a town about a mile down the road that I could walk to if I got really desperate for something to do, but I doubt I will attempt it. Cute little town, reminds me of Georgetown in some respects, but more quaint. Mostly I stay home and find little projects to keep me busy. Yesterday I did four loads of laundry, sorted through most of the shred pile cutting out just the personal bits of information and throwing the rest into the trash... I probably got rid of five pounds of paper we've been lugging around, I cleaned the bathroom sink, and I finally cleared the area around the dining room table (or mostly did), and I made chili in the slow cooker. That kept me busy for most of the day. Now I'm caught up on laundry and all of the shredding has been taken care of so... I may have to relax tomorrow...
Maybe I'll walk around the park and take pics, although I'm not sure there's a lot to take pics of. It's a nice place, if you arrive during office hours, they escort you to your site - all pull-thrus. Our site has a concrete pad. They have a playground, two pools, a pond... some spots have a lot of trees, ours has young trees. The price reflects all that, so it's good that Mike's company is picking up the tab. It's probably less than a hotel, so it works out for both of us.
Since Stacy likes pictures, and since Stacy represents 12.5% of my total readership, I want to keep Stacy happy. :p As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it... trust me, the pictures make more sense when you can actually see them.
The sky has begun to fascinate me. I never really thought about how different it can look relative to your location. The sky changes everywhere we go, and I have to say - it does some pretty spectacular things in Georgia. Unlike the fluffy, Disney-like clouds of Florida, Georgian clouds cover great spans and have amazing depth to them. As a result, the sun paints some interesting murals as it starts to sink into the western sky.
This is not the sun. It's a bird. A cute little fat bird that runs amazingly quickly when there is a camera trained on it.
This one almost looked like a picture of the sun setting on the surface of the ocean. It was really neat.
This is at Pine Mountain, the RV park where we're staying. I love when the rays of the sun shine down like that.
This is the same sunset from another angle.
Same sunset, it bathed everything in gold.
This was Marval in Kentucky. I miss waking up to this view of the Illinois River. So peaceful.
If you get up early enough - and I actually did sometimes, you can see smoke rising from the water as the temperature starts to rise.
I don't know why, I just liked the contrast of the leaf and the cracked asphalt. This was on the way to the office, up a hill so steep it could easily have been in Scotland. Seems like I climbed it every day for one reason or another, but it's good, it gave me some much needed exercise.
This is how elves get their shoes... from squirrels eating pecans. Oh the carnage...
Happy Saturday night... I'm about to hit the hay.
Forums are great informational repositories... thank goodness for forums. They can be confusing at times, and they are sometimes so full of opinions that you don't know what to believe, but in this case, the forums probably saved us from a catastrophe. Apparently, you should NOT allow the water to drip from the faucets during a freeze as you would in a house... which is exactly what we were about to do. I'm not sure how it happens, but they say it will leak and there was something about waking up to icicles inside your RV and having to rent a steamer to shampoo your carpets that we decided we would rather avoid. Instead, you fill your fresh water tank, disconnect the hoses (water and sewer if you've emptied the tanks recently) and stow them in the belly of the beast where it is warm and toasty. So instead of using city water, during a freeze, you use the gravity feed from the tank. It's little things like this that are really good to know. They really ought to have a school for people who buy RV's.
We still haven't identified and remedied our propane issue. Mike thinks it might be a leaky hose. Right now, the spare tank is still half full, but then it's been relatively warm for the last few nights and we primarily use our space heater... which makes it kind of stuffy in here sometimes to be honest... it's a beast. Anyway, there is a mobile repair guy in the area (so says the brochure that the camp gave us) and I am going to call him on Monday. It's not something we can ignore, and Mike doesn't have the free time to figure out what's happening. Mike doesn't have much free time at all really.
We went to the grocery store tonight. That's my big outing for the week. I was running low on supplies, and while Mike loves beans, I needed to replenish some pantry staples.
There is a town about a mile down the road that I could walk to if I got really desperate for something to do, but I doubt I will attempt it. Cute little town, reminds me of Georgetown in some respects, but more quaint. Mostly I stay home and find little projects to keep me busy. Yesterday I did four loads of laundry, sorted through most of the shred pile cutting out just the personal bits of information and throwing the rest into the trash... I probably got rid of five pounds of paper we've been lugging around, I cleaned the bathroom sink, and I finally cleared the area around the dining room table (or mostly did), and I made chili in the slow cooker. That kept me busy for most of the day. Now I'm caught up on laundry and all of the shredding has been taken care of so... I may have to relax tomorrow...
Maybe I'll walk around the park and take pics, although I'm not sure there's a lot to take pics of. It's a nice place, if you arrive during office hours, they escort you to your site - all pull-thrus. Our site has a concrete pad. They have a playground, two pools, a pond... some spots have a lot of trees, ours has young trees. The price reflects all that, so it's good that Mike's company is picking up the tab. It's probably less than a hotel, so it works out for both of us.
Since Stacy likes pictures, and since Stacy represents 12.5% of my total readership, I want to keep Stacy happy. :p As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it... trust me, the pictures make more sense when you can actually see them.
The sky has begun to fascinate me. I never really thought about how different it can look relative to your location. The sky changes everywhere we go, and I have to say - it does some pretty spectacular things in Georgia. Unlike the fluffy, Disney-like clouds of Florida, Georgian clouds cover great spans and have amazing depth to them. As a result, the sun paints some interesting murals as it starts to sink into the western sky.
This was interesting. There was a spot in the sky that I thought was the sun behind a cloud, but then I saw that the sun was actually to the right of that spot. Every time I took a picture of that spot, it came out as a rainbow. It's harder to see in the other pics, but you can see a corona-like effect around the sun, and the spot I was seeing is to the left of the sun.
This is not the sun. It's a bird. A cute little fat bird that runs amazingly quickly when there is a camera trained on it.
Back to the sun...
This one almost looked like a picture of the sun setting on the surface of the ocean. It was really neat.
This is at Pine Mountain, the RV park where we're staying. I love when the rays of the sun shine down like that.
This is the same sunset from another angle.
Same sunset, it bathed everything in gold.
This was Marval in Kentucky. I miss waking up to this view of the Illinois River. So peaceful.
If you get up early enough - and I actually did sometimes, you can see smoke rising from the water as the temperature starts to rise.
I don't know why, I just liked the contrast of the leaf and the cracked asphalt. This was on the way to the office, up a hill so steep it could easily have been in Scotland. Seems like I climbed it every day for one reason or another, but it's good, it gave me some much needed exercise.
This is how elves get their shoes... from squirrels eating pecans. Oh the carnage...
This was not smoke on the water... It was a bit disconcerting to wake up to the smell of smoke and not know why. My first assumption is always that our RV is burning. It takes a second for my sleep-addled brain to put two and two together... they were just burning piles of leaves.
Happy Saturday night... I'm about to hit the hay.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
100 - La Push
We took Sunday to finish some maintenance items, and we even managed to relax a little and take some time for ourselves. I think I'm am coming down with another illness because when we got back from lunch I took a three hour nap while Mike rigged some reverse lights to help him see what's behind the truck in some of the remote areas he goes to for work.
On Monday we packed up and left for Kentucky. The original plan was to overnight in Memphis, but Mike wanted to push through to be at work on Tuesday morning, so he drove the whole way and we got here at 5 am. Gracie was starting to protest, she even got so desperate that she climbed into my lap a few times... she's not a lap kitty; she wants (and gets) attention but never that badly. Usually she is content to curl up on the console between us, and not putting her in the cage seemed to help her nerves so we're going to just do away with it... carry it with us should we need it for any reason, but not use it for trips.
I recovered some of my sleep and Mike went to work. When I woke up I hooked up the cable, put some things away, and realized my phone was in the truck. I went to the office to pay and get the wifi code, and no one was there. I went to the attendant's trailer, and no one was home. Lucky for everyone I was able to guess the code and therefore communicate with the outside world (i.e. Mike). Cable wasn't working because the receiver fell and all the cords came undone and I couldn't figure them out. I hate to say it, but spending all day in the RV by myself... that's all that keeps me sane. I do other things, I never just sit around and watch tv, but I need it going in the background. Unlike past workdays, this was a short one, so Mike came home at a normal time and we went to dinner and ran some errands. We have propane but haven't identified the leak, so it probably won't last long. And we have a support for the bottom step. Saw someone at another RV park with lumber under theirs and thought it was a good idea since the bottom step always feels weak; makes a huge difference.
This is an okay place. Not much within walking distance, but that's par for the course (which is funny, because this is a golf course). I'm ready to hunker down for a week or so, packing and unpacking everything a day or two apart gets a little old. At least we have a spare propane tank now so it's warmer in here. I need to go shopping but haven't put together a list, and I would rather wait until our next jaunt is out of the way. I'm not sure about the quality of food in the fridge when we're on the road and the power is off... that could be responsible for how I'm feeling.
On Monday we packed up and left for Kentucky. The original plan was to overnight in Memphis, but Mike wanted to push through to be at work on Tuesday morning, so he drove the whole way and we got here at 5 am. Gracie was starting to protest, she even got so desperate that she climbed into my lap a few times... she's not a lap kitty; she wants (and gets) attention but never that badly. Usually she is content to curl up on the console between us, and not putting her in the cage seemed to help her nerves so we're going to just do away with it... carry it with us should we need it for any reason, but not use it for trips.
I recovered some of my sleep and Mike went to work. When I woke up I hooked up the cable, put some things away, and realized my phone was in the truck. I went to the office to pay and get the wifi code, and no one was there. I went to the attendant's trailer, and no one was home. Lucky for everyone I was able to guess the code and therefore communicate with the outside world (i.e. Mike). Cable wasn't working because the receiver fell and all the cords came undone and I couldn't figure them out. I hate to say it, but spending all day in the RV by myself... that's all that keeps me sane. I do other things, I never just sit around and watch tv, but I need it going in the background. Unlike past workdays, this was a short one, so Mike came home at a normal time and we went to dinner and ran some errands. We have propane but haven't identified the leak, so it probably won't last long. And we have a support for the bottom step. Saw someone at another RV park with lumber under theirs and thought it was a good idea since the bottom step always feels weak; makes a huge difference.
This is an okay place. Not much within walking distance, but that's par for the course (which is funny, because this is a golf course). I'm ready to hunker down for a week or so, packing and unpacking everything a day or two apart gets a little old. At least we have a spare propane tank now so it's warmer in here. I need to go shopping but haven't put together a list, and I would rather wait until our next jaunt is out of the way. I'm not sure about the quality of food in the fridge when we're on the road and the power is off... that could be responsible for how I'm feeling.
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