The Gnawing Is Silenced

I drove 20 minutes to my friend's house to check on her cat and do my laundry and guess what? I forgot her key. Another 20 minutes and I was back at home getting the key, then 20 minutes more and I was at her house again. Whew. What a waste of time.

I brought my 2 dogs to her house because they love car rides and seldom get to go anywhere. They had fun exploring her yard. They especially liked her birdbath full of rainwater. I did a load of laundry and then decided to stick around and put it in the dryer because I was watching Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. I didn't see how it ended because my clothes were dry and the dogs were restless. It was kind of a weird movie anyway. It reminded me of Stargate SG1 since they already did the whole crystal skull/alien episode. I would have to agree with the many reviews that I read that said the old Indiana Jones movies were much better.

Yesterday I went looking for a live rat trap. Home Depot only had live mouse traps. I opted for a glue trap. I hate using them because if whatever gets caught on there isn't dead I want to rescue it. Anyway, the glue trap worked but I left it there just to make sure it was really dead. Eeewww. At least there won't be any more gnawing for a while. I need to plug the holes again. Last time I used steel wool which seemed to keep out the mice but obviously did not deter the rat.

Let's see, things to look forward to this week...rent money and going to look at houses on Friday or Saturday. My boss comes back in to town on Wednesday. I don't know if I consider that good or bad. Half of the people in our office are on vacation so I am hoping it will be a quiet week.

Will The Chores Ever End?

I only had 2 things planned for today, take a dog to meet some people and pick up some dog food donations. I ended up running around behind schedule all day and then ran out of daylight. The dog meeting went well. They adopted my wild child but there is a 3 day money back guarantee so I will hold my breath for 3 days. With her gone my house is so much calmer. The urgency to get the dog run fixed has gone away because the wire chewing dog can stay in the house since the playful dog is gone. Of course I should still work on it but I have a million other more urgent chores right now.

I still don't have water. Or I should say, I have water but I have not fixed the delivery system to my mobile home. I called the neighbors and they were nice enough to deliver 250 gallons for free! Then they said that they might be moving and I was sad because my next big project was going to be saving up for a well share with them. Bummer.

I started gathering my supplies to fix my pipe and found that my pipe glue was dried up. At least the primer was still good. I had a piece of pipe that I hadn't used on my shower project yet. So, I went to Home Depot to buy paint for my rental house and I grabbed some glue. I couldn't find any CPVC pipe so I skipped that because I was in a hurry. There were a lot of people staring at the shelves in the plumbing section and I over heard thing like "It hasn't been that cold here in 20 years" and "my parents' pipes never froze until now". Plumbing is certainly very popular right now. I looked over the flooring really quick and was overwhelmed by all the choices so I will try to go back tomorrow when I hopefully have more time.

My tenant told me she was ready for the final walk through so I rushed to my rental house and we exchanged final rent and deposit minus a few broken items. She paid me all of the back rent that she owed which is a very good thing because court costs are expensive and I needed that money for the floor. So, I have $4k to get the house back in to shape. I hope I can do it. I think I have gotten over the disappointment from knowing that with the $4k I could have been maybe $1,000 away from paying off the mortgage. Oh well. At least I have money for the house.

When I got home, the neighbor brought me water and I looked for the 2 pipe connectors that I need to fix my pipe. Wouldn't you know it? I don't have them so I am still without indoor water. Plus, to make things worse, my water tank that holds water for the RV has major problems.

There were 2 filters connected to the line from when it provided water for the mobile home bathroom. The bottom of the particle filter just broke off and the charcoal filter splintered. Then one of the funky non-working connectors that I added a long time ago, cracked and was emptying the water container drip by drip. I put a bucket under it but then remembered that I never glued one of the joints so I just unhooked it and pointed it up so that it wouldn't drain. Those are two more things that need to be fixed along with the plug for the RV. I didn't make it to the RV supply store.

Anyway, tomorrow I can take a long hot bath in my empty rental house and do laundry all day...except that I really should fix my pipes so that I have running water for the rest of the week, oh, and I am meeting my handyman tomorrow at the house and I should go to Home Depot again and pick out flooring colors and order carpet. Somehow I over-booked myself again. I need a clone or maybe two.

When It Rains It Pours

I sure wish it would rain. The water kind, not the bad stuff that keeps raining down on me. Today I came home to find my water tank draining. I guess I didn't get it completely shut when I attempted to thaw it yesterday morning. 150 gallons gone just like that.

I have 80 gallons left, 40 of those are usable, meaning they are above the outlet hole. The forecast say possible rain on Tuesday but I can't count on that. I think it's time to talk to the neighbor about a little water delivery. They offered once but I didn't need it then. I think I need it now. Sure I could make do by filling up gallon jugs at work (like I did today) but I would really like to get things functioning here again.

As for my other showering place, I turned on the pump in the RV and it just ran and ran. I went to look outside and saw a fountain of water coming from the back. The plug for the city water connection seems to be leaking badly. I hope I can just buy a replacement plug and it isn't the metal connector also. The metal looks corroded so it could be the problem. If that's the case I will need to call the RV repairman...the one that charges $70 to show up and doesn't take credit cards. Ok, how long can I put that repair off?

An Ounce Of Prevention

An ounce of prevention would have saved me from a big headache this morning. I knew it was going to freeze last night but I didn't check the forecast so I thought it was going to be 28 degrees or so. That usually doesn't make my pipe freeze. I threw a towel over the pipe just in case and filled some gallons of water in case it did freeze and I didn't have water in the morning.

Well, I didn't have water this morning so I fed and watered the dogs like usual and then went out to the RV. As I passed the water tank I noticed this...


That's a big crack. The wind had blown the towel off of half of the pipe and it was completely frozen and cracked for approximately 2 feet. I went in the RV and called my boss to tell him I would be late. Then I thought about what to do. It was 18 degrees outside and the RV was freezing cold too. I didn't want to do any plumbing in that weather and wasn't sure PVC glue would even work in the cold. Luckily I added a screw release component to the pipe and the crack stopped there. After that there is a shut-off valve. The valve was frozen but I thought that if I could get that closed then at least I wouldn't lose my precious water supply.

What did I do next? I took advantage of my good excuse and went back to bed. I was wearing 6 layers on top including a jacket plus 2 layers on the bottom and 2 pairs of socks plus there was a flannel sheet, down comforter and blanket on the bed. The space heater was going too. I was still freezing. I managed to get a little bit of sleep and then got up because I was still cold. I haven't turned on my RV furnace in 2 years but I was desperate so I turned it on and it worked! I was so happy but now I will need to get more propane on Saturday before the furnace uses it all and my propane fridge stops working.

So, after taking a nap and warming up the RV, I braved the cold again and hooked my blow dryer up to an extension cord and thawed the valve. After a few minutes it was shut so I got ready for work and worked a half of day. When I got to work I found out that 3 other coworkers had frozen or broken pipes too. Then I got on Facebook and saw that most of my Tucson friends had plumbing problems. People were asking me if I was going to hire a plumber and I said no, I did the plumbing so I can fix it. I don't even want to think about what a plumber would charge. It was a totally preventable problem. I just didn't expect it to get that cold. Other people suggested that I leave my water dripping but they don't know the strange set up that I have out here. Even if I caught the water in a bucket to re-use, the water pump would wake us all up every 3 minutes. It is very noisy. Next time I need to wrap the pipe well. It isn't that hard. It's only 3 feet of pipe.

Anyway, the water in the RV seems to be having problems too. I haven't figured out the problem yet. The cold water was working this morning but not the hot. This evening neither was working. I looked at the forecast and it will be 65 on Saturday. I'm going to have to do without a shower until then. I forgot to take my gallon jug to work today but I will bring them tomorrow. The main thing that I need is water for the dogs.

Oh and I cut 4 inches off of my hair. I have been running out of hot water at the end of my showers so I figured cutting my hair would make it faster to wash and rinse. Now that I don't have hot water for showers maybe I should shave my head...haha.

Wardrobe Change

It was FINALLY chilly this morning. Soon those pesky wasps will go away and this time I will plug the hole so that they don't nest in my RV again. Actually, I hope I don't have the RV next summer.

I slept without the air conditioner last night. Just the fan was on. One of the bad things about the window air conditioner is that the compressor was so loud it would wake me up when it switched on and off. Pretty soon I will have to get the heater out of the shed. I think I will put the heater, it is an electric oil filled radiator, on top of the counter so that the dogs don't mess with it. Last year I used a little ceramic heater and it didn't work very well. I was very cold. Since I spend more time in the mobile home now, the big heater will go in there and the little heater will go in the RV for now. Sure I could use the RV's propane furnace but I think electricity is cheaper. That reminds me, I am almost out of propane again. I need to go buy some this weekend. I don't want my fridge to die and melt my ice cream again.

I was looking for something to wear this morning but everything either needed to be ironed or was in the laundry basket because I didn't have time to do laundry last weekend. I ended up wearing a long sleeve shirt. It is still 86 outside but I don't care, it is Fall weather to me! I love when the seasons change and I get to wear clothes that I haven't worn in a while. It is like having new clothes again. This will keep me happy for a few months so that I won't feel the need to go clothes shopping. I don't spend that much on clothes anyway because I shop at thrift stores and Ross but I should wait. There will be plenty of time for shopping after the mortgage is gone. I can wait 5 months.

Errand Day

My dogs woke me up at 6am as usual and I tried to go back to sleep. At 9 the dogs were ready for a nap and I had given up on getting more sleep so I got up. I took both propane tanks to get filled. $48 later and my fridge is working again. I have got to make a final decision and sell my 5th wheel this Fall. It is an added expense that I don't really need and I would rather have the money.

After the propane I loaded up one of my foster dogs and headed to the vet to get a spay/neuter certificate to prove it was done. This is the dog that gets car sick and pees on my seat so I gave her some motion sickness medicine. I also made her sit in a plastic bin to protect my seat.

After the vet, all was well and we continued on to the home of another foster lady who was interested in fostering a dog that was not sick and tolerated cats (10 cats to be precise). 5 minutes from her house and Clover...well...you can guess. It was all nicely contained in the bucket. Unfortunately, that meant I had a very dirty dog to show to the nice lady. Luckily, she was very understanding and we were able to wash off the dog in the front yard. All went well and I ended up leaving my foster at her new foster home. She will definitely get more attention there as this lady is home all day.

Now I have an opening for another female foster. I think I might get one tomorrow. Until then I will have to make do with my three boys. They like to compete for my attention but right now they are all napping.

So, I spent $48 on propane and a $15 or so on gas. Not too bad for a Saturday.

One After Another

I got a new foster puppy today. A little 2 month old pit bull. Yes, I know, I didn't want to foster any more pit bulls or mixes because they have a tendency to want to kill my cat but this one is too young to do anything except pee on my floor. And at this age there is a very good chance she will get adopted in the next few weeks. Hopefully I can get a picture posted tomorrow. Right now my dogs are busy harassing her and barking, barking, barking. I hope they all settle down so we can get some sleep tonight.

And a different topic, my RV toilet was totally stopped up yesterday. You see, I don't put toilet paper down the toilet because it has a habit of clogging up the holding tank. Plus, I use very little water to flush and it isn't enough to keep the toilet paper moving. But when my guests were here I didn't bother to mention it because I thought a few days of toilet paper wouldn't matter. Well, it did matter and the pipe under the toilet was completely clogged. This happened once before when I first bought the RV (it was a used RV). That time I paid a RV repair person to unclog it. It cost me $100. I asked the guy how he unclogged it and he said he just kept working at it. This time I decided to try it myself. I have a tank cleaning wand that is flexible so I just used that and eventually it unclogged. I was very relieved that I didn't have to call for help, it's kind of an embarrassing problem and it would have cost more than $100. The first time it happened was 10 years ago...(wow, I am still living in this thing).

Anyway, I had better go set up a bed for the puppy and try to calm everyone down. I need my sleep.

15's A Crowd

At one point this week I had my family in my RV. You can only see 9 of them in the picture but there were 6 more out of range. It was pretty funny. Not very comfortable as there was nowhere for everyone to sit but funny nonetheless.

I am so glad it is Friday. It was a very long week. Work has been especially tedious. I think it is because my family is here and I would rather be spending time with them but I have to spent all day at work and then I am too tired in the evening. At least tomorrow is Saturday. I have to take my black dog to the park to meet a prospective adopter. Right now I am enjoying a few moments of free time and watching old Simon And Simon shows that I got from Netflix. I get to watch them until my parents get home and change their address back to their home. It's fun to watch them but I wouldn't sign up for Netflixs just yet. I definitely don't have time to watch enough shows to make it worth the money.

After Work Errands

I really do not like after work errands. By the time I got to my car it was 5:30, then off to buy a faucet from someone on craig's list. It's not the nicest faucet in the world and I think I paid too much at $15 but new ones that I saw started at $25 so this one is good for now. I hope it actually works.

Then I continued on my way to my boss's house. He's leaving for a while and my sister might stay at his house if she visits. He showed me where everything was and how to work the pool. I finally got home a little after 7pm. Then I had to feed the dogs and clean the dog run in the dark. No time for hanging out with the dogs tonight, it was time for the blog and Chuck. Then shower, and maybe I should think about lunch for tomorrow. I'm out of leftovers. I think I should do spaghetti again, it's easy.

Tomorrow I need to go to the hardware store after work and then Wednesday I need to go to the grocery store. Oh, and I'll need to get drinking water soon. I have 3 very thirsty dogs.

Oh no, and I almost forgot. I didn't fill up the RV's water tank last weekend because I ran out of time. Now that I disconnected the hot water heater I need to cap off the pipe that goes to the mobile home from the old pump before I can fill up the RV or else I will have a bathroom full of water. Ack, another after work chore, most likely in the dark.

Well, one of these days I won't have to do all of this RV stuff anymore and my life will be a little simpler. But until then, it's chore time.

Time's A Wasting

Now that the new year is here it has occurred to me that I only have so many weekends left until Summer. Summer to me is June because that is usually the month when the A/C goes on and stays on until September. In order to get out of the RV and in to the mobile home I have a lot to do and only 20 more weekends! I need a goal for every weekend so that I know I can do this in time.

This weekend I finished my wall, at least enough to keep the dogs out. I only put one sheet of paneling on the wall because there will be plumbing thru the wall eventually. The only thing left to do is to finish the door latch so that I can close the door securely.
Next step is plumbing and that means I need to buy an RV water pump, pressure tank and instant hot water heater. Unfortunately, I don't have any money for those things so maybe I need to sell some stuff first. I don't like the idea of borrowing from the future sale of the RV but I might do it anyway. I am hoping that this whole mobile home make-over doesn't cost more than $2,000. So far the wall cost $150, the toilet $25 and the shower pan $60.

Getting water to the mobile home will be exciting. Then I'll get a piece of linoleum for the living room and plug in the old fridge, microwave 2-burner stove top and it will feel like home...oh, I forgot the wireless internet. Well, that's going to cost a little more but than it will really feel like home.

Goals For 2010

Everyone else is making goals so I will too. Let's see, goal #1: PAY OFF MORTGAGE by end of year. How lovely that will be. Goal #2 which is essential to making goal #1 happen: Get a stable renter in rental house. My house is still rented but she is talking about moving out in February. I was hoping my renters would stay for 5 years! Goal #3: Move out of RV and into mobile home before summer. And after I do that, goal #4: Sell RV by November.

Then there are the more common goals...my dog and I need to lose 10 pounds. That is more significant for my dog since he only weights 50 pounds. I want to give away at least 6 boxes of stuff to the thrift store and sell $500 worth of stuff on craig's list and ebay.

This should be an exciting year!

And on a totally different topic...do we have any door knob experts out there? It seems like every door knob that I buy is designed differently. This latest knob for the hallway has no exterior screws. The screws are inside and hold a plate against the door. I can't seem to figure out how to get the second knob to stay on!


It isn't that important because the one knob still works without the second knob and I will rarely need to close the hall door from the inside but it would look better if the whole knob was complete. I'm sure it is something very simple that I can't figure out.

The Cheap Fix

I went to Camping World on my lunch break today with the intention of buying a new tub faucet. They had some bins in front with clearance items and there was a sink faucet with shower hose attachment for only $5. Too bad that would look very strange in my bathtub. I went to the plumbing aisle and found the faucet that I needed for $38. Then I saw the handle replacements for $5.80. I bought the handles.

I figured I could make due with the handles for now and live with the drip for another year until I sell my RV. Maybe I'll find another faucet for cheaper than $38. Maybe I'll find one in the clearance bin. Maybe I'll just sell my RV with a leaky faucet.

So for now I will catch the drip in a small bucket and use the water for the toilet. Most of the time the water pump is off so it won't be dripping all day and all night, just when I am doing dishes or something like that. I am glad that little chore wasn't too hard on my budget.

A Simple Fix

My tub faucet has been leaking. Then the hot water handle broke. It would turn the water on but would spin when I turned it off so that it would not shut off tight. I have been getting around it by keeping the water pump turned off, which I do anyway, but this time I would shut it off right away because water was steadily leaking out of the faucet.

I attempted to remove the plastic handle today and found out that the screw head was stripped. I took the cold water handle off just to make sure I knew what I was doing and then I drilled holes in the plastic handle on the hot water side all the way around the bad screw. Finally it cracked and came off. Then I could get at the screw with pliers and some lubricant and managed to get it out.

I looked up a replacement faucet on the Camping World website and it costs $40. The shower attachment costs extra. I found another RV parts store and they sell just the plastic handle for $11. The store was near where I was going anyway so I stopped by today. I think the place has closed. The hours said is would be open but there was no one around and all of the gates were locked. Oh well. Guess I have to go to expensive Camping World after all and hope they sell just the handles too.

I didn't have a chance to get the new faucet handle because I had a dog in the car. But I didn't put the screw back in to the cold water side so I can adjust both sides by taking the handle off and putting it on the other side. It works for now. Not a long term fix but at least I'm not losing gallons of water every time I turn the pump on.

Melting....Melting...

I searched for new RV air conditioners today. Of course I ended up on Camping World's site. It's the easiest site to navigate although not the cheapest. I found one that costs $670 plus tax. It is more energy efficient than my old one which I thought was great. $670 didn't seem that bad and I was thinking maybe I should just buy a new one.

After lunch the RV repairman called me and I asked him about installing a new AC. He said that because my RV is so old (it's a 1992 model) I would have to buy the inside control panel also since the bolts wouldn't line up with the new outside AC. That would add another $100. Add $200 for installation and I would be at $1,000. That is more than I want to do right now.

So he ordered a new fan motor and said he wouldn't charge me for the service call when he comes out on Friday per his verbal warranty on the used motor that he installed before. And he said he would give me $50 credit toward the new motor which is what the used motor cost. but even with all of the discounts I'm still going to have to pay around $250 for the new motor and labor. It's a bummer but not the end of the world.

Spoke Too Soon

After talking about how I thought I could make it to the end of the month without spending any more money and how my AC fan motor is working great, I got home from work today and guess what? The fan starts making a horrible high pitched noise and then stops working. I called the RV repairman and left a message. When he replaced it last month he said he would give me a "verbal" 90 day warranty on the used fan motor. I'm not sure what that meant. Maybe he won't charge me labor or the service call fee to put in a new motor. That would be nice but new motors cost around $200 so there goes my budget for September.

I checked the 10 day forecast. Low 90's for the rest of the week and then mid-90's again. It's so close to October and cooler weather. I could make it with only a box fan. But still I'd have to replace it before next May and the 'fan only' mode is so convenient. There's not much room in this RV and a box fan blocks a lot of it. Then, if I am paying $200 for a fan motor, maybe I should just spend the money to buy a new AC. It is old and a new AC unit would be a good selling point when I do decide to sell. Decisions, decisions.

Day 3: No A/C

I was able to call the mobile RV repairman today. He will be out first thing tomorrow morning. If it is the blower motor then that is bad because I will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday for a replacement. I hope it is something else.

I also broke my watch today. I pried off the back to change the battery and now I can't get the back to stay on. I have it stuck on with tape right now. It is a relatively cheap Walmart watch but I would rather not have to buy a new one. I wonder if I could replace the battery, then super glue the back on. That would give me another year before the battery wore out.

When I got home today I heard a dog barking in my wash. (For those who don't know, a 'wash' is a dry creek bed.) I took my puppies for a walk and came back. The dog was still barking. I locked up the puppies, got some dog treats and went to investigate. I found the big neighbor dog nose to nose with a very big and very poisonous Gila Monster. The dog came over to me to say hi and then went back to tormenting the lizard. I tried to get him to come with me but he wouldn't and I was afraid that he was going to get bitten so I went to the neighbor's house to let them know. Wouldn't you know it, by the time we got back there the Gila Monster was gone and the dog was up by my kennel making the puppies bark. I felt silly for bothering the neighbors. It would have been better if the Gila Monster was still there so the neighbor could see it. She had never seen one in our area. That is the third one I have seen since I have lived here. I'm glad they are still around. I'd much rather see a Gila Monster than a rattle snake.

No Shopping Weekend

Except I did buy propane but I consider that more of a chore than a shopping experience. I haven't bought propane in many months and I was down to just a little in one bottle. Now with one bottle full I have enough for 2 months as long as I keep switching the fridge to electric at night when the outside temperature is cooler than 90. Hopefully, in October, I can switch to electric full time for the winter. The woman at the RV park where I get my propane agreed with me that the problem is that I am only on 30amps when I should have 50 for my RV. When I lived at an RV park with 50 amps 3 years ago, I never had any problems with my fridge on electricity even though it was 112 most of the summer. I could get an electrician to fix the problem but I think I'll just keep switching between propane and electric for now. I hope I won't have this RV in 2 years and then I won't have a problem anymore.

After stopping at Walgreens on Friday and being totally disgusted with their high prices, I was thinking of going to Big Lots. But then I looked at my shopping list and there wasn't anything that couldn't wait another week. So, I put it off for another week. The weather was too hot anyway. 105 then 90 when the storms roll through, then 105 again. I'll do some grocery shopping tomorrow and try not to go overboard. I still have some money left for this month but I'd rather not spend it all. Tomorrow I start earning my full salary again since they are giving us our 10% back. That means next month I can go back to my January budget which gives me $18/month extra to spend. Hmm, what can I do with $18? I'm sure I'll find something to spend it on.

Smelling Like An Outhouse

I guess that is the opposite of smelling like a rose, right? When I came home today, I opened the RV door and I knew that I could not put off emptying the black water tank until the weekend. I thought I could make it but no, my RV smelled like an outhouse. I hooked up the outlet hose which was being used to water my tree and emptied the tank in to the septic system. Then I needed to rinse it out so I took a shower. I needed a shower anyway. It was 100 degrees outside and I was sweaty from trying to find a pillow for my co-worker's dog. It's always in the last bag I look in. I killed a few more spiders while I was in the shed. The sticky traps only trapped 3 spiders. Maybe they were the not-so-smart spiders. I found the pillow. It is not really for her dog. She has an old pillow that she is going to use for the dog and I offered to give her one of my good pillows to replace it. I gave her my old stained pillows a few months ago for her elderly dog.

Anyway, I can usually go for 2 months without emptying the black water tank but with this over 100 degree heat, it gets stinky twice as fast. After I rinsed the hose with my shower water I unhooked it from the septic again and put it back under my tree. I have one of those good smelling candles burning to get rid of the smell inside. I can't smell a bad smell anymore but maybe I should go outside and come back in just to be sure. Oops, I just heard thunder and it's starting to rain. I think I'll go do some Arizona rain dancing just for the fun of it. :)

Too Lazy To Shop

I felt too tired to go grocery shopping after work today. I still have enough carrots for another day so I decided to put it off. What I don't have is bread or cereal. So, I thought, what can I make for breakfast tomorrow. First I thought that I would make muffins but that sounded like too much work and I didn't want to heat up the RV. Then I decided to cook up some eggs and potatoes. They would cook while I did other things (like write on my blog) so I could get to bed faster.

When I got home I noticed that the red light on my RV fridge was on. That means the propane tank is empty. The temp inside the fridge was 60 degrees. I should have put the food that was heat sensitive in my little electric fridge. Why I put the eggs and whipped cream in the RV fridge I will never know. Well, I was going to cook the eggs anyway. I should keep the soda in there but I don't because I don't like to open it a lot to get drinks. I'll be glad when I have a reliable fridge and freezer someday. I could have had both propane tanks open, then I wouldn't have run out but if both are open then I have a tendency to forget about them until I have emptied both tanks. It's better to manually switch over. Next weekend I'll go fill up the other tank...unless it's raining, then I'll wait. Now that I am switching from propane during the day to electric at night, I don't use as much propane. I can go about 2 and 1/2 months on one bottle.

The eggs and potatoes are done so I can pack them up for tomorrow and move on to the rest of my chores. 2 days down, 3 to go. I'm counting down to the weekend already. I saw a sign in the background on TV, it said 'You are never more than 6 days away from Friday'. I like that sign.

Window Shopping and Garden Update

I was scanning the pages of craig's list again. I know it's dangerous for my bank account but I was just looking! Honest! I found another darling little camper for sale on craig's list. I want to paint flames on the sides. :)
13' Scout Camper They are asking $1,800. That's too expensive. They came down $200 already.

This other camper that I saw back in February only cost $1,500. But anyway, I don't need a camper yet. In a year and a half though...it will be out with the big 5th wheel and in with the tiny camper that I can pull with my little truck. At least I know that they appear on craig's list every month or so. I saw one being pulled by a truck that looked an awful lot like the one I almost bought for $500. I'm glad I didn't buy it. That one needed a complete overhaul and didn't have any interior left.

I was watering my garden today and found a bean. My first bean of the year!


I ate it raw. There wasn't much sense in wasting propane and water to cook one bean.


My little garden is doing well despite the 100 degree temperatures. Do you like my make-shift shade? The snow peas didn't survive but they are winter plants around here so I planted them in the wrong season. Hopefully I will get a squash or tomato very soon!