2012 January 28

This is what sunrise looked like this morning.  If you've been following this blog for very long you will notice that the position of the sun is creeping northward all the time.  Compare today's sun with the sunrise on December 6th.  Notice that in December, it was coming up right on the edge of the RV and now is over the storage shed.

I'm becoming itchy.  You know ... hitch itch.  I want Spring to be here so that I can 'lift anchor' and change the scenery out my front door.
We will still use Cutty's Des Moines Campground as our home base this summer, however I want to visit other campgrounds here in central Iowa.
My grandson, Nathan, and family like to camp in their pop-up.  And stepson, John, and his family do a lot of camping in their Jayco travel trailer.  I would love to have all of us go camping together somewhere.  Since they have to work, it will have to be somewhere close to home though.
Yeah...I need a new view.
How about you?  Are you, that aren't fulltimers, ready to 'hit the road'?

2012 January 27

We call our truck Rudolf because he pulls our sleigh. This morning he looks more like Frosty.  Here is our weather forecast from Weatherbug.

Today

1/27/2012

Hi: 38°

Cloudy. A chance of light snow and a slight chance of light sleet in the morning...then light snow and light rain in the afternoon. Snow and sleet accumulation just under a half inch expected. High in the upper 30s. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Lo: 19°

Mostly cloudy through midnight then clearing. Breezy. Low in the lower 20s. West wind 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Our poor pathetic looking geranium is blooming!  Does that count as a sign of spring, if it is an indoor plant?

Not much of a sunrise this morning, just a light colored band on the horizon.


Yesterday while it was sunny and in the forties, I emptied the holding tanks and refilled the fresh water.  I also checked my LP levels in the 100# tanks.  One is nearly empty so I need to get it out to the street.  The camp maintenance people will take it for refill and then reattach it.  Very convenient. 

2012 January 26

Sing Happy Birthday to my sixty five year old Teddy Bear.  This poorly maintained but exceptionally loved toy was given to me on the day of my birth January 23, 1947.

Sunrise, even though the Weatherbug was reporting dense fog.

Breakfast of broken eggs on toast with pan fried ham.

And a beautiful sunset to round out the day.

2012 January 24

Another sad excuse for a sunrise today.

However, the sun did come out in the afternoon.

Happy Birthday to ME!

It's my birthday ... 

leave me a birthday greeting

2012 January 19

Brrrrrrrrr!  

And that's all I've got to say about that!

2012 January 18

2012 January 17

What a difference a day makes!

We drove the interstate at a maximum of forty five mph this morning on our way to babysit with the great granddaughters.  The snow had nearly stopped, however the wind was still keeping in in the air!


Charlotte was sick today so we watched both girls until I took Lorelia to preschool.


Ella did laundry while Charlotte slept and I played with Lorelia.  Free use of washer and dryer is part of the perks of watching the girls.  I saves us $6 to $8 a week.


I had just arrived back at Nathan and Beth's when the girls' Aunt Audrie (who is temperarly living with her brother and sister in law) arrived home from work.  So, she took over watching Charlotte in the afternoon.


We made a run to the credit union to deposit Ella's check. (Banks were closed yesterday for MLK Day)


By now it was about one o'clock and we were getting peckish.  So, we went to Ryan's Steak House for lunch.  I know that I've mentioned this before but I'll do so again,  I have not found a better value for lunch.  With our old farts discount, it costs the two of us a whooping $11.64 for the buffet and drinks.  That is less than two compos at Mickey Ds.


We returned home a little before three and I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing the web.  There's a story about a guy who lives in the stump of a tree, a video by a man who lives part time in his 'stealth' van, people building homes out of bales of straw, and how to turn a buried cargo container into a 'survival' bunker  And for some unknown reason, mixed into the same information stream as the previous videos, a Russian (?) news anchor woman who show a LOT of cleavage.  Hey! I didn't go LOOKING for it, but I did have to check it out.


Ella ended up taking a nap for most of the afternoon. As a matter of fact, I need to wake her since it is now after six.


That's all for now.

2012 January 16

Predawn 

More predawn - looks like a fire and smoke - but it isn't

Half of a moon just after dawn

As spectacular as these predawn photos look, the actual dawn was dull as the sun wasn't able to shine through these clouds that it had lit so beautifully earlier.

Winter Prep (Part Five) Insulation - Outside

Living Fulltime in an RV – During an Iowa

Part Five - Insulation

So, now we have water in the RV.  How do we keep it from freezing in the RV’s water lines?  If you have a full four season RV you MAY not have to add skirting.  Again, my opinion here is that the cost of adding insulation is miniscule in relation to replacing broken pipes and water damaged floors and cabinetry. 

What I recommend* is using foil sided foam board for the skirting.  The foam board (½ to ¾ inch) is ridged enough to stand up to the weight of snow and the blast of winter winds.  It is also easy to cut with a razor blade knife.  
*You will of course ask the office where you are wintering what restriction they may place on the type of skirting.

Foam board insulating skirting

Some of my neighbors go all out with the skirting by building complete frames out of 1x1s and attaching the foam board with plastic pop rivets. Others only make a frame to attach the bottom of foam.  Personally, I find the board when taped together with aluminum duct tape is sufficient.  Because the insulation will have gaps at the bottom due to the uneveness of the ground, I use expanding foam from a can to complete the seal.  The foam also helps to stabilize the board against the wind and snow.

(Next topic:  Insulation – Inside)

2012 January 14

Thirteen seconds of snow flurries.  

This has been a rare sight for us this winter.  Halfway through January and only a dusting of snow.  This is not the Iowa winter to which I'm accustom. That is NOT a COMPLAINT. 

2012 January 13

Just something a little different.  There wasn't any sun at sunrise, just a few flakes of snow.  By late morning the sun came out but failed to warm above 23 degrees.  So, as the sun was setting, I took this photo through the window. (I DID mention that the high was 23, right?)

2012 January 12

Sunrise?  With first snow of 2012.

2012 January 10

2012 January 09 Sunrise

2012 January 09 Moonrise next to the street lamp

            Sunday the 8^th Sunday school and church.  Not much else.  Afternoon nap.

            Monday the 9^th we ate breakfast at home then (Senior) coffee at McD's while waiting for Aspen Dental to open at nine. 

From there we went to Nate & Beth's to watch Lorelia until time for her to go to preschool. We had a little time with Lorelia – she read a couple of books to each of us. After dropping Lorelia at preschool, we went to Old Chicago Pizza for the buffet lunch. 

            From there we went back to Nate and Beth’s.  Ella did laundry and I watched a little TV.                

Charlotte

            Very quickly it was time to pick up Miss Charlotte from school.  As we were headed that direction (into the sun), I realized that I’d left my hat at Old Chicago.  So after Charlotte was in the truck, we went back and got my hat. On the way, Charlotte showed us some of her drawings from school and sang some of the songs that she is learning in Sunday school and the Wednesday evening club at church.

Grumpy Man

            After retrieving my hat we went to Lorelia's preschool.  While we waited for her dismissal time, Charlotte took a picture of my sweatshirt and hat.  She said it looked like a grumpy man.  I have to agree.  I can see the grumpy man.  Can you?

             As soon as both girls were in the truck, the teasing and screaming started!  As soon as the pecking order had been reestablished things settled down.

            Granddaughter Audrie arrived home from work at the same time we pulled in with the girls.  So we only stayed long enough to pick up the laundry and give everyone hugs and kisses.

            Arriving home, I set about empting the holding tanks and refilling the freshwater tank.  Then we just sat with our feet up until it was time for me to go to Administrative Council meeting at church which was very short because there was so little to report.

            Tuesday the 10^th Went to Nate and Beth's to take Lorelia to preschool.  From there to church where we took down the Christmas decorations and put up the new paraments.

             We stopped at the Hospital and picked up copy of my medical records.  I will make a copy to keep with us as we travel and the other copy goes to the VA Hospital.

            The truck was down to a quarter tank so we stopped at Sam's Club for gas.  While we were there we picked up a few grocery items.  I love the restaurant quality bacon from Sam's. 
           Next stop was Walgreen's to pick up Ella's prescriptions.
           We came home and fixed egg macmuffins (note spelling to avoid copyright infringement) for supper and I balanced checkbook and budget.

2012 January 07

       I took some early morning pictures today.  The sunrise was bright and I liked the way the sun was shining on the willow trees around the lake.  Also the play of light and shadows on some weeds caught my eye.

       Ella is working this morning (until two) and I have no shopping or projects to accomplish ... well, I could be working on a new sermon for my blog, Sermons by Thomas E Williams.  At the moment, I don't have a congregation to give the sermon to (other than online readers) so it seems a lot less urgent.  With the odd and above normal temperatures for January in Iowa, I am more likely to find something to do outside ... like take more pictures.

RV Doctor Videos: Run electric RV water heater always or only when h...

RV Doctor Videos: Run electric RV water heater always or only when h...: <<Click on the link to see how Gary answers a question from a viewer of a recent live webcast about whether it is best to leave an electric water heater on all the time or...

2012 January 06

            Busy day today running all over town. If you want to know more about that go to my other blog.

            Once home, I sat down to balance out the check book and update the budget.  In the mean time, Ella has been busy putting various things into space bags.  She is now sitting at the table and sorting her meds for the coming week.  I filled my pill cases this morning before we left.

            I was going to take advantage to the good weather to empty grey and black tanks on the Hitch Hiker and refill the freshwater tank.  But they are a long ways from needing it so I’ll wait a few more days as the forecast is for this unseasonably warm weather to last through next Tuesday. We had a high of 64 yesterday and are supposed to reach the 50s today.  Winter in the Midwest!?!  Two years ago I had a six foot drift in front of my door.  I think I’ll believe in global warming (for a day or so … until next week when we’ll be back in the freezer.)

            Ella works three hours this evening at the clubhouse.  I’ll either watch TV or get caught up on reading some of the blogs that I try to follow.

Pretty sunrise this morning.  

           

2012 January 05

2012 January 05 Sunrise!

The decorative fence is back in place

Don't be frightened of the picture at the bottom of this post  I really am quite harmless.  I do wish that I'd trimmed my nose hair before the picture was taken.
     I had a great day.  I got the fence back up.  It is just decorative but I like it.  During the summer when there is no insulation, I can store a few things behind the fence without it looking too 'trailer trash'.
     I was at Emeritus today and we just sang hymns for a half an hour.  I'm still trying to figure out how to conduct a Bible Study for people with Alzheimer and dementia. Any advice from you?

Another shot of the fence back in place

This is after I trimmed a couple inches off the beard.