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Greetings! Joyce here.
We spent the entire month of July at Home Base while our Landlords (and very good friends) went on vacation. We watched the house and their dogs while they were gone. It gave us the opportunity to take care of some stuff in the RV that we can't do at the resorts, plus access to washers/dryers and regular showers.
The second day after being home and before our friends went on vacation, Don had another heart attack! We couldn't believe the timing. The fire station is less than a mile away. The EMTs arrived before he got off the phone with 911. He was released from the hospital a couple of days later. If you're going to have a heart attack, Washington State is the place to do it.
We needed the refer gone so I called around to find out how much it would cost. The cheapest I could find was $80. After our friends got back from vacation, we offered to pay them the $80 to remove it. Turned out to be quite the job. Being that the refer was 24" wide and the RV doors are 22" wide, it called for cutting the refer in half with a SawzAll!
It's nice having the refer out of here. There's enough room on the side to put in one of those "FIFO" rotating can racks. We'll do that first chance we get. Don wants to cut the top of the hole bigger so we can put a shelf above the refer to take advantage of the space. Then he'll make a door for the opening to match the closet next to it.
Then they worked on the passenger window in the van. The window won't go up or down for over a year and I wanted it fixed! They got the door apart and replaced the motor, but it still didn't work. It's going to need a new switch. :(
I managed to get the galley walls and the upper cabinet doors painted. I also painted the MDF board we use to cover the stove top. It was so plain that I decided to draw the outline of a mandala on it. I'm hoping to get that painted while in Paradise. I got colors to match the fabric on the window valances.
Since leaving the microwave on top of the refer would make it way too high for me to reach, I suggested we put it in the cabinet above the stove. Don cut a hole between the cabinets so that the cord could reach the outlet where the dead microwave was plugged in. Eventually we'll remove the dead microwave and put a cabinet there.
I submitted a picture to Thousand Trails #100daysofcamping a couple of months ago and they sent us some swag. It was a really nice backpack with a ceramic mug, a picnic blanket, a thermal tote and a tumbler with lid. The cup is big enough for soup or cereal.
After we got to Paradise, I purged the front overhead cabinet. Some is going to charity and some is being stored in the van. I sold 2 extra weaving books that I had, which will come in handy since we're short on cash after having to pay for the window motor ($40), the refer removal ($80) and the deductible on Don's damaged phone that needed to be replaced ($75).
We have not used the printer/scanner/fax in a year, so I took that out and we gave it to our Thousand Trails account specialist Beth Hensch for her office. What I really need is just a very small printer for my crafting.
The shower pan developed a small crack just before we headed out in July. I fixed that by drilling a tiny hole in each end of the crack (to keep it from spreading) and using Super Glue and Baking Soda. So far, so good. I also removed the drain cover to remove the gunk causing the water to drain out really slow.
I also finally got to finish the guitar strap that I started in June. I put that on hold while we were at home base. I finished it yesterday. Can't wait to give it to Eric. I love the way it turned out. Better than I expected.
I also started uploading videos to our Youtube Channel. It's not much, but it's a start. I hope you check it out. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCipRZkaABdrY0m9cQy3zl_w
We also discussed our travel plans for winter. We got our route figured out and the reservations made. Technically, we should already be in South Jetty, so we'll be staying at resorts for a short time to put us in warmer weather by the end of October. This is all a huge learning experience for us. The biggest part is learning to roll with the punches.
Hopfully, no more heart attacks or broken bones or anything to prevent us from fulfilling our dream of getting out of the frozen north.
...to be continued...
In the meantime, be excellent to one another.
