Fridge Repair Seems Cursed - Tues., Oct. 15

Our attempts to get the gasket on our refrigerator door repaired have been going on for over two months. The first repairman replaced the thermistor which fixed the "n" code we had that caused our refrigerator to go off and stay off. Then we asked him if he could fix the broken gasket. We didn't hear back from him, and didn't hear back from him. I called and called. Finally he called back and said the whole door had to be replaced because the gasket is part of the door, not a separate component. I gave him our Good Sam Extended Service Warranty information so he could get the repair authorization number. Then we never heard back from him for over a month. At that point, we called another mobile repair service.

The new mobile repairman came out, got the model number of our refrigerator and ordered the door. He also got authorization to replace the inner seal on our toilet and, while he was out here, we got a quote for replacing the torn fabric in our front door screen.

Ronnie has been very responsive, keeps us informed of what's happening, shows up when he says he's going to, and runs a professional business. Today was the day to get our new refrigerator door/gasket. I moved all the food off the shelves in preparation. They arrived on time, brought in the new door and got it all set up to put it in. Uh-oh. The hinges didn't match up! He had his assistant call technical service at Norcold to find out what the story was because the door was the same size.

Come to find out Norcold makes two different doors for this model of refrigerator. The inside of one door has a waffle pattern and the other has a smooth pattern. There are different hinges on the different doors and they're not interchangeable. Not only that, but the shelf tracks are different on each model. Our shelves would not fit in the new refrigerator door. So, the refrigerator repair stretches on. The repair people got a Return Authorization Number from the place they ordered the replacement door and will return this door for the correct one. Who knew?

The screen repair went smoothly and we had a heavy duty metal screen guard installed so the cats can't claw it anymore.

Screen guard.

The replacement of the inner seal in the toilet went smoothly. The problem was mineral deposits around the seal which hardened and let water seep through. Nice to have that fixed.

While he was working on the toilet seal, he asked why we are using our fresh water tank and water pump rather than city water directly from the faucet. I explained that for no apparent reason our water pressure went way down and we couldn't figure out what was causing it. We have full pressure using the water pump. He immediately diagnosed the problem as the fresh water in-flow filter where our hose hooks into the 5th wheel. Minerals get trapped in the filter reducing the water flow. They will get an authorization number to replace that too.

Regarding our broken black tank valve handle: Thankfully, he can drop our black tank here in the park to work on the handle, but he doesn't want the tank to be full when he has to do that. Since it will likely be next week before he comes back, we will be considerate and use the park restrooms.

The front awning that won't retract automatically was diagnosed as having two broken springs which will need to be replaced. He manually rolled up the awning and wrote down the part numbers he needs to order.

Plus on the next visit, they will replace the refrigerator door with, hopefully, the right model.

On the car registration front, we have not registered any of our vehicles yet, but we now have new insurance for our Texas residency. Bob is waiting for a copy of the title on his truck. We should have all of this done by the end of October when our current Oregon registrations and license plates expire.

Tomorrow, the doctor will discuss with me results of my mammogram, bone density test, and repeat lab work. That should be the end of poking, prodding, x-rays, and lab work for another year.

Oh, on an entirely different note, I made a very yummy quinoa salad. It's spicy sweet. Here's the recipe:

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

from About.com Vegetarian Food

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 sweet potato, baked (or boiled whole), peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bring the quinoa to a boil in the liquid. Reduce heat and simmer the quinoa in vegetable broth about 15 minutes, or until water is gone and quinoa is light and fluffy when stirred. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Toss together the quinoa, sweet potato and bell pepper in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and cayenne pepper. Gently toss this dressing with the quinoa mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

[Note: Cook the sweet potato first as it takes the longest. Then cook the quinoa. While the quinoa cooks, you can dice the red pepper and sweet potato.]

The cayenne pepper gives the salad some spicy heat.

Th-th-that's all folks.

Travel Bug out.