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.

Not Only that, BUT... - Mon., Oct. 14

Bob went out tonight to dump the black tank and the control valve handle broke. At least he got it dumped first. Guess I'll be asking the mobile RV peeps if they can fix it or if we have to make an appointment and take it somewhere else. I hope not. But two years ago and we had to go to a repair place to get the same black tank valve handle fixed. No fun.

In order to move the RV, we also have to get our awning fixed. Bob tried to close it one night and it wouldn't close up all the way. I'll ask the mobile guys about that too. Looks like we'll need another appointment with them and another approval from our Extended Service Warranty folks for the repairs.

Sigh.

Travel Bug out.

Oopsies - Mon., Oct. 14

Bob has been doing so many things lately, including working hard, trying to get us set up as Texas residents and, last Thursday, he took my car to get a new battery at the Costco near his work. He planned in advance and took his tools with him to remove the old battery.

When he got to Costco, he took out the battery and carried it in to Customer Service. The battery was still under warranty so he turned it in, and they gave him a gift card to use in the Tire Center to buy a new battery. At the counter in the Tire Center, he was told they had discontinued the battery for the 2008 Ford Escape (seems it has its own special battery). So, he had to take his gift card back to Customer Service, retrieve the battery, and put it back in the car. Good thing the battery wasn't dead!

As far as registering our vehicles, we're learning by experience. Apparently we were supposed to get our vehicles insured for Texas BEFORE we tried to register our vehicles. So Bob's morning at the County Tax Asessor's Office was only a little productive as he was able to get some forms we needed to fill out.

This morning, I had follow-up blood work drawn, went to WalMart for a few items, came home did laundry, vacuumed, and scrubbed floors in the kitchen and bathroom.

Bob called and asked if I had time to listen to a funny story. I thought he was going to tell me a joke.

Today, Bob went to work out at the gym as he does most work-day mornings. After his workout, he showered, went to dress for work. T-shirt, underwear, shirt, socks, uh-oh, no pants!

He forgot to pack them in his gym bag. Poor Bob had to get back in his sweaty work-out shorts for a drive over to WalMart for new pants and a belt. Whoops! All worked out well in the end.

Last night, I got into bed and there was a big, cold wet spot by my feet. After much detective work, I found a leak in the casing around the Fantastic fan. It was late, so I put towels around my legs and on top of the quilt. It didn't rain today so no more dripping.

Bob will check out the roof on Tuesday after work to try to find what needs to be fixed. I appreciate all he does to keep us in repair and moving forward in our full-time RVing life.

Remember our refrigerator that needed a new gasket? Our first repairman did not follow-up with us for a month or more, even after I e-mailed him all our information for our Good Sam Extended Service Warranty. We ended up calling another mobile RV repair company. They came out last week, ordered the part and will be here tomorrow to fix (actually they have to REPLACE) the refrigerator door. They will also replace our front screen with a heavier duty metal screen so the cats can't shred it. And the inner seal on our toilet needs replacing so they will fix that too.

All for now. Stay tuned for updates.

A Few Busy Days - Mon., Sept. 16

Has it really been a WEEK since I last wrote? I guess that's what happens when your days are filled with work.

Last Monday I was scheduled for a Pap smear because it has been a few years since my last one. Appointment was at 10:30 a.m. I was scheduled to go to work at my temporary job at noon. Waiting room: like a holding cell. The waiting room TV was set to inane judge shows and the waiting room full of people were being babysat by the idiot box.

At 11:30 a.m., I tapped on the reception office window and asked when I could expect to have my exam as I was supposed to be at work by noon, but that my temporary job was a half-hour drive away. That lit a fire and they had me in an exam room in a couple of minutes and said they would rush to get to me. I put on the exam gown and waited, and waited, and waited. At noon, I got dressed, walked out to the receptionist. I told her I had to go to work, that I was losing income sitting in their office waiting. I told them I would call back to reschedule.

Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday, Snelling placed me back at the insurance agency as receptionist and office assistant.

Wednesday I had a 10:30 a.m. appointment at the same doctor's office to go over previously done lab work; at 11:30 I was scheduled for an echocardiogram. Once again, the waiting room was wall-to-wall people with folding chairs set up in the middle of the room to hold everyone. The TV again had a "judge"-type show: more soap opera than legal procedural.

At 11:40 a.m., I was called back for the echocardiogram, pretty close to on schedule. After the echocardiogram, it was another ten minutes or so before the doctor came in to talk to me about previous lab results. Apparently I have a kidney stone. So far it has not bothered me. All I can do is monitor the situation.

Thursday through Saturday, I worked in the RV park office. Friday night Bob took me to Random event center because the food truck du jour had crepes. I love crepes. For dinner, I had a chicken enchilada crepe and a side salad. Later for dessert, Bob, Randall and I shared a peach cobbler crepe. The chicken enchilada crepe was the best.

Beers on tap at Random.

Live music.

Business picks up at the bar.

On Sunday, we Volksmarched 11K (6.8 mile) on Riverwalk South.  Here are the morning's photos:

Stairs inviting exploration.

San Fernando Cathedral at Main Plaza in San Antonio.

Beginning of 8:30 a.m. Mass.

Entrance procession.

Mass entrance processional.

Crepe myrtle roots

King William District historic home.

King William District.

Lion down on the job - King William District

What kind of flower is this?

Entrance to La Villita Village from the Riverwalk.

My kind of food truck!

Amaryllis??

Water lily flower.

Zachary Flag Plaza - Institute of Texan Cultures.

Weeds of some kind??

One of these is not like the others.

Waterfall whirlpool.

Waterfalls - base of Tower of the Americas, San Antonio

Entry to Hyatt Regency Riverwalk.

Progress on Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

More pretty flowers...these are on a tree.

River taxi on the San Antonio River.

So that was last week.

This week I am working Monday and Tuesday at the insurance office. Wednesday I have my re-scheduled Pap smear.

Thursday and Friday I work at the RV park office. Saturday early morning I fly to Portland to spend ten days with family and friends. If you are in Portland and would like to meet up, let me know.

Bob is doing well. He is back at MPS Construction as the oilfield service start-up company he worked for didn't last long. MPS is where Bob is much happier working. He will hold down the fort while I'm away.

In Oregon, my family and I have plans to go to Hood River and do the Fruit Loop Tour through the apple and pear orchards. They should be in season right about now. Cold, fresh apple cider anyone? Mmmm. I'm sure we'll find time for a day at the coast. I want to take mom and my sister to The Oregon Garden and maybe the Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel.

Good times ahead! Yay for more travel.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week.

I'll post more as I have time. Travel Bug out.

Stop Bugging Me! - Tues., Aug. 20

No, I'm not talking to you, dear readers. I'm talking to the bugs.

Yep, that's right. Two days after we fogged the place, the ants and disintegrating bugs are back. The cats found them, great hunters that they are.

Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of ants in the walls? They're tiny black ants that are super fast.

If we can't get rid of them, it's time to call an exterminator. Sigh. Not what we were hoping for.

Thanks for any and all suggestions, especially if you've had luck getting rid of them.

Volksmarch - Broadway Neighborhood, Sat., Aug. 17

I enjoyed walking in the Broadway neighborhood so much last week, that I had Bob join me on Saturday. However, we did 5K (3.1 miles) instead of 11K (6.8 miles), due to his plantar fasciitis which is still giving him problems.

We started the walk at 7:30 a.m. and finished walking a little after 9 a.m. We walked through the campus of University of the Incarnate Word, then added a little extra by going to the Witte Museum parking lot, then Bob took me down Avenue B to look for the Little Aussie Bakery and Cafe. It wasn't open until 11 a.m. so we couldn't check out their menu.

Here are the few pictures I took while we were out...

Bee looking for cactus pollen.

  The original San Antonio spurs...

Sculpture in front of Witte Museum.

Pretty sculpture on Witte Museum parking garage.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Another sculpture in front of Witte Museum.

If you enlarge the photo of the seed pod below, you will see it has orange bugs with black spots on it. Interesting color.

One of the shops along Broadway in San Antonio.

The walk was just right. After the walk we headed back to the 5er and Bob went to work until almost 6 p.m.

Bob and I love watching the hummingbirds coming to our feeder. Here are a few more photos.

What blog would be a home without photos of the cats?

Bowie

Sunnie in the sun.

Sunnie giving himself a bath.

Th-th-that's all folks.