Thursday, July 19, 2012

Way too HOT!


Location, at Home, CA

A short note to bring things up to date.

It is HOT! At 8:30 PM it is still 85 degrees. While walking this morning a few gusts of wind came up and right behind it the temperature rose several degrees. By mid morning the humidity also rose making for a very unusual sticky day.

I am working under the fifth wheel trying to get the bottom covers back in place after removing most of them last week to check the hydraulic ram which moves the living room slide out. The final solution was to lube the slide rubber with silicone spray and to wax the walls of the slide outs to reduce friction.

I discovered this remedy by doing an on-line search for slide out problems which wonder of wonders gave me a manual of my exact hydraulic system. After all the lubing the slide works fine. Before the lubing it took both Craig and I pushing on the slide from inside while holding down the pump switch to get the slide to move.

Needless to say, the work is going slowly in this heat. I also have the problem of aligning all the holes so the self taping screws go in. The screws go through the bottom cover and into steel beams. Everything has to be just so to make it work.

I am in no hurry to get it done as we have no trips planned in the immediate future.

We are going to the Bay area on Sunday after church to visit friends both in Walnut Creek and El Dorado hills. We also are stopping in Folsom to pck up a couple of cases of Bor-Do-Lay sauce for marinating. It is the best for meats going on the grill.

Monday, July 9, 2012

The passing of my father.


Location, at Home, CA

So many things have happened since I last posted.

We went camping for 4 days, my father passed away on June 28th, we made a quick trip to Wisconsin for the funeral, and the solar water heat is still not complete.

The passing of my father was not unexpected as he was 99 1/2 years old. I had calling my sister every day while we camped but it was still a shock when he passed. I spent the next few days trying to get airline seats so Clyda and I could fly back for the funeral.

I had previously booked a flight for September to visit my parents and family members. Now I needed to change that flight and find new flights for last Tuesday. I called American Airlines reservations and was offered a “compassion fare” for less than a normal last minute fare would have cost. They also changed my Sept flight into the July flight without any rebooking fee. I did have to pay $25 to talk to reservations.

The real problem was finding available seats as all the flights were almost fully booked. In fact, we had to return on Friday July 6th as all seats on Saturday were full.

Tim had somewhat the same problem from Houston to Chicago. It cost him a lot of money for his flights.

We really appreciated Tim coming to the funeral. He did the driving for most of the trip.

We also got to meet a lot of cousins, nieces, and nephews. It is too bad that it takes a funeral to bring families together.

The weather was terrible with terrific heat the whole time. Fortunately, we stayed inside most of the time. The day of the funeral was not too bad except for the short time at the cemetery.

On our drive back to Chicago on Friday the temperature was 103 with a heat index of 110 degrees. I told Clyda that it felt just like our days at China Lake, CA when we were first married.

All in all, everything worked out. The family met after the funeral at my mother’s Assisted Living facility and did all the thank you cards. That was a big help.

Our flight back didn’t get in until 11 PM and by then we just collapsed.

Here are some recent photos from our camping trip and garden.

A turkey at our front door looking for a handout.

Our apricot tree was just loaded with fruit this year.


A huge zucinni plant in our small garden.


The pole beans are over 8 feet tall.