La Dentista...

 7:56 am - Saturday - March 28th - Newell House, AZ - 72° F, humidity 15%, cloud cover 30%, wind 13 mph out of the east by southeast.....mostly sunny today with a forecast high of 93° F.  On this date in 2012 we had just arrived at Cedar Key, FL for our very first visit....

....and saw our very first Cedar Key sunset that evening.  The view this morning.....

We were up around 6 am Friday morning to get ready for the 15 minute drive to the Andrade border parking lot at 7:20 am.  We were actually in the car by 7:15 am, and arrived at the border parking lot just before 7:30 am.  It's only a 10+ minute walk to Dr. Urena's dental office, so were there by 7:40 am waiting for the office to open at 8 am.  TLE and I were the first appointments of the day, so we were both in their chairs by 8:10 am.  TLE's checkup and cleaning went quickly, and she was back in the waiting room by 8:25 am.  For me, however, the fun was just beginning.  Right at the beginning of Dr. Urena's check of my teeth she found an issue with my right, lower wisdom tooth.  It was showing decay since my last checkup....bad enough that she recommended pulling it, so I gave her the go ahead.  She gave me 4 novocain shots to numb the area of the wisdom tooth, then cleaned the rest of my teeth while the areas numbed.  Within 10 minutes she began the process of removing the wisdom tooth, and it took until after 9 am to get it out, but she did....I have very long roots, and they do prove difficult to extract...lol.  Once done she sutured up the gum, and I was done.  She gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, and a pain killer,  I paid the bill....$477 (45 each for the cleanings, and the rest for removing the wisdom tooth), and we were on our way to the pharmacy to fill the prescription, and at the border crossing by 10 am.

We had not checked out of the hotel as we were pretty sure we would be back ahead of the 11 am checkout time, and we were.   After packing the car with our luggage we were on our way to Wittmann, AZ by 11 am.  There is a Sports Clips in Surprise, AZ, so TLE got me into the lineup before we arrived.  I was in the chair getting my ears lowered within 5 minutes, and out the door 20 minutes later.  Next stop was the local COSTCO where we picked a few things, before continuing our drive to Newell House in Wittmann, AZ where we arrived around 3 pm.  We have been here too many times to count over the past 14 years, and it is always like coming home, even though we don't have our Newell with us this time.

Each year Tom and Darlene host a fund raiser of sorts for a local charity, this being the 9 year they have done so, and we haven't been able to attend for a few years now, so we made it a point this to schedule our semi annual dental checkups when we did so we could stop by here our way back to TWW.

After putting our bags in the guest bedroom, we spent a lot of time talking, and catching up with them.  I then spent part of the evening watching the next four Sweet Sixteen games.  Once again it was a night of mostly close games.  Tennessee won handily over Iowa State, but the Michigan vs. Alabama was really never in doubt as Michigan won 90-77, and it wasn't really that close.  The game between St. Johns, and Duke, the #1 over all seed in the tournament, was close, and could have been won by either team, however, Duke won 80-75.

We were in bed by 10 pm.  I've taken 2 of the pain pills so far, but none today (Saturday) so far.  I'm hoping I can avoid anymore, but we'll see...the day is young.

Thanks for stopping by!

An uneventful drive to Yuma.....

 7:00 am - Saturday - March 28th - Newell House, AZ - 68° F, humidity 16%, cloud cover 37%, wind 13 mph out of the south by southwest.....partly cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 93° F.  The view this morning....

.....and on this date in 2013 TLE were in Kinards, South Carolina....

....don't ask me why, I don't remember.  Oh yeah, I can go back to that date in my blog....we were on our way to Ashville, NC to meet up with friends.  The RV park name was Magnolia RV Park...a Passport America park, and was very suitable for an overnight stay.

So, I know, I owe you a post for Thursday, so here goes.  First of all, Charles and Phyllis left around 7:30 am for their drive back to Phoenix.  Our goal  for Thursday was to be in the VW heading for US-66 by 9:30 am, and we left at 9:15 am, but not before a little drama.  I went to start the VW around 8:15 am only to find that the battery had been drained down, so it wouldn't start.  The culprit?  We, apparently, did not shut the passenger door all the way, and the interior light was on the entire time since we arrived back from Phoenix from Charles and Phyllis' wedding...that is a along time ago!  It only took 15 minutes on the battery charger to get it back above 12 volts.  It started right up, and I left it idling for about 15 minutes just to be sure it would restart, and it did.

The drive out to Route 66 took us 25 minutes....the last half of the drive the road is extremely wash boardy which makes for very slow going in a low slung VW Beetle.  From there it was smooth sailing to Kingman where we took a brief restroom break, then merged onto I-40 to US-95, which we took south through Havasu City, Parker, and finally Quartzite where we topped off the VW tank with 9.3 gallons.  We arrived in Yuma at the In-'N-Out Burger around 2:25 pm to meet Rich and Marnie Aaron for lunch.  You will recall we worked for them at Ramona Oaks RV Resort from May of 2019 to January of 2020....still one of our favorite workamping jobs ever!  We ate, and talked for over an hour and half before bidding our adieus until next time.

By this time it was almost 4 pm, and I had intended to get a haircut at a nearby Sports Clips, however, I had neglected to 'Check In' while at In-'N-Out Burger, so the wait was over 45 minutes....that was a no go for us so we began the drive over to the Historic Coronado Hotel, but made quick stop at the local Fry's Supermarket to pick up a few things.  We arrived at the hotel around 4:15 pm, where checked in quickly, and in our room with a few minutes....just in time for the first game of the round of 16, or 'Sweet Sixteen' as it has been known for decades....

.....there were four games Thursday night, just as there would be Friday night to determine which teams would advance to the 'Elite Eight' games to be played Saturday and Sunday.  All of the games were close, being decided in the final minutes, which is just how I like them, except for Thursday, the Arizona vs. Arkansas game, which got out of hand early for Arkansas, seeing them lose by 21 points to Arizona.  There was one sort of upset in the Illinois vs. Houston game.  Unfortunately, the only team I as for, Arizona, won.  Texas narrowly lost to Purdue by 2 points....so close.

We were in bed by 9:30 pm, and slept well.  Thanks for stopping by!

Friday

 6:47 am - Friday- March 27th - Yuma, AZ - 53° F, 15% humidity,  1% cloud cover,  wind 3 mph out of the northeast. 

We will be leaving for our dental appointments in a few minutes so I will not be posting today's missive until this evening. 

Thanks fur stopping by!

Back to the barn roof.....

 7:33 am - Thursday - March 26th - TWW - 50° F, humidity 16%, cloud cover 5%, wind 4 mph out of the southeast.....mostly clear blue skies today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were at Augusta National Golf Course....

....in Augusta, GA, the site of the annual Masters Golf Tournament.  We were there about 3 weeks before the annual event.  The view this morning....

We had two goals for Wednesday....try to raise he roof in the barn enough stop the rainwater from pooling, and then leaking through the roof, and then tighten down all of the sheet metal screws affixing the metal roof panels to the rafters.  We spent the better part of 3 hours raising different sections of the roof, then spraying water on the roof to see if it still pooled, or ran off the roof as it should, and finally decided to raise the main load bearing beam at the mid point (two 2 x 10's bolted together) an inch, then place a 4 x 6 beam under it....

There is a large steel plate under the base of the post 

which will prevent it from sinking into the dirt

....that seemed to provide the best results.....water still pools a little bit, but mostly runs off the end of the roof now.  It doesn't pool enough to leak much.  Then Charles and I spent another hour tightening ALL of the sheet metal screws on the roof of which there must have been several hundred.  Next week when Charles and Phyllis return we'll reseal all of the seams, and all of screws with clear silicone  (GE).  We may still have a few small leaks here and there, but nothing like we've been dealing with the last two winters.

It was around 1 pm when we finished giving us a good four hour work day in which we got a lot done.  Now that we've eliminated the preponderance of the leaks, we can begin to store stuff inside the barn.

We convened for our usual communal dinner around 4 pm.  Phyllis prepared wonderful hot pastrami sandwiches which were enjoyed by all.  Around 6:30 pm (sun sets at 6:50 pm now) on the 'sunset fire deck' (no fire this night....too warm still)....

.....there were a lot of contrails.  We will be leaving shortly (Thursday) for Yuma, AZ, and our semi annual dental checkups, so I'll end this missive now wishing ya'll a great day, thanking you once again for stopping by!

Insulation board installation.....

 7:43 am - Wednesday - March 25th - TWW - 50° F, humidity 17%, cloud cover ZERO %, wind 5 mph out of the southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 82° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were overnighting at the Walmart in Daphne, AL.....

.....we got out our bicycles and took a ride along the seashore, then stopped at East Shore Cafe for a late lunch.  The view this morning....

....time to wash that window....lol.

After checking on the greenhouse first thing Tuesday morning TLE and I got to work installing the insulation board I bought a couple of months ago....talk about procrastination....lol.  We worked about 3 hours, cutting and installing the hardest pieces.  By the time we stopped it was after 1 pm, and we had both had enough of working in direct sunlight....

....I had to reposition the Bluetti battery bank to make room for the insulation board.  We cut and installed three pieces along the back wall.  Then the ceiling, which was the most difficult piece, then the right wall.  All that remains is the piece for the left wall, a small piece in the left corner, then the door pieces and we're done.  I bought six 4' x 8' insulation boards, and I believe we will use them all.  There is a lot of waste as we cut the individual pieces to fit the space, and we've used 3 of the 6 so far.  This is a much tidier insulation installation than the fiberglass one we did last winter.  The remaining pieces will be the easiest cuts of all, and shouldn't take more than an hour.....famous last words?

Charles and Phyllis arrived around 1 pm for another two day stay.  Once they were unpacked they hooked up the water trailer and headed over to the water station with TLE.  I had had too much sun at that point, and decided to remain behind while they fetched another 1,870 gallons of water.  Upon their return around 3:20 pm I headed over to the water tower to help Charles pump the water into the top, then the bottom tanks.  We, apparently, were within 50 gallons of filling filing the top tank when we ran out of water last Sunday, so we were able to put around 1,800 gallons in the bottom tank, leaving just 700 gallons to fill it.  We'll do that when Charles and Phyllis return again next Tuesday.

By the time we finished pumping the water, putting away the suction hoses, and the Predator water pump it was a little past dinner time, so I washed up and joined everyone in the house for our communal meal.  Since we got the water haul done on Tuesday we can spend the bulk of Wednesday working on leveling the barn roof, then sealing it so it won't leak anymore.  That will be another major milestone here at TWW.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stumped.....

 7:38 am - Tuesday - March 24th - TWW - 48° F, humidity 18%, cloud cover 6%, wind 4 mph out of the east by southeast.....a few clouds, but very sunny today with a forecast high of 83° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were in Baton Rouge, LA.....

....having Beignets and coffee at Rue Beignet.  My first time eating Beignets (pronounced binyay).  The view this morning....

We've been in this mild heat spell for what seems about a week now with temps running from the low 80's to the high 80's (seems like two weeks).  We've both been wearing shorts and t-shirts all day long every day now.  The gas furnaces run maybe 20 minutes first thing in the morning, and then all the windows, and I mean all the windows, are opened for the rest of the day, and well into the evening (I just opened my salon window at 7:56 am....that was unheard of 10 days ago!).  We've been deploying our doorway screen door for at least a week beginning early afternoon.  All that being said, relief is on the way!  By Saturday we'll be back into the 70's, then 60's through the first week in April.

We began our work day as we usually do by visiting the greenhouse to see how our growing produce is faring.  The two potato beds have exploded with greenery, we now have cauliflower developing at a rapid pace, and the broccoli is well into producing its second crop....

.....I've said this before, but it really kind of cool to plant stuff and see it grow....especially stuff you can eventually eat!

Next up I poured some more diesel on the tree stump we've been trying to burn out of the ground, then added firewood on top of that....

....we kept adding fuel to the fire all day long, and by the end of the day we had a pile of ashes, but they were still hot.  In fact, this morning (Tuesday) they were still hot, so we added some more firewood to see how hot it was, and it caught on fire again....

....so, obviously, that means the stump is still smoldering deep down inside.  We'll keep added more fuel throughout the day, and see where that gets us, but for now we are 'stumped'....lol.

After fiddling with the burning stump for a while we decided to completely remove the old fiberglass insulation from the shed so we can install the new insulation board Tuesday.....

....it took longer to remove the staples which we used to fasten the old insulation in place than it took to remove the insulation, but the shed is now ready for the installation of the new insulation board, which we moved over from the garage.

After all that was done TLE headed indoors to the cool confines of the Newell, while I headed over to the CONEX/barn complex to cut up numerous cardboard boxes which we had pulled out of the barn when Charles and Phyllis were here over the weekend, then, with TLE's help moved that to our future burn pile.  Then  I moved a bunch of stuff we had leaning against the barn to the rear of the barn to clean up the clutter.....

Looks much better now

The damaged solar panel and other stuff I moved

The cardboard ready to be burned...

....in the recently created burn pile (in the background)

....and with that I finished my workday.  About the time I returned to the Newell TLE was heading over to the house to do another load of wash.

We are slowly becoming acclimated to warmer weather, and now we are heading back into a cooling period.  Of course, when we arrive at Likely later in April it will still feel like winter there....lol.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twenty-nine days.....

 7:32 am - Monday - March 23rd - TWW - 49° F, humidity 16%, cloud cover 26%, wind 3 mph out of the east by southeast.....mostly sunny today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were on a hike with my son Chris, and his wife Rochelle.....

....to the top of Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside, CA.....has it really been 9 years?  The view this morning....

....yeah, we finally deployed the window awning for the salon....the sun is that high in the sky now!

We were up early Sunday, and by early I mean 6:30 am, which is early for us in the winter.  We usually avoid being out of bed before 7 am, but we wanted to get an early start on getting another load of water for TWW.  We thought we needed just one more 1,870 gallon load of water to mostly fill the two 2,500 gallon tanks in the water tower.  We believed there were at least 1800 gallons in there, since we had added 330 gallons Saturday to what we thought was at least 1,500 gallons.  At any rate we were on the road to the water station around 8 am.  We arrived around 8:30 am, just before a long line developed.  By the time we finished filling our tanks the lineup was 7 vehicles deep.  Had we been just 10 minutes later we would have been behind a 5,000 gallon water truck, which takes about an hour to fill....we know, we've been behind him before....lol.

We were home before 9:30 am, and began to fill the upper 2,500 gallon tank.  We figured it would take around 7-800 gallons to top off the top tank, then  the rest of the water would go into the bottom tank, but we were way, way WRONG!  The top tank took all 1,870 gallons, and was still not full....doh!  Were we ever off in our guestimation!  It till take another full load to finish the top tank, and partially fill the bottom tank, which means we were down to about 3-400 gallons of water....plenty of water to be sure, but way less than we thought we had.

After finishing the water project we took a break at the glass picnic table in the middle of the circular driveway, then went over to Phyllis' Newell to deploy the patio awning for the first time since she bought it in November of 2024.  As you will recall, I cut back a few branches from the tree which borders the RV site to be sure the awning could be deployed, but still wasn't sure there was enough room, so this was the proof of concept moment....

Just barely enough room....lol!

TLE and Phyllis enjoying the glider

....there was just barely enough room to deploy it, but it was perfect!  By early afternoon Charles and Phyllis were making the drive back south to Phoenix.  They'll be back again Tuesday.

After their departure I poured more diesel into the tree stump to burn it down some more, then headed inside to watch a few more March Madness games.  The biggest news of the day basketball wise was #9 seed Iowa defeating #1 seed Florida (Gators) for the first really big upset of the tournament.  The other games went as expected, with several being one sided blowouts.  My UCLA Bruins went down in flames to UCONN, losing in the end by 16 points.  The game was actually pretty close until the last 8 minutes....UCLA was down by just 4 points at the time.

Our time is short here at TWW with just 29 days remaining in our sojourn.  So much to do, and so little time remaining.  We're beginning to get that 'hitch itch' again, and soon it will be time to begin putting away our stuff, and preparing the trailer for VW insertion.  For the third day in a row I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts first thing in the morning, and the heaters have been off for at least 30 minutes.  Usually they run until after 9 am, or later, but now they're off by 8 am, or earlier.

Thanks for stopping by!