I don't have any pictures to share at this time because my desktop computer isn't set up and hooking up the camera to the laptop is too fussy for the short time frame I have. So, enjoy all the bla bla bla and come back later for pics. :-)
Oh, I've written soooo much about the last almost week, but I need to save some material for a book! :-)
Here are some highlights from the past six days.
Friday August 29, 2008
-I successfully backed up into a busy street at rush hour as I couldn't very well sleep at my mechanic's. No one was injured during this impressive feat of driving. Thank you to David for stopping traffic!
-After spending several hours loading STUFF into the coach, I took off for a sports arena a few blocks from the house to spend my first night as an urban boondocker. The cats took to the RV immediately and slept good nights. Mom was too exhausted to fuss and had a good night, too. The arena wound up being quiet and dark. I didn't suffer for lack of 120V current and I really, really, really enjoyed being able to take a hot shower!
Saturday August 30, 2008
-Up at six, worked non stop, got the house emptied and the RV stuffed by noon, right on schedule.
-Was screwed over by Vidéotron one last time.
-Arrived at the campground absolutely drained and overwhelmed.
-Circled my loop, planned my entry into the site, came back, pulled straight into an empty site, and unhooked my toad, which is where:
Rae learns a very important lesson about towing
Watch where your feet are. The tow bars are heavy and purple toes are NOT a fashion statement.
Toes weren't broken, so I ignored the throbbing pain down there and moved the toad out of the way. Moved the coach back, forward, and back again, getting it into the campsite in one shot. Eyewitness testimony states that I seemed to have been doing it my entire life. Which is where:
Rae discovers that backing up perfectly (in one try) into a campsite is actually not the most important consideration at that time
As it turned out, I had circled my loop and reentered another one. I was in the wrong site. But, in my defense, both sites had neighbours with a blue tent AND both sites were of the same shape as I'd been told to look for!
A very nice park official checked to see if the site would be available for the five nights I was staying. It was. I could stay.
The coach was stuffed to the gills, I was overwhelmed, and just about burst into tears when I saw how much work I had ahead of me. So, I said *expletive deleted* that and went out for a nice dinner during which I formulated a plan of attack.
I slept the sleep of the dead. Never mind that the mattress is really too thick and that I can barely roll over. I was on my own mattress with my feather duvet and pillows. The cats were by my side. I could hear crickets outside. The wind was whispering a lullaby. I was home.
Sunday August 31, 2008
I slept so late I was disoriented upon waking up. I mean, the day is half gone by the time 9:30 arrives!
I hadn't been able to plug in my coach on Saturday since the prongs on my cord didn't match the holes in the electrical post. So, I just dragged the coffee maker and toaster out onto the picnic table.
A few hours later, as order begins to emerge from the chaos that was the basement:
Rae finds something that no longer makes it necessary for her to run an extension cord from her electrical post to the coffee maker set on a picnic table.
She believes it's a 'cheater adapter.' Possibly. Whatever it is called, it's an adapter. She now has 15AMP service!
One of the most useful things I did on Sunday was label a tote TOWING and put in it all the odd bits that I use for towing.
I took the afternoon off to get organizational stuff at Wal-mart's, then I head off to a friend's for a Labour Day BBQ. Her mom gave me a hibachi she had lying around in the shed and I am now able to char my own barbecue sauced bird!
Monday September 1, 2008
I was spending the day with a friend so I woke up early and attacked the basement. I got it so well sorted and organized that it is no longer stuffed to the gills!
At some point during this day:
Rae has a real light bulb moment involving a too highly chlorinated fresh water holding tank
"Gee the water is caustic. I can't wait to empty the tank and put in fresh water. Waitaminute. The tank is only a third full. Maybe I can use the new hose I bought yesterday at Wal-mart at a major discount and top up the tank with fresh, unchlorinated, water and dilute what's left?"
Tuesday September 2, 2008
WORK! I finalised all my files and opened cases and packed since I knew Wednesday would be a wash.
A separate entry will follow about the evening.
Which brings us to today, Wednesday September 3, 2008
I did some real work, spent some time on line, shed copious tears, received and gave a ton of hugs, and left the way I've always dreamt of leaving a place, with a tug of regret.
Showing posts with label pommette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pommette. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Doin' the Moho Slalom
I got the tow pins tonight. All I will say about that is that I'm surprised that I'm surprised about how that went down.
Anyhoo, I arrived at Miranda's parking spot for the last time around 7. I took perhaps fifteen minutes to unload boxes and empty as many of them as I could.
Then, I looked for the magic battery button, but I don't seem to have one, so I positioned Pommette for a boost. Once I got Miranda going, I manoeuvred her into place for hooking up the toad behind her.
Hooking up was surprisingly easy!
My tow bar is a Blue Ox Aventa II. I would have bought an Aladdin, which is a high end model suitable for towing a small car, but much cheaper than the Aventa II. The Aventa II, also a high end model, could probably tow a Hummer. It's really huge and heavy, but I like knowing that I could upgrade Pommette to a pickup or SVU one day and still have a tow bar I can use.
The Aventa II is a self-aligning bar. I can't figure out what's 'self-aligning' about it, but I can say that I was completely hooked up, safety cables and all, in less than 20 minutes. The hardest part was getting the toad lined up perfectly with the coach and at the correct distance. Then, it was just a matter of attaching safety cables and electrical wires. I figured out the wiring on my own. As it turns out, I had to open a thingy under the rig, push in another thingamabob, and then plug the cable into the thingamabob. I'd seen the thingamabob in the rear pass through and had offhandedly guessed that it was part of the towing system, so I was already one step ahead of the game when I couldn't find a skinny rectangular outlet for the wire.
I'm surprised by how easy it was to hook up the car on my own. There is no way I could have done that with a traditional 'fixed' tow bar, the kind with a ball coupler. The only thing I wasn't able to do was confirm that the brake lights were working on the toad, but since the turn signals were, I didn't worry.
Then off we went, the very picture of freedom and the antithesis of the current economic climate, LOL!
The drive back to Ottawa was very emotional. I was pretty sure it would be my last time driving up the 416 into a beautiful orange sunset and watching the pastoral landscape slowly become the skyline of the adopted city I will always consider to be my hometown. For all that's found, something else is lost....
I let Majel the GPS pick the best route to the garage where I would drop off Miranda. She had me go down a narrow residential street that had cars parked down it. The parkers were smart and alternated which side of the road they were on, so I was able to take a serpentine route all the way down. Maybe I'm just tired, but I really got a kick out of doing the moho slalom.
Towing was a piece of cake. It really helps that I could see the car in the backup camera monitor, as well as all the connections. I didn't notice much of a difference when stopping and starting, even on hills.
I feel positively drained and have to keep reminding myself that this time next week, the first day of my adventure will be just about behind me.
Anyhoo, I arrived at Miranda's parking spot for the last time around 7. I took perhaps fifteen minutes to unload boxes and empty as many of them as I could.
Then, I looked for the magic battery button, but I don't seem to have one, so I positioned Pommette for a boost. Once I got Miranda going, I manoeuvred her into place for hooking up the toad behind her.
Hooking up was surprisingly easy!
My tow bar is a Blue Ox Aventa II. I would have bought an Aladdin, which is a high end model suitable for towing a small car, but much cheaper than the Aventa II. The Aventa II, also a high end model, could probably tow a Hummer. It's really huge and heavy, but I like knowing that I could upgrade Pommette to a pickup or SVU one day and still have a tow bar I can use.
The Aventa II is a self-aligning bar. I can't figure out what's 'self-aligning' about it, but I can say that I was completely hooked up, safety cables and all, in less than 20 minutes. The hardest part was getting the toad lined up perfectly with the coach and at the correct distance. Then, it was just a matter of attaching safety cables and electrical wires. I figured out the wiring on my own. As it turns out, I had to open a thingy under the rig, push in another thingamabob, and then plug the cable into the thingamabob. I'd seen the thingamabob in the rear pass through and had offhandedly guessed that it was part of the towing system, so I was already one step ahead of the game when I couldn't find a skinny rectangular outlet for the wire.
I'm surprised by how easy it was to hook up the car on my own. There is no way I could have done that with a traditional 'fixed' tow bar, the kind with a ball coupler. The only thing I wasn't able to do was confirm that the brake lights were working on the toad, but since the turn signals were, I didn't worry.
Then off we went, the very picture of freedom and the antithesis of the current economic climate, LOL!
The drive back to Ottawa was very emotional. I was pretty sure it would be my last time driving up the 416 into a beautiful orange sunset and watching the pastoral landscape slowly become the skyline of the adopted city I will always consider to be my hometown. For all that's found, something else is lost....
I let Majel the GPS pick the best route to the garage where I would drop off Miranda. She had me go down a narrow residential street that had cars parked down it. The parkers were smart and alternated which side of the road they were on, so I was able to take a serpentine route all the way down. Maybe I'm just tired, but I really got a kick out of doing the moho slalom.
Towing was a piece of cake. It really helps that I could see the car in the backup camera monitor, as well as all the connections. I didn't notice much of a difference when stopping and starting, even on hills.
I feel positively drained and have to keep reminding myself that this time next week, the first day of my adventure will be just about behind me.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Removing Tar From a Car
When I was out and about on Saturday, I noticed a long scratch down the passenger's door of my car. Disgruntled, I examined it more closely and realised that it was actually a streak of something that I could flick away with my fingernail.
I suddenly remembered that when I got back to Mr. Wonderful's street on Thursday to pick up Pommette, the owner of the house in front of which she was parked was tarring his driveway....
My heart in my throat, I took a closer look at the car and realised that the whole passenger side, windshield, front, and part of the driver's side was flecked with tar. I hadn't noticed because of the way she's parked at home. Yes, I'd noticed that the windshield was messy, but didn't really think that much of it.
At any rate, I was pissed off about how much money and time I was going to have to spend to clean up the car.
I got home, did some Googling and came up with a list of possible solutions, from the supposedly undamaging to the 'definitely works, but you'll strip the finish and need rewax the car.'
Tonight, I finally had a half hour to kill to try out these solutions and figure out how much time it was going to take to clean the car completely.
Twenty-five minutes later, I had a shiny, non-damaged, and clean car.
The answer to tar on your car is...
Baking soda!!!
I sprayed the car with water, then sprinkled baking soda all over. I used a raggedy wash cloth to rub away all the tar. Minimum elbow grease was needed. When I was done, I used the hose to rinse the baking soda from the car.
I didn't even get dirty. Or wet.
*heaves a huge sigh of relief*
I suddenly remembered that when I got back to Mr. Wonderful's street on Thursday to pick up Pommette, the owner of the house in front of which she was parked was tarring his driveway....
My heart in my throat, I took a closer look at the car and realised that the whole passenger side, windshield, front, and part of the driver's side was flecked with tar. I hadn't noticed because of the way she's parked at home. Yes, I'd noticed that the windshield was messy, but didn't really think that much of it.
At any rate, I was pissed off about how much money and time I was going to have to spend to clean up the car.
I got home, did some Googling and came up with a list of possible solutions, from the supposedly undamaging to the 'definitely works, but you'll strip the finish and need rewax the car.'
Tonight, I finally had a half hour to kill to try out these solutions and figure out how much time it was going to take to clean the car completely.
Twenty-five minutes later, I had a shiny, non-damaged, and clean car.
The answer to tar on your car is...
Baking soda!!!
I sprayed the car with water, then sprinkled baking soda all over. I used a raggedy wash cloth to rub away all the tar. Minimum elbow grease was needed. When I was done, I used the hose to rinse the baking soda from the car.
I didn't even get dirty. Or wet.
*heaves a huge sigh of relief*
Thursday, July 24, 2008
So Close...
Miranda is legally mine. I received the necessary paperwork today to go to the SAAQ and get her plated. Once again, I lucked out with a licence plate that has numbers which are meaningful to me, so I already know the plate number by heart.
She's legally mine... but I have no keys yet. I have nothing nice and or non-sarcastic to say about that, so I'll refrain from commenting.
I got Pommette the toad back from having her base plate installed. There is still more to do, and I still can't tow, but I'm very close. In order for me to be able to tow, I'm missing the plug that would connect the car electric system to Miranda's. I didn't know what sort of plug she has, so the mechanic was unable to install it. I went over tonight to ogle my gal, pet her, and take a photograph of the connector. Hopefully, the missing component can be installed tomorrow. After, there's another thing that needs to be installed, but I'll be okay to tow short distances until Blue Ox gets the part to the garage.
Finally, my back up camera arrived. I took one look at the installation instructions and blanched, but I'm sure I can get it installed. It'll just take longer than the instructions say it will.
She's legally mine... but I have no keys yet. I have nothing nice and or non-sarcastic to say about that, so I'll refrain from commenting.
I got Pommette the toad back from having her base plate installed. There is still more to do, and I still can't tow, but I'm very close. In order for me to be able to tow, I'm missing the plug that would connect the car electric system to Miranda's. I didn't know what sort of plug she has, so the mechanic was unable to install it. I went over tonight to ogle my gal, pet her, and take a photograph of the connector. Hopefully, the missing component can be installed tomorrow. After, there's another thing that needs to be installed, but I'll be okay to tow short distances until Blue Ox gets the part to the garage.
Finally, my back up camera arrived. I took one look at the installation instructions and blanched, but I'm sure I can get it installed. It'll just take longer than the instructions say it will.
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