Interior Changes

Linda and I made a couple of changes inside the rig that give us more living space and help keep us organized with our work. Since we have  two entry doors into the rig, we only use the rear door that goes into the garage. That way we can kick off our shoes, in the garage, and leave some of the dirt out there. Having said that, we feel that it’s a huge waste of space to have the entry area in front of the other door so we moved the Euro chair to that area. We went to Lowes and bought some 3/4” plywood and cut that to fit the stairwell. I put cleats on the underside so the board can’t move around. Linda wrapped the edge, that is up against the side of the counter, with some of the non-skid material and attached it with hot glue. It opens up the space so much….we love it ! This is also my favorite chair to sit in. I can set a drink on the edge of the counter and have a perfect view of the TV.
When we moved the printer up to the living area, we didn’t have anything for it to sit on so I used a storage tub that was flipped upside down. We wanted something small and compact but there is an area on the floor where the step motor must be located or something. It protrudes up about 4 or 5 inches so a cabinet had to have sufficient clearance to fit over it or be small enough to just go up to it. We went for the latter option. After narrowing it down to seven different options, we chose this one. We ordered it from Amazon and had it delivered here to the campground. It’s perfect for what we need. It has five drawers that can hold supplies for our job. Linda assembled it, in between our classes and functions this week. There are locking casters on it so if Linda needs to roll it over next to the banquette while she’s breaking down a job, she can do that. It’s going to be very handy to keep organized and keep “stuff” off the table.
Our colleagues are leaving today. They are starting to pack up their rigs to move on down the road. It’s a beautiful day to drive. Sun is shining bright and there’s no wind. It’s also the kick-off for NASCAR, although it’s raining in Daytona so it may not happen today. That’s ok….I don’t think we get it on the TV channels that work here in the park. Might have to watch it at the service center tomorrow. Let the fun begin !

New Chairs

Linda and I have had the same camping chairs since before we went on the road and besides being big and bulky, they were getting a little beat up. On a recent visit to Camping World, a chair there caught my eye that was folded up really compact but I was on a mission for something else so didn’t take the time to open it up and check it out. I found the chair on Amazon but since they were almost $50 each, I put it on our wish list. After discussing it with Linda, we decided to buy two of them and try them out. When we went back to them, on the Amazon site, they had gone done $10 each so yippee, it was meant to be. On top of that, we had built up a bunch of cash back on our Discover card so the whole purchase was done using our cash back proceeds.
They are called an X-Press Lounger Director’s Chair and are made by GCI Outdoor.The carrying handle is part of the back rest. They are super compact….17.5” x 2.5” x 16.5”. They are really comfy and we think we’re going to store them in the car since they are super small. That way we’ll have them if we get to an event where we want to sit a spell. There are pockets on each side of the chair, for a cell phone or book or a bottle/can. Seems like some good thought went into the design of the chair. I was a little concerned that some of the people who had purchased them had problems with the chairs and needed to get a replacement. That’s why we got them from Amazon…we knew how good they are about replacing them if there is a problem. There is also a lifetime warranty on the chairs from the manufacturer. We’re happy with them…they take up less space and are comfy.

Too Cold

The temps dropped down to 27 last night and although I had wrapped the water softener in an old sleeping bag, the hose going into the rig froze so we started out the morning without water. Brought the hose and water softener in the house (as I should have done before dark) and it thawed out in no time. It’s a little tough to get a garden hose through a doorway that’s frozen out straight for about six feet in length. Ha..Tonight it’s supposed to be another cold one, so I put some water in the fresh water tank and brought the water softener and hose inside (now that’s using the ole noggin). Gonna warm up into the 60’s and maybe 70 by Sunday. Yeehaw !
Yesterday, we stopped at Jiffy Lube to get an oil change in the car and to also make a sales call. I saw this sign on the wall, in the waiting room, and thought it interesting. Seems it went into affect in 1975 so if a car dealer tries to tell you that they won’t back the warranty because you didn’t get your routine maintenance done at a dealership, they are wrong. Nice to keep that in mind. Wonder if that applies to RV’s?
We bought a couple items to try and make organizing in the rig a little easier. Bought two holders for boxed things like saran wrap and sandwich bags ($5 ea. at Amazon) and 12 clips to hold spice bottles ($8 at Amazon). Really want to get a can organizer but I can’t justify spending $40 or $50 for something to hold cans although it would be very handy. Can’t find the camera right at the moment so will post a picture of all of these items installed at a later date. The saran wrap, bags and spices have been stored in the cupboard above the stovetop but the cupboard is so deep, it’s hard to get things out of it. By mounting some of these holders on the doors, it will free up space IN the cupboard and make things more readily available. Does anyone else not like to put screws in the walls or doors of their rig ? I did mount the paper towel holder tonight, using the two little screws that came with it, but I cringed the whole time I screwed them in. That’s why I so love those command strips to hang things. I look at the “Command Center” in every store I go in because you find some unique items in some stores that you don’t find all over. Love ‘em !!
Covered a lot of territory with our sales calls this week. We went to Pudding Ridge today..cute name, I thought. My uncle always used to call me Puddin’ Tane, although I never knew where that came from. Maybe an old TV or radio show ? Maybe some you have some insight into my childhood nickname. Maybe it was a weird family thing. Someone told me once that a common term around our house, “dooryard” was not really a word. Huh ?…We used it all the time. “Go out and mow the grass in the front dooryard.” I just went to Merriam Webster dictionary to look it up and it says: “a yard next to the door of a house”…Well Duh !!…yep, that’s what it is…See, we didn’t just make up words out there in Bungy. They really do exist. I’m gonna see what I can find to do tomorrow in our dooryard, outside the rig. Here’s hoping you all have fun in your own dooryards ! :)

A Year Ago....

In a nostalgic mood, I thought it would be fun to see what Linda and I had been up to this time last year. I went back through my posts from October 2008 (they are under "older posts" in bottom right corner of the blog). We were staying in the campground in Coffeyville, working at Amazon. The Christmas season was gearing up but not at a fever pitch until after Thanksgiving. The weather was awesome which is more than I can say for this year's weather. It was in the 60's most days....we would have our door open during the day and sometimes our neighbor, Lindig would stop over and say Hi...we miss having her next door. We met so many great people at Amazon and many of the friends we made there are back there this year working. We heard from our friend Carolyn that our supervisors were asking about us and wondering if we were coming back this year. Sorry to say we're not returning but all of the folks at Amazon are in our thoughts. I actually went to Walmart in search of the insoles that I discovered in Coffeyville that helped with my aching feet as we tried to get acclimated to the 16 miles we walked everyday on our shift picking orders. Couldn't find them in the Walmart here.....might have to put in a special order with our friends out in Kansas to buy me some and ship them to me...Amazon style. Don't think it's something that Amazon stocks but maybe I should check....you never know what you'll find down the aisles at the world's greatest on-line store. I loved going in each week, as we got closer to Christmas and discovering what new items were on the shelves. Boxed sets of DVD's, cool cookbooks, nifty games, special edition movies, etc. One book that I picked several of last year....Where the Wild Things Are..has now been made into a movie and looks really cute. I think of Amazon when I see the movie trailer on TV. Another big deal last year....Harry Potter's last book was set to be released and there were top secret shifts to pack the leather bound copies to get them ready for shipping. Hmmm....in a sense it seems like a long time ago and in another it seems like yesterday. It's certainly a time that Linda and I cherish....the time that great bonds of friendship were formed that will last us a lifetime.

Girls Night Out....

Since Linda B had to work on Sunday, she got to have today off while I worked with one of the assistants. There is always lots to do. Today I had a bunch of locks to drill out. These are locks that the locking mechanism is too large, for some odd reason, and we're not able to get them out of the opening. Kind of hard to rent the unit out if we can't get into it...ya think ? So there are 19 units like this. I've got over half of them done....will finish them up tomorrow.

Nights are getting cooler and is getting darker earlier. I keep setting the timers, on the exterior lights, to come on earlier and shut off later, due to the changing season. Today was the first day of autumn and a pretty day it was. Temps in the 70's...and tomorrow it's supposed to hit 82.

Last night Linda and I went up to her sister in laws house to have dinner with her. What fun we had...went to a restaurant literally across the street from their house and had a great meal. Was a fun girls night out ! We laughed and had a good time. Was just what we needed for a day off.

Missing all of our friends....wish I could gather all of them up, with a snap of my fingers, and bring them all together. We stay in touch with all our RV'ing buddies but it has been anywhere from six months to almost a year since we've seen them all. They are scattered all over the country, doing all sorts of things. Many of them are headed back to Amazon.com to work for the Christmas season. I was thinking about the 16 miles a day we used to walk at our job at Amazon, picking the orders, as I was walking through the hallways at work the other day. I'm sure I don't cover 16 miles a day, doing this job, but I cover alot of territory in a day's time. We won't be with them this year in Coffeyville, Kansas but we will sure be thinking about them and will be with them in spirit. We hope that they have a great time there and that the cold weather stays away till they get out of there.

Fairhope, Alabama

This afternoon we drove towards the coast to the cute little town of Fairhope. It's an artsy town with neat shops and the Fairhope Historical Museum. We went into the museum and there were some interesting items on display. This picture shows the accomplishments that one of the early mayors passed during his term (I believe it was from 1912 - 1914). Click on the picture to enlarge it. Looks like a pretty aggressive agenda of accomplishments, don't you think ? More than our modern day congress accomplishes with its bi-partisan bickering.

It appears that there must be a wealthy clientele of folks that live in Fairhope. I've never been in a thrift store, as they had here, where there is an extensive selection of furs and stoles for sale. Hmmm....
Once we left town we drove down to the coast where the beach was and there was a very nice park.There was this huge fountain at the entrance to the waterfront park and this sign showing all the wintering birds that come to the area. We drove down the coast for a little ways, looking at the nice houses along the shore. We circled around and came back down rt 32 and stopped at Coastal Haven campground to check it out. I got a quick look at it as we went past it, on the way to Fairhope, and it looked nice and clean...with concrete sites so we wanted to check it out. We drove in and went to the end of one row and came around to the backside of the office. I noticed a woman walking along behind our truck but didn't pay much attention. When Linda and I got out of the truck to go in the office and get a brochure we heard someone holler to us. Turned around and that woman who had been following us was Linda from the Amazon campground in Coffeyville. Seems her and her husband have been staying there for a while. Right across the street from her is where Vickie and Bob are staying (unfortunately they weren't home)....we were so surprised to run into them there and got a chance to find out where Vicki and Bob are staying as we want to visit with them while we are in the area. Small world....Seems the last month or so has been like an Amazon Old Home Days...bumping into the folks we worked with in Coffeyville. What fun !