I replaced it with the one from the old water heater, which will be temporarily adequate.
Neighbours of ours who headed south three days ago have returned. After their first long hard day of driving south ... he broke his arm ! After they had a long and difficult emergency room experience, she .. who had not driven in about 15 years ... took two days to drive back home. < sigh > Shit happens ! Welcome home !
Monday ; HEY ... < scowling > ... why is there pack rat shit on my picnic table ? ! ?
It rained overnight, and this morning when I walked Bo there was a dusting of snow on the top of the mountain. UH-OH ... that means it's just about time to get out of here !
Went into town this morning to get a haircut and beard trim. Then a doctor's appointment to get prescription refills and review my colonoscopy and biopsy results. WOW ... my new gastroenterologist's reports are certainly very thorough and detailed. I'm very impressed with her. I took my prescriptions to the pharmacy, bought some groceries and adjusted the air in the truck's tires before heading home.
This afternoon we began storing things in preparation for departure in a week.
Buying new fire extinguishers a week and a half ago during Fire Prevention Week made me think that we should have a fire drill and figure out how to escape through the bedroom's escape window. Today we did that. I went out first, getting scraped and bruised in the process. Joanne dropped Sully out to me, then Bo, then she came out with me helping from below. It took awhile to get it figured out ... feet first or head first ... face up towards ceiling or down towards bed ... but better to figure it out now than in the middle of the night with the trailer on fire ! Sully was not very impressed with the fire drill !
Wednesday ; BRRRRR ... today was pretty cold !
I had such a sore and "wonky" left knee this morning that I had to use my walking stick / cane ( 50th birthday present from Hillbilly Junction, Kentucky ) for half the day. Guess the drop from the bedroom window to the ground ( yesterday's fire drill ) was further than I thought. In the afternoon my knee began to loosen up a little and I was able to walk without the cane, although it was still sore and wonky. I need new knees ! Picked up my prescription refills at the pharmacy in Keremeos this afternoon. Have enough meds now to last me until spring. Had to disconnect the external water hose tonight due to risk of freezing temperatures overnight. And Joanne was complaining that she had to wear socks today. YUP ... just about time to head south !
Thursday ; We woke up this morning to a cold trailer and a furnace blowing nothing but cold air. Normally that means we've run out of propane, but not today ! I spent much of today working on the dead furnace < sigh >. First I removed it from the wall. I learned how to do that about 5 years ago, the last time the furnace died ! I couldn't find anything obviously wrong with it. I phoned Leisureland RV and got some helpful advice but still couldn't find the problem. I will take it in to Leisureland in Penticton tomorrow morning, and hopefully they can diagnose the problem and maybe even have it repaired before we depart next Tuesday. BRRRRR ... it's kind of cold to be without a furnace at this time of the year !
There is "evidence" of a pack rat living behind our storage shed. For the last couple of days I have been trying to eradicate the problem with a large rat trap. Two nights ago I whacked a mouse. Last night I whacked a squirrel. I hope I don't have to kill much more of the wildlife around here before I finally get the pack rat !
Friday ; Today was another sunny, albeit fairly cold day. DARN ... the garbage truck did not take our old water heater carcass. We'll have to leave it on our lot and deal with it in the spring.
We left for Penticton around 10 AM, taking our furnace, and neighbour Jeannine. She caught a ride with us to go visit her husband who is in the Penticton Hospital with a broken hand, broken arm, broken shoulder, and two broken ribs after falling in Pendleton, Oregon about a week ago. He will be having surgery on Monday to repair his shoulder, and maybe his arm. We dropped her off at the hospital, I dropped Joanne off at Value Village to browse and kill some time, and I headed to Leisureland RV with the dead furnace. Well ... it was only a dead furnace at home ! At Leisureland it worked perfectly fine ! < sigh > Hopefully that means it was just a short circuit caused by a lot of accumulated dust ( and cat hair ) built up on and around and in the furnace. I will reinstall it tomorrow. Wish me luck !
We spent the afternoon finishing up our "must buy before leaving Canada" shopping list, including running around to four different grocery stores in a quest for fruit cake / Christmas cake. "Why ?" you might ask ? Have you ever tried to buy Christmas cake in Arizona ... or Mexico ? ! ? That's like trying to buy nopales ( prickly pear cactus "paddles" ... yes, they're eaten like a vegetable ) here !
Saturday ; I spent the entire day working on the furnace, and I'm very frustrated ! And now I'm very behind schedule on our "fall pre-departure" preparations. Having to replace the water heater put me behind schedule, and now the furnace problem has put me WAYYYY behind schedule. And the furnace is not yet fixed ! ! !
I reinstalled the furnace. And reconnected the propane. And reconnected all the wiring. AND ... it didn't work ! So I removed it again. And fiddled with it. And reinstalled it again. And it didn't work again. And on and on and on like that all day ! My current "diagnosis" is that there is a problem with the wall thermostat, which is only a year and a half old. Temporarily, I have "bypassed" the thermostat, and have two lengths of wiring coming out of the wall through the furnace vent. I can turn the furnace on and off by connecting or disconnecting the ends of the two wires. What a "shoemaker" repair ! ! ! But at least I can make the furnace function. It will allow us to depart Tuesday, and hopefully get a new thermostat Wednesday morning at Camping World in Burlington, Washington where I already have an appointment for some trailer service.
While at home we can survive with the little electric space heater for a few more nights. And for at least one night, more if necessary, as we travel and "boondock" without 120 volt AC power, I can turn the furnace on just before bedtime, heat the trailer up quite warm, turn the furnace off, sleep with Sully's 12 volt heater blankie on the bed, and turn the furnace on again first thing in the morning.
I ran out of electrical connectors today as well. So ... the last "reconnection" of the wiring is another "shoemaker" repair. On Monday I will buy some electrical connectors in Keremeos, and hopefully have enough time to redo all the electrical connections.
Some days I hate life !
DSK
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