Because We Can

It used to be called antifreeze, at least when I was growing up. Now it is referred to as coolant, and the price is much higher. The Explorer has a tendency to consume quantities of "coolant", and this is my low cost answer to that problem. One can buy premixed 50/50 coolant, or one can buy coolant and distilled water and make their own 50/50 blend. The thrifty part of me comes to the fore here, and between the distilled water and the coolant, the two gallons save us a good bit of money. No real reason to do it other than habit, but as you know, habits die hard. And as long as the Explorer lasts until we can junk it and and buy a new Jeep Wrangler, all will be well. Linda, bless her heart, is an Appalachian hill girl, meaning that she has a different outlook on Life than many people. Maybe I should say it is definitely different than her husband, who is also known as yours truly. She's a do it now, take no prisoners person. I, on the other hand, will get to it som...

Remember the song, "Lazy Day" by Spanky and Our Gang? That's what today was for us, minus the strollin' in the lane, and also the shady tree, that is. There was nothing exciting in our Life today, no interesting happenings, unless you call the giant blister that formed over the acorn squash as we microwaved it for dinner, a happening. Still, there was the time that we spent "holdin' hands and being with you" that mirrored those lyrics. Not all things in Life need to be discussed, but that doesn't mean many things in Life aren't enjoyed. I did manage to venture outside two times today, which was one time more that Linda did. The first was a lone excursion to the dumpster, but the second was a joint effort to bring our places traveled map up to date. It was time for Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania to take their rightful place on our wall of where we have been. A little rubbing alcohol to clean the surface, a couple of peel and stick placem...

We have been in Fort Payne for three days now, yet had not once set foot in town. That ended today as I got my fill of the history of the north end of Fort Payne, while Linda spent an equal amount of time shopping. Maybe I should back up a bit, she didn't spend her time shopping, she spent her time buying. And when I finally found her, all she could do was give me what she had picked out to hold for her while she searched for even more items to buy. She'd started at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, and to be clear, no one has ever accused her of being a spend thrift, and eventually she gravitated to Hammers, where I finally found her. And it was when it came time to leave that is when we ran into the not Bob, Bob, the Bob who was not created equal. We were the next in line at a very long register line while the call went out, "Bob, I need help at the registers." It wasn't long before smiling Bob appeared, clad in a University of Alabama shirt and exhibiting...

Darn, I don't like these clocks going back an hour here, and an hour there. Like in a daylight Savings Time change here, and a time zone change there. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, this morning there was something to interfere with my early morning escapades. Note the temperature in the above photo. What in the world are we doing in a place where the thermometer almost dips into the teens? We know the coach really does not like low temperatures and it has many ways of displaying its displeasure. The jacks down alarm sounds as we drive off, the ABS light comes on, the Alt Charge light and warning sound, for example. This morning I first noticed the system heat, the heater that is supposed to keep the wet bay above freezing, wasn't working. Then it happened, I opened the refrigerator door and and our Norcold was once again Notcold. Notcold that is in the sense of the green light being out, and in not currently operating. Today's early morning hours were spent...

It finally arrived, our planned day of doing absolutely nothing. For far too long we have had something we needed to do each and every day, but not today. No plans, but still it didn't mean we didn't do a few things. After all, there were still meals to prepare, though we did manage to skip lunch as a formal thing. One of the few things that could be considered as doing something was when I got out the prunes and refilled the container. Yes, I have to admit it. Every morning we each get two of them, not because we need them, but because we enjoy eating them. The second example of doing something involved bottling the last of the cherry liquor. There was no mistaking what was in the container, Linda having made sure to label it when we made it. This was the one with the cracked cherry pits, which meant the cherries were going to be squeezed to expel any liquid, and then they would be thrown away. Last time I had taken care of the decanting of the liquor from the cherries, b...

It is true that we do not like to travel great distances any given day, but that doesn't mean we don't so it. Right now we are in the process of fleeing the cold weather of the north, at least the north as we view it, and heading towards the warm south. Our travels have been accompanied with many snowbirds on the roads, and it comforting knowing that our assessment of what is cold weather is correct. This morning we were on the road right at 7 o'clock and our route would have us traveling through Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama to our destination. Or stated another way, from fog to rain. Our first stop this morning was at the south end of Wytheville, where there was a Flying J. After our trip on empty to fill up with diesel the other day, it is going to be a while before that happens again. The Flying J along I-81 on the south side of Wytheville has an easily accessible RV island. It wasn't until we were starting to fill our tank that I remembered why ...