29 May 2009

Returned to Virginia. Was making good time until I got to the toll plaza in Baltimore. From there to Springfield is normally a one hour drive. Took 2 ½ due to accidents and heavy rain. NOT FUN!!!! This is why I want to move to Vermont!!!!

28 May 2009

Hard rain off and on all night and most of the morning. Soothing is not the term I would use to describe the cascading drops hitting the roof of the RV. Drove The Beast up to Kampersville to dump tanks and rewater. Took lunch (lasagna and strawberry shortcake) over to Lynne at her office in thanks for doing all of my laundry earlier this week. Fixed the cracked plastic shower curtain track (again) and it promptly broke, again. Hmm… Main entry door handle loosened up so the door wouldn’t open from the inside. Fixed. Promptly loosed up again. Put the handle in the van to be dealt with in Virginia. Using a screwdriver to operate the door in the meantime. Shampooed all of the RV’s carpets once again and this time they actually look pretty decent. Spent several hours clearing trees from the spur driveway that now runs from where the RV is parked down to the lower (north) end of where the shed will be. This spur driveway will provide access to the underground garage and equipment storage area. That spur also will give us a nice shortcut to the Lapidus’ house. Chainsaw ran okay, but that puppy still ain’t right! An incredibly delicious grilled vegetables dinner at Lynne & Perry’s to cap off a fairly productive two weeks.

27 May 2009

Third time's a charm ‘cause the camera platform is up!!!! Rained off and on all day, sometimes pretty hard. No leaks (!!!!) from either the skylight over the shower or any of the other roof openings, at least once I closed the bathroom and living/dining room roof vents that got left open all night. No wonder the furnace was running so much… Perry came by and trouble-shot / repaired the dining/living room light that suddenly went on the fritz the other day, then caused a fuse to blow. Used the RV microwave oven for the first time to cook dinner. Worked fine. Nobody yet has been able to figure out how to set the microwave clock. One of these days I suppose we should look in the instruction manual… Nah, why spoil the fun!?!?

26 May 2009

Spent most of the day cooking… preparing for Marty and Merry Lapidus coming to dinner. Good company and a fabulous repast (if I do say so myself) with Cabot extra sharp cheddar cheese on Ritz crackers (paired with a 2008 Chrysalis Sarah’s Patio White) for an appetizer, followed by lasagna, garden salad, and garlic Italian bread (paired with a 2006 Bayo Oscuro Syrah – provided by the Lapiduses, who know the Chilean vineyard owners), and finished with strawberry shortcake (paired with a 2005 Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glacière). As mentioned earlier, this ain’t no pop-up camper. First time I’ve used the RV oven… which, judging by cooking times, seemed to produce the temperatures advertised on the dial. Spent an hour scrubbing the stove top to within an inch of its life. Tom Whittaker stopped by early afternoon for a tour of property developments and news of local real estate activity. Had a spare hour between cooking after Tom left so reinstalled the bathroom vent cover (using stainless steel nuts and bolts), then raised the ladder for the camera platform. Kristen’s grandfather’s block and tackle once again made hoisting the ladder an easy one-minute task. The only hard part was getting the tackle hooked to the fixed block I had left high in the tree. I thought the ladder on a ladder on a ladder rig was pretty clever. It did the job and wasn’t nearly as dangerous as it looks. (Sure, Wilbur! Got any waterfront property in Florida you want to sell?)

25 May 2009

Returned to Fern Lake about noon and resumed cleaning efforts. Consumed half a bottle of Windex and several hours washing all windows inside and out… The Beast has a lot of windows that were very dirty! Discovered that the passenger side windshield wiper blade is falling apart. How did this vehicle just pass inspection???? Put another bead of sealant around the kitchen sink. Went up on the roof to clean the exterior housings for the two exhaust vent fans. Three of the four nuts holding the bathroom vent cover in place were rusted into immobility. Pried off the cover and eventually freed up the nuts. Discovered and sealed, not two, but four, cracks in the bathroom skylight exterior cover. Tried to tighten the one leaking water compartment fitting that I can reach. No joy!!!! Bob LaPorte stopped by to give me his bill for putting in the rough driveway, digging the utility trench, and excavating the “cellar” for the storage building. Only a touch over $2K, about 50% less than I was expecting… and he did about 50% more work than I was expecting, as well. He’s a keepa!!!! Tired of cleaning after Bob left, so built a quick and dirty rock stairway so we can more easily access the house site from where the RV is parked. Also hauled the major pieces for the camera platform down to the hemlock where they will be installed. Used my new hand truck to move the 110 pound ladder, which worked really slick! Bob says we’re supposed to have a frost tonight, so guess the RV heater is going to get some use. Outside the master bedroom there is a black cherry growing around a dead pine. When the wind blows (like tonight) there is a constant creak, creak, creak as the cherry rubs against one of the pine’s branches. Fetched chainsaw, solved problem! Reached into the cupboard under the sink after dinner and found water in my 9 x 13 baking pan. I HATE water leaks!!!!

24 May 2009

Used Sid’s wheelbarrow to haul some excess bank run gravel from our driveway over to where the utility trench has settled some more across the Glassner’s driveway. As soon as I started, so did the rain. In spite of getting somewhat damp, got the Glassner’s driveway smoothed out pretty good. Managed to blow a fuse in trying to figure out why a lamp in the living area all of a sudden wasn’t working, with both bulbs kaput. Hmmm…. Then tackled cleaning the RV’s shower compartment. The Beast has a skylight over the shower, which is a very nice feature. Found two cracks in the outer cover when I took down the inner cover to clean between the two. Stains on the bathroom ceiling now explained, as rain water was coming through one crack at a fairly good rate. Shampooed the master bedroom and hallway carpets. Shampooed the dining / living area carpet again. The RV carpet is now at a cleanliness point where, if this were my house, I’d be thinking that sometime fairly soon they really should be cleaned, i.e., just barely acceptable and by no means “clean”. Went up to Calais and spent the night there with Steve (brother) and Mary (his girlfriend) to attend to the property I own there. The mosquitoes and black flies in Calais were fierce!!!!

23 May 2009

Repaired the main entry door that the previous owner had “fixed” the day I bought The Beast. His “repair” kept the travel safety latch on the door from engaging… something that definitely should be working properly if anyone is ever in the coach cabin while the RV is moving down the road. Cleaned the storage compartments under the RV. After yesterday I thought the interior of the coach was dirty. That was nothing compared to what I tackled today. Discovered two unpleasant surprises: not one, but three, leaks from the piping in the water tank compartment, only one of which I can reach… to get at the other two leaks looks like will require removing one of the two water tanks and a petite contortionist, and rusted out sheet metal in one compartment that was (note the past tense) part of the support for the generator exhaust pipes. Yet another repair job for Junction Auto… Caveat that emptor!!!! Also discovered Exhibit B in the sewage hose storage compartment. Again, a free night’s stay at Triangle Square Circle to the first contestant who can correctly identify what this is. A bottle of wine thrown in if you can tell me why this was in with the sewage hoses. Lynne brought Hopea Kanootti over this afternoon for its maiden voyage on Fern Lake. (Yes, that decrepit guy in the canoe is who you think it is.) We also found a gorgeous (and reportedly very rare hereabouts) Lady Slipper just downhill from where the patio will be. Then Perry joined us for a delightful spaghetti dinner featuring Bove’s roasted garlic sauce and lively conversation about small town development approval process issues with which Perry is currently contending. As you can see, we’re really roughing it here in the RV. When I think back to how my father lived for years in a tent and a pop-up camper trailer while building his cabin in Calais, I realize I’m not nearly as tough as I’d like to think I am.

22 May 2009

Spent the entire day shampooing all of the furnishings and carpet in the RV dining / living area. One guess as to when the last time that chore was done. (Hint: it weren’t this century.) The post-cleaning water in the shampooer was much, much darker than the driveway… which is 100% dirt! Used over a gallon of cleaning solution and almost half the RV’s water supply… in an area measuring 10 ½ by 17 feet. A gallon of solution will clean our whole house in Virginia… twice!!!! While cleaning under the couch, found 11¢ and Exhibit A. A free night's stay at Triangle Square Circle to the first contestant who correctly identifies what this was in its former life. Also discovered that the back of one of the drawers under the dining settees was broken apart. Isn’t Liquid Nails a wonderful product? Did someone say, “caveat emptor”? After dinner, Mike Fallis, an arborist and owner of Limbwalker Tree Service, stopped by to eyeball the tree branches that need to come down to avoid future unpleasant surprises of the widow maker kind. We agreed that he will do that work between 12 – 17 June, exact date TBD. Tried an energy efficiency experiment tonight: shut off the water heater before doing the daily dishes and Doug cleanup routine. Still had hot water at the end of my shave and shower, though some slight cooling was setting in. Guess sometimes you just have to live dangerously in the name of saving the environment.

21 May 2009

Promptly at 9 o’clock a Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) line truck showed up to connect the electrical service. Of course, to make the connection, they had to cut off power at the transformer, which also supplies juice to the Glassners… just as Shelley wanted to take a shower. When your water comes from the lake, no power means no water. The power company guys graciously delayed throwing the switch until Shelley was done bathing. While looking again at the power termination pedestal dawn came over Marblehead… the pedestal is set too high. The electrical meter is supposed to be five feet above ground level, which it is, but the ground level at that point is 2 – 3 feet higher than it will be when the driveway is finished. Hmmm…. After the CVPS guys left, spent the remainder of the morning cutting trees that Bob LaPorte had knocked down on Monday. One was a 14″ maple that took him two scoops at the roots and a shove with the excavator bucket to put on the ground. Tell me again why I spent a WEEK busting my butt clearing trees out of the driveway path with a balky chainsaw???? This morning I was trying to get the saw to misbehave so I could take it back to Champlain Valley Equipment. The $%#@! thing must be clairvoyant… ran okay. Early afternoon drove into Middlebury for typical RV supplies: radiator coolant, wine, more wine, and 12 volt light bulbs. Then took The Beast up to Kampersville for one of their $10 tank dumping specials… and a water tank top-off. Maybe shouldn’t have waited ‘till the holding tanks were approaching full… the trip north was a tad smelly. Guess that’s why they make scented candles! Saw a couple of hearty souls swimming in Lake Dunmore. Must have been out-of-staters... Vermonters don’t go in the water voluntarily until August. While backing The Beast into its Fern Lake parking spot, had a close encounter of the worst kind with a black cherry. Didn’t hurt the tree or the new mirror, but Junction Auto will have some additional work to do during the next visit, straightening the rear bumper. Typical of the day, the radiator coolant level changed not a whit during the outing. Hmmm… in triplicate!!! A bottle of Beringer’s White Zinfandel went down REAL easy after that… drunk out of a frozen beer stein, no less. Discovered why you need air conditioning in Vermont… no-see-ums can fit through screen windows.

20 May 2009

Met with the Glassners to review the draft Easement Deeds drawn up by Joan Donahue, Esq.. Asked the Glassners to change the wording in their easement document to allow us more liberal use of their driveway. They agreed and will have the changes made per the alternate wording I provided. Spent an hour cleaning up and repairing the Glassner’s driveway where the utility trench had settled. This will be an ongoing chore for at least a few months. The good thing about Vermont is that you don’t need a calendar to tell when Memorial Day has arrived. Even better, the smell of Deep Woods Off seems to attract the black flies… not to mention the world-famous Leicester mosquitoes. A great day for working inside… in spite of the gorgeous weather outside. Alverta came down again and we continued cleaning The Beast's interior. Also repaired the bathroom door handle and reinstalled the (repaired in Virginia) master bedroom door. As Alverta was leaving, she pointed out that The Beast had a wet spot under the front end. That was tech-speak for a radiator leak… judging by the fact that the radiator reservoir seems to be almost empty. Oh joy!!!! On that note, called Chree to wish her a happy 37th anniversary. Trivia question: on how many anniversaries have we actually been in the same place? Answer: not many, which is probably the secret to our marital longevity.

19 May 2009

First thing in the morning went up to Champlain Valley Equipment (CVE) in Middlebury and got the chainsaw out of bondage… replete with a new carburetor. Got back to Leicester and fired that sucker up. The tree that had nearly wrecked the RV rear-view mirror was soon dropped across the driveway… without hitting the RV. Then the saw stalled and wouldn’t restart. Fortunately, I’d parked the van on the other side of where the tree fell, so I could escape the trap. Saw in van, went back to CVE to see my (fast becoming) best friend Dave Bishop. Dave gave the saw one pull and it started right up, then try as he might, it refused to run any way but perfectly. Much chagrined, I went back to Leicester, tail between my legs. Saw started right up, so I quickly got the tree across the driveway cut into pieces. As soon as I started on the four trees blocking the RV parking spot, the saw stalled… exactly like it had done in the morning. With much exercise and many, many imprecations, I got it to run long enough to get three of the trees down and cut up. Then the saw absolutely quit, so, taking advantage of my steel-toed boots, I kicked it into the woods, got out my axe, and started work on dropping the last tree. While all this was going on, Alverta was doing yeoman’s work cleaning the cabinets in the RV. She took a walk down to the lake when the swearing got too bad towards the end, saying as she left, “You’re not going to get that tree down with an axe. Why don’t you call it a day?” By the time she got back, the tree was laying on the side of the driveway and the RV was parked in its proper spot, with the living room slide-out slid out. Boy is The Beast roomy in that configuration! A couple of glasses of Shelburne Vineyard’s Cayuga White later, called Chree to wish her a happy anniversary. Oooops! Wrong day!!!!

18 May 2009

 Liam Powers and Gary Perkins installed the main electrical wire, plus conduits for cable TV and telephone service, in a trench expertly and quite quickly dug by Bob LaPorte (here extracting one of many Leicester "nuggets" found along the way) from the utility pole on the other side of the Glassner’s driveway to a rustic-Vermont termination pedestal they built a few feet south of the Triangle Square Circle driveway. Attached to the pedestal is the permanent electrical termination box for the house, including the electric meter, plus a temporary sub-panel to provide electrical service during construction. All went far too smoothly until Bob started digging the very shallow trench needed to run an electric wire over to where The Beast will be parked henceforth. He immediately hit a rock that was literally the size of an SUV, exactly where the water line from the well to the house was supposed to run. Try as Bob might, that rock weren’t a gonna move. The water line will have to go around the end of the rock… and the RV electric line went over the top. Bob also dug a huge pit in which the wood shed foundation is to be built. Again, all went far too smoothly until I asked him to just extend the hole another couple of feet towards the driveway. Lo and behold, Bob found the not-so-little sister of the rock he hit earlier. This rock he could move (he said it only weighed 3 or 4 tons), but try as he might, he couldn’t get it out of the hole. So he moved it to the end of the pit where I can build it into the retaining wall on that end of the shed. At least, that’s the plan… Late in the afternoon Perry Pirkkanen went with me to retrieve The Beast from Junction Auto. The repair bill was 40% lower than I was expecting! Included was a new $450 passenger side rearview mirror, two new coach batteries (the super large expensive size), and a Vermont inspection sticker. The return to Fern Lake went far too smoothly until I tried to back The Beast through the driveway S-turn into its parking spot. Almost took out the new mirror on a largish maple tree that is just a little too close to the driveway edge. Fortunately Cecile Todd (neighbor across the street) was following me down the drive and gave a yell in the nick of time. Unfortunately, try as I might, The Beast could not be maneuvered into its proper parking spot… five small trees which I wanted to keep will have to come out.

17 May 2009

Drove from Virginia to Vermont with the new, improved, GUARANTEED not to break ladder for the camera platform securely tied to the roof. Also had at least half of everything we own in the back of the van. Set the cruise control for 65 mph and took ownership of the right-hand lane.