12 June 2009

Woke up at the crack of dawn to find that Shlomo had had a large bout of incontinence in the night… ALL OVER the dining area carpet that I spent most of my previous visit to Fern Lake shampooing. Chree did wonders with some Spic N Span… before she even had her coffee. Rain all morning. Installed shelves in one of the hall closets, doubling the amount of storage available for non-hang-up clothes. Used Goo Gone and a razor blade scraper to good effect on various stickers and sticky things left over from The Beast’s last owner. Steve and Carole Osmer (my boss for many, many years both in the Coast Guard and then afterwards as a contractor) stopped by for lunch and a tour of the property. Hamburgers on the grill became Sloppy Joes on a bun due to the rain. Chree wanted more sunlight where The Beast is parked, so four trees (including the cherry that bit The Beast’s back bumper) went from vertical to firewood. Chainsaw ran almost perfectly. Gathered rocks for a fire pit to be created where the car turnaround has been, but won’t be needed with the sun-blocking trees removed from the driveway. Had pistachio ice cream with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for dinner. Yes, that was our ENTIRE dinner…

11 June 2009

Chree and I, accompanied by Geisha (our German Sheppard, who was born in Vermont) and Shlomo (Tasi & Kristen’s Labrador Retriever), along with the other half of everything we own, made the trek from Virginia to Fern Lake. Shlomo chewed through his brand new seat belt (destroyed beyond repair) within the first two hours, then got car sick. It was a looooong 9 ½ hour drive, with rain off and on the whole way. Chree liked The Beast, and, even more, the Glenora Cranberry Chablis we had with dinner!!!!

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!!!!