12 April 2011

(Over) loaded the van, per usual, with all the “stuff” needed for a month of RV camping and the upcoming construction season, plus a plump 164 pound driver.  Unfortunately, left Springfield 15 minutes later than planned, so instead of being just ahead of rush hour, took 45 minutes to go the first 12 miles.  After that was clear sailing (except for a minor bridge-construction slowdown in Philadelphia) all the way north.  Just over 9 hours for the trip.  Rained from Philly to an hour south of Albany.  Sun came out when I crossed into Vermont – hopefully a good omen.  Still lots of ice on the south end of Fern Lake, and about 20 yards along the shoreline by our dock.  Don’t think we’ll be swimming this week.  All the snow is gone from our property, though the Lapidus’ still have a goodly supply.  Delores looked much as I had left her – from the outside that is…  Tarp removed, found that the urban legend that cat hair placed around and under the RV will keep the furry creatures away is MYTH BUSTED!  A major nest (made from all of the remaining RV insulation, no doubt) in the compartment above the microwave where the soda is kept, and mouse droppings all over the shop.  And by “all over” I mean that I spent several hours washing all the silverware, plates, and utensils, plus their storage compartments, that wintered over.  About 8:30 was reminded that I hadn’t had dinner, so inhaled a generic can of Chef Boyardee… and a few ounces of restorative from a bottle with a black label… and called it a day.

6 October 2010

Back to Virginia in just on nine hours, giving plenty of time to reflect on the building season just completed. These two photos say it best, taken one year apart. Returned the air compressor I had borrowed from Chris Thiel, and discovered that I had left one of the hoses inside Delores. Hope the mice aren't too hungry this winter...

5 October 2010

Up to Kampersville first thing for the final tank dumping of the season. Then went through the rest of the 62 item checklist that results in Delores being properly tucked in for the winter. Scattered beaucoup cat hair under Delores to discourage furry creatures from taking up residence. Perry came over mid-afternoon to help get the blue tarp in place, the final piece to the winterizing process. On my way to another night Chez Pirkkanen, got all the way to Camp Keewaydin on Lake Dunmore (better there than half-way to Virginia!!!!) when I remembered that I had closed the RV refrigerator and freezer doors to do some final cleaning… and never reopened them for winter storage. Fortunately, untying one knot allowed the tarp to be pulled back just enough to open the driver’s door, so fixing the refer doors oversight took less than five minutes. Took Lynne and Perry out to Cattails Restaurant for another excellent dinner.

4 October 2010

A beautiful fall day: clear and dry with temps in the mid-50’s. Mike the mechanic at G. Stone Motors took approximately five seconds to reattach the emergency brake sensor wire that had come undone with his machinations on Friday. Hydraulic system back in normal operation. Tried to start the generator as part of the winterization procedure. No joy. Oh, crap… looks like the kids' inheritance is going to take another hit! Parged the remaining three sections of rocks that had been dry laid on Saturday. The eighth course is complete; only four more sections to lay and parge and then the ninth course also will be complete… next spring after I get a new supply of building rocks. Secured the site: tarps weighted down over the sand, lumber, and concrete forms piles, Hopea Kanootti up on sawhorses in the shed cellar, and, with a few minutes of backing and filling, the pickup truck maneuvered into the shed cellar, battery disconnected, and covered up for the winter. Loaded into the van everything in the RV exterior storage compartments that won’t be spending the winter. In the “just because I could (and I’m stupid)” department: went for a swim at the end of the workday. Water temp now 63°, which REALLY gets your attention on entry. Marty & Merry came up for garbage soup, biscuits, cake, and Ben & Jerry’s… plus some more of the really wonderful 2007 Da Vinci Chianti .

3 October 2010

Took Delores down t’ the Leicester General Store for cheap gas, only to find that the price had gone up by 11¢ a gallon since last week. With the gauge reading just above empty, she gulped down 65 gallons… which cost a staggering $175. Glad we only have to top up once a year. Emptied all the leftovers in the refrigerator plus sundry other ingredients (including what remained of the Tanqueray gin) into two pots and made a delicious soup. One pot went to Kate & Dan to have for a late breakfast; the other is for dinner with Marty & Merry tomorrow evening. While the soup was simmering, parged six sections of between-column rocks. Then took a break to help Dan put up storm windows and clear brush over at his place. After a late mac & cheese lunch with Kate and Dan and sad goodbyes for the next six months, returned to parging rocks, getting another three sections done. Baked a couple of cakes after dinner, one for Mr. Glutton and one for tomorrow’s dinner.

2 October 2010

Continued laying between-column rocks, using the absolute dregs from the pile. You might say I’ve reached rock bottom. Or maybe not… Alverta arrived late morning to see the progress since her last visit in mid-August. With her help got the rest of the eighth course and all but four sections of the ninth course ready for parging. She says I should plan to live in the shed cellar, it looks so nice. Chree will make that decision… Lynne came over at noon and brought a lentil soup plus corn bread for lunch. Quite yummy! After them good eats, Alverta and I paddled Hopea Kanootti down to the boat access ramp at the southern end of Fern Lake and then used her car (which has a roof rack just for that purpose) to bring the canoe back to the shed cellar for winter storage. Went over to Kate and Dan’s for an great lasagna dinner and to catch up on news, not having seen them for nearly three months. Stayed up far too late sitting around their campfire roasting marshmallows…

1 October 2010

The rain that was supposed to clear off by this morning didn’t. Worked on dry laying the ninth course of between-column rocks for the same six sections that I did yesterday, they being under cover of the shed deck. Didn’t stop me from getting soaked through by mid-afternoon when, praise Allah, the G. Stone courtesy van came to take me to fetch Delores. When we arrived at the dealership, Delores was still in the shop with the mechanics working on bleeding the new rear brake lines. Multiple attempts failed to extinguish the brake warning light. They tried fiddling around with the emergency brake. No luck. Then they tried bleeding the front brake lines. Voilá, the brake light went out and the brake pedal resumed having that nice firm feel. Shelled over $600 ($70 of which was for expedited shipping of two $50 brake lines… does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?) and drove Delores back to Fern Lake. Now in order to activate the hydraulic pump that operates the leveling jacks and the slide out, the emergency brake has to be engaged. Suffice it to say that the hydraulic system isn’t working and the suspected culprit is whatever the mechanics did to the emergency brake… as the hydraulic system was working just fine just before they did whatever they did to bollix things up. Of course, the time this was discovered was 5:10 p.m. and the G. Stone service department closed at 5:00 sharp… and won’t reopen ‘till Monday. So much for closing up camp on Sunday… Had invited Marty and Merry over for dinner in the mists of time before brake failure. Instead, we had an excellent prime rib repast at Cattails Restaurant in Brandon.