Tuesday 10-30 Winterizing the Boat

Winterizing the boat

We had a windy day with cool temperatures. Perfect day to do a boat project. 

Our boating season is over. Every year Larry winterizes the boat. We keep the boat in the garage year round and the temperature doesn't get too cold but Larry doesn't like taking chances on the motor freezing up. When Larry winterizes the boat he removes the hoses to drain the water from the cooling system. Then he opens the valves on the engine and drains more water. After the water is drained out he puts the hoses back on, closes the valves and puts the plug back in the boat. Before backing the boat back into the garage we remove the platform so we can walk behind the boat if we need to when its in the garage. Larry also removes the battery, he places it on a shelve in the garage and hooks it up to a charger. Once the boat is back in the garage we cover it. Now the boat is ready for the winter.

One of the hoses Larry drained

Warming up the boat

Draining the water

After Larry finished winterizing the boat he wrote three reviews for the Home Depot Seeds Program. He reviewed the TR Industrial Heat Gun Kit, Milwaukee Material Removal Kit and Milwaukee Impact Wrench Kit. He played with the first two last week and today before writing the review on the Milwaukee Impact Wrench Kit he played with it by removing the lug nuts on the rear wheels of the Minnie. It works great. The Milwaukee Impact Wrench Kit came with a very nice canvass bag to store it in. It was challenging trying to figure out how to put the pieces in the bag considering the same bag is used for other tool kits. Larry went on the internet to see how other people accomplished this task. He finished writing his reviews but didn't submit them because he likes to reread them a day or two after writing them.

Milwaukee Impact Wrench Kit

While Larry was writing his reviews I worked on my puzzle. I'm over halfway assembling it.

Horse of Iron puzzle

In the evening we rented a movie from Amazon called Deadpool, it's a super hero movie. I wasn't impressed. I normally enjoy super hero movies but I thought this one was terrible, but I guess I'm one of the few considering it had a four and a half star rating. Larry knows that I like to stay up and watch British detective series so he subscribed to Acorn via Amazon, it is a British Channel. You get a free seven day trial and after that its 5.99 a month. I started watching a detective series called No Offence.

Monday 10-29 Sundancers Halloween Dance

Halloween celebration with the Sundancers

We started the day out by taking the Equinox to Don Ringler Chevrolet to get the oil changed. Larry usually changes the oil in our vehicles but the Equinox is still under warranty so we take it to the dealer. Larry called last week and made an appointment for this morning. He thought about me and made the appointment for 10:00 so I didn't have to get up early. We were there about an hour.

The water heater in the house is a ways from the kitchen so it takes a bit to get hot water to the sink. Years ago Larry installed a circulating water pump to allow the water to get hot faster. When we got back from our trip the pump had quit. Larry decided to try another option and ordered an under-counter water heater from The Home Depot. We picked it up today but they did not have the correct plumbing accessories to install it, we went to a plumbing supply company in Temple and got the parts we needed. Now Larry needs to find time to install it.

On the way home we stopped by Shipley Do-nuts. We had received coupons in the mail and we got two free glazed donuts. The coupons expire on Thursday so we used one of them.

By the time we got home it was time for lunch. After Larry decided to change the oil in the Minnie. First he took the Minnie for a spin to warm up the oil. When he got back he put the Minnie on the side of the house and changed the oil. Larry puts Valvoline Oil in the Minnie, they changed the container. It use to have a handle on top which made it easy to lift and carry, they removed the top handle, now it's a pain to pick up. The pour hole was redesigned with a lip that helps with pouring the oil in the vehicle. I guess the changes were good and bad. Once the oil was changed he drained the old oil into the container to recycle it. Then he cleaned everything up.

New oil container

Putting new oil in the Minnie

Cleaning up after the oil change

Draining old oil into the oil container

We have an aerobic septic system and it has to be inspected every four months. While Larry was doing the oil change the septic company came by to check it out. He found that compressor was no longer working. There is an alarm on the system, it is very loud and must have gone off while we were gone, someone probably got tired of hearing it and flipped the switch to silence it so we had no idea anything was wrong. Larry ordered a new compressor and will replace it himself.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers. They had their Halloween Dance. This year they invited Dan Nordbye to call along with Brad Caldwell, Lucy and Jerry Pate cued the round dancing. They had nine squares and a couple more squares sitting out. The dance started at 6:30 and was over at 9:30. They asked people to bring finger foods, I made brownies with cookie dough in them. There was a lot of food to snack on. A lot of  the dancers did a super job of dressing up for Halloween. There were a lot of round dancers dancing in between each square dancing tip. We had an outstanding night of dancing to Brad and Dan. I had fun dancing a couple of rounds, one with Howard and the other with Jerry.

Brad Caldwell and Dan Nordbye

Howard and Betty round dancing to Lucy

Friends having fun dancing to Dan and Brad

Jeanne having a great time

Stephanie goofing off

One of the great customs we saw

Round dancing with Howard

Round dancing with Jerry

Gail and Dan Clairmont

   

Sunday 10-28 Visiting Louise

Doing this and that

The other day Larry was talking to Louise on the phone and she mentioned that her waterbed heater went out. She bought a new one and drained her bed but needed help replacing it. This morning we headed to her house in Round Rock. While checking out the old heater Larry discovered the heater had apparently shorted out, it melted a hole through the liner and left a burnt mark on the bottom of the bed. He inspected the mattress and found at the corners it felt hard and brittle, the tag indicated it was 15 years old. Louise decided she should order a new liner and mattress for the bed. They went on Amazon and found a mattress, liner and mattress pad. When they come in we'll go back and install all the pieces. In the mean time she will continue to sleep on her couch or in her spare bedroom.

Louise had replaced the batteries in her thermostat and it would no longer work with Alexa. Larry reprogrammed the thermostat and now she can ask Alexa to turn the temperature up or down. While it sounds a bit crazy to ask Alexa to change the temperature of the air conditioner or heater instead of going to the thermostat and doing it yourself it is one of those things that once you start using it it is really convenient. We love our thermostat, you can even adjust it from the road via a smart phone. Really nice if you forget to turn off your thermostat before leaving on a trip.

Louise had also purchased a new Roku for the TV in her bedroom. While we were there Larry installed it and got it working.

While visiting Louise I played with her dog Alice.

After doing the projects we had lunch. Louise had bought a Papa Murphy's pizza. For dessert we had Reese Peanut Butter Cups. Then we said good-bye and went home.

When we got home we watched a couple episodes of GizWiz and some YouTube videos. In the evening we finished watching The Woman in White. I enjoyed watching this series. Then I worked on my puzzle. I finished watching the Frankie Drake Mysteries series.

Relaxing in front of the television

Saturday 10-27 Waxing the Minnie

A beautiful sunny day

Another beautiful day with sunshine, it got up to 85 degrees. 

We started the day out by waxing the Minnie. Larry applied the wax with his small polisher, then I wiped off the wax with a rag. When we got to the overhead he decided it needed to be buffed with a compound. He changed the pad and got out the buffing compound and started to buff it out. The sun was beating down on the overhead and he could not see what he was doing so he stopped and finished waxing the Minnie on the driver side. When he was done with the side the sun had moved so he finished buffing the overhead. Then he waxed the overhead and the hood of the cab. Now the Minnie is washed and waxed. We worked on the Minnie all day.

Waxing the Minnie

Buffing out the overhead

Waxing

Waxing the overhead

When the Minnie was finished we went inside and relaxed. We watched a couple of GizWiz episodes and I worked on my puzzle.

For dinner I made some more empanadas to finish up the shells. For dessert I made some homemade cookies called Peanut Butter Drops. I hadn't made these in a long time and they came out good. 

Peanut Butter Drops Cookies

In the evening we watched a couple episodes of The Woman in White. I watched three episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries. We had a busy day. 

Friday 10-26 Giving the Minnie a Bath

We woke up to a foggy morning but by midday the sun was shining. The temperature got up to 74 degrees, a very pleasant day.

Being on the road for two months and driving in some rain left the Minnie filthy. The weather was perfect so we washed the Minnie. Larry started out by climbing on the roof and scrubbing it down. While Larry was getting ready to wash the rest a gentleman drove up to visit. We have never seen the gentleman before but it's not the first time someone has stopped by to visit. After Larry washed the Minnie I dried it. It took us all morning. 

After lunch Larry washed the motorcycle, it was also dirty from being hauled around for two months. When he was done we loaded the motorcycle carrier on the truck and took it to storage. When we got home we took the motorcycle for about a 15 mile ride. We drove by the spillway where the lake's gate is open. Then we drove around a bit and came back to the house. We had a great ride.

During our trip when we visited the National Train Museum we bought a cool 1000 pieces jigsaw puzzle. This afternoon I started assembling it. It's going to be challenging because of its shape. The shape is a train and the smoke are horses.

  

For dinner I made more empanadas. Then we watched some YouTube videos. We started watching a couple of PBS series. The first one was Woman in White, it is currently being shown weekly on PBS but all the episodes for this season are available via PBS for streaming. The second series was called Jackie Drake Mysteries, its about a couple of female private detectives. We watched one episode together. After Larry went to bed I watched three more episodes. We had a great day.

Thursday 10-25 Closing Day of Dance

Our day started out with a little rain but the sun did come out in the afternoon.

We started the day early by going to Allemande Hall in Waco for the second day of DBD with Johnny Preston. The first two hour session began at 9:00. We had two squares and an extra couple. Johnny played with Peel-The-Top in different positions, it was very challenging. Dalbert and Luann invited us along with Nancy and Ken from Dallas to go to McAlister's for lunch. This was our first time to McAlister's so it took us a bit to figure out what we wanted. We ended up sharing a Italian Chopped Salad. We told them that we were going to split it, they brought it out already separated into two bowls, very nice. It was delicious. After lunch we headed back to the hall. The afternoon session started at 1:00. We had an outstanding two days of dancing with Johnny Preston and super dancers. 

Nancy and Jimmy having a great time dancing

Friends having fun dancing to Johnny

Larry follows a couple of bloggers and one of them blogged about how she and her husband make empanadas. Larry ordered a set of presses like they use, the set has three different sizes and was only $7. You can buy the shells at either HEB or Walmart, took us a bit to locate them in the frozen food section.

Empanadas presses

Today I made empanadas for dinner. I browned Italian Sausage and added barbecue sauce to it. Then I put a shell in the medium press. I filled the shell with the meat mixture. Then I pressed both sides together. I put the Empanadas on a cookie sheet that I sprayed with cooking spray. Then I brushed olive oil on the Empanadas and baked them at 375 for 20 minutes. They came out perfect. They looked like they were deep fried. 

Empanadas shell in press

Shell stuffed with meat

What the Empanadas looked like after it was pressed

 

The finished product

In the evening we watched YouTube videos and an episode of GizWiz. Then we watched a couple of episodes of House.       

Wednesday 10-24 Johnny Preston DBD Dance

Overcast and rainy day

The last two days were gorgeous but today the rain came back. We woke up with sprinkling but by afternoon the rain came.

Larry started the day off by working on the Home Depot Seeds Program. He experimented with and took pictures of the TR Industrial Heat Gun and the Milwaukee Material Removal Set. He also received some LED light bulbs from the Seeds Program that he had requested four months ago. Normally items from the seeds program arrive very quickly, not sure what happened with the bulbs, Larry had written them multiple times to let them know he had not received them and we were going out of town. The bulbs are 60 watts, he installed them in a few fixtures and they were very bright, so bright that he took them out of the ceiling fan in the living room because they were blinding us. While he was doing this I read.

TR Industrial Heat Gun Kit

Milwaukee Material Removal Set

For the last couple of years Johnny Preston has come to Allemande Hall in Waco twice a year to call a two day Plus DBD event. Today was the first day, there were two, two hours sessions with a two hour break for dinner. The first session was at 3:00 to 5:00 and the second was 7:00 to 9:00. We only had two squares and an extra couple, we usually have six squares. We still had a super time dancing with friends. Johnny did a great job of calling.

Johnny Preston calling

Friends from the Dallas area having fun dancing to Johnny

Our friends Dalbert and LuAnn waiting for the next call

We drove in rain all the way to Waco and coming home it was raining harder. We were home by 10:00.

I read for awhile and ended up finishing a book on my Kindle. It was the last book of a three book series. I enjoyed all three books. The series is a detective series that took place in London in the 1800s. We had a great day.  

Tuesday 10-23 Still Catching Up

Another day of catching up

It was overcast most of the day but it got up to 70 degrees.

Both the truck and car tags are due this month, in Texas we have to get an inspection before we can renew the tags. This morning we took the truck into Valvoline Instant Oil Change and got it inspected, no one was there so we were in and out. As we were checking out we told them we were coming back with the car. When we arrived there was a truck finishing up so we were able to get right in. 

Valvoline Instant Oil Change

After the inspections we went to Belton to get the new tags. While there we also renewed the boat trailer tags. Once again a sweet part of living in small town Belton is no wait, we walked right up to the counter and were taken care of by a very nice lady, only took a few minutes. Of course we could have done these online but since it is so easy to use the office and we were going to be in town anyway it was simpler. Also if we did it online we would have to wait for them to mail us the tags.
 

We have this really neat irrigation controller called Rachio, it connects via the internet which allows you to control it from anywhere and it sends messages to your phone letting you know when it ran, it also looks at the weather forecast to predict if it rained or if it is going to rain and based on that it decides if it should run or not. If it decides not to water it sends you a message telling you why. While we were gone Larry noticed we were getting messages about rain happening but we were not getting any messages about the rain sensor being activated. Rachio says you really don't need a rain sensor since they use the forecast information but sometimes we get rain at the house and the monitoring station for the forecast does not get rain, or vice versa. When we got home Larry ordered a new rain sensor, it arrived this morning, it is mounted on the eve of the house so he got the ladder out and replaced it, all fixed.

Rachio will also adjust your watering schedule based on seasonal information, when September rolls around it will water less because it should be getting cooler, that might be true in some parts of the country but not normally in Texas. Larry has this feature turned off but he keeps an eye on the temperatures and while we are on the road he makes adjustments to the schedule, you don't need as much water in October as you do in July.

Larry wants to get a pair of prescription sun glasses, his last eye exam was in 2011 so he called and got an appointment with the optometrist for today at 1:15. He went ahead and let them dilate his eyes, the optometrist told him he could not read or use a computer for the next three hours, he also couldn't do anything outside, didn't leave him a lot of options, he watched some of the YouTube folks we follow on the TV. I finished up doing laundry.  

Doing laundry

In the evening we watched a GizWiz episode via YouTube and a few episodes of House via Amazon. We had another busy day. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Watching television

Monday 10-22 Doing This and That

Doing this and that

After being gone for two months we have a few things to catch up on.

The first item on our list was the dentist. Well over a year ago Larry's dentist placed an implant for a tooth, after four months he discovered the implant failed and it had to be removed, then he had to wait four months for the jaw to heal and they placed another implant. Wait four more more months and today he cut the gum open and put a healing cap on the implant. Now he has to go back in a couple of weeks to get the impression done. After the impression is done they send it out to get the crown made. Then Larry has to go back to get the crown put on, what a long process. To top all this off the original dentist passed away, he owned the dentistry and was the only dentist. His wife had to bring in temporary dentists until she could sell the practice. There have now been four different dentist who have worked on this.

When we were on our vacation Larry had to get a root canal and a crown put on. The dentist did it all in house so it only took a couple of hours. 

Going to the dentist

Next stop was the post office to pick up our mail and start the mail back up. Then we stopped at HEB to do some grocery shopping. After shopping we went across the street to the UPS Store and picked up our mail. We had a lot of packages waiting for us from the Home Depot Seeds Program. The last stop was Walmart to fill a prescription from the dentist. While waiting for the prescription we shopped a little. The Minnie needs an oil change so we picked up oil and an oil filter.

Doing errands

During the afternoon Larry went through the mail and I did more laundry. I also read.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers. We had been looking forward to getting back to dancing with all of our friends and Brad Caldwell. Brad did another outstanding night of calling. 

Dancing with friends