Saturday 11-18 Refrigerator Project Continues

Hold on tight!!!

It was a windy day with sunshine. The temperature got into the low 80s, which made it perfect to continue installing the refrigerator in the Minnie. We spent the day working on this project. Larry used his new saw to modify the stand we used yesterday. Once the stand was modified we slid the fridge on it and slid it out of the way. Then Larry removed the head board from the cubbyhole the fridge goes into, using his new saw he removed 1/8" so the fridge would clear. He reinstalled the head board and the fridge fit perfectly. Larry screwed in the screws to hold the fridge in place. The next step was to install the top and bottom bracket of the fridge. In order to do this Larry had to remove the doors. When this was finished he went outside, where he had to modify the gas line and rewire the power to the fridge. Once this was done it was getting late and we were tired.

The gas pipe modification Larry did 

Larry screwing in screws on the back of the fridge

We knew the refrigerator didn't come with front panels on the doors but the literature said you could reuse your old panels, well I guess our fridge was a bit too old because the panels don't fit. We have to decide on either making them or purchasing new ones.

The new refrigerator started right up and after cooling off for a few hours it was colder than our old one ever got. The temperatures on these RV fridges seem to change often so we have a digital thermometer that works for both the fridge and freezer, makes checking it really easy.

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We watched YouTube videos and a movie off Amazon. The movie was Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. It was very slow moving movie that took place in 1942. It was a romantic movie and I didn't really like it. We had another busy day.           

Friday 11-17-17 Minnie Refrigerator Project

A hot humid day

We had another hot humid day, The temperature got into the 80s with the humidity at 88%.

We spent the day replacing the refrigerator in the Minnie. Larry read the owners manual to see how to remove the fridge. The fridge weighs over a hundred pounds and we're limited on space inside the Minnie so Larry modified a stand he had built for Flo's ramp last year to help. We worked together and it was a real challenge, didn't come out as the manual described. After working on it for quite awhile we finally were able to slide the fridge onto the stand Larry had built. Then we slid the fridge to the door. Next Larry got his workroom table and set it up so we could put the old fridge on it. It was challenging getting the fridge through the door considering it barely fit. Once the fridge was on the table we could lift it and put on the ground. They no longer build the exact same refrigerator so the new one is not exactly the same. The bottom mount is different and the propane hookup is in a different place. We needed to buy a couple of things so off off to town we went.

Larry disconnecting the propane line

The cubbyhole where the old fridge came out of

Old fridge

The first stop was The Home Depot, where we bought half a sheet of plywood. They had the tubing we needed for the propane line but we only needed a foot and the smallest amount they sold was 20 feet. The next stop was Ace Hardware where they were happy to sell us only a foot of the tubing. The last stop was the UPS Store. 

Before heading to town we received an e-mail indicating a package was waiting at The UPS Store. It was a Delta Cruzer Miter Saw from the Home Depot Seeds Program. Larry has been waiting for the saw for awhile and he was very excited about getting it. Now he can play with it for this project. 

When we got home Larry got the opportunity to play with his new saw. We took pictures of it and then he cut the plywood down to the size we needed. The saw worked excellent and the cut was smooth. He put the plywood in the cubbyhole where the fridge came out of and screwed it down. To get the new refrigerator in Larry had to remove one of it's doors and it's hinge. We got it in the cubbyhole but it would quite slide all the way in, we discovered it has a little hump in the front. We have to take it out again and figure out how to overcome this but it was late and we were tired. We left it in the hole and decided to continue tomorrow.

Delta Cruzer Sliding Miter Saw

Larry playing with his new toy

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We watched YouTube videos and a couple of Amazon documentaries. The first one was American Carny: True Tales From The Circus, which was about different people that perform in the side shows and why. The second one was Radioman, which was about a gentleman that overcame being homelessness and alcoholism and became the New York film set mascot. He starred in over 100 films. Both documentaries were very good. We had a busy day but it was fun.               

Thursday 11-16 Another Hot Humid Day

It's still springtime around the corner

It's November and it's still springtime in the neighborhood. One of our neighbors has a vine of gorgeous blue flowers growing on his fence. One very cool morning when we drove by the flowers were droopy but the next day they were back in full bloom. They brighten up your day every time you pass by them. Yesterday I walked around the corner and took a picture of them.

Last Thursday when I was getting ready to stock the Minnie with food I opened the refrigerator door and I was overwhelmed by an ammonia smell. I thought at first it was a chemical reaction of wiping the refrigerator down with Pine Sol. Larry wiped it down with vinegar and water and the smell was still there. I waited until the next morning and loaded the food in it. The smell was still there but not as strong. By the time we got to Tool the refrigerator was still cooling but Saturday morning the refrigerator wasn't getting any colder. I moved everything I could to the freezer because it was cooler. When we got home I threw away the meat we had and other items that needed refrigerated I didn't want to take any chances. On Monday Larry ordered a new refrigerator, he thought it would take a week or two to arrive so we took the Minnie back to storage. Yesterday he received a phone call that it was going to be delivered today. It was delivered around 1:00. Larry expected to see a delivery truck but it came on an eighteen wheeler. The driver told us they come from San Antonio every day to do deliveries in the area. Now tomorrow we have a project to do.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance A with the Sundancers. We had enough people for one square and three extra couples. We danced to complex calling which made it very challenging. We had a great time.     

Wednesday 11-15 Wonderful Wednesday

Having fun

We started the day out by doing a morning walk on the Nolan Creek Trail for 45 minutes for 2.25 miles. It was humid and by the time we got back to the car we were sweaty. 

After our walk we stopped by HEB to do our weekly shopping and Thanksgiving shopping. Before doing so we filled the car up with gas. While we were in line a lady showed up with a electric cart full of groceries. I asked if she needed any help and she said sure if I didn't mind. So I put her groceries on the check out counter. She thanked me for being so kind. Then we went across the street to Walmart to recycle the transmission oil and motor oil. While there we picked up a spiral ham. The last stop was the UPS Store to pick up our mail. We had a package waiting for us but by the time we got there another package had arrived. One package was a Seeds Program product called Scale Watcher.

Grocery Shopping

Later in the day Larry installed the Scale Watcher, this product electronically breaks down the scale in the water coming into your house. It takes time for it to work. The first step was to wrap the wire around the incoming water pipe going into the house. The directions said to wrap it at least 20 times going one way and the same amount going the other way. He ended up wrapping it over 40 times. The next step was mounting the box to the wall. Then he cut the extra wire off and striped the wire to connect it to the box. The last step was to plug it in. It appears to be working perfect. It wasn't hard to install. Now it is a waiting game to see how well it works.

Wrapping the wire on the intake pipe

Larry screwing the box to the wall

The Scale Watcher box indicating that it's working

The power controller

The intake pipe after the wire was wrapped around it

In the evening we went to Shirts n Skirts to go square dancing. The first tip had five squares. In between the tips Martha did line dancing and I participated in them. A gentleman came by himself so Larry sat out one tip and asked me to ask the gentleman to dance. Brad is now their caller and he did a super job. He called seven tips. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Having fun dancing to Brad

Concentrating on line dancing with Martha

Having fun dancing with friends

Tuesday 11-14 Equinox Project

Our Equinox

What's on the agenda? A couple of weeks ago when we took the Equinox to Don Ringler Chevrolet they said it was due for the transmission oil to be changed. Larry had ordered the oil from Amazon and it came in but it has been too hot and humid to work on it. Today we didn't have anything on the agenda and it the temperature was going to be under 80 degrees. This morning we took the Minnie back to storage and when we got back to the house Larry changed the transmission oil in the Equinox considering the oil was warmed up. He had done a little research on how to change the oil. He found out that the amount of oil that came out varied from four quarts to five quarts of oil. Yesterday, he marked a bucket in quarts to see how much oil was drained out. One gentleman had said he removed the front driver tire to see the check plug so that's where he started. He ended up draining four and three quarter quarters of oil. Then he put the plug back in and refilled the transmission with fresh oil. Next he funneled the old oil into the empty oil container to recycle it. Once the oil was in the container he cleaned everything up.

Pulling the transmission plugs

The check plug

Cleaning up

After lunch Larry took the Equinox for a ride to run the oil through the transmission. He said it ran great. During the afternoon I finished putting my jig saw puzzle (Gone Fishing) together.

Gone Fishing when it was finished

Larry did more research on different tiles to use on Louise's ceiling. He came across a tile that was planks and he thought this would be easier and might look nicer. If he wanted to put trim around the planks it would look better. He called Louise to talk to her about using the planks. She had called him in the morning and said she really like the tiles we put up yesterday. She agreed to order some planks so they could play with them. below is a picture of the current tiles we temporarily installed.

Ceiling tiles installed temporarily

While relaxing we watched a couple of episodes of GizWiz and YouTube videos. We watched an hour and half documentary on Amazon called Living Off the Grind, which was about a group of people in Canada that decided to live off the grind. It was a very interesting documentary.    

Monday 11-13 Doing This and That

I hope you had a wonderful day.

In the morning we went to town to do a couple of errands. Larry plans to do some work on his sister's ceiling. Louise had ordered some ceiling tiles to see if she likes them and they came in the other day. Larry wanted to look at different kinds and size of trim to put around the edges of the tile. We looked at trim in The Home Depot and Lowe's. He took some pictures of the trim and then we went home.

When we got home Larry treated for bugs and I worked on my jig saw puzzle. 

We go square dancing in Sun City every Monday night, on the way we stopped by Louise's house. When we got there Louise was leaving to go to work but we stayed to play with the tiles. Larry tried to use double stick tape to temporarily attach the tiles but it wouldn't stick to the ceiling so we had to go to town and find something that would work. We tried Target but they didn't have what we wanted so we went next door to Michael's. We found a putty called Instant Tacky to use. The putty worked perfectly on the tiles and a short piece of trim. Once the trim and tiles are on the ceiling you can judge how it will look throughout the entire room. Now we wait to see what Louise thinks. 

While there we played with her dog Alice. When Louise adopted her she wasn't sure about us but now she comes right up to us. 

The Sundancers had six squares for the dance. We didn't have enough for an A tip but the last tip was fun. There were six couples left so Brad did a six couple plus tip. We had another super night of dancing.

      

11-10 to 11-12 Story Time with Jerry

The Minnie ready for the weekend

Friday 11-10-17 Opening Dance

After breakfast I loaded the refrigerator in the Minnie with the food we're taking on our weekend get away. 

We started out at 9:00 and Tool is about a three hour drive. The dance didn't start until 8:00 but we always like to get there early. The drive was very nice and mainly four lane highways. When we arrived there were already a few RV's there. I spent the afternoon doing some Sudoku and Larry read. By the time the dance started there were a lot more RV's but not as many as last year.

In the evening we went over to the hall and danced. There were eleven squares and ten couples for round dancing.Once again there were a lot more dancers last year. Our friends Dalbert, LuAnn, Harold and Connie get season tickets to the Lady Bears and there was a game today so they will not dance until tomorrow. We did hang out with Larry and Patricia and danced with other friends. We had a great time dancing to Jerry. 

Let's square dance

Saturday 11-11-17 Day of Dancing

We started the day off with a workshop from 10:30 to 12:00. Our friends from Waco were there, by having them we had our own local square to dance with for the workshop. There were enough people for nine squares. Jerry did a singing call to warm us up and to see what moves he wanted to work on. He basically concentrated on circulating in different positions. He also had us in position where he combined a couple of different moves. For example, peel off and the trailers peel the top. Then we broke for an hour and half lunch.

The afternoon workshop was a DBD workshop from 1:30 to 2:30. Jerry had walked us through left handed relay the deucey and left handed ping pong circulate. The afternoon workshop was more challenging. After the workshop Jerry called a half hour DBD dance. When the dance was over Jerry called a seven minute A tip.

In the evening we went over to the hall for the evening dance. There were enough people for ten squares and a lot of round dancers. We danced every tip except for the last DBD tip. We were too tired. After the dance they had an after party where nachos were served. We passed on the nachos but we stayed around a bit to visit with friends. We had a super day.

Walter Brewer cuing the round dancing

Dancers enjoying round dancing

Sunday 11-12-17 Gospel Dance

We woke up to a little rain, that was ok, we didn't have anything on the agenda until 8:00. The Log Cabin Swingers have Jerry call a weekend dance twice a year and on Sunday morning the club serves pancakes and sausages. This morning there were six squares and a few round dancers. The dance was an hour and a half long.

After the dance we left Tool and headed towards the house. When we got to Corsicana we stopped and filled the Minnie with gas. While there we had lunch at Burger King. We got back to the house by 1:30 and unloaded the Minnie, it didn't take long considering it was just for the weekend.

The rest of the day we relaxed. In the evening we watched the rest of the second season of Sherlock.