Nasty Smell

We arrived at our new digs in Gold Bar hoping to find out furnace fixed and it was however when we open the door the whole inside had the smell of propane.  Thinking the repair guy might be the cause I promptly called him.  He asked several questions and one pertained to our gas range.  A quick look told me he did nothing wrong.  It was one of us who didn't completely turn off one of the upper burners.  We aired out the trailer as best we could and today it seems much better.  And the furnace now works with very little noise.

We went down to breakfast this morning and caught up with several folks we haven't seen for awhile.  I spent some time cleaning and raking the lot.  It wasn't raining when I went out but that certainly changed very quickly.  I got soaked as the rains poured down from skies the were full if sunshine.  It all filtered thru the tall trees that surround our lot.

It is peaceful and quiet here when very few people are afoot.  Just those few who choose to live here.  Some of them appear to be close to homeless but the manage to keep their heads just above water.  Others are retired with little income and have found the cheapest way to live short of parking their RV in downtown Seattle.  There are so many that are already doing that, Seattle Mayor has sworn to do something about the RV population as well as the homeless.  Homeless in Seattle has risen 19% over last year.  I suspect most are veteran's or older folks with no skills or the ability to get a job.  Surely there are those who have no desire to get work.  Sadly no matter how much money and time we invest in the homeless issue there will still be those who choose to live apart from the mainstream.

Hope all is well....

Postings, Ramblings

When we were traveling I would get upwards of 50 followers reading the blog.  Now it seems I am lucky to see ten.  I have thought about our travels and with the trailer and truck gone, wondering how, when and where our next adventure should take us.

Next month we will visit Seabrook along the Washington Pacific coastline.  Mia, Honey and I will spend most of the first week of February staying at the Music Beach Cottage.  We have rented this cottage from the 3rd of February until Saturday the 6th.  My birthday falls on the 4th so it is my little get away.

We will be enjoying some reading and some meals out at the local casino among other places.  We will be within walking distance of the beach.  Several years ago our immediate family gathered in one of the cottages and spent a weekend together communing with nature and releasing Mia's mothers ashes into the Pacific.  It was a solemn weekend.

We have no specific plans after this short trip.  I have looked at touring Germany but I am not sure the trip would be worth the cost.  I am considering a trip into the Canadian Rockies, making a big loop from Seattle north to Canada and east to the Rockies and back down through Glacier National Park in Montana.  I have been to Glacier twice and totally love the park and the area that surrounds it.

For the future, many of places we visited I would not mind revisiting however many of them are on the other side of the country leaving me to wonder if it would be cheaper to fly or drive.  I would certainly see more of the country driving and that is the way I tend to lean.

I have some summer projects both here at home and at our new digs in Gold Bar that I will need to complete while the weather is good.  I am hoping for an early rainless spring to get the most done before the heat of late summer comes around to slow me down.  I have completed the frame build of our new little utility trailer and have to buy and install the decking and build sideboards.
Both seem to be relatively easy projects but getting the wood home dry is a problem with the continued wet weather we are having.

Lighting test of our new folding utility trailer

I hope all is well in your world.  I am concerned in mine.

Intimidation

Donald Trump afraid of Megyn Kelly?  I can't believe it.  We'll might have a President that will be cowering in the oval office.

Reminiscing

Been sitting here at the computer, reminiscing about our trip around the country last year.  We visited and enjoyed so many places.  Looking at these makes me want to go back.  Indiana and the Amish.

Deadwood

Jamestown

There are many others but apparently I have limited myself on the number of pictures that I can include with a blog.

Thinking maybe we need to travel again.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Since We Are All In The Same Boat

In all of the time I spent following barbed wire from fence post to fence post, not once did I find myself sitting on the fence, yet here I am, a few months from another Presidential Election and I have no idea for whom I will vote.

Let me first say that I am neither Democrat or Republican.  I have my values from my upbringing, environment, peers and my retirement.  I want to vote for the best possible candidate.  Someone who is honest, shows integrity, can work with others and will listen to opposing views and not be afraid to change their viewpoint.

With only 291 days until election day I can truly say that I don't have a candidate.  Out of the pool of people who have chosen to run for the office, I only see five with any possibility of being the nominee for their respective parties.  Because polling data seems to vary depending on who is taking the poll there is a discrepancy in information provided to the candidates and the public.  However, the same names seem present at the top of the polling data with the remaining candidates appearing to have very little chance of arriving at the table.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are the only two viable candidates.  The Republicans appear to have three, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.  Depending on which poll you choose to read Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton appear to be winning and I can't adjust my values to fit either of them much less the three behind them.

Since we are all in the same boat, who do we want coxswain as we row into the future?

Too Many Gizmos, A New Toy and the Economy and Retirement

We have had this little jewel since a week ago this last Sunday.  I have read the majority of the owners manuals and have concluded that there way more stuff in this car than I will ever use or likely find out about.  They talk about driver distraction from cell phone use but there are so many options of things to listen to and set ups for driving that one can find themselves totally distracted playing with all the options.  I love the fact that I can go to the gas station and fill it up for under $25.00 and the first tank of gas got nearly 26 MPH.  Had we been on the highway I suspect it would have been much better.

Now that we have this new rig I have fast discovered that it cannot haul anything more than six feet long without coming into the front passenger area.  Since most wood that I work with comes in eight foot lengths, I need to come up with a solution.  I decided on a small utility trailer from Habor Freight  and I am in the process of building it.

The process is rather involve but it seems to be going together quite well.  Since Mia has the car today I am kind of hung up.  The wheel bearings come with what appears to be a packing grease.  The consistency of vaseline.  So they need to be repacked.  Unfortunately the manufacturer chose to install the rear wheel bearing and seal.  Generally you can't remove the seal and repack the bearings without installing a new seal.  So I am kind of stuck at the moment until I can see if it is possible to get new seals.  If not, I'll resort to hand packing the bearing in the hub.  Not a lot of fun but it can be done.

As everyone knows the U.S. stock market is plunging like an orca that just breached.  The global crisis led by our friends in China coupled with the falling oil prices (and lower oil company profits) combined with a poor consumer confidence index and we appear to have a receipt for a global meltdown.  It hurts to watch those stock prices fall when a pretty good percentage of you retirement investment is in the stock markets.  I may have to go back to work before long.

Then there is the election...OMG, don't get me started.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Just 32 Miles

The word came via email that our new Forester had arrived at the dealership so we took off up to get it early this morning while the Seattle Seahawks appeared to be losing their wild card game.  The dealership was really quiet and we were in and out before the second half started.  We now have a new 2016 Forester 2.5 Limited with leather seats, winter package, Eyesight and a host of other media options that I am not sure we will every use.  The audio system in the car has Navigation as well as options for locating stuff, hooking up to Pandora, and changing just about everything that the vehicle does from the length of time the lights stay on to how many beeps when the car is locked.

We only hope that this little jewel works as well for us as the Chevrolet Silverado we traded in.  We got a spectacular deal and came home to find the Seahawks in the fourth quarter about to give up the win as the Vikings were about to kick a chip shot field goal for the last play of the game....but they MISSED...and the Hawks go on to win 10 to 9.  Kind of reminded me of the last play of a disappointing Super Bowl we played.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Root Beer

A close family friend turned me on to a local brand of root beer.

It is definitely a good root beer but it can be difficult to obtain.  The brewery only sells it in kegs and unless you are planning a huge party to get rid of the contents of the keg, you're likely to have a large amount of this brand sitting around the house.  Since the Root Beer Store doesn't stock it, because it comes in a keg, some research is required to obtain smaller amounts.

Enter Rainier Growlers on the south hill of Puyallup where we met a very nice young lady by the name of Teri.  She introduced us to growlers.  These are refillable bottles that come in just plain glass or insulated for longer product life.  The refillable bottles are cheap (six to eight dollars) and she wasn't sure how much the insulated product would be since they hadn't received them yet.  We took a 64 ounce for us and a 32 ounce for a gift.  Apparently we have two to three days to use the product once the bottle has been unsealed.  It was a very good and informative visit with Teri who took the time to explain the process to us.  They have 40 different craft beers on tap as well as the root beer.  A fun place to visit.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Things Are Coming Together

When we purchased our used Breckinridge trailer we didn't use the heater too often.  As cooler weather approached we started to use it on a regular basis.  We had noticed it was noisy early on, shortly after the purchase and a couple of weeks into the winter season we went up to check out the trailer to make sure everything was okay.  We found the furnace running but no heat was coming from the vents.  I contacted Doug's RV Service in Startup and he sent someone up to check it out.  They found the squirrel cage for the fan was missing several of the plastic fans causing the unit to stop producing any heat output.  Because of this the motor was having issues as well.

It was so blasted cold even with the addition of the two heaters shown above we decided not to return until Doug was done repairing the furnace.  He called me earlier this past week to say they were done.  Mia, Honey and I took a road trip this morning to go check it out and stop by and pay the bill.  I hate to make a company that has helped me wait for payment.  As promised the furnace was working.  We turned around and headed home content in the knowledge that we can now return and spend a weekend up there next week.  We absolutely love the, new to us, trailer.

Luckily, we left Gold Bar when we did because the weather changed dramatically from the time we left to go up and when we came back.  When we left this morning the sun was out, the skies were clear.  In fact, we could see the Olympic mountains from I5 on the other side of Puget Sound something you just don't see to often.  Upon return the clouds had moved in and as we approached our home base the snow started.  It continued to fall and as we came into the condo neighborhood the ground was turning white.  Can't say I don't like it.

It is mid afternoon as we watch the remaining minutes of the Seahawks last regular season game.  We are deciding how much and what we need to eat to lose some weight over the next few weeks.  Not a diet but more a different way of eating.  We'll see what happens.  I'm pumped.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.