Month: March 2013

An RV for Easter!

March 31, 2013 / admin / 2 Comments

Big news for this week is that we managed to get our Arctic Fox 26x trailer home from Grand Junction. Therein lies a story.

We borrowed a neighbor’s truck. Although it was wired for a heavy trailer, with a 6-pin electrical connector, the trailer hitch ball was too small. The Arctic Fox needs a 2 – 5/16 inch ball, the truck had a 2 inch ball. However, the larger ball needs a 1 – 1/4 inch shank (the part the nut threads onto) and the hitch had only a 1 inch shank. The truck didn’t have a receiver hitch, so there was no option to modify the bumper to accept the larger shank. (The dealer was not too keen on me using a bumper hitch anyway.) This was on Friday. No trailer that day!

On to Plan B.

Saturday morning I drove into Grand Junction and rented a U-Haul pickup equipped with a receiver hitch. I bought the correct size drawbar with a 2 – 5/16 ball on it, proceeded to the RV dealer, hooked up the trailer, and brought it home.

Bringing home the RV trailer

The dealership did a good job of walking me through the various operational parts of the trailer: how to winterize and flush the water systems, run the refrigerator and furnace, decipher electrical systems, drain the holding tanks, and general operations. Experience will be the key, though, as there are no manuals with the trailer. I will go on-line and see what service manuals can be found.

The upshot of the towing problems we experienced is — (wait for it) — we are considering getting a truck. Perhaps trade off the Subaru (which is almost paid off), but we are looking at our options. An extended cab truck looks to be the best layout for us but we will start looking at what the market has to offer.

Given the towing needs and general hauling we will be doing over the next few years, a truck is probably a viable option. In the past we’ve owned vans and small Toyota trucks that proved to be very convenient and useful. Problem is trucks get lousy gas mileage and are not the best vehicles in slippery winter interstate driving conditions. Getting a truck is a developing story and will be the subject of future posts. If anyone has advice on trucks generally, let us know!

Back to the RV. It will need a few small repairs and changes. Nothing big, so far, has revealed itself. The switch that turns off the speakers in the bedroom doesn’t work. The after-market water filter on the kitchen faucet doesn’t have a brand name so we’ll have to manually identify the filter if we can (replace it if we can’t). The cover of the front window needs a couple of new rivets. The slide-out mechanism should be lubricated. The bedroom screen door needs a new latch. Small stuff. I will take care of these before we move the trailer to the Sanderling lot. At this point, we are thinking about moving the RV to the lot in late April, after we drive to see Felicity in Boise.

So, how did the dogs react to their “new” home-away-from-home?

Blondie, Bru, and Jo sniff out their new digs

It smells funny. They said it will take some getting used to, and requested I make a ramp to replace the steps to make entry easier. I will take it under consideration!

One of the things we had the dealership do was replace the carpet in the bedroom. This turned out pretty well:

New bedroom carpet looks good.

Pam has put a clip board in the trailer so we can jot down items needing to be purchased, fixed, or changed. Today I will level the trailer, check all the lights, put the refrigerator on electric, and get started on some maintenance jobs (and probably add items to the clip board). We are very pleased (and relieved) to have the trailer here and will be going through it pretty closely in the next few weeks.

Here’s an interior shot of this trailer with the slide-out extended. (Similar photo in earlier post was a generic dealer photo.) As you can see, the reality of our RV is slightly more basic than the glamorous photo taken for the product brochure.

Interior of our 2000 Arctic Fox 26X trailer

While the trailer is the big story of the week, there are a couple of minor topics to hit on as well. Below is a photo of some of our animals enjoying a sunny day in our living room. Spring has arrived and the afternoon sun on the west side of the De Beque place is actually warm.

Cats and dogs in our living room

In my last post I mentioned I was putting a winch on the ATV. That job has been completed. Here is a photo of the work in progress. (Note the battery cables draped over the fenders.)

Installing winch on The Griz

Happy Easter to everyone!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

A truck. Bet everyone saw that coming, huh?

That Was The Week That Was

March 24, 2013 / admin / 4 Comments

Wow. What a week. At this time last week we didn’t have a quote on putting in our Sanderling driveway. Now the basic drive is in and awaiting surface material (road base or decomposed granite) and erosion-control retaining walls. Lot of work to do over the Summer, but we can get on the lot! The excitement didn’t end there: We bought an RV trailer.

Arctic Fox trailer logo (Dealer photo)

It is a 2000 Arctic Fox 26X model, bumper pull . This unit has a kitchen-area bump-out and rear bedroom. The basic design has not changed over the years, with the exception of the front window. (Newer units don’t have one, this one does.) We don’t have the recliner shown at the left edge of the slide-out, or the TV on the cabinet near the main entry door.

Floor Plan (Dealer photo)

While looking over the rig we found it already has 3 solar panels (total of 60 watts) mounted on the roof to help charge/maintain the twin batteries. The trailer comes with 2 each 30 pound propane tanks instead of the standard 20 pound units.

Trailer – entrance side view (Dealer photo)

Bump-out / slide (Dealer photo)

Manufacturer web site, which has more interior and construction details, is: http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?page=makeindex&make=arctic&type=traveltrailer

We spent last Wednesday looking at RV lots in Grand Junction and saw some very nice — but very expensive — units. We looked at toy haulers but eventually ruled them out as they are not “4 season” rated. (4-season trailers have furnaces and methods to heat the fresh water and holding tanks, allowing RV use later in the Fall and earlier in the Spring. Since the trailer will be parked at 9,600 feet elevation, we decided the 4-season rating outweighed the transport and storage area a toy hauler offers.) Five RV lots and a dozen or so trailer tours later, we realized we wanted a used unit with a living room slide that was reasonably priced. Which is pretty much what we purchased.

The trailer comes to De Beque this Friday. The dealer, Humphrey RV and Trailer, is replacing the carpet in the bedroom, testing all the systems, and cleaning and detailing the trailer. (It has just come in on trade when we looked at it and had not been “gone through” yet.) Price: $8,600.00 plus tax and licensing. Our thought is we can spend weekends and vacations in the trailer for the next several years. While the RV purchase expense takes away from our long-term home construction budget, it saves hotel/motel fees, gives us a place to cook meals, and provides sanitary facilities on-site. ($100 per night for motel stays x 20 mountain visits per year = $2,000 annually for motel fees without the RV.)

We have window where spice rack is shown, different flooring. (Dealer photo)

Hm-m-m-m, transport. Our next challenge will be getting the trailer to the lot. We’re going to borrow a neighbor’s truck to make the initial trip from dealer to De Beque and, once on the mountain lot, use the Scout to tow the rig to and from the RV dump station. The Elkhorn Ranch dump station is about 15 miles away (provided by our homeowner’s fees); that’s where we’ll dump the grey and black water tanks. Experience will dictate how often that needs to be done. (Grey water is kitchen and shower water, black is toilet.) Now, how to get the RV from De Beque to the mountain lot is still in the works. Biggest problem is to make sure transport vehicles used have electric brakes; a controller costs about $130.00 and will need to be purchased and installed in the Scout to ensure safe braking to and from the dump station. If we end up getting a pickup, the brake controller will be relocated to it. (I can dream about the pickup.)

The “fun” part is making lists of what we need to put in the trailer. A 2nd tea kettle, linens, pots, pans, cooking gear…neither of us has camped in a long time, and it will undoubtedly takes us a few outings to get everything we need. Us and the 3 dogs…should be a hoot. Oh yes, an outside containment area for the dogs is on the list too.

A 10 by 12 foot storage shed will need to be erected fairly quickly. We need a place to store the chain saw, portable generator, and other equipment we will be using to clean up the lot, work on retaining walls, and landscaping where necessary. We are in for an active Summer!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Please notice on the Arctic Fox 26X floor plan [above ] the bedroom is on the far end of the RV — with the bathroom between the bedroom and the living area– featuring two doors enclosing the bathroom. Two doors and two thin walls may not be much to shut out the sound of Jer’s snoring, but it sure beats some of the other RV floor plans we walked through. I’ll take it.

The “fun” just keeps rolling on. The lumber yard/hardware store in Grand Junction had it’s 20% off everything sale yesterday. Had to send Mr. Fields over for various items to be used on the lot. Where the heck we’ll store them between now and then is open to discussion.

Ties, gates, pavers, drain pipe…all to be used on our Sanderling lot.

Good thing I squirreled away and stored what money I could through the winter, because the $$$ are sure flowing out this month. The IRS gets their cut next month too.

Driveway is in! :) Lots of photos (and 1 video.)

March 22, 2013 / admin / 4 Comments

Events moved fast this past week, starting with an eye-popping $25K quote and ending with a $4K driveway. Peter began building the driveway on Wednesday. I went over yesterday (Thursday) to oversee the work and take some photos. Here is the work in progress:

Bobcat and excavator were used during construction.

Excavator tore through rock and dirt.

Bobcat moved material up to corner pad.

Here is a short video clip of Peter using his Bobcat skid-steer loader:

Completed drive looks like this:

Finished drive entrance.

Midway up drive heading to the curve.

Parking pad at end of drive.

South Park view from parking pad.

I’ll have more narrative in a later post, but for now we are glad to have the driveway in place!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

Jer neglected to mention he traveled over to Como yesterday in a raging Colorado Spring snowstorm — stopped by two semi accidents on the interstate before even getting to his turn-off near Frisco. I’m glad I didn’t travel along on this trip, those driving conditions on the interstate make me nuts.

Low visibility and packed roads, Vail Pass.

Up on Sanderling, apparently the location of the parking pad [on the curve of the current drive] appears to be one of the less windy spots on the lot, way less windy than the saddle where we had contemplated putting an eventual cabin. Which could mean the driveway is as long as it’s ever going to be…time will tell. We still need a rough track up to the saddle for clearing wood from the top potion of the lot.

Driveway addendum

March 20, 2013 / admin / 2 Comments

I spoke to Peter about alternatives to his driveway quote. Here is “Plan B” for the driveway: Build the first 200 feet of driveway from the junction with Sanderling Court up to the first large pine tree, which would be the start of the big curve. Include a lower side retaining wall. From the curve uphill, level a simple path up to the saddle and call it good. This upper stretch will not pass County inspection but would allow us to get up into the lot. If we do purchase some type of RV we could get it up and down this path. All this for $5,000.00. I told Peter to get started.

When we filed for the driveway permit last year, we had only mapped the first 200 feet — we didn’t know, at that time, where we would put a cabin. Our first thought was building in the aspen grove and lower on the lot, but since then we have decided on the (higher) saddle location. We filed the permit for building the driveway just up to the corner, assuming we would make a final decision on housing options at a later time. That flexibility may stand us in good stead as we move forward. We are not under any obligation to Park County to complete the entire length of the drive, just the first leg.

As long as we can get on the lot, access a parking spot for an RV, and get the first leg of the drive approved, I think we would be in pretty good shape for this year.

I will ask my boss for a couple days off and head over to the lot to watch (and photograph) the drive being built tomorrow and Friday. In addition, I can relocate a couple of small pine trees and help clear the upper part of the path to the saddle. This section has some trees to cut down and clear out. Pam and I had not made it this far up in our cleaning efforts.

We are excited about getting this project started, at a price we can (almost) afford. I should have a “driveway report” in a few days!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Stunned! OMG…Driveway Quote Received! $25,550.00!

March 18, 2013 / admin / 3 Comments

Just say we are stunned. Here is the quote for putting in the driveway:

Driveway quote – OMG!

🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

The first time I had spoken to Peter, last fall after we closed on the lot, the price was much less and the proposed building site was on the other side of the lot! We had come up with the $5,000.00 number based on his rate of $1,500.00 per day plus materials, guessing 3 days of equipment work. The quote above includes 12.5 days of equipment work. Are you kidding?

Guess the river rock is out.

On to the next plan…I’ve asked Peter what he can do in a couple day’s work just to get the drive built from Sanderling Court up into the first 200 feet or so, which would get us up to the start of the big curve. That would, at least, allow us to get onto the lot proper. And, more importantly, that would allow us to meet the County specifications on slope and entrance to the drive, things I probably cannot do myself. The upper part of the drive, and curve, will just have to be done later with rental gear. We will have to start looking at alternate retaining wall materials.

Speaking of the driveway, here is a bit from the notes on the permit:

Notes from driveway permit.

As you can see, the County is very particular about the entrance to the driveway. If Peter can do this bit I can probably handle the rest of the construction, which aside from setting up the retaining wall, is mostly digging. I can rent a blade for the back of the 8N for leveling and grading if it comes to that.

I am bummed out, and cannot believe that $25,000.00 quote. We looked at lots where the drive would have been much harder to build; I wonder what one of those drives would have cost? Really, we were going on our conversation from last fall, and this quote has really blindsided us. 5 times our expectations. Oh well, we’ll just move on to an alternate plan.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Driveway quote and Plan B

March 17, 2013 / admin / 6 Comments

Last Friday I took off from work and drove over to the Sanderling lot to meet with Peter, our driveway contractor. We needed to finalize a route for the drive and go over some options, such as materials for retaining walls.

The day was partly cloudy and breezy with temperatures in the upper 50s. Very nice! Peter looks to be in his 40s and seems quite competent. The meeting results were a blend of good news and bad. Bad: The best driveway route would involve removing a (large) tree, something we had hoped to avoid.

Driveway corner.

Tree on right of photo above would have to be moved. Peter thinks he can save the tree by moving it downhill from it’s current spot. (Drive would come in near tree on left.) Blue lines indicate the placement of the retaining wall and the outside edge of the driveway curve. Basically, moving the drive closer to the fence line (seen at the back of the photo) would create a to-sharp corner that would not pass County specifications, and swinging out to avoid the tree would require a huge retaining wall and much longer curve, complete with culvert, to get back to the ridge. As it is, the wall would be about 75 feet long and will require fill material behind it. The fill can come from where the drive would meet Sanderling Court, as that part of the drive has to be dug down to the current road level. Although we are not keen on moving the tree – odds are it will survive relocation with a small root base – it seems to be the best compromise for us.

Good news: Most of the driveway work is just digging, which is the cheapest rate.

Peter and I discussed material for the retaining walls. The drive entrance will require a small wall on the down-slope side of the drive. That wall, which cannot be seen from the road, will consist of large (2 feet wide by 2 feet high by 8 feet long) concrete blocks. These cost about $40.00 each, not bad. Blue lines indicate where the blocks will go.

Lower drive will require wall on left side

We wanted the curve-and-corner retaining wall to be more attractive as it can be seen from the road approaching the lot and will be a focal point. Peter suggested river boulders, a natural material which meshes with our wish that we avoid “foreign” materials, such as interlocking blocks, as much as possible. River boulders are large enough to hold the load of the drive (bottom course would be 2 ton rocks) and when native soils, grass or flowers are added the result is very attractive. Not cheap, though, as the rock has to be hauled in from Buena Vista and this, plus the cost of the rock itself, will raise the price.

We also need one, possibly two, culverts. Peter said he would work on the quote this weekend and get it to us in the next few days. Now it is “wait and see” until the quote comes in. We hope it is in the $5,000.00 range.

Unfortunately, our plan to put a structure on the lot has already moved on to Plan B.

Peter mentioned (and we later confirmed) that the County will not allow us to build a garage before we build a house. Apparently Park County has been burned in the past by people building garages and sheds and then living in non-sanitary conditions. This is a blow to us, as we had hoped to put up a garage and use it to store tools and gear for a few years until we could put up a cabin. (Cabin requires a septic system and running water.) So, what to do now? We really want to be able to spend time on the land for both esthetic and practical reasons. It is hard to get any real work done when you have to drive 7 – 8 hours to get there and back, and renting a hotel/motel room for overnight stays at $100 per night. Plus we just want to be in the mountains for a while, particularly in the summer time.

Pam has (reluctantly) suggested we look at getting a used toy hauler. These rigs have some storage space along with basic kitchens and sleeping areas, and have fresh and waste water tanks. Elk Horn Ranches (the homeowners association for the Sanderling property) has an RV dump site, free for us to use, so we would tow the rig to the dump site from time to time to empty the waste water tanks and fill up with fresh water. It seems many land owners in the area follow this routine. Drawback is such a purchase takes money away from the construction fund. The trade off is having immediate use of the land and a place to stay overnight, along with the ability to move forward on lot clean-up and other jobs, or keep the money toward building a cabin in 5 – 7 years. (Well and septic would run about $20,000.00 and would have to be put in before we could get a building permit.) We are strongly leaning toward a toy hauler (storage for tools when we are not there) and taking advantage of the property while we are able to do so. We’ve checked out some toy haulers on-line, and depending on the driveway quote, will start looking at units in the next week or two.

There are RV dealers in Grand Junction, about 35 miles away. Here is an interior shot of a toy hauler for sale:

Toyhauler has a basic kitchen and bath.

Beds flip up in this basic toy hauler. Not fancy, although you can get fancier ones than this, but for an overnight stay it is probably sufficient.

Cargo area of a toy hauler

So folks, the land saga continues. In my next post I hope to have a definitive word on the driveway, and maybe even that work has begun!

In other news…

Son Toby is moving ahead with getting his Indiana referee credentials and arranging summer work with various softball leagues around South Bend. We hope this works out for him, and we have offered to help with any expenses he may have updating his equipment or paying for training. Toby is currently working for a carpet installation and cleaning service. Pay is not great but he seems to be making ends meet. The referee jobs would add a little cushion to his income.

Daughter Felicity will be singing with her Sweet Adeline group (Northwest Harmony) in Boise, Idaho late next month. The Sweet Adeline organization has a regional meeting and competition planned and we will be driving over to visit Felicity and listen to her group sing. More on this as the date gets closer. (Should be interesting to see Felic and her music ladies, she has to wear theatrical-level makeup and have her hair done to sing with this group. Totally not her natural look.)

Spring is arriving here in western Colorado. Grass is turning green and the lilac bushes are just starting to bud out. Still, below freezing temperatures are in the forecast for a few days this week, so I cannot say spring is fully arrived. It is nice to be working outside without wearing a heavy coat and the dogs are spending much more time outside as well. We had rain last night so everything is a bit wet right now, but we will get the lawn raked and maybe even put out some grass seed to patch a couple bare spots this coming week.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

I’m not much for camping, so a bit negative on RV’ing. For one thing, the vehicle we have that can pull the weight of an RV is Jer’s 1976 International Scout II, which has not proven to be extremely reliable. (The Subaru can’t pull anything heavier than an aluminum trailer, it seems.) For those of you who have lived in Colorado, you know licensing for vehicles is based on age and weight, and can be quite expensive annually (2010 Subaru Forester costs hundreds of dollars per year to license). Vehicle insurance is also expensive, since each legal Colorado driver is paying for uninsured motorists (illegals up from Mexico, mostly). Then, what to do with the RV once you have moved on and no longer need it? Most of them seem to be left out in the weather to rot away, not so very attractive. However, since Coloradans have so many “toys” – cycles, snowmobiles, ATVs – toy haulers seem to be holding their value a bit better than traditional trailers, and enjoy a resale market. My main concern – how are the dogs and I going to get any sleep when Jer starts snoring in one of those tin boxes…

Toys, mostly…

March 10, 2013 / admin / 4 Comments

Spring is getting closer, although we had snow (mixed with rain) yesterday. Forecast is to hit low 60’s by the end of the week. A robin family has decided to stay, and geese are on the move along the Colorado River. I have decided it’s time to look toward Spring and get some work done on a few of my toys.

I put a new front tire on the motorcycle. To do this I had to pull the front brakes, and inspection revealed the brake pads need replacement. I now need to check the rear pads and see if they need to be replaced as well. Other than that, plus the regular oil / filter change and general cleaning, I should be good to go. I’ll order the pads shortly and add the replacement to my “to do” list.

“The Griz” (ATV) has received a winch mount. I had picked up a cheap 12-volt winch a couple years ago that I used to load stuff in the trailer, and plan to put it on the ATV. Not that I expect to be stuck a lot, but I think we’ll be using it on the Sanderling lot to move logs, rocks, and perform other utility work. I’ll have a few photos of this after I get the work done. Installation is another item on my “to do” list.

Not really a toy,* but we have added a dump cart to our inventory. It can be pulled by either the 8N tractor or the ATV. Getting this cart now was Pam’s suggestion; I had been checking out various carts for the last year or so. We had received a 10 percent off coupon and decided to apply it to the cart purchase. Saved $30.00. The intended use is on the lot for moving rocks, wood, dirt, and landscape material.

Manual for our new dump cart.

Here is a shot of the cart loaded up at Tractor Supply Company and ready for the trip home:

Bringing home the dump cart

I am sure I’ll have photos of the cart in use before very long.

We’re planning a trip to Boise, Idaho in late April. Daughter Felicity is singing at a Sweet Adeline convention in Boise and we plan to meet her there. Pam has made our hotel reservations at a dog-friendly Motel 6 as we will take all 3 on the trip. We may visit the Snake River area while Felicity is occupied with her convention responsibilities, so the trip will be dual-purpose — family and scenery.

The days are getting a bit warmer, some grass is turning green, and our tulips are starting to poke up. Spring must be near. I have not packed up the snowmobile yet, though, as Grand Mesa just received another 8 – 16 inches of fresh snow yesterday. I hope to get in another ride or two before the season ends. Last Saturday I took a back-woods trip along a marked but little-used trail. Happened to meet up with a couple of guys I know out of Grand Junction, so was not riding alone in the back country. Riding solo I would have stayed on well-traveled groomed trails.

Back-country travel is fun. One gets into territory seldom visited and the snow conditions are great. You have seen those pictures of a skier coming down a hill with only his tracks doing “S” turns in new powder? You can do something similar on a snowmobile… 🙂

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

* Really, the new dump cart is not another Jerry toy?

Elinor, remember to give Pat our phone number “just in case.”

Miscellaneous musings

March 3, 2013 / admin / 2 Comments

This is one of those weeks that has no particular event to report or theme that holds it together. We do have a couple of items to cover, though, so will get into a list of miscellaneous happenings that have occured since my last post.

Tractor update:

I changed the transmission and gear oil in the tractor. What a mess! The transmission, rear axle, and hydraulic lift share a common source of oil. I knew the stuff in there had been contaminated over the years and needed to be changed. When I drained it – draining required removing 4 different drain plugs – the stuff that came out didn’t look much like gear oil. It was yellowish in color and had an unpleasant odor. (Some people think any gear oil has an unpleasant odor. They would be wrong.) 🙂 When moisture gets into oil it reacts with the oil’s phosphor and turns the oil a shade of yellow. Microbes start degrading the oil, giving it a particular odor.

Old oil – looks bad, smells worse

The oil capacity is rated at about 5 gallons; only 2 gallons drained out. This seems to be another example of little or no maintenance done over the years on this poor old 8N.

While the oil was draining I pulled the PTO (power take off) shaft out of the back of the tractor and replaced it’s oil seal. The old seal had been leaking as evidenced by the buildup of greasy dirt around the end of the shaft. Since the oil needed to be drained to accomplish this repair it was an opportune time to get this work done. One more task done, one that (I hope) will result in fewer oil leaks on my parking pad.

I put new gaskets on the drain plugs and reinstalled them, then put in the new gear oil. After starting the tractor I worked the lift a few times, up and down, and all seems to be OK. I suspect I will replace the oil again in a few months after I work the tractor for a while. Any old stuff left in the nooks and crannies will get mixed up with the fresh oil and should be drained out in the next change. The oil costs about $50.00 plus a few bucks for the gaskets, not a huge investment to make sure the hydraulic lift and gears get the lubrication they need. Getting the gear oil changed is another task to be marked off the list of needed repairs and maintenance.

Fresh oil comes in 2-gallon jugs

Next task: Reinstall the air cleaner system. The tractor has been sucking in unfiltered air for some years, I suspect! The air cleaner, which is known as an oil-bath filter, was sitting in Mom’s garage when I brought the tractor to Colorado so I have the parts, but there is a junction at the hood that appears to be damaged and will need work.

Sanderling driveway update: No movement. The contractor wrote that 2 more storms and a strong wind had come through this past week and dumped even more snow on the lot. He will keep us posted.

The cats were jealous that I posted dog photos in my last post and wanted equal time. Here is a recent cat photo:

London (left) and Antonio

I had my motorcycle out for the first ride of the season before the last snow fall. Not much of a ride – 26 miles – but it was nice to get up on 2 wheels again. I checked my log and found I had ridden 8,420 miles last year. This included a long trip to Ohio, not in the works for this year, but I do hope to make it to California. A CA rally is tentatively scheduled for mid-July.

We had the rear struts replaced on the Subaru. $614.00. Not fun, but has to be done as we expect to be pulling the trailer to and from the Sanderling lot more this year than we did last year. Next up is purchasing a new set of tires. We are still running on the factory original rubber after more than 85,000 miles, and it is about time for a new set.

Days are getting longer and most of the recent snow has melted. Forecast is to hit 50 degrees this weekend, close to our normal of 48, and we are ready for it.

Pam bought a roller caddy to help haul her briefcase + purse + lunch bag + misc. to and from work. Because she works at home 2 days a week, Pam brings home a lot of material. Rather than trying to carry all of this stuff in her hands, sister Becky suggested Pam investigate wheels. Pam decided to try this L. L. Bean roller caddy.

Pam’s caddy rolls nicely

Caddy has many storage pockets.

We’ll see if this arrangement prevents Pam from taking another header into the ice, as she did on Valentines Day…or will she just skewer herself with the roller caddy next time?

I must be getting old. I will soon apply to start getting funds from my Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund retirement account. It won’t be a lot – $600.00 per month before taxes – but it will come in every month for as long as I live. Just got the application packet in the mail…oh my. Much reading to do before I submit the paperwork. Pam, as my “designated survivor,” would continue to get these funds should I “go” first. Plan is to put these funds in a (457) Roth IRA available to me as part of my current benefits package. Roth plans require after-tax contributions but no taxes are paid on the funds, or their earnings, when you start withdrawing them (mandatory requirement) at the age of 70 and a half. We hope the account will earn big (tax-free) bucks in the next 10 years, but we have to get everything set up and that will take a couple months. (The Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund folks sent me the large envelope with “RET” stamped on the front, gives me some hope I may actually “RET.”)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Month: March 2013

An RV for Easter!

That Was The Week That Was

Driveway is in! :) Lots of photos (and 1 video.)

Driveway addendum

Stunned! OMG…Driveway Quote Received! $25,550.00!

Driveway quote and Plan B

Toys, mostly…

Miscellaneous musings

Categories

About Photos: