Friday, March 30, 2012

HOUSE RENOVATIONS ARE COMPLETE UNTIL OCTOBER…AND, A PROBLEM WITH THE RIG:((

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One of those up at 3 a.m. mornings had me on the ropes 12 hours later at 3 p.m.  I succumbed to a couple nasty swarms of zzzzzzzz’s.  The first swarm laid me low for about 20 minutes while sitting in our newly delivered recliner.  Second swarm got me in the Motor Home later when I sat down to check our email.

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PALS:))

Dobie & the crew were on the job early & finished up the last coat of house paint.  They were next on on the roof tarring all the cracks, crevices, joints & holes.  After that came the rolling on of white elastomeric paint.  That took them into the early afternoon. 

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DOBIE SURVEYS THE ROOF & PATCHES SOME HOLES AS THE BOYS BEGIN ROLLING ON THE WHITE ELASTOMERIC PAINT & SEALER

In the meantime, Kelly & I zip-a-de-do-dawed ourselves up the winding mountain road to Yarnell.  Kelly wanted to hit that Bakery before we headed home.  I like it when she thinks like that.  If your in the area you just have to stop at the Cornerstone Bakery & load yourself up with a belly full of pastries.  Everything is made from scratch & sells out fast so get there early.  We split a Breakfast Burrito & washed that down with a couple yummy doughnuts…10-4.

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CORNER STONE BAKERY…..YUM:))

I had spotted something in the Rosewind collectables store a few days ago that I thought would be useful for the house so we stopped in & grabbed it.  Needed something to hang my Cowboy Hats on & this heavy wrought iron thingy-ma-boo seemed to fit the bill.  It’s in the photo below with a couple of my hats on it just inside our front door.

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WROUGHT IRON HAT RACK FROM THE COLORFUL ROSEWIND IN YARNELL…CABINET BELOW FROM WICKENBURG’S CONSIGNMENT STORE

AJ from the newly opened Wickenburg Consignment store rolled in about noon with a trailer & some goodies for us.  Helped him unload a few things we had purchased on Wednesday.  A recliner, love seat, a wooden stool, a tall vase & an old table with some drawers in it.  All used & all in reasonably good condition.  Cowboy furniture I guess you could call it.  The joint is slowly beginning to look a little more like ‘home sweet home’ now:))

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NEVER MIND THE PICTURES…JUST GET OVER HERE & HELP ME WITH THIS LOVESEAT!!

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Friends of MIKE & PAT’S, Larry & Geri dropped in this afternoon for a few minutes to wish us well & have a look at the digs.  We had met them over at Pat & Mikes a couple weeks ago.  They are an energetic couple & if you read MIKE’S post you will see why.

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We are still slugging it out with a poor phone & internet connection so that problem will have to addressed for sure when we return.  Had a ‘Wilson Sleek’ antennae & power booster device shipped to us in hopes that would improve our signal but ‘nada ’………didn’t help.

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Adding to our final hectic days we have a perplexing problem with the rig as of this morning.  Had the generator running for a few minutes this morning while Kelly was brewing coffee.  It was a bit nippy so I clicked on our little electric heater figuring it would be fine with the generator running.  Ten minutes later all our power shut down.  Our solar batteries had dropped to 16%.  Turned off the heater but left the generator going to build the batteries back up.  Turned the genny off later but noticed we had no power whatsoever to your coach lights, bathroom fan, fridge & water heater igniters.  No power to run the water pump either.  Also no power to the slides…..unless we turned the generator on.  Checked all breakers, fuses & the GFI switch in the bathroom but to no avail.   Plugged into shore power for the rest of the day to put a full charge on our 4 Solar batteries & that didn’t work either.  Hate to have to drive all the way home with our gas generator running to keep the fridge cold, the water running & hot water in our water tank.  That would probably take us down to about 3 miles per gallon  So, not being too wise in the ways of all things smart, we do have us a little problem here in LaLa land…………Oh Dear:(((((( 

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THESE 2 MEXICAN FELLAS WERE HARD WORKERS    

IVAN has taken some nice photos around Sedona Arizona & I particularly like the one from Sedona’s Airport showing the surrounding landscape just after a snowfall early last week.  I think the big red rocks & many green forested trees around SEDONA make it one of the most scenic areas in the State.  We stayed at Dead Horse State Park near Cottonwood back in 07 & totally enjoyed that whole area.  Nice thing now is…..our winter base here in CONGRESS is only a short & scenic 3 hour drive from Sedona.  Easy to slip over there with the rig for a couple nice boondocking weeks anytime we are here during the winter.  As stated in an earlier post, our new Arizona digs are centrally located to all of the Southwest now.

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For all you do-it-yourselfer RV folks out there you might want to keep Karen & Steve’s SMALL HOUSE-BIG BACKYARD site handy.  This is an extremely talented fellow when it comes to RV repairs & renovations.  Seems like there isn’t anything he can’t do.  And, Karen documents everything so their Archives are full of fix-its & Renos.   They are currently preparing their lovely ‘in the woods’ Wisconsin home for sale & will soon be on the road full time in their older restored & renovated 38ft Safari Serengeti diesel Motorhome.  Although we haven’t met Karen & Steve yet, we have been RV blogging friends for a long time now.

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OUR ROOF WENT FROM A PALE GREEN TO WHITE IN A MATTER OF HOURS

Although sad about having to leave our Arizona house soon & having to endure the long drive home I do look forward to parts of the traveling aspect again.  We’ll be seeing some new territory & traveling on some roads we have never traveled before.  Always enjoy the excitement of the open road.  Especially here on the west side of the continent where the manic traffic chaos isn’t so totally nuts!!

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STAYING WARM IN A PAIR OF DAD’S OLD PJ’S

We welcome a couple new Blog Followers today.  Sherry & David from, IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR DREAMS joins the Bunch just in time for a long 2200 mile drive back to our home in Bayfield  Ontario.  Terry from, RANTINGS, RAMBLINGS, & REDISCOVERY also just made it aboard in time for the long trip.  Welcome to our blog folks:))

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GROANER’S CORNER:))  A man decides to take the opportunity while his wife is away to paint the toilet seat.
The wife comes home sooner than expected, sits, and gets the seat stuck to her rear.
She is understandably distraught about this and asks her husband to drive her to the doctor. She puts on a large overcoat so as to cover the stuck seat, and off they go.
When they get to the doctor's, the man lifts his wife's coat to show their predicament. The man asks, "Doctor, have you ever seen anything like this before?"
"Well, yes," the doctor replies, "but not framed like that."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

25 comments:

  1. hope that the rig problems are an easy fix and you can be on your way!..the house is looking like home now with the new purchases!

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  2. I'm sorry to hear about your rig issues and hope it is an easy answer. Your home was beautiful empty and all the new furniture and accessories, makes it look so "homey" After all the hard work you have been doing you and Pheebs deserve a little snooze. Kelly what a nice picture of you on your new love seat.
    Have a safe journey home,
    ~Betty and Joe

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  3. House is looking good.

    Sounds like your power troubles are on the 12 volt end of things.
    Check the terminals on your batteries to see if everything is good and tight.
    There could be a ground issue there, or possibly an issues in your transfer switch.

    Not sure what kind you have or how it's set up, but if 110 is working off the genny, but the 12 volt side of things is pooched, I think I'd start with those two areas.

    You may need to take it to someone with more answers I'm afraid. Hard to work a meter from over here.
    Best of luck.

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  4. It's looking mighty cozy there on the ranch! My favorite picture of the day is the one of you and the Pheebs snuggled up together. She is sure a great dog.

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  5. Although we don't have solar, this sounds somewhat like a problem we had in San Diego last Christmas. Turned out it was just a loose connection on the batteries. Hope yours is as simple.

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  6. Did you check the fuse you had replaced when you were at the slabs?
    The outside of the house looks great.
    What a difference you and Kelly have made to that little house.

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  7. Did you check the fuse you had replaced when you were at the slabs?
    The outside of the house looks great.
    What a difference you and Kelly have made to that little house.

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  8. The place is looking real homey.

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  9. Al, I would look into the charge controller thingy. If you don't get a charge from the grid AND the genny it's gotta be on that end.
    Good luck and safe travels. We are now "only 1200km from home. And that is nothing compared to the long journey we've had.
    Oh by the way...check your 30/50amp cable connection for the inlet receptacle. We ha that problem once.

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  10. It looks like you both have taken care of the basics and will have a comfy Arizona home to come back to on your return to the southwest. Love everything you've done - looks fab! The pics of Kelly on the love seat and you and Pheebs snuggling are neat. We could never tire of your blogging about what you're doing to your AZ house - gives us ideas of how to fix up one of our rental farm houses. Take care!

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  11. Wow,,,you are really getting the place fixed up nice!!! Ah, yes a recliner...a home can't be a home without a RECLINER!!!

    Check with the guys uptown in Congress, B & B can fix you rig troubles in a heartbeat.....

    I love your choice of furnishings,,,Good Job!!!

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  12. Pheebs reminds me of my little dog, Cassie, who always sleeps under the covers with me, even when it's hot! Nothing better than having a dog to snuggle. :)

    The house looks really cool! You guys have excellent taste, and the photo of Kelly is great. Hope the battery situation gets quickly resolved. Looking forward to the trip home and seeing that new country with you. :)

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  13. Al, why would you need to run your fridge with the generator running as you travel down the road? I always traveled with my fridge on propane. It is said that it even runs cooler on propane than electric.
    Gene S.

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  14. We have enjoyed that Corner Stone Bakery, in fact we enjoyed the whole town of Yarnell! Sorry about your rig electric problem -- hope you get it solved ASAP. Sorry to have not been able to visit with you this trip, but we know where you'll be next trip! The house is looking good! And about the Groaner's Corner -- when I was a kid, we had a dog-eared piece of paper on which had been typed a cute story called "One dam can of 10-cent paint." Similar story -- guy painted the toilet seat, wife sat down, got stuck. Can't remember any part of the story, would love to see it again!

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  15. Sheeeeesh.... it's always sumptin! Sorry about the electrical problems. Wondering if you took aboard a couple of those rascally pack rats without knowing it? So good to see the MotorMouse feeling better and Pheebs snuggling with ya! House looks great! Maybe MH troubles mean you are just meant to stay longer!

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  16. The interior of the house was always nice, but are transforming it into a truly beautiful home.

    I hope you can get your motorhome to someone who can troubleshoot what's wrong, and hopefully it will be a quick and easy fix - before you start the long trek back to Ontario.

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  17. As everyone has suggested, all the stuff that runs on 12V batteries has failed. But I would start by looking over the redone connections that solar Mike fixed a few weeks ago. If that has given up again, that would cause much of these same problems.

    Glad you got your roof fixed and the second coat of paint on the outside.

    Rod

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  18. Not that I'm such an expert, but our friends here rural Calif had similar problems with their car that had been sitting outside under the oaks. Check the wiring as much as you can. I hope pack rats haven't had a paw in this.

    emjay

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  19. Your new home is coming all together and it will be ready and waiting for your return. Pheebs looks real comfy all snuggled up next to you. Sure glad Cora is feeling better. Good Luck with the MH issues.

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  20. You've made more progress on that house than most people make in a year. It's looking great. Have you gotten to know any of the neighbors well enough to have them check on things while you are gone. Hope your rig fix is an easy one.

    http://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com

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  21. Scooter snuggles with me under the covers and loves to have her head on the pillow. They make life so worthwhile. The house is really looking beautiful. Hope you get the rig fixed quick and easy.

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  22. I'm relieved to see you were able to get the roof dealt with before monsoon season.

    Sounds like you're getting good suggestions about the 12 volt system. Good luck with finding the problem.

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  23. The new diggs are lookin' very welcoming and totally Southwest..You will be chompin' at the bit to get on the road this fall!! Yeah, we run our fridge on propane when on the road...works just fine.

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  24. Hopefully you can get a Mobile RV Repair Service to come out and help with your electricity problems before you start your trip home.

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  25. Al, you folks are missing the root of your problem completely. You bought a new home, putting a lot of time, energy, and money into it. You blog about it so much that the older child, your motor home, is jealous and throwing a tantrum. Grins. Congrats on the lovely home and safe travels. Lessie (Tardis)

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