Another week already?
We had a cold and messy start to this week and spent the end of last week and the weekend getting ready. I mentioned last week that we were expecting two storms. I had cleared the walking areas of the house so we could walk in dim light if we had a loss of electricity.
The first storm dropped an extremely small amount of snow overnight from Thursday to Friday. At 6 am when I looked out the window the street was clear, but the driveway and sidewalks were white - but a minor amount. By the time we went out around 2 pm, the snow had melted and was gone and it was above freezing.
The second storm was much more problematic. It was to be Saturday night into Sunday morning - and worst of all, extremely cold weather was expected to follow it. Starting on Friday the information jumped back and forth - one weather report from the reporter my husband trusts was that the storm would come in to the north of us and we would not have more than a trace of snow. His next report was that the storm was headed further south and we would be getting 6-8 inches of snow. The next - he the storm was north of us again and we would get a trace to 3 inches. All versions included freezing rain, sleet and then finally after hours of same - rain. When the temperatures then dropped after the storm (we made it down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit) the mess would freeze so it would dangerous to go out on Monday and there would be (the dreaded, especially by husband) downed electrical lines and loss of electricity.
I have mentioned in past posts that over the years husband has become more “weather phobic” due to changes in the weather in our area and is terrified of big snow storms, ice storms, and hurricanes. This is the result of having multiple huge snow storms for this area (sometimes 24 inch or more and then 2 days later another one) and repeated humongous hurricanes. So I go along with his fears and his ideas of what to do to make him feel better.
In the case of winter storms we make sure that we have extra food in the house, some of which is things we would not normally spend money on. In this case, for example, we had a bought a large (expensive) chicken pot pie the end of the week before. Husband during the week asked me to make it for dinner. I looked at him and said “I am saving it for the weekend”. He thought a second and said “Good idea!”. We bought deli turkey on Friday - we could have for lunch or dinner while in the house.
Then we started on the fear of electricity loss. One of his fears is that the water pipes, especially in the basement will freeze. This was not something that was mentioned much - if at all - in this area until we started having weather much colder than normal a few years ago. We put foam insulation on the basement pipes - but the pipes to our clothes washer and the basement sink are attached to the wall and we cannot fit anything behind them. Husband sets up a space heater in the basement near these pipes when it gets bitter cold. Last week I cleared away the assorted laundry and cleaning chemicals that are kept the platform which holds our basement sink so that they would not be near the heat. We also took an indoor/outdoor thermometer I use in the basement for a Packtite (trademark) heater which kills bedbugs and set it up so the “outdoor” part was on the pipes so we could see how cold the pipes were. At night we opened the cabinet doors under the bathroom/kitchen sinks and left the water dripping in same and the basement sink. Biggest problem with his fears this year was that the news reporters were constantly talking about wires will be coming down.
We were lucky and the storm did pass to the north so we had no snow, just the freezing mess. We stayed in through the worst of the cold through Monday - finally going out for lunch and a bit of shopping on Tuesday. Today it made it into the 40s Fahrenheit.
Luckily for once in recent years during these storms he was (relatively) happily on the Internet instead of pacing, biting his nails and staring out the window. I managed to catch up on a variety of small things to get done on the computer and in our office - you know that all that relatively unimportant stuff that really needs to get done. I even put together the mailing to our reenactment unit with their renewal paperwork.
I still have not received the W2,etc. forms I requested from IRS - not that under the closure of the government I thought I would actually receive them. I had planned to file them online if I did not receive them - but since I have not been able to file the annual return for our reenactment unit online (the only way that form can be filed) - I am concerned that I will not be able to file them online. So today while we were out we stopped in at an office supply store and I bought packages of the forms - I have 50 W2s so that I can prepare ONE of them! The other forms involved buying 10-25 forms. Hopefully I will be returning them if I can file online or receive the other forms by the end of this week. I plan to go to the client next week (I had planned on going this week until we had this weather - it will raining most of the rest of the week - hit and if the forms are being filed by mail, I need to have them with me when I go to her so she can sign the cover forms.
I now have to start taking down the Christmas tree decorations and the tree. We need them down so that husband can warp his loom for his next weaving project. Also, if we take the tree down and move the storage for the weaving (yarn and finished pieces) back to the living room I will have my area of our studio in the back room back. I will leave the decorations up until the tree is finished - and maybe a bit longer- they look so nice. (I think I mentioned that before all this weather we did take down the outside lights - the battery candles in the windows and the battery lit wreath at the door are still in place and still lit.)
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
When one faces one’s fears - whether husband’s fear of what the weather will do or starting to work on clearing a specific space in our house - one generally finds that what happens is not as bad as one fears. While I always say that every day starts a new year - a new year has started, pick something that needs work and start on it. Whatever you get done - it is that much less left to get done. Whether it is a drawer or a box or a room it is one thing that is done.
I also wanted to stay I would love to hear from some of you to hear what you are doing or what your problem in organizing and decluttering is.
Showing posts with label cold weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold weather. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Thursday, January 17, 2019
STILL HAVING TO REDO THINGS, BUT ACTUALLY GETTING SOME THINGS DONE
This is no longer funny. I still am doing things and needing to do them over again.
I have to file a form with IRS for our reenacting unit (since I am treasurer and also an accountant, it is my job). This is an annual form for small tax-exempt, not for profits organizations and can only be filed online - no paper copy. It takes less than 15 minutes and consists of how to contact the group, who is charge of it, what is its website (if it has one) and is its income and assets each under $25,000 for the year. I actually have to do 2 of these forms as the unit was not a corporation when we joined and over the years some other members and us decided it should be, so we incorporated, but we have never shut down the original organization, so both have to file the form. If we don’t file it we lose our tax exempt/not for profit status. I have now tried to file the form three times. It is not due until May, but I like to get it done with so I don’t forget. Each time I get a message after I sign in that there is maintenance going on - sorry - and it refers me to another page that will explain - which it does not and has nothing to do with same. At this point I have decided that this site is not working due to the government shut down and put this aside until late next month - or I hear the government has reopened. I hope this does not mean that I will not get the forms I ordered for client - should be here tomorrow as that is 10 days - I am guessing that at the least it will take longer.
We get for Christmas every year a general gift card from a family member of in-law, We tell her not to give it to us. She is extremely short on money and cannot afford to give it to us. We don’t reciprocate as we hope this makes her stop. We always have problems using gift cards - something goes wrong. We appreciate the thought, but just a card would be more appropriate. To make it easier to use the card ($25) and not need to keep track of how much is left on it and not buy something that we later need to return and have tossed out the empty card, we use it for prescriptions. So, we had to renew an expensive prescription (due to it being pay the deductible time of year) and when we picked up the prescription I handed the pharmacy employee the gift card to use first - it got rejected! Now I do this every year, I hand the gift card, it gets processed and subtracted from what we owe for the prescriptions and I pay the difference on our credit cards and it works every year. When we got home I telephoned the gift card company and sat on hold. While on same I heard about how now they were set up for split purchases and just use the card first and then pay the difference afterwards as most companies will accept it. When I finally reached an employee she told me that I had done this wrong (remember the message I had heard 4 times told me I had done it right). I have to pay the rest of the purchase amount and THEN have them process the card or it will not go through!! So next month when husband needs another expensive medication, since he still has more of his deductible, I will have to do it that it way! Oh, and she wastes another $5 buying the card as that is what she is charged to do so.
And - You may remember in December 2017 we bought husband’s niece (then 7 years old, now 8) a gift card for Best Buy for her to use for a computer game. I misplaced the card and it took until I set up the Christmas trees this year to find it. We gave her cash instead. We found out then how bad her computer game habit is. She plays constantly and if she loses she hits herself in the head with the game (a handheld). We decided that we would not give her anything towards the games again as she is an addict and it is the same as buying a bottle of liquor for an alcoholic. So we were stuck with the Best Buy card as we don’t really shop there. I need a software program to use for taxes and normally buy it at Walmart. I looked and Best Buy had it for the same price, so I figured I would buy it there instead and use up the blankety- blank card. We went in a week ago - after just about every employee on the floor in the Best Buy store had spoken to each other on their earphones - they still did not know if they carried it or if it was in stock. We left. The following weekend I checked and their website said they had it, so I printed same and went in to get it. (So this is my second trip in for the program.) I found it. We walked around a bit just because we were there and then I went to pay for it. I handed the cashier the card and the $25 was applied to the cost and I paid the balance. The cashier handed me the bag and the receipt and I turned to walk away. The cashier said “Wait! This says I am suppose to give you a $5 gift card.” So, now I have another card in my wallet and it will probably be there until next year’s software!
Yes, I know it is very nice of the in-law to give us something - but she REALLY needs the money herself. It is nice that we got the $5 card from Best Buy - but when one does not shop there, it is a problem.
On to what actually got done. (Laundry always done of course.) I packed up our every day Christmas season dishes and glasses and put them away in the basement until next year. I have started putting needed software in my new - new laptop (as I did with the original new laptop). At some time I will get around to transferring my word processing software to it and will no longer be using my old s - l - o - w laptop to write and post my posts to you.
I have to fill in a form with the income and expenses and bank accounts (also other assets if we had any) for my embroidery chapter to send to our national office so they can do their tax return which includes us. (Remember back in the second paragraph I said I do a form for our reenactment unit - well instead of filing that form for our chapter, we are included in the return of the national organization due to a different setup. BUT - every year we (I) receive a notice that we have not filed that - same as our reenactment unit files - form, although we are not suppose to, and end up filling in a longer paper form explaining why we don’t need to fill the form - another repeat of work.) So I filed in the form for national - all the numbers worked as I set up the file in my accounting software to match what national wants/needs and I just have to copy each item to national’s form. I added up the numbers on the form - best way to make sure I copied them correctly - and then filled in the other form - how many primary members other than officers volunteer for the chapter? That is the hard form to fill in. We have 2 committee chairs - that’s 2. We had some members teach stitching so they are volunteers - but 3 of them were officers, so they don’t get counted again, one is a committee chair - ditto, and one is a plural member - that means she belongs to national through a different chapter and also belongs to our chapter so I guess she is counted as volunteering for the other chapter. I had to go through all of last year’s newsletters to figure this out. I emailed out the form and they will let me know if there any problems - I am guessing there will not be.
I have cleared all the walkways through the house as we are expecting 2 snow storms over the next few days. I have explained before that 18th century homes were “put to rest” with the furniture against the wall when a room was not being used (and the furniture needed was put out in the middle to use when it was needed). This allowed people to walk around in dim light without needing a candle to avoid tripping over or walking into things. I started long ago making sure that we could walk around the house the same way when there was a possibility of a black out so we can safely walk around. I am currently doing the laundry. As long as it is all washed and dried I don’t have to worry, again, if there is a black out. I can always fold it without electricity.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK-
Frustrations will eventually end - I know I will reach point when I only have to things once - again. Being prepared in advance makes life easier if there is black out - and it doesn’t hurt if one is lucky and there isn’t one. I hope that any of you in the path of any storms from the past week or upcoming week make it through as easily as possible.
Non-political statement - If you work for the U.S. Federal government, I hope that you are working and getting paid. If not I hope that you are able to get by until this mess is over and that ends quickly. If you are in the U.S. and are not in this position - if you can, please give to one of the drives which are helping those who working and not being paid or not working at all due to the mess.
I have to file a form with IRS for our reenacting unit (since I am treasurer and also an accountant, it is my job). This is an annual form for small tax-exempt, not for profits organizations and can only be filed online - no paper copy. It takes less than 15 minutes and consists of how to contact the group, who is charge of it, what is its website (if it has one) and is its income and assets each under $25,000 for the year. I actually have to do 2 of these forms as the unit was not a corporation when we joined and over the years some other members and us decided it should be, so we incorporated, but we have never shut down the original organization, so both have to file the form. If we don’t file it we lose our tax exempt/not for profit status. I have now tried to file the form three times. It is not due until May, but I like to get it done with so I don’t forget. Each time I get a message after I sign in that there is maintenance going on - sorry - and it refers me to another page that will explain - which it does not and has nothing to do with same. At this point I have decided that this site is not working due to the government shut down and put this aside until late next month - or I hear the government has reopened. I hope this does not mean that I will not get the forms I ordered for client - should be here tomorrow as that is 10 days - I am guessing that at the least it will take longer.
We get for Christmas every year a general gift card from a family member of in-law, We tell her not to give it to us. She is extremely short on money and cannot afford to give it to us. We don’t reciprocate as we hope this makes her stop. We always have problems using gift cards - something goes wrong. We appreciate the thought, but just a card would be more appropriate. To make it easier to use the card ($25) and not need to keep track of how much is left on it and not buy something that we later need to return and have tossed out the empty card, we use it for prescriptions. So, we had to renew an expensive prescription (due to it being pay the deductible time of year) and when we picked up the prescription I handed the pharmacy employee the gift card to use first - it got rejected! Now I do this every year, I hand the gift card, it gets processed and subtracted from what we owe for the prescriptions and I pay the difference on our credit cards and it works every year. When we got home I telephoned the gift card company and sat on hold. While on same I heard about how now they were set up for split purchases and just use the card first and then pay the difference afterwards as most companies will accept it. When I finally reached an employee she told me that I had done this wrong (remember the message I had heard 4 times told me I had done it right). I have to pay the rest of the purchase amount and THEN have them process the card or it will not go through!! So next month when husband needs another expensive medication, since he still has more of his deductible, I will have to do it that it way! Oh, and she wastes another $5 buying the card as that is what she is charged to do so.
And - You may remember in December 2017 we bought husband’s niece (then 7 years old, now 8) a gift card for Best Buy for her to use for a computer game. I misplaced the card and it took until I set up the Christmas trees this year to find it. We gave her cash instead. We found out then how bad her computer game habit is. She plays constantly and if she loses she hits herself in the head with the game (a handheld). We decided that we would not give her anything towards the games again as she is an addict and it is the same as buying a bottle of liquor for an alcoholic. So we were stuck with the Best Buy card as we don’t really shop there. I need a software program to use for taxes and normally buy it at Walmart. I looked and Best Buy had it for the same price, so I figured I would buy it there instead and use up the blankety- blank card. We went in a week ago - after just about every employee on the floor in the Best Buy store had spoken to each other on their earphones - they still did not know if they carried it or if it was in stock. We left. The following weekend I checked and their website said they had it, so I printed same and went in to get it. (So this is my second trip in for the program.) I found it. We walked around a bit just because we were there and then I went to pay for it. I handed the cashier the card and the $25 was applied to the cost and I paid the balance. The cashier handed me the bag and the receipt and I turned to walk away. The cashier said “Wait! This says I am suppose to give you a $5 gift card.” So, now I have another card in my wallet and it will probably be there until next year’s software!
Yes, I know it is very nice of the in-law to give us something - but she REALLY needs the money herself. It is nice that we got the $5 card from Best Buy - but when one does not shop there, it is a problem.
On to what actually got done. (Laundry always done of course.) I packed up our every day Christmas season dishes and glasses and put them away in the basement until next year. I have started putting needed software in my new - new laptop (as I did with the original new laptop). At some time I will get around to transferring my word processing software to it and will no longer be using my old s - l - o - w laptop to write and post my posts to you.
I have to fill in a form with the income and expenses and bank accounts (also other assets if we had any) for my embroidery chapter to send to our national office so they can do their tax return which includes us. (Remember back in the second paragraph I said I do a form for our reenactment unit - well instead of filing that form for our chapter, we are included in the return of the national organization due to a different setup. BUT - every year we (I) receive a notice that we have not filed that - same as our reenactment unit files - form, although we are not suppose to, and end up filling in a longer paper form explaining why we don’t need to fill the form - another repeat of work.) So I filed in the form for national - all the numbers worked as I set up the file in my accounting software to match what national wants/needs and I just have to copy each item to national’s form. I added up the numbers on the form - best way to make sure I copied them correctly - and then filled in the other form - how many primary members other than officers volunteer for the chapter? That is the hard form to fill in. We have 2 committee chairs - that’s 2. We had some members teach stitching so they are volunteers - but 3 of them were officers, so they don’t get counted again, one is a committee chair - ditto, and one is a plural member - that means she belongs to national through a different chapter and also belongs to our chapter so I guess she is counted as volunteering for the other chapter. I had to go through all of last year’s newsletters to figure this out. I emailed out the form and they will let me know if there any problems - I am guessing there will not be.
I have cleared all the walkways through the house as we are expecting 2 snow storms over the next few days. I have explained before that 18th century homes were “put to rest” with the furniture against the wall when a room was not being used (and the furniture needed was put out in the middle to use when it was needed). This allowed people to walk around in dim light without needing a candle to avoid tripping over or walking into things. I started long ago making sure that we could walk around the house the same way when there was a possibility of a black out so we can safely walk around. I am currently doing the laundry. As long as it is all washed and dried I don’t have to worry, again, if there is a black out. I can always fold it without electricity.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK-
Frustrations will eventually end - I know I will reach point when I only have to things once - again. Being prepared in advance makes life easier if there is black out - and it doesn’t hurt if one is lucky and there isn’t one. I hope that any of you in the path of any storms from the past week or upcoming week make it through as easily as possible.
Non-political statement - If you work for the U.S. Federal government, I hope that you are working and getting paid. If not I hope that you are able to get by until this mess is over and that ends quickly. If you are in the U.S. and are not in this position - if you can, please give to one of the drives which are helping those who working and not being paid or not working at all due to the mess.
Thursday, December 6, 2018
WHAT EATS UP MY TIME THESE DAYS?
Do you have control over your time? How much of you time is governed by other people who need you or make plans which involve you - and are not the king of people you can say no to?
When my husband worked full time at his job all of my time during the day on weekdays was my own. Yes, I had to go to work and I went to my embroidery meetings, but I could easily plan what I was doing when back then.
Husband and I were in what is called a rotational art exhibit - okay, we were each in two of them. In this type of exhibition (run by two different township park departments) the artist, after having his/her work reviewed and approved, goes to a showcase. Different venues - town offices, libraries, local businesses... sign up with the program also and come to the showcase. They select which artist’s works they would like to have in their venue and they and the artist agree on which month (or two month period) the exhibition will be for. There would be months when we had 3 shows at 3 different venues (he had work in 2 different media in the show). Since he was working full time I was allowed to represent both of us - I also set up and took down the exhibitions. I could schedule the exhibitions, set them up and then take them down. When husband quit his job and worked part time from home we would do all of this together and there was always a problem with him as to when we were doing it, why we were doing it (we only sold 3 small pieces over the time he exhibited, my work was not for sale, so I did not sell any). It amazed me how much easier it was when I did this all alone, then when we did it together. Due to the fact that one of libraries may be where we got bedbugs, we stopped doing the shows - and it was relief to stop - although before he started coming along, this would not have been true.
When he first quit his job we had an agreement that we would each go our own way during the day - and we did for awhile. Then gasoline prices went up and up and up and husband pointed out that we were wasting money at the high price of gas for me to drive to the supermarket and him to drive separately to the Home Depot in the same parking lot and we started sort of car pooling for errands like this. Before I knew it, we were together all day, every day (except the days I went out to work and the days I went to my embroidery meeting).
Clients of mine, older senior citizens, had to shut down their business due to the economy and gradually I ended up with only one monthly business client. I used to go out to clients at least 8 days a month - some days to multiple clients - and had no problem scheduling them - now the 1 client is a problem to schedule.
I am not the world’s best house cleaner. I had a schedule - on Wednesdays I would clean - First Wednesday of the month I would dust, vacuum & wash floors, and clean the toilet upstairs. Second Wednesday of the month I would do the same downstairs. Third week I would do the upstairs - except the toilet - again. Fourth week I would do the same as the second, but would clean the kitchen instead of the bathroom. On the occasional fifth Wednesday I would do another chore that had not been done and needed doing. Now - forget it! It is hard to clean toilets or wash floors when as soon as one is mid cleaning one’s husband appears and says “I have to go in NOW.” And there is always a reason that the other bathroom is not where he wants to be. It has gotten so bad that I ended waiting until he fell asleep at night and then cleaned the upstairs bathroom - at 3 in the morning!
This comes up right now as the past 2 weeks I feel like screaming! Last week on Tuesday he decided it was time to put up the Christmas lights, and then looked at the bushes and the piles of fallen leaves and said “We can’t put up the lights with all these leaves here - there will be a fire.” Okay, so we are going to suddenly clear up the leaves. He found online at a home store near us a rack to hold the garbage bags and it was in stock at the store. We go there - I really don’t think we need the rack - without even knowing what it was. The store does not have any, even though the company website says that they do - and, while it is still November at that time, they don’t have it because it is a “fall” item and the main office therefore took all of them back! Oh, and according to them the website saying they have something does not mean anything - good thing husband did not buy it online and go to pick it up at the store. We lost an hour and a half of limited sunlight (remember we get started late and had already run errands) on that fool’s errand. We come home and we start clearing the leaves. Over the years husband has come up with a variety of methods to do this - vacuum them, shred them with a vacuum, and I don’t know what else - my system is a snow shovel - yes, a snow shovel. First I quickly rake the leaves out from between the bushes onto the driveway in a line of leaves. I shovel them into the garbage bag in the garbage pail, stop periodically to tamp them down with the shovel, then when the bag is full (probably overfull) I close the bad with a bag tie, drag the garbage can to by the curb, lay the pail down on it’s side, stand it up again with the open end down, pull the can off the bag and there it is - a bag of leaves where it needs to be for pickup. I am doing the work due to the pain that is still healing in his left arm and shoulder. He has to help (you know, like small children have to help). He wants to hold the rake for me to push the leaves against when shoveling, this is not needed as there is a line of leaves to push against and at the end I use the pail. Then he decides that too many leaves are falling and puts the rake over the leaves - resulting in almost all of the leaves falling off. I convince him to go and get more bags and bag ties to keep him busy. We eventually end up with about a dozen or more bags sitting at the curb - they were picked the next day as Wednesday is yard pickup. Wednesday we run errands and then go to clear the last of the leaves - these are leaves around the driveway where he is worried that mice will nest - he is shocked that new leaves are where we cleared the day before! Now, if I was involved in planning this ahead of time - we would not have had errands to run - I would make sure they were otherwise scheduled - and we would have eaten a quick lunch at home to give us enough time, instead of our daily half hour plus leisurely lunch at Wendys.
We had checked the light strands ahead of time, as we had not had a chance to check them when we took them down (I made a reminder in my cell phone for the middle of October about this, as well as about the 2 strands that went out while out last year and had purchased replacement lights. We had to wait after clearing the leaves for a day that was not below freezing and it was not raining. Over the weekend we put out the lights. I am, again, doing the work. We did a little bit different setup as he had some ideas, All was going well. We have a holly tree and the lights have to be (literally) thrown onto the upper part of it as neither of us likes to go on a ladder. I was trying to figure out how to put the higher lights on it - figuring a ladder will be needed - and he grabs the strand and throws it - and then is reminded of his shoulder and arm - and was back in pain like a few weeks ago! (Yes, the lights are up, look nice - one of his ideas I thought was terrible works very well.)
We spent yesterday evening taking apart his computer as it had stopped working - believe it or not it as the battery that keeps the time and such going as this is his desktop computer. So the time I would have spent washing dishes - I was lifting his computer (because even before he threw the light strand he should not have lifted it) as well as clearing off my desk for him to work on. I did some of my magic - “It needs a CR2032 battery, I guess we will have to buy one.” I go to our bag of button batteries (travels with us on trips) and find one, still sealed in the package. Then I did the dishes after we changed the battery, put the computer back on his side of the office on the floor and he had restarted the computer.
I have to take 20 hours of classes to do tax returns next year - I took 2 hours of them the other evening and I should have much more of them done by now - only 26 days to go - 6 days of which we will be involved in reenacting, two days of which will be Christmas Eve and Day, that leaves 18 days left! And Christmas decorations, shopping for one of his nieces (other is finished) and regular housework is left - oh, and he is still trying to fit in a one day trip to Lancaster, PA.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
It is hard to make our time our own to be able to schedule what work needs to be done, but we have to do it. This time of year, especially, we have to make time for what we need to do as well as what we have to do.
When my husband worked full time at his job all of my time during the day on weekdays was my own. Yes, I had to go to work and I went to my embroidery meetings, but I could easily plan what I was doing when back then.
Husband and I were in what is called a rotational art exhibit - okay, we were each in two of them. In this type of exhibition (run by two different township park departments) the artist, after having his/her work reviewed and approved, goes to a showcase. Different venues - town offices, libraries, local businesses... sign up with the program also and come to the showcase. They select which artist’s works they would like to have in their venue and they and the artist agree on which month (or two month period) the exhibition will be for. There would be months when we had 3 shows at 3 different venues (he had work in 2 different media in the show). Since he was working full time I was allowed to represent both of us - I also set up and took down the exhibitions. I could schedule the exhibitions, set them up and then take them down. When husband quit his job and worked part time from home we would do all of this together and there was always a problem with him as to when we were doing it, why we were doing it (we only sold 3 small pieces over the time he exhibited, my work was not for sale, so I did not sell any). It amazed me how much easier it was when I did this all alone, then when we did it together. Due to the fact that one of libraries may be where we got bedbugs, we stopped doing the shows - and it was relief to stop - although before he started coming along, this would not have been true.
When he first quit his job we had an agreement that we would each go our own way during the day - and we did for awhile. Then gasoline prices went up and up and up and husband pointed out that we were wasting money at the high price of gas for me to drive to the supermarket and him to drive separately to the Home Depot in the same parking lot and we started sort of car pooling for errands like this. Before I knew it, we were together all day, every day (except the days I went out to work and the days I went to my embroidery meeting).
Clients of mine, older senior citizens, had to shut down their business due to the economy and gradually I ended up with only one monthly business client. I used to go out to clients at least 8 days a month - some days to multiple clients - and had no problem scheduling them - now the 1 client is a problem to schedule.
I am not the world’s best house cleaner. I had a schedule - on Wednesdays I would clean - First Wednesday of the month I would dust, vacuum & wash floors, and clean the toilet upstairs. Second Wednesday of the month I would do the same downstairs. Third week I would do the upstairs - except the toilet - again. Fourth week I would do the same as the second, but would clean the kitchen instead of the bathroom. On the occasional fifth Wednesday I would do another chore that had not been done and needed doing. Now - forget it! It is hard to clean toilets or wash floors when as soon as one is mid cleaning one’s husband appears and says “I have to go in NOW.” And there is always a reason that the other bathroom is not where he wants to be. It has gotten so bad that I ended waiting until he fell asleep at night and then cleaned the upstairs bathroom - at 3 in the morning!
This comes up right now as the past 2 weeks I feel like screaming! Last week on Tuesday he decided it was time to put up the Christmas lights, and then looked at the bushes and the piles of fallen leaves and said “We can’t put up the lights with all these leaves here - there will be a fire.” Okay, so we are going to suddenly clear up the leaves. He found online at a home store near us a rack to hold the garbage bags and it was in stock at the store. We go there - I really don’t think we need the rack - without even knowing what it was. The store does not have any, even though the company website says that they do - and, while it is still November at that time, they don’t have it because it is a “fall” item and the main office therefore took all of them back! Oh, and according to them the website saying they have something does not mean anything - good thing husband did not buy it online and go to pick it up at the store. We lost an hour and a half of limited sunlight (remember we get started late and had already run errands) on that fool’s errand. We come home and we start clearing the leaves. Over the years husband has come up with a variety of methods to do this - vacuum them, shred them with a vacuum, and I don’t know what else - my system is a snow shovel - yes, a snow shovel. First I quickly rake the leaves out from between the bushes onto the driveway in a line of leaves. I shovel them into the garbage bag in the garbage pail, stop periodically to tamp them down with the shovel, then when the bag is full (probably overfull) I close the bad with a bag tie, drag the garbage can to by the curb, lay the pail down on it’s side, stand it up again with the open end down, pull the can off the bag and there it is - a bag of leaves where it needs to be for pickup. I am doing the work due to the pain that is still healing in his left arm and shoulder. He has to help (you know, like small children have to help). He wants to hold the rake for me to push the leaves against when shoveling, this is not needed as there is a line of leaves to push against and at the end I use the pail. Then he decides that too many leaves are falling and puts the rake over the leaves - resulting in almost all of the leaves falling off. I convince him to go and get more bags and bag ties to keep him busy. We eventually end up with about a dozen or more bags sitting at the curb - they were picked the next day as Wednesday is yard pickup. Wednesday we run errands and then go to clear the last of the leaves - these are leaves around the driveway where he is worried that mice will nest - he is shocked that new leaves are where we cleared the day before! Now, if I was involved in planning this ahead of time - we would not have had errands to run - I would make sure they were otherwise scheduled - and we would have eaten a quick lunch at home to give us enough time, instead of our daily half hour plus leisurely lunch at Wendys.
We had checked the light strands ahead of time, as we had not had a chance to check them when we took them down (I made a reminder in my cell phone for the middle of October about this, as well as about the 2 strands that went out while out last year and had purchased replacement lights. We had to wait after clearing the leaves for a day that was not below freezing and it was not raining. Over the weekend we put out the lights. I am, again, doing the work. We did a little bit different setup as he had some ideas, All was going well. We have a holly tree and the lights have to be (literally) thrown onto the upper part of it as neither of us likes to go on a ladder. I was trying to figure out how to put the higher lights on it - figuring a ladder will be needed - and he grabs the strand and throws it - and then is reminded of his shoulder and arm - and was back in pain like a few weeks ago! (Yes, the lights are up, look nice - one of his ideas I thought was terrible works very well.)
We spent yesterday evening taking apart his computer as it had stopped working - believe it or not it as the battery that keeps the time and such going as this is his desktop computer. So the time I would have spent washing dishes - I was lifting his computer (because even before he threw the light strand he should not have lifted it) as well as clearing off my desk for him to work on. I did some of my magic - “It needs a CR2032 battery, I guess we will have to buy one.” I go to our bag of button batteries (travels with us on trips) and find one, still sealed in the package. Then I did the dishes after we changed the battery, put the computer back on his side of the office on the floor and he had restarted the computer.
I have to take 20 hours of classes to do tax returns next year - I took 2 hours of them the other evening and I should have much more of them done by now - only 26 days to go - 6 days of which we will be involved in reenacting, two days of which will be Christmas Eve and Day, that leaves 18 days left! And Christmas decorations, shopping for one of his nieces (other is finished) and regular housework is left - oh, and he is still trying to fit in a one day trip to Lancaster, PA.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
It is hard to make our time our own to be able to schedule what work needs to be done, but we have to do it. This time of year, especially, we have to make time for what we need to do as well as what we have to do.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
MY HUSBAND SAID IT WILL ONLY TAKE AN HOUR - PART 2
Back this week to the lack of organization in winterizing our RV. The start of this story was two weeks ago - http://wheredidileavethat.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-husband-said-it-will-only-take-hour.html
We are able to skip part of the process which involves emptying out the hot water tank as we don’t use it and keep it off line. Good thing as this involves opening the tank from the outside with a huge wrench and he has trouble doing so - often it takes both of us - so I never would be able to do it alone and he could not do it with his shoulder and arm as it is.
The rest of the process involves letting water out of the hot and cold taps in the sink, shower, outside shower and the toilet bowl. Due to not wanting to put water we don’t have to into the outgoing water tanks since they could not be drained, we used a box that we have which fits the sink to let the water out of the pipes - we use it for outgoing water if we travel after we winterized for the year and therefore could not use running water. We open all the taps one at time and let the water out. We did have to let the water in the toilet go down the tank. (Toilet looks similar to home toilets, but when flushed a trap door opens into the tank.) Then I have to use a wrench to open a cap on the pipe which comes from the water pump - under the bed in a cabinet - which means that I have to take the table top off the top of the cabinet and then the protective foam under it out - we shove them between the front seats, where the pillows, blankets, and mattress covers were moved when I unmade the bed.
There is a water pump in this area which normally would pump water from the clean water tanks to be used in any of the taps mentioned or the toilet. The first year we had the RV we had the dealer do the winterizing and show us how to do it. We also had it install a two way switch over for the pump to either draw water from the clean tanks or we could hook a hose to the other side of the switch over and have it draw the antifreeze from through the hose from the a bottle of antifreeze. I had to use an adjustable wrench to open the cap on the switch over. Husband handed me a 7 inch long wrench. The space in the cabinet seems to be between 7 and 7 and half inches tall - I could not get the wrench on, adjust it to size, and turn it to take off the cap. After much yelling between us - “I know how to use a wrench!” - we switched places and he took the cap off. I then attached the hose to the switch over and shoved the other end into the first bottle of anti-freeze.
Husband went around and opened each of the taps and ran the tap until it ran pink, the color of the anti-freeze. He did this with each tap in each of the 3 pairs of taps. I had to switch the bottle of anti-freeze twice while we were doing this. He then poured a bottle of the anti-freeze into the toilet bowl and let it into the tank under it - remember, he already put one bottle - a gallon - before. Normally we don’t put this much in the toilet tank, but we were worried about the water already in it freezing. He then stepped on the flush pedal and ran more of the antifreeze through the water pump until the water coming out of the pipe into the toilet bowl was also running pink.
We then disconnected the hose we were using and I put the cap back on the two way switch and switched it back to draw water from the clean water tanks.
Lastly we had to pour antifreeze down the sink drain and the shower drain in the floor. I poured out 2 separate cups of antifreeze first and poured the rest of a new bottle of anti-freeze partially in the floor shower drain and most of it down the sink drain (the two drains go to the same grey water tank). I then had to S L O W L Y pour one of the cups we set aside down the toilet drain and then the other down the sink drain. These are poured slowly so that it will stay in the traps (you know, the bend in the pipe that you see under the sink). Last thing I did was put pieces of pipe foam - you know - the tubes of plastic foam that is slit up one side and one puts on pipes in their house to keep the pipes and valves from freezing - over the valves related to the hot water tank. This tank and its pipes are just above the (uninsulated) floor and the valves in the pipes have frozen in the past until we started pieces these pieces of foam over them for the winter.
I then had to pack up everything we had used and put the bed - with the table top under it - back to where it belongs. Husband went into the house as he did not feel well - both because his shoulder and arm were hurting and he had bent down and was dizzy and nauseous as gets from same. I had to unplug the RV from where we plugged into our house electricity in our porch so that we could run the water pump without using up the battery’s charge. I put everything back in place inside the RV and then put stuff back in the porch that is kept there and put the wrench back in the garage workshop. I then took a last walk around the RV to make sure everything was put away - good thing - the driver’s side window looked funny - it was still open! I closed and walked around again.
We will have to call the RV dealer over the winter and make an appointment for next spring to have them take apart and find out what is wrong with the macerator and/or its pump. Hopefully we put enough anti-freeze in enough places to keep the rest of the system from freezing - and costing us even more money.
I will admit that after deducting the time we spent trying to get the water out of the black and grey tanks - trying to get the macerator and its pump to work, the rest of the process really did only take a little more than an hour.
After my complaints about using a wrench which was too long for the space - which apparently we don’t have one the correct length as previously he had not been able to find a short adjustable wrench which opened large enough - he is buying me a rather expensive (for us) 6 inch wrench as a Christmas gift. I guess this may be one year that I cannot say that I did not want anything and did not get a gift.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Procrastination can lead to panic. Try to get things done when they should be done.
It does turn out that we were lucky not to have gone on a trip after our last one. As it is we have two tanks that need to be empty with a bit of water and a much larger bit of anti-freeze. If we had gone on a trip after our last trip, when we went to dump the tanks at the end of the trip we would not have been able to do so. When we took the RV to the dealer we would have had to have them empty the tanks to work - and that would cost even more.
We are able to skip part of the process which involves emptying out the hot water tank as we don’t use it and keep it off line. Good thing as this involves opening the tank from the outside with a huge wrench and he has trouble doing so - often it takes both of us - so I never would be able to do it alone and he could not do it with his shoulder and arm as it is.
The rest of the process involves letting water out of the hot and cold taps in the sink, shower, outside shower and the toilet bowl. Due to not wanting to put water we don’t have to into the outgoing water tanks since they could not be drained, we used a box that we have which fits the sink to let the water out of the pipes - we use it for outgoing water if we travel after we winterized for the year and therefore could not use running water. We open all the taps one at time and let the water out. We did have to let the water in the toilet go down the tank. (Toilet looks similar to home toilets, but when flushed a trap door opens into the tank.) Then I have to use a wrench to open a cap on the pipe which comes from the water pump - under the bed in a cabinet - which means that I have to take the table top off the top of the cabinet and then the protective foam under it out - we shove them between the front seats, where the pillows, blankets, and mattress covers were moved when I unmade the bed.
There is a water pump in this area which normally would pump water from the clean water tanks to be used in any of the taps mentioned or the toilet. The first year we had the RV we had the dealer do the winterizing and show us how to do it. We also had it install a two way switch over for the pump to either draw water from the clean tanks or we could hook a hose to the other side of the switch over and have it draw the antifreeze from through the hose from the a bottle of antifreeze. I had to use an adjustable wrench to open the cap on the switch over. Husband handed me a 7 inch long wrench. The space in the cabinet seems to be between 7 and 7 and half inches tall - I could not get the wrench on, adjust it to size, and turn it to take off the cap. After much yelling between us - “I know how to use a wrench!” - we switched places and he took the cap off. I then attached the hose to the switch over and shoved the other end into the first bottle of anti-freeze.
Husband went around and opened each of the taps and ran the tap until it ran pink, the color of the anti-freeze. He did this with each tap in each of the 3 pairs of taps. I had to switch the bottle of anti-freeze twice while we were doing this. He then poured a bottle of the anti-freeze into the toilet bowl and let it into the tank under it - remember, he already put one bottle - a gallon - before. Normally we don’t put this much in the toilet tank, but we were worried about the water already in it freezing. He then stepped on the flush pedal and ran more of the antifreeze through the water pump until the water coming out of the pipe into the toilet bowl was also running pink.
We then disconnected the hose we were using and I put the cap back on the two way switch and switched it back to draw water from the clean water tanks.
Lastly we had to pour antifreeze down the sink drain and the shower drain in the floor. I poured out 2 separate cups of antifreeze first and poured the rest of a new bottle of anti-freeze partially in the floor shower drain and most of it down the sink drain (the two drains go to the same grey water tank). I then had to S L O W L Y pour one of the cups we set aside down the toilet drain and then the other down the sink drain. These are poured slowly so that it will stay in the traps (you know, the bend in the pipe that you see under the sink). Last thing I did was put pieces of pipe foam - you know - the tubes of plastic foam that is slit up one side and one puts on pipes in their house to keep the pipes and valves from freezing - over the valves related to the hot water tank. This tank and its pipes are just above the (uninsulated) floor and the valves in the pipes have frozen in the past until we started pieces these pieces of foam over them for the winter.
I then had to pack up everything we had used and put the bed - with the table top under it - back to where it belongs. Husband went into the house as he did not feel well - both because his shoulder and arm were hurting and he had bent down and was dizzy and nauseous as gets from same. I had to unplug the RV from where we plugged into our house electricity in our porch so that we could run the water pump without using up the battery’s charge. I put everything back in place inside the RV and then put stuff back in the porch that is kept there and put the wrench back in the garage workshop. I then took a last walk around the RV to make sure everything was put away - good thing - the driver’s side window looked funny - it was still open! I closed and walked around again.
We will have to call the RV dealer over the winter and make an appointment for next spring to have them take apart and find out what is wrong with the macerator and/or its pump. Hopefully we put enough anti-freeze in enough places to keep the rest of the system from freezing - and costing us even more money.
I will admit that after deducting the time we spent trying to get the water out of the black and grey tanks - trying to get the macerator and its pump to work, the rest of the process really did only take a little more than an hour.
After my complaints about using a wrench which was too long for the space - which apparently we don’t have one the correct length as previously he had not been able to find a short adjustable wrench which opened large enough - he is buying me a rather expensive (for us) 6 inch wrench as a Christmas gift. I guess this may be one year that I cannot say that I did not want anything and did not get a gift.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Procrastination can lead to panic. Try to get things done when they should be done.
It does turn out that we were lucky not to have gone on a trip after our last one. As it is we have two tanks that need to be empty with a bit of water and a much larger bit of anti-freeze. If we had gone on a trip after our last trip, when we went to dump the tanks at the end of the trip we would not have been able to do so. When we took the RV to the dealer we would have had to have them empty the tanks to work - and that would cost even more.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
MY HUSBAND SAID - IT WILL ONLY TAKE AN HOUR - PART 1
First - I hope any of you in California and those you know are safe from the fires.
I have mentioned before that we have a very small RV (it is a conversion of a Chevy Express van so I do mean small). Those of you who live in the colder areas understand that in cold weather unprotected water pipes can freeze and cause damage. To prevent this in an RV (or a travel trailer or boat which has plumbing) one has to winterize the water system in the fall before it gets too cold. Too cold according to my husband is 2 nights in a row under 28F, without it getting into the 40Fs during the days. At this point water will be freezing in the water system of the RV.
Winterizing is a fairly straight forward process - all the water in the pipes and tanks has to be drained out and then a non-toxic anti-freeze (mostly alcohol - no, not the drinkable kind) has to be run through the system. It really should only take about an hour - but hey, this is us.
At the end of October when it was still in the 50Fs I suggested to husband that we do the winterizing since we were not going to use the RV due to his shoulder and arm pain. We normally due this early in November. He replied that we had plenty of time - I suggested that doing it in relatively warmer weather was better. He said to wait until he felt better. This is one of the few maintenance tasks that we do ourselves on the RV that I cannot do on my own. (Husband has been surprised this past month and a half that I can do the tasks we do together on my own.)
Well, last weekend the weather report was for a night below freezing and that the weather would not improve much this week - going into rain on Tuesday. So, now in panic we had to winterize the RV on Monday. Luckily husband had listened to me when I suggested buying the antifreeze last month and we had bought 3 one gallon bottles plus we had one full bottle and one at least half full bottle left over last year.
First thing we had to do was the result of our not having traveled in September or October. We anticipated at least one more trip when we went away on our last (one night) August trip. The black and grey water tanks (outgoing water) have to be dumped. While we dumped them before we left for home on our last trip, we also added some clean water into them as they cannot be without water (or antifreeze) in it. Generally on our last trip of the season we would not have added this water into the tanks. So we had to dump the tanks.
Well, we thought this was the first thing. Since we had planned to travel again and had been away for at most a total of 5 nights, we had left the bed made. So first I had to unmake and disassemble the bed. Why? The bed is on top of two cabinets (when not a bed it is similar to a restaurant booth - a seats on top of a cabinet on each side of the RV in the rear section and then wooden boards go between, the side seats slide together onto these boards and then the bench backs are laid down along the walls to form the bed) This all has to be reversed to unmake the bed.
So I strip the sheets and pillow cases and bag them in a laundry bag - throw in front of the RV. I then fold the blankets and the mattress covers and with the pillows to the same side of the bed (his side or my side) I bag them in extra large laundry bags and then put those in extra large plastic bags and seal them closed for the winter. I use twin sheets, blankets and mattress covers as it is easier to make up each half of the bed separately. The bags with the pillows etc. each go on one of the front seats. I then lift up the back of the bench on “my side”of the bed and put it on the main mattress piece and push the bottom end (where I am) to the side which lets me pull out the first wooden board from the center and set it aside. I then squeeze in and pull out the second board. I can then reach a small section of the mattress which sits along the rear corner of the RV (head of the bed as we sleep with our heads to the back of the RV) and put that also on the main piece. I can now push the main piece into the bench position on the cabinet on that side. I remove a small additional center mattress insert from between the two sides and put it and the two large pieces of wood under the mattress piece.
I then take the back piece from his side of the bed and put it on mine. I take the matching small back corner piece and put it on mine. This leaves his main mattress piece - the bench seat. Problem is that my side of the bed and its bench is about 3 inches shorter than his in length. So I can not put it on my side, I have to put the rear van end (head of the bed) on mine and with it on a catty corner angle make room to be able to later get to the front end of the cabinet under his mattress as that is where the water system is accessed. This has taken about a half hour.
The water from the fresh water tanks had been let out after our return home - that water can be allowed to run down the driveway as it is clean water, the water from the grey and black tanks cannot be allowed to run. So when we do this at home we have the dump system pump the water into a bucket which is then carried into the house and flushed down the toilet. (If you have been in an RV our has different dump system - instead of it all running out by gravity, ours has a macerator and pump and the contents are pumped out and ground up. Normally he would carry the bucket, this time I had to.
We set it all up on the driveway and I was holding the hose into the bucket while he pushed the button on the side of the driver’s seat to run the pump. He pushes it - nothing happens. Repeat - nothing happens. Repeat - nothing happens. Husband goes into panic mode. Maybe we didn’t put water in it when we pumped it out? He adds a gallon of antifreeze. He pushes the button - nothing happens. More panic. Then he thinks - maybe there is not enough water in it as the RV is on the driveway on an uphill angle and the water is sitting at the other end of the tank. He has me take out our levelers - this are rounded bottom plastic pieces with a thin end graduated to a thick end. One is put in front of the rear tires (or the front ones - in this case the rear ones) and then he slowly drives onto them until the RV is level. Chucks are put under the thin end which is now raised in the air - lifting the tires up off the group. We do this. I hate doing this as I am the one who has to slip the chucks under it and then has to remove the chucks from it - we were going to put strings on the chucks so I would not have to put my hands and arms under the RV to remove them, but of course have not gotten around to it. So the RV was sort of level (we can only raise it so much). I hold the hose in the bucket, he pushes the button. Nothing happens. Repeat. Finally remove the chucks and drive off the levelers.
When we last dumped the tanks the pump sounded funny, it seemed to go to quickly, and there was no need to give short pumps at the end. Maybe the macerator is broken and/or pump is broken? That’s a big expense.
New idea. Maybe something is stuck in the macerator? There is a handle to rotate it and clear it - under the RV. I have lain down before and looked at what was underneath as husband would get ill if he did so and I did have to find the cap to remove to let the clean the water out when we are done with using the tanks. I knew where the handle was. As a matter of fact during this past summer husband and I had a conversation about the handle as someone had figured out how to make a clean out from the macerator directly and let the tank contents out by gravity. The handle is on the driver’s side of the RV - the macerator is under the passenger side. We have had this discussion at least 3 times in the past. He tells me to turn the handle and insists it is on the passenger side. It is fall. The driveway is covered in leaves. I don’t want to lie down in the leaves. He gets a broom and sweeps them away as I humor him by lying down and looking on the wrong side for the handle. Then the leaves have to be cleared off the driveway on the correct side. Problem here is the driveway is wet from our attempts to dump - and I AM NOT GOING TO LIE IN THAT WATER. So I am lying on my wrong side. Next problem. I am short and have short arms so I can barely reach the handle and. I manage to grab it and push it and I think it engaged. I turn it. I cannot keep it pushed and turn it at the same time, but attempt it several times. Guess what - yes, when we try to dump again it still does not work. Husband figures that maybe the water in the macerator (there is always some which is why we are suppose to get anti-freeze in it to replace the water which will be pushed out by the pump) froze.
We realize that we cannot do anything with pump and macerator and - luckily for me - we both have the same idea to move on to the rest of the process. We have used about 2.5 hours doing this. He drives the RV back into its normal position on the driveway to do the rest - most - of the process which remains.
To be continued -
I have mentioned before that we have a very small RV (it is a conversion of a Chevy Express van so I do mean small). Those of you who live in the colder areas understand that in cold weather unprotected water pipes can freeze and cause damage. To prevent this in an RV (or a travel trailer or boat which has plumbing) one has to winterize the water system in the fall before it gets too cold. Too cold according to my husband is 2 nights in a row under 28F, without it getting into the 40Fs during the days. At this point water will be freezing in the water system of the RV.
Winterizing is a fairly straight forward process - all the water in the pipes and tanks has to be drained out and then a non-toxic anti-freeze (mostly alcohol - no, not the drinkable kind) has to be run through the system. It really should only take about an hour - but hey, this is us.
At the end of October when it was still in the 50Fs I suggested to husband that we do the winterizing since we were not going to use the RV due to his shoulder and arm pain. We normally due this early in November. He replied that we had plenty of time - I suggested that doing it in relatively warmer weather was better. He said to wait until he felt better. This is one of the few maintenance tasks that we do ourselves on the RV that I cannot do on my own. (Husband has been surprised this past month and a half that I can do the tasks we do together on my own.)
Well, last weekend the weather report was for a night below freezing and that the weather would not improve much this week - going into rain on Tuesday. So, now in panic we had to winterize the RV on Monday. Luckily husband had listened to me when I suggested buying the antifreeze last month and we had bought 3 one gallon bottles plus we had one full bottle and one at least half full bottle left over last year.
First thing we had to do was the result of our not having traveled in September or October. We anticipated at least one more trip when we went away on our last (one night) August trip. The black and grey water tanks (outgoing water) have to be dumped. While we dumped them before we left for home on our last trip, we also added some clean water into them as they cannot be without water (or antifreeze) in it. Generally on our last trip of the season we would not have added this water into the tanks. So we had to dump the tanks.
Well, we thought this was the first thing. Since we had planned to travel again and had been away for at most a total of 5 nights, we had left the bed made. So first I had to unmake and disassemble the bed. Why? The bed is on top of two cabinets (when not a bed it is similar to a restaurant booth - a seats on top of a cabinet on each side of the RV in the rear section and then wooden boards go between, the side seats slide together onto these boards and then the bench backs are laid down along the walls to form the bed) This all has to be reversed to unmake the bed.
So I strip the sheets and pillow cases and bag them in a laundry bag - throw in front of the RV. I then fold the blankets and the mattress covers and with the pillows to the same side of the bed (his side or my side) I bag them in extra large laundry bags and then put those in extra large plastic bags and seal them closed for the winter. I use twin sheets, blankets and mattress covers as it is easier to make up each half of the bed separately. The bags with the pillows etc. each go on one of the front seats. I then lift up the back of the bench on “my side”of the bed and put it on the main mattress piece and push the bottom end (where I am) to the side which lets me pull out the first wooden board from the center and set it aside. I then squeeze in and pull out the second board. I can then reach a small section of the mattress which sits along the rear corner of the RV (head of the bed as we sleep with our heads to the back of the RV) and put that also on the main piece. I can now push the main piece into the bench position on the cabinet on that side. I remove a small additional center mattress insert from between the two sides and put it and the two large pieces of wood under the mattress piece.
I then take the back piece from his side of the bed and put it on mine. I take the matching small back corner piece and put it on mine. This leaves his main mattress piece - the bench seat. Problem is that my side of the bed and its bench is about 3 inches shorter than his in length. So I can not put it on my side, I have to put the rear van end (head of the bed) on mine and with it on a catty corner angle make room to be able to later get to the front end of the cabinet under his mattress as that is where the water system is accessed. This has taken about a half hour.
The water from the fresh water tanks had been let out after our return home - that water can be allowed to run down the driveway as it is clean water, the water from the grey and black tanks cannot be allowed to run. So when we do this at home we have the dump system pump the water into a bucket which is then carried into the house and flushed down the toilet. (If you have been in an RV our has different dump system - instead of it all running out by gravity, ours has a macerator and pump and the contents are pumped out and ground up. Normally he would carry the bucket, this time I had to.
We set it all up on the driveway and I was holding the hose into the bucket while he pushed the button on the side of the driver’s seat to run the pump. He pushes it - nothing happens. Repeat - nothing happens. Repeat - nothing happens. Husband goes into panic mode. Maybe we didn’t put water in it when we pumped it out? He adds a gallon of antifreeze. He pushes the button - nothing happens. More panic. Then he thinks - maybe there is not enough water in it as the RV is on the driveway on an uphill angle and the water is sitting at the other end of the tank. He has me take out our levelers - this are rounded bottom plastic pieces with a thin end graduated to a thick end. One is put in front of the rear tires (or the front ones - in this case the rear ones) and then he slowly drives onto them until the RV is level. Chucks are put under the thin end which is now raised in the air - lifting the tires up off the group. We do this. I hate doing this as I am the one who has to slip the chucks under it and then has to remove the chucks from it - we were going to put strings on the chucks so I would not have to put my hands and arms under the RV to remove them, but of course have not gotten around to it. So the RV was sort of level (we can only raise it so much). I hold the hose in the bucket, he pushes the button. Nothing happens. Repeat. Finally remove the chucks and drive off the levelers.
When we last dumped the tanks the pump sounded funny, it seemed to go to quickly, and there was no need to give short pumps at the end. Maybe the macerator is broken and/or pump is broken? That’s a big expense.
New idea. Maybe something is stuck in the macerator? There is a handle to rotate it and clear it - under the RV. I have lain down before and looked at what was underneath as husband would get ill if he did so and I did have to find the cap to remove to let the clean the water out when we are done with using the tanks. I knew where the handle was. As a matter of fact during this past summer husband and I had a conversation about the handle as someone had figured out how to make a clean out from the macerator directly and let the tank contents out by gravity. The handle is on the driver’s side of the RV - the macerator is under the passenger side. We have had this discussion at least 3 times in the past. He tells me to turn the handle and insists it is on the passenger side. It is fall. The driveway is covered in leaves. I don’t want to lie down in the leaves. He gets a broom and sweeps them away as I humor him by lying down and looking on the wrong side for the handle. Then the leaves have to be cleared off the driveway on the correct side. Problem here is the driveway is wet from our attempts to dump - and I AM NOT GOING TO LIE IN THAT WATER. So I am lying on my wrong side. Next problem. I am short and have short arms so I can barely reach the handle and. I manage to grab it and push it and I think it engaged. I turn it. I cannot keep it pushed and turn it at the same time, but attempt it several times. Guess what - yes, when we try to dump again it still does not work. Husband figures that maybe the water in the macerator (there is always some which is why we are suppose to get anti-freeze in it to replace the water which will be pushed out by the pump) froze.
We realize that we cannot do anything with pump and macerator and - luckily for me - we both have the same idea to move on to the rest of the process. We have used about 2.5 hours doing this. He drives the RV back into its normal position on the driveway to do the rest - most - of the process which remains.
To be continued -
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