Taho and his family have moved on. Such a lovely and friendly ball of fur.
I got up early around 7:30 am because I just could not sleep anymore. Maybe, it had something to do with going to bed a little after 10:00 pm last evening which is at least an hour earlier than I am used to. We went out walking around the park before returning for the usual breakfast and coffee. While we were out, we ran into Daniel, and I asked him to drop off a rake so that I could work on the leaves scattered everywhere which he did.
With nothing planned for today, I grabbed the rake and started work on my site, raking the leaves and branches in piles for later pickup. Once I got started, there was no stopping me. Well maybe that is not really true as Daniel asked if I was ready for a coffee break, which I was. We sat and drank our coffee and Daniel regaled me with stories of his younger days. He is an amusing storyteller, and we spent a half hour just sitting there.
Then it was back to work, for me, raking and for Daniel, whatever he was doing before. I spent the next 4 hours or so raking leaves and small branches throughout the entire top area of the park on about 25 different sites. I did not have to worry about the bottom section as it does not have any large oak trees. I finished work around 4:00 pm, one tired individual but happy to have helped out and I needed the workout. Luckily, I am not the one that has to pick up all of my piles as that is Daniels job. That is, unless he asks me to help.
I spotted the Amazon delivery truck just as Daniel pulled up alongside me and he drove us to the Office. Luckily for me, they were delivering the new washer/dryer that I had ordered, and Daniel had them load it onto his 4 Wheeler. We drove back to the storage area and unloaded it with the help of another friend, Jeff for later installation.
By then, the day was almost over. I went back to the RV, now named The Caboose, and harnessed up the dogs. I needed some stuff from Quatro, and we stopped to pick things up before just wandering around wherever Sandy took us. I was tired but humored her until we arrived back at Caboose to sit outside and watch the world go by. Incidentally, I covered almost 5 miles for the day with all of the leaf raking.
When it started to cool off, we adjourned back inside of The Caboose for the rest of the evening spent in the usual fashion.
Written 02/13/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Dripping Springs, TX Day 76, Tuesday 02/14/2023
Valentines Day
We went out walking and the first person I saw was Daniel, but as he is not my type, I will discount him as My Valentine. I did not see any members of the opposite sex, so I am Valentine free this year, as usual…
We wandered around and made a stop at Quatro to find the small folding dolly that I have. I figure we can use it inside of Caboose to help move the washing machine. I also found a paper towel holder that I knew I had but had been unable to find. Overall, a good start to the day.
Back in Caboose, I made that first important coffee and breakfast and sat and read emails as I ate. Nothing of major importance and just the usual junk. I did get one from BJ who likes to send me interesting tidbits from time to time. I turned my attention to the blog, but I was already caught up. Must be nowadays as I have a tough time recalling any events after a couple of missed days.
I posted yesterday’s blog after adding pictures and with today already written, looked around for other things to do. Finding nothing of importance, I sat on the couch and made a fuss of the dogs and almost dropped off to sleep. Luckily, Daniel pulled up accompanied by Jeff and announced they were ready to install the new washing machine. This woke me right up and I jumped up ready to put in my 5 cents worth which as about all I do contribute nowadays. I hate being old and useless but, in my mind, I can still do everything. Others view me differently and that as an old and physically useless man.
I have learned to step back and let the younger generation do their thing by compromising with myself…
An hour or so later, they had the new washing machine installed. The tricky part was just getting it into position. They both roughly moved the machine up the steps and into Caboose, set it on a small carpet and then dragged the carpet to slide it into position manually at the very end. Incidentally, they had to remove the toilet to make room to get the new machine in the closet, which, by the way, was already set up to take a washing machine. I helped where I could but mine was more of a “Hand me a wrench” type of help or finding another tool that was needed from my own totally disorganized tool kit.
I thanked them both profusely and they refused my offer of payment. Instead, I told Daniel I would buy him beer to which he readily agreed. They left and I at once put a small load in to try it out. It is a combo unit that washes and then dries so it will be interesting to see what happens when we reach the drying stage.
I was sitting and writing, and I heard the washing machine start banging away. I guess it was on a spin cycle as it literally nearly took off. I had to sit on the john, with the cover down of course, and hold the machine steady while it went through that spin cycle. Then it went into the dry cycle which was much calmer. If it is that aggressive on the spin cycle, quite obviously, I will need to be on hand when that happens. Good to know. Small price to pay for the luxury and convenience of having my very own washing machine. No more wandering over to the Laundry Room only to find that all the machines are taken or worse yet, some inattentive camper not keeping an eye on the clock and his/her laundry is taking up a machine although the machine is now idle. That is really aggravating…
With my new toy in full action mode, I sat and wrote as the laundry was being done. Incidentally, the machine timer and actual time are somewhat different with the machine timer running really, really slow. Whatever.
We went out for a walkabout, but I did not leave the washer running. When we got back, I restarted it with another load as I am still figuring it out…I had already noticed that when the machine is in the spin mode of the washing cycle, the unit vibrates tremendously, enough that it moves about. I decided that in this particular mode, I need to be close by just in case…When the machine had finished drying, I left that load in the machine ready to fold in the morning and went to bed.
Written 02/13/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com