baby it's cold outside!

Sunday we cleaned all the snow off the truck, got it warmed up and then drove to Kadinger's shop to help with the float building. We were running a few minutes late and were surprised that we were the first ones there, then I remembered they had cancelled the workshop for this Sunday, DUH!!! :-). We went back home and just hung out for the rest of the day. The temperatures took a big nose dive Sunday night. Luckily I wasn't too busy Monday and was able to hang around the 5th wheel most of the day "working". We drove to Lebanon after getting off work and met up with Suters at the Eagles for BINGO. We had fun catching up with them but none of our group won anything. We made it home shortly after 10pm and pretty much went straight to bed.

Tuesday morning I had several appointments so I got an early start. The thermometer on my car gave me the happy news that it was +8* outside ............. brrrrrrrr!! Matthew and Mandie were in town visiting a friend who was home on leave from the Air Force. They stopped by late in the afternoon and we treated them to supper at Applebee's. They both have to work tomorrow so they left right after we got back to the 5er. We wish they could have stayed longer but we understand.

The 5th wheel has been staying warm and we are comfortable. The slideouts are the coldest areas but this is to be expected since the manufacturers are limited to how much insulation they can seal them up with. We are supplementing the furnace with our electric heaters and have found a pretty good balance between electric heaters/LP furnace settings. One thing is for sure, I absolutely love our heated mattress pad! How did I sleep without one of these modern marvels??!! Rudee usually turns ours on about an hour before bed time and YOWZER it's toasty warm under them there blankets when we crawl in!! Gives a new meaning to being "turned on" :-)

The weather is supposed to warm up some later in the week but it looks like it may be cold again by the week end. I'll keep you posted.

Winter has arrived

A few days ago was the "official" start of winter. Well I'm happy(?) to report that winter has arrived here at the KOA as well. Here is a couple of photos I took this morning out the back window of the 5th wheel of our "winter wonderland".

We had about 2 inches on the ground yesterday morning and most of it melted away by mid afternoon. Another burst of snow covered the drive last evening and then this morning it started snowing pretty heavy and they are predicting an additional 3" before it stops sometime this evening.

We braved the crowds yesterday and headed for the shopping malls (yep we're gluttons for punishment). Our first stop was Wal Mart so Rudee could get her new lenses installed in her glasses. While she was doing that I returned the jeans I got her, they didn't fit :-(

With these chores done we headed to Brownsburg and picked up our skirting that was shipped from the manufacturer in Canada. Wow that box is heavy. We ordered 110' of vinyl skirting which includes the snaps to install it. We also ordered special clamps that attach the bottom of the skirting to frame work made from PVC pipe. We will purchase the PVC pipe locally and construct the frame ourselves.

Rudee bought me a really nice 12V drill for Christmas, probably the best drill I have ever owned. The problem is I use the drill to raise and lower the rear stabilizer jacks on the 5th wheel. You need at least an 18V drill with high torque to accomplish this. The drill she bought for me just didn't have the power I wanted so I took it back to Lowes and went shopping for a different one. I found plenty to choose from and decided on a combination kit that included a 18V drill, circular saw, saws all, and a flashlight. These are all battery operated with 2 batteries and the charger included. The kit even had a large bag to carry everything. I probably did a step down in quality but they should work fine for what I use them for around here. I had a nice circular saw that I sold in one of the garage sales figuring I would not need it. I have had to borrow a circular saw and a saws all two separate times in the last 6 months so I guess I figured wrong :-).

Rudee bought her Dad a new monthly organizer for his birthday so we delivered that to him in Plainfield. We stopped at my Mom's apartment on the way back home and visited her for a few minutes as well.

Back in Crawfordsville Rudee had her shopping list all made and we ended up back at Wal Mart buying groceries. This is about the time the snow started. We came out of the store and it was coming down hard and fast. We decided it was time to head home and stay there! Rudee cooked us up a couple of nice baked potatoes and we topped them with bacon bits, onions, shredded cheese and sour cream, ummmmm good! We had a movie to watch from Netflix and just vegged out in front of the TV for the rest of the night.

The furnace has been working perfectly since I replaced the sail switch. I was worried that it may have a hic up or two when the 100# tank ran dry and it switched to the on board 30# tank. Well that happened sometime Friday night and no problems (ya!!). I had the 100#er refilled here at the KOA and hooked it back up last evening. This larger tank lasts us right at 2 weeks and costs around $80 to fill. Sounds like a lot but we were paying more than that each month for gas in our sticks and bricks home. We were on the budget plan where they average your use out for 12 months and you pay a set amount year round. Now in the 5th wheel we pay to refill when we need it, costs more in the winter but almost nothing in the summer months.

We are going to another float building episode this afternoon and of course will have to go out to eat afterwards :-)!! I'll keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

I know I'm a day late but sure didn't want to pass up wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas eve my company shut us down at 11:30 so I got an additional 1/2 day off and was able to get a few errands done. Rudee, on the other hand, had to stay hard at it until her usual quitting time of 4pm. As soon as she was done we loaded up the car with presents and food and headed to her parents house in Plainfield. We stopped in Avon on the way and picked up my Mother so we could spend some Holiday time with her. Rudee's Mom always goes all out for holiday meals and this one was no exception. She had every burner on her stove working and food spread out over every inch of counter space. Rudee has a brother and sister who also live in Plainfield and with all the nieces, nephews as well as all of our clan we ended up with 22 people celebrating together. Our son Matthew had to work and couldn't make the trip from Ohio and we missed seeing him and his girlfriend Mandie.

We enjoyed spending the evening with family and watching the kids open all their presents. We left a little earlier than we normally do (which is a good thing) because we wanted to get my Mom back to her apartment. My brother was picking her up nice and early Christmas morning so she could spend the day at their house.

We made it home about 10:30 and Rudee started getting things ready to take to Amanda and Ryan's house in the morning. She pre-cooked sausage gravy, green bean casserole and a broccoli/cauliflower salad. We decided to exchange our gifts before we went to bed and Rudee liked her shirt, jeans and fuzzy robe I got her. She especially liked the diamond earrings :-). I guess I did good. She got me a book and a new drill which I had been hinting around for. We also opened gifts sent to us by Matthew. He sent Rudee a gift card and I got an updated map SD card for my GPS, cool!!

Christmas morning I was up early and had the coffee made. Amanda called about 7:30 and said the kids were up so we got our showers and headed over. I had loaded all the food and presents into the truck and when we got there I guess some things had shifted in the short trip. Rudee opened the back door and the green bean casserole ended up in the driveway :-(
At least the dish didn't break.

We spent most of the day at the kid's house and after I fell asleep in their recliner Rudee figured it was time to go home. She made plans with Amanda and Avalynn to meet in Crawfordsville and go to the movie. She had gotten a certificate from Disney for a buy one get one free ticket to their new release. I passed on the movie and just hung out at the 5th wheel. They had a good time and even stopped and picked us up a pizza for supper on their way home.

I felt a little blue this Christmas and not really sure why. I guess it could have been from my Father passing away or maybe just all the uncertainty in my life this past year from work. I can't really put my finger on it. I can say this though, I'm confident and dedicated to our plan to retire early and be fulltime RVer's. Sometimes I just get a little impatient that we can't just pull up the jacks and go.

The new skirting arrived at our mail server (UPS store) on Thursday. I wasn't able to check the tracking number until after they closed for the Holiday so I can't pick it up until today. I had hoped to get started installing it this week end but we have snow! Looks like about 2" of the nasty stuff fell overnight. I don't mind it too bad when I don't have to go out and work in it. Hopefully it will all clear off by Monday. I'll keep you posted.