Almost ensconced in our winter home.

 70º here in La Feria, Texas at 8 pm (CST) Saturday evening.  Temp got to 81º early afternoon and we didn't have the high winds like the last few days.

We got here at our winter home about noon on Wednesday and have been in constant motion since then.  Unloaded all the clothes and food from the trailer and started on the pickup that afternoon.

Hauling all the "Stuff" from the trailer

Built a stand to put the recumbent trikes on to re-assemble them.  Much better than getting down on the cement to add the front wheels, seat, and carrier over the back wheel.

Didn't have any internet, even though was to have been turned on October 20th.  After 3 phone calls and 2 days finally convinced Spectrum that it really wasn't working (one tech insisted our area was all out and just wait a few days).  Finally had the guy here and he replaced the modem and all the cable from our place to the pedestal a couple of mobile homes away.  Works great now! Dish TV wasn't working right tech came out and replaced part of the dish, then moved it to a different location and reprogrammed it.  Works great now!

We always drain the water heater when returning to our winter home to avoid the smell from it for a few weeks.  It didn't drain well, and discovered some slow water leakage around the rusty fittings on the top.  Got one at Hardware store and they recommended a plumber to install it.  However, when he came, he said this is a residential heater that I had bought.  (Was a copy of the 2005 heater that was in place) because legally had to only put in a mobile home heater.  They cost about $200 more and are plumbed a little different and the wiring comes in at a different place.

So........We took out the old one and put in the new one ourselves.  Apparently the sediment was so bad in the bottom that it wouldn't drain -- about half full;  probably having about 80 lbs. of water in it, which made it hard to get out.  But it is lying in the back yard now and after a couple more trips to the hardware store the new one is in place and working.

Got the water heater working, after not having hot water for 2 days.

My dad told me years ago to not tell anyone your troubles;  80% really don't care and 20% are probably glad you have troubles.  But now you know.  Oh, also the kitchen sink drain was leaking so had to take that stuff all apart and get new rubber gaskets and re-install.  Working so far.

May get all things in the house and my shop area and the Texas room sorted out and put away after get all these things running.  I have one recumbent trike put together, but the other is on the stand and partly assembled.  Maybe tomorrow.

Till next time, Lynn

Almost to our winter home in Texas

 45 degrees here in Pleasanton, TX (some 30 miles south of San Antonio) at 7:30 on Tuesday.

Got to this RV Park about 6:10 pm, still in daylight, after driving 389 miles.  Much better day than yesterday when we drove 593 miles and hardly ever turned off the windshield wipers and was driving in slush on the highway almost until we got to Oklahoma.  Was not above freezing all day yesterday and until we were well down in to Texas today.

This is what we woke up to Monday morning.

I thought there was 2" of snow
on top of slide, though official
report for Clarinda was 1".

We stayed in trailer Sunday night so could wash
sheets, etc. in the house before leaving.

All of Monday was in cold slush and this is the front of the trailer.

Before leaving Clarinda we put the flowers in the cab of the pickup, fearing they would freeze riding in the travel trailer.

Son  Cam & Patty with granddaughter
Jessica

Granddaughter Emmy with friend Dereck

Lynn & Phyllis Miles

All the Lynn & Phyllis Miles family

Granddaughter Ashley
with husband Heath and
daughter Jessica

Daughter Michelle with Dawson

Pictures above from this weekend.  Family gathered in Clarinda for memorial service for our daughter-in-law Patty's mother on Saturday.  They were at our house Saturday night and we took them all out to lunch Sunday and then took these pictures afterwards before they headed back to their homes.  

We just found out today that the baby Ashley & Heath are expecting in March is a boy!

Arriving in Texas earlier this afternoon.

Stopped at noon at Rudy's barbeque place in Waco, Texas -- one of the reasons for coming back down here to Texas!

Michelle discovered some scrap plywood pieces I had saved and decided she wanted to build another display case.  I tweaked the design a bit and did the cutting while she did the sanding and waxing.  Used the last bit of clear acrylic I had left from our sign business some 12 years ago and made the 4 sides and top with it.  She took this and the walnut one I had built last month back to Ohio with her.

Have only about 250 miles on to our winter home in Le Feria, Texas tomorrow.  Will be able to do most of the things to un-winterize the house and get things moved in from the pickup and trailer.  Put the recumbent trikes back together, etc.  Will take several days to get it all done.

Later, Lynn

Drizzly day today.

 40º with very light mist in Clarinda, IA at 5:00 pm on Tuesday.  Been misty all day - don't know if enough to register in rain gauge as I put it away for the winter.  CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Week ago yesterday we went to Teresa Minard's place here in Clarinda where many of the Square Dancers of the area gathered.  With the Covid-19 there hasn't been dancing and probably won't for near future, but they were able to get together.

Still hard to believe all the big bins built at the site of the old Clarinda Elevator (where I worked from January of 1972 until October of 1974).  Drove by there yesterday and there were 10 semi trucks waiting in line to dump.  With the new big elevator leg they have imagine they handle it far faster than anything we did at Clarinda Elevator or the 20 years I worked with Coin Grain Corp.

Got a ton of the little tomatoes off the plants this summer.  Picked all the red ones right up to this week and then day or two ago took a lot of small green ones off.  Frying them up, with a bit of onion; great stuff!

Yesterday pulled the plants

and then took down the

wooden cages and stored them

in the shop for next year.

1

Yesterday I made last trip to the farm to burn trash.  After many days of wind, finally had a quiet morning and got it done.

Daughter Michelle got here Saturday and will be here until next Sunday.  Played our first game of Pegs & Jokers since early March this year!

Later, Lynn

Rain, but no rain

 54º here in Clarinda, IA at 9:45 am Monday.  We were promised rain yesterday evening by the weather forecasters.  The storm was not very wide and was moving at 50 mph -- we hardly got the bottom of the rain gauge wet.

This 10-day shows chance of frost next week.  With this in mind, I emptied all the tanks, including water heater and low point water drains on the travel trailer.  Plan on leaving Clarinda on Tuesday, the 27th and heading for warmer climate.  Have planned several stops, mostly at museums, and should be at our Texas home Saturday afternoon.

The way I have designed the quilt display case is taking quite a bit of hand sawing.

At right is the case with the bottom cut like finished, but with boards attached at top just to give appearance of how it will be when finished.  The top boards will also be rabbited in like the bottom, and will have acrylic panels on front and sides - back solid walnut.

Grass is taking hold where we had bushes removed and also under the heavily trimmed oak tree.

Gas has really jumped around

in price.  Just a week ago it was

$2.199 and then dropped to

$2.049, and yesterday

was $197.9

Of course, the color never comes out on photos as it is to the eye.  Back yard trees have a lot of yellow in them right now.

This is Judy Dench at left in the movie Red Joan that I saw on TV.   She portrays a 87 year old English lady that was apprehended in 1999 for espionage during World War II .  Other actress portrayed her as a young girl in the 1938 to 1945 era.  Was really interested in this true story and thinking how much more the book probably had, I ordered it on Audible. and listen to it when working in shop, etc.  It is more than 13 hours and very interesting.

Add caption

The Last Correspondent is a book about photographers and correspondents during World War II.  Though it is a novel, it follows history well.

Read this Charles Goodnight book many years ago and am now re-reading it.  Cowboy from Texas who, among other things, trailed many herds north in the late 1800's.

Later, Lynn