Merlin on the mend

October 31, 2008
Peoria, AZ

Happy Halloween!

We brought Merlin home on Wednesday afternoon, and he's doing much better. Not completely well, but much better. The first thing he did when he got home was eat (he hadn't eaten for a week) and poop (about the same). He's still slightly weak and unsteady, but getting better each day. We're very pleased with his progress, even though we still don't know what was wrong with him in the first place.

Hopefully, life can start getting back to normal for all of us at this point. I've started installing the water softener, although several of the copper sweat joints I did while Merlin was in the hospital had minor leaks and needed to be re-soldered. It just goes to show that distractions are always trouble. I got the bypass in this afternoon, so I could remove the old non-functioning softener. I hope to get the new softener in place tomorrow, so that'll be done.

Next week is "race week", so we'll have a complete change of pace. We have tickets for the four different NASCAR events at Phoenix International Raceway, about 15 miles from here just south of the I-10. We're planning to use the motorhome as temporary living quarters, and we can move it into the grounds starting Monday, with "staging" (getting in line?) any time now. We're thinking we'll load some stuff in the coach on Sunday and get in line, then find a spot on Monday. There's not much going on at the race track on Monday through Wednesday, so I'm not sure how much time we'll spend there. There are races Thursday through Sunday, so we'll probably sleep there those nights, and then move the coach back to storage on Monday morning. I'll hit the local truck stop on the way in to top off the fuel tank, and get propane (first time in a year) while I'm there. We'll then be all set until spring!