December 30, 2007
Peoria, AZ
We’ve both been a little under the weather for the last few days, so things have been pretty quiet around here. Geri’s started physical therapy to help her bursitis, and that always brings on some different aches and pains. I haven’t had a bout of sinus problems for a few years, so I suppose I’m overdue. I started with a tickle in the throat and some stuffiness, but I think I nipped it in the bud.
The weather’s continued to be on the cool side, although it’s starting to warm up to “normal” and should stay that way for most of the next week. That’ll be a welcome change, as we have several projects to complete before we head out to California next weekend.
Geri picked up some nice Tilapia for dinner on Friday, and we sautéed it with some of the Stew Leonard’s (a regional grocery in Connecticut) flavored bread crumbs (Pat sent us a “care package”). I made some rice with peas and Geri did up some of her haricots verts. I found a nice 2001 red Burgundy, a Savigny-les-Beaune «Millésime» from Patrice Rion, which might have benefited from a few more years of cellaring but was quite pleasant at this point.
Yesterday, we were both feeling better so we took a “day trip” out in the “country”. Geri wanted to do some shopping in Anthem (a new and growing community north of Phoenix, and I’d seen some property in New River (a rural community a bit further north) that looked interesting, so we headed out after breakfast. Geri found the shoes she’s been looking for (she’s still trying to convince me that women’s shoes need to be replaced after 4-6 months while men’s can last for years) at a specialty shop, so the trip was deemed a success early.
We’re not exactly in the real estate market, but we’d love to find a piece of land where we could a) build a small house laid out they way we want and b) has room for the coach to be parked on-site. It’s still a “buyer’s market”, and may be for the foreseeable future, so we’ll continue to poke around on “realtor.com” and the MLS sites. It would be nice to pick up the land while the market is soft, and wait to develop it until it turns and we can sell our current place for a reasonable price in 2010 or so. We have the advantage that we can live in the coach so we won’t be “house-less”.
After our drive in the country, we stopped at Whole Foods and ended up getting a couple of dry-aged steaks and some potatoes for fries. It turns out we were both thinking Steak Frittes – excellent! I overcooked the steaks slightly even at 3 minutes per side, probably due to inexperience with dry-aged beef and a not noticing that they were a tad thinner than I usually get. It’s also time to change the oil in the deep fryer (and probably replace the deep fryer as well), so it wasn’t the perfect meal. Good, but not great. I’d grabbed a bottle of value Australian wine, the 2005 “The Stump Jump” Shiraz from d’Arenberg. We’ve had prior vintages of this wine that I wasn’t thrilled with, but the 2005 was quite nice, with lots of fruit and good balance. I’ll have to get some more of this one.
Today, it was time to get back on the project list; no more being sick. Geri found a few recipes that she wants to try out, so she spent the day developing a meal plan and shopping. I got a few leftover items completed (added a second brace to the satellite dish for stability, touched up the paint on the trim installed over the cables) and started to put things back in order in the workshop side of the garage. I had quite a few things “out” and it was in need of a dedicated clean-up. I also managed to address a couple of things needed for our trip, like getting Geri’s motorized scooter (really helpful at rallies) charged up and making sure my mountain bike is ready to hang on the bike rack. I’ll dust off the to-do list tomorrow, so this coming week should be much busier.
Tonight, Geri’s making the most humongous empanada that I’ve ever seen. Actually, it a Food Network take on a chicken pot pie, starting with a whole chicken done in a stew, and then baked inside various layers of puff pastry. Sounds like I’d better get going on picking a wine!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
It doesn’t take long for the blood to thin…
December 27, 2007
Peoria, AZ
Christmas Day has come and gone, but the colder temperatures seem here to stay. According to the local news, we’ve had something like 20 consecutive days of below-normal temperatures. More on that later…
Our Christmas dinner came out nicely, except that we had enough food to serve ten people instead of two. We knew that the crown roast of pork would entail leftovers (aka “pre-planned-and-prepared meals”), but this was overboard. I separated out one portion for this week and three went in the freezer. Geri made an excellent “from scratch” dressing and her crispy baked red potatoes. I used carrot, parsnip, fennel and apple in place of a roasting rack, so we had plenty of veggies. The whole meal was paired with a red Burgundy (1998 Chambolle-Musigny «Les Charmes» Premier Cru from Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils) which was excellent, with bright red fruit and a smooth finish. It was part of my plan to attack the “wine box” in a more balanced fashion.
Geri received two bottles of 2004 Pinot Noir from Badge Wines in the Santa Rita Hills area of California. We met the winemaker, Bruno D’Alfonso, when we visited Sea Smoke Cellars in Lompoc early in 2007. He’s a pretty interesting guy, making his own wines after spending years as winemaker at Sanford. I’ve been looking for his Pinot ever since and finally found some at Sam’s Wine & Spirits in Chicago. Fortunately, it arrived in time for Christmas. We thought about trying one bottle with dinner, but decided to wait. That’s willpower!
Yesterday started out really chilly, with freeze warnings all over the valley. I got an early start and headed for the coach to check things out. I had decided to do a basic winterization, so I brought the materials to blow out the water lines and put non-toxic anti-freeze in the traps. I have a compressor in the coach basement and had made up an adapter to attach it to the water line, so it was a pretty straightforward process. Basically, it involves opening each faucet one at a time and waiting for no more water to be driven out by the air pressure. The only tricky parts are the washer (have to run it through a partial cycle to open the valves for the air and then pump out the water) and the icemaker (have to drain the line from the valve to the freezer manually). Overall, it took about 1.5 hours. I’ll probably have to do it again when we get back from our January trip, since we’re likely to still see some cold overnight lows in the latter part of January through early-February.
Last night, Geri made another “keeper” dinner, roasted chicken thighs with tomatoes and olives, baked yams, and broccoli. Fabulous! I've never been a big broccoli fan, but she has these steamer bags that do a wonderful job.
Today started early for me: I headed over to the doctor’s office before 8:00 AM to have some blood drawn for a lab test (have to monitor the cholesterol these days) in advance of a check-up on January 4. It was the coldest it's been this morning when we walked the pups. Even with a hat and jacket, the wind (about 20 mph) cut right through. We're becoming such wimps! :-)
We don’t have any big plans for today, just bring the pups back to the groomer for a touch up. Both of them need a trim around the eyes. We can’t tell if Merlin is a Yorkie or a sheepdog. (Well, we can tell, but he really needs to be trimmed.) We should have noticed it last week when we picked them up from grooming but didn’t. Geri called yesterday and made arrangements to bring them back in.
In the meantime, I’ll catch up on paying bills and updating Quicken, filing, and getting things organized for income taxes. Now that the AMT (“alternative minimum tax”) was adjusted by recent legislation, we should be much better off.
Peoria, AZ
Christmas Day has come and gone, but the colder temperatures seem here to stay. According to the local news, we’ve had something like 20 consecutive days of below-normal temperatures. More on that later…
Our Christmas dinner came out nicely, except that we had enough food to serve ten people instead of two. We knew that the crown roast of pork would entail leftovers (aka “pre-planned-and-prepared meals”), but this was overboard. I separated out one portion for this week and three went in the freezer. Geri made an excellent “from scratch” dressing and her crispy baked red potatoes. I used carrot, parsnip, fennel and apple in place of a roasting rack, so we had plenty of veggies. The whole meal was paired with a red Burgundy (1998 Chambolle-Musigny «Les Charmes» Premier Cru from Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils) which was excellent, with bright red fruit and a smooth finish. It was part of my plan to attack the “wine box” in a more balanced fashion.
Geri received two bottles of 2004 Pinot Noir from Badge Wines in the Santa Rita Hills area of California. We met the winemaker, Bruno D’Alfonso, when we visited Sea Smoke Cellars in Lompoc early in 2007. He’s a pretty interesting guy, making his own wines after spending years as winemaker at Sanford. I’ve been looking for his Pinot ever since and finally found some at Sam’s Wine & Spirits in Chicago. Fortunately, it arrived in time for Christmas. We thought about trying one bottle with dinner, but decided to wait. That’s willpower!
Yesterday started out really chilly, with freeze warnings all over the valley. I got an early start and headed for the coach to check things out. I had decided to do a basic winterization, so I brought the materials to blow out the water lines and put non-toxic anti-freeze in the traps. I have a compressor in the coach basement and had made up an adapter to attach it to the water line, so it was a pretty straightforward process. Basically, it involves opening each faucet one at a time and waiting for no more water to be driven out by the air pressure. The only tricky parts are the washer (have to run it through a partial cycle to open the valves for the air and then pump out the water) and the icemaker (have to drain the line from the valve to the freezer manually). Overall, it took about 1.5 hours. I’ll probably have to do it again when we get back from our January trip, since we’re likely to still see some cold overnight lows in the latter part of January through early-February.
Last night, Geri made another “keeper” dinner, roasted chicken thighs with tomatoes and olives, baked yams, and broccoli. Fabulous! I've never been a big broccoli fan, but she has these steamer bags that do a wonderful job.
Today started early for me: I headed over to the doctor’s office before 8:00 AM to have some blood drawn for a lab test (have to monitor the cholesterol these days) in advance of a check-up on January 4. It was the coldest it's been this morning when we walked the pups. Even with a hat and jacket, the wind (about 20 mph) cut right through. We're becoming such wimps! :-)
We don’t have any big plans for today, just bring the pups back to the groomer for a touch up. Both of them need a trim around the eyes. We can’t tell if Merlin is a Yorkie or a sheepdog. (Well, we can tell, but he really needs to be trimmed.) We should have noticed it last week when we picked them up from grooming but didn’t. Geri called yesterday and made arrangements to bring them back in.
In the meantime, I’ll catch up on paying bills and updating Quicken, filing, and getting things organized for income taxes. Now that the AMT (“alternative minimum tax”) was adjusted by recent legislation, we should be much better off.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas to all…
December 25, 2007
Peoria, AZ
Geri and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and our best wishes for a happy, safe, prosperous, and healthy 2008.
Yesterday was a great day. We don’t get many visitors here in Arizona, so it was a real treat to have Cindy, Mike, and Jennifer visit for the afternoon. Merlin and Maya Lynn had a special visitor as well, since they had their dog, “Barkley”, with them. Barkley’s a terrier mix, a little taller (and a lot leaner) than ours, with Maya’s coloring, a little stiffer of a coat, and a sweet disposition. Merlin was his normal persnickety self, of course, but soon settled down for the most part. Overall, everyone had a good time and it was a good visit. We’ll see them again when we’re out in California in February/early-March, as we’ll spend a few days each in El Capitan and Buellton/Lompoc.
Last night, we had some pasta with a wonderful 2000 Barbaresco from Cascina Vano sourced from Moore Brothers in NJ several years ago. I’ve concluded that we’ve been most likely to tap the Italian section of the “wine box” lately, so I’ll have to develop strategies for a) balancing things out and b) replenishing the stock. With current exchange rates, that’s going to be exceedingly difficult, I’m sure.
We also indulged in some “Christmas Classics” last night. We watched a portion of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (I’m sorry, but I just can’t sit still for the first 2/3 of this one), and then caught the end of “A Christmas Story” (you know, “You’ll shoot your eye out, Ralphie”) with a nice nightcap of single malt.
Today, we were awakened to the sounds of Christmas music. No, wait – it was just the tones on our cell phones going off with arriving text messages. No matter, it’s another beautiful day in paradise. We had our coffee, gave the pups their new squeaky toys, put on the XM holiday music from DirecTV, and opened gifts. We got a nice goodie box from CT, I got a couple of casual shirts, and Geri got two bottles of a hard-to-get California Pinot Noir (hopefully, she’ll share!).
With dinner (crown roast of pork) in the oven for an early meal, it’s now time to relax on the patio between basting trips to the kitchen. Sounds like a good time to have a glass of wine!
Merry Christmas!
Peoria, AZ
Geri and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and our best wishes for a happy, safe, prosperous, and healthy 2008.
Yesterday was a great day. We don’t get many visitors here in Arizona, so it was a real treat to have Cindy, Mike, and Jennifer visit for the afternoon. Merlin and Maya Lynn had a special visitor as well, since they had their dog, “Barkley”, with them. Barkley’s a terrier mix, a little taller (and a lot leaner) than ours, with Maya’s coloring, a little stiffer of a coat, and a sweet disposition. Merlin was his normal persnickety self, of course, but soon settled down for the most part. Overall, everyone had a good time and it was a good visit. We’ll see them again when we’re out in California in February/early-March, as we’ll spend a few days each in El Capitan and Buellton/Lompoc.
Last night, we had some pasta with a wonderful 2000 Barbaresco from Cascina Vano sourced from Moore Brothers in NJ several years ago. I’ve concluded that we’ve been most likely to tap the Italian section of the “wine box” lately, so I’ll have to develop strategies for a) balancing things out and b) replenishing the stock. With current exchange rates, that’s going to be exceedingly difficult, I’m sure.
We also indulged in some “Christmas Classics” last night. We watched a portion of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (I’m sorry, but I just can’t sit still for the first 2/3 of this one), and then caught the end of “A Christmas Story” (you know, “You’ll shoot your eye out, Ralphie”) with a nice nightcap of single malt.
Today, we were awakened to the sounds of Christmas music. No, wait – it was just the tones on our cell phones going off with arriving text messages. No matter, it’s another beautiful day in paradise. We had our coffee, gave the pups their new squeaky toys, put on the XM holiday music from DirecTV, and opened gifts. We got a nice goodie box from CT, I got a couple of casual shirts, and Geri got two bottles of a hard-to-get California Pinot Noir (hopefully, she’ll share!).
With dinner (crown roast of pork) in the oven for an early meal, it’s now time to relax on the patio between basting trips to the kitchen. Sounds like a good time to have a glass of wine!
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Chillin’ before the Holidays
December 23, 2007
Peoria, AZ
Yesterday was a day for chilling out. We slept in. We made some lists of grocery items and things to do after Christmas, Geri did some laundry, and I watched some golf on TV. OK, I really took a nap while the golf was on; close enough. I did some planning for the next things to do around the house. Of course, it was all “mental planning”. I like to call it “rumination”. It doesn’t look like I’m doing anything, but I’m really working hard.
In the afternoon, I mixed up a small batch of sauce and we had pasta for dinner. Neither one of us was in a particularly sparkling mood, so it was a pretty low-key evening, although the 2003 Langhe Nebbiolo from Germano Ettore in Piedmont was drinking nicely. Generic nebbiolos are known as the "poor man's Barolo" and while 2003 wasn't a stunning vintage it was fine with some angel hair and a couple of pork cutlets a la parmigiana.
The big news has been on the weather front. Literally. While we haven’t had any more precipitation, temperatures have been running a touch below normal for well over a week now. Last night had the most legitimate freeze warning to date after a dry cold front blew through. Literally. Yesterday, we had a pretty stiff breeze all day, even though it warmed up nicely in the afternoon.
The only fly in the ointment is the coach. Last year, we had it parked in the expensive indoor space, so freeze warnings didn’t mean a thing. This year, not so much. Even though I drained the tanks when we returned from Alabama/Florida, I didn’t really winterize the water system. Accordingly, I got up just after dawn this morning and drove over to check things out. It was about 33°F outside, and warmer inside the coach. It was 38°F in the storage bay by the water pump and 42°F inside, so we were safe – this time.
This afternoon, we headed out for a short shopping trip, so I stopped in Home Depot and picked up a brass fitting that will allow me to connect the water line to the compressor so I can blow out the water lines just to be safe. It’s supposed to be a little warmer for the next few overnights, so I’ll wait until after Christmas before making another trip over there. We'll be heading out for California on January 5th, so we only have to get through the next week-and-a-half.
Today, we had an early dinner, mid-afternoon, because we’ve been eating dinner too late for the last week or so. We’ll have a salad or snack tonight.
Tomorrow should be fun, since one of Geri’s nieces, Cindy, will visit with her husband Mike and their daughter Jennifer. Mike has family in the Phoenix area, and they’re visiting for a few days, so it’ll be great to see them. We get to see them about every other time we visit Geri’s sister, Kathy, in Lompoc, CA. They live in Santa Barbara, about 75 miles east of Kathy, and we’ve caught up with them in SB a couple of times as well.
Peoria, AZ
Yesterday was a day for chilling out. We slept in. We made some lists of grocery items and things to do after Christmas, Geri did some laundry, and I watched some golf on TV. OK, I really took a nap while the golf was on; close enough. I did some planning for the next things to do around the house. Of course, it was all “mental planning”. I like to call it “rumination”. It doesn’t look like I’m doing anything, but I’m really working hard.
In the afternoon, I mixed up a small batch of sauce and we had pasta for dinner. Neither one of us was in a particularly sparkling mood, so it was a pretty low-key evening, although the 2003 Langhe Nebbiolo from Germano Ettore in Piedmont was drinking nicely. Generic nebbiolos are known as the "poor man's Barolo" and while 2003 wasn't a stunning vintage it was fine with some angel hair and a couple of pork cutlets a la parmigiana.
The big news has been on the weather front. Literally. While we haven’t had any more precipitation, temperatures have been running a touch below normal for well over a week now. Last night had the most legitimate freeze warning to date after a dry cold front blew through. Literally. Yesterday, we had a pretty stiff breeze all day, even though it warmed up nicely in the afternoon.
The only fly in the ointment is the coach. Last year, we had it parked in the expensive indoor space, so freeze warnings didn’t mean a thing. This year, not so much. Even though I drained the tanks when we returned from Alabama/Florida, I didn’t really winterize the water system. Accordingly, I got up just after dawn this morning and drove over to check things out. It was about 33°F outside, and warmer inside the coach. It was 38°F in the storage bay by the water pump and 42°F inside, so we were safe – this time.
This afternoon, we headed out for a short shopping trip, so I stopped in Home Depot and picked up a brass fitting that will allow me to connect the water line to the compressor so I can blow out the water lines just to be safe. It’s supposed to be a little warmer for the next few overnights, so I’ll wait until after Christmas before making another trip over there. We'll be heading out for California on January 5th, so we only have to get through the next week-and-a-half.
Today, we had an early dinner, mid-afternoon, because we’ve been eating dinner too late for the last week or so. We’ll have a salad or snack tonight.
Tomorrow should be fun, since one of Geri’s nieces, Cindy, will visit with her husband Mike and their daughter Jennifer. Mike has family in the Phoenix area, and they’re visiting for a few days, so it’ll be great to see them. We get to see them about every other time we visit Geri’s sister, Kathy, in Lompoc, CA. They live in Santa Barbara, about 75 miles east of Kathy, and we’ve caught up with them in SB a couple of times as well.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Dinner out? Not so much.
December 21, 2007
Peoria, AZ
Well, I really goofed the other night. Since Geri spent the whole day in the kitchen, I had expected that she’d want to go out for dinner. Au contraire. It’s leftovers for you, buddy. This wasn’t a huge issue, since we had saved some pasta from the weekend and everything was ready to go. All I had to do was pop the cork on a nice Chianti.
Wednesday and Thursday were “continuation” days. Geri finished up her cookies. Some were “in progress” and needed to rest or chill before being finished, and others were just on her list of things to try. All of them came out tasting great, and she's started neighborhood deliveries.
I kept working on the TV project, adding a brace to the arm holding the dish and fabricating some trim strips to cover up the multiple cables running along the ceiling and down the wall on the patio. This, too, is a multi-step, start-stop process, as I had to cut each piece to fit the angles and paint everything before assembly (sounds like Dave and Sandy, except that I’m doing it all myself).
I got everything ready and put up, but had too much of a gap between the trim and stucco, so I decided to put a bead of caulking compound in place. Of course, I had no paintable caulk on hand, so another trip to Home Depot was in order. While I was there, I decided to pick up another one of the 18 volt tools I’ve been eyeing: you bet, caulking gun. I know it’s the height of laziness to need an electric caulking gun, but it actually worked pretty well. I was having so much fun that I got out the tube of concrete mortar patch I’d been saving and fixed up some cracks in the rear wall.
Now, I’ve got everything ready for the final painting, although I’ve also decided to put on another brace for the dish at a 90° angle. Will this project ever end?
Today was a day for errands, not projects. Geri had a hair appointment at 11:00 AM, so I dropped her off and picked up Merlin’s meds from the vet before stopping at the coach for a few things. I’d just gotten home when she called that she was ready, so I picked her up and we headed out past Surprise to Sun City West where she had a physical therapy appointment. With traffic, we just made it. I hung out (PetsMart, Home Depot) while she was there, rather than drive all the way home and back.
On the way home, we stopped at a local butcher shop that we’d heard about. It was small with a limited but good selection, so we picked up a few things (flank steak for tonight, sausage to make pasta sauce, and a crown roast of pork for Christmas). If these things turn out OK, we’ll add them to the list of places to shop. They’re pretty close to the dogs’ groomer, so it could be a planned stop when we take the pups in. Now, if we could only find a good fishmonger…
Peoria, AZ
Well, I really goofed the other night. Since Geri spent the whole day in the kitchen, I had expected that she’d want to go out for dinner. Au contraire. It’s leftovers for you, buddy. This wasn’t a huge issue, since we had saved some pasta from the weekend and everything was ready to go. All I had to do was pop the cork on a nice Chianti.
Wednesday and Thursday were “continuation” days. Geri finished up her cookies. Some were “in progress” and needed to rest or chill before being finished, and others were just on her list of things to try. All of them came out tasting great, and she's started neighborhood deliveries.
I kept working on the TV project, adding a brace to the arm holding the dish and fabricating some trim strips to cover up the multiple cables running along the ceiling and down the wall on the patio. This, too, is a multi-step, start-stop process, as I had to cut each piece to fit the angles and paint everything before assembly (sounds like Dave and Sandy, except that I’m doing it all myself).
I got everything ready and put up, but had too much of a gap between the trim and stucco, so I decided to put a bead of caulking compound in place. Of course, I had no paintable caulk on hand, so another trip to Home Depot was in order. While I was there, I decided to pick up another one of the 18 volt tools I’ve been eyeing: you bet, caulking gun. I know it’s the height of laziness to need an electric caulking gun, but it actually worked pretty well. I was having so much fun that I got out the tube of concrete mortar patch I’d been saving and fixed up some cracks in the rear wall.
Now, I’ve got everything ready for the final painting, although I’ve also decided to put on another brace for the dish at a 90° angle. Will this project ever end?
Today was a day for errands, not projects. Geri had a hair appointment at 11:00 AM, so I dropped her off and picked up Merlin’s meds from the vet before stopping at the coach for a few things. I’d just gotten home when she called that she was ready, so I picked her up and we headed out past Surprise to Sun City West where she had a physical therapy appointment. With traffic, we just made it. I hung out (PetsMart, Home Depot) while she was there, rather than drive all the way home and back.
On the way home, we stopped at a local butcher shop that we’d heard about. It was small with a limited but good selection, so we picked up a few things (flank steak for tonight, sausage to make pasta sauce, and a crown roast of pork for Christmas). If these things turn out OK, we’ll add them to the list of places to shop. They’re pretty close to the dogs’ groomer, so it could be a planned stop when we take the pups in. Now, if we could only find a good fishmonger…
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Axles, Cookies, and Grooming
December 18, 2007
Peoria, AZ
What do these two things have to do with each other? Nothing, other than that’s what we’ve been up to over the last couple of days.
Yesterday was grooming day for the canines. We dropped them off around 10:00 AM and spent some time at the coach storage lot doing a few chores there while we waited for them to be ready. After a point, we decided to head home for a bio-break (no water in the coach right now) and lunch, which worked out fine, as we were just finishing up when the call came to go pick them up.
We made a quick stop at the dog park (it’s much cleaner than the one we visited with Abby in Florida), but there was nobody else there so we didn’t stay too long. We’ve found that Merlin and Maya Lynn generally hang out around our feet if there aren’t any other dogs around to play with.
Today, Geri’s been making cookies all day. I have no idea who is going to eat all these cookies, since we’re both working on managing our intake these days, but I’m sure the neighbors will be getting some packages.
While she’s been in the kitchen, I made a Home Depot run for the trim strips I need to cover the DirecTV cables outside. I also picked up a gallon of paint that matches the outside of the house; there’s a local paint company that supplies contractors, and the builder used their stuff. They are pretty good about extending contractor pricing for members of the local HOAs, which brings the cost per gallon from $35+ to $20. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be getting the best match possible from Home Depot or Lowe’s.
In the afternoon, I took a ride over to the coach for some additional maintenance tasks. I’ve been having an issue with oil leaking from the hubs on the tag axle. The bearings use heavy-duty gear oil instead of axle grease like most cars. There’s a plastic window on the end of each hub where you can see the oil inside to verify that it’s clean, with “add” and “full” lines molded in to allow a coarse gauge. Well, one of the hubs on the tag (trailing) axle has now leaked twice. The first time was shortly after we took delivery, and the dealer fixed it. It leaked again last summer, and Al and I changed the gasket while we were in CT. Unfortunately, it started leaking again while we were away over Thanksgiving. Leaks are a bad thing on two fronts: running low on oil can damage the bearings and centrifugal force can drive the oil up into the brakes, ruining the shoes.
This time, I took a page from days of old when I used to work on cars (when cars were made in ways that allowed amateurs to work on them), and added what I hope is the right gasket sealant to the parts before I re-assembled. I’d wanted to replace this cover anyway, since it didn’t match the rest of them. While I was at it, I decided to change the gear oil in the other side of the tag and in the front hubs. It’s an annual maintenance item, and would have been due in the spring anyway. I have a manual vacuum pump designed for oil removal from tricky spots (actually, it’s designed to allow you to drain a car’s crankcase via the dipstick tube and change the oil without ever getting under the car), and it works quite well for this purpose. I refilled all four hubs with fresh gear oil, so we’re good on that maintenance task until next year.
Geri’s still in “cookie mode”, so I’m guessing we’re going out for dinner, which will be a treat since we haven’t done that since we were in Florida with Dave and Sandy…
Peoria, AZ
What do these two things have to do with each other? Nothing, other than that’s what we’ve been up to over the last couple of days.
Yesterday was grooming day for the canines. We dropped them off around 10:00 AM and spent some time at the coach storage lot doing a few chores there while we waited for them to be ready. After a point, we decided to head home for a bio-break (no water in the coach right now) and lunch, which worked out fine, as we were just finishing up when the call came to go pick them up.
We made a quick stop at the dog park (it’s much cleaner than the one we visited with Abby in Florida), but there was nobody else there so we didn’t stay too long. We’ve found that Merlin and Maya Lynn generally hang out around our feet if there aren’t any other dogs around to play with.
Today, Geri’s been making cookies all day. I have no idea who is going to eat all these cookies, since we’re both working on managing our intake these days, but I’m sure the neighbors will be getting some packages.
While she’s been in the kitchen, I made a Home Depot run for the trim strips I need to cover the DirecTV cables outside. I also picked up a gallon of paint that matches the outside of the house; there’s a local paint company that supplies contractors, and the builder used their stuff. They are pretty good about extending contractor pricing for members of the local HOAs, which brings the cost per gallon from $35+ to $20. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be getting the best match possible from Home Depot or Lowe’s.
In the afternoon, I took a ride over to the coach for some additional maintenance tasks. I’ve been having an issue with oil leaking from the hubs on the tag axle. The bearings use heavy-duty gear oil instead of axle grease like most cars. There’s a plastic window on the end of each hub where you can see the oil inside to verify that it’s clean, with “add” and “full” lines molded in to allow a coarse gauge. Well, one of the hubs on the tag (trailing) axle has now leaked twice. The first time was shortly after we took delivery, and the dealer fixed it. It leaked again last summer, and Al and I changed the gasket while we were in CT. Unfortunately, it started leaking again while we were away over Thanksgiving. Leaks are a bad thing on two fronts: running low on oil can damage the bearings and centrifugal force can drive the oil up into the brakes, ruining the shoes.
This time, I took a page from days of old when I used to work on cars (when cars were made in ways that allowed amateurs to work on them), and added what I hope is the right gasket sealant to the parts before I re-assembled. I’d wanted to replace this cover anyway, since it didn’t match the rest of them. While I was at it, I decided to change the gear oil in the other side of the tag and in the front hubs. It’s an annual maintenance item, and would have been due in the spring anyway. I have a manual vacuum pump designed for oil removal from tricky spots (actually, it’s designed to allow you to drain a car’s crankcase via the dipstick tube and change the oil without ever getting under the car), and it works quite well for this purpose. I refilled all four hubs with fresh gear oil, so we’re good on that maintenance task until next year.
Geri’s still in “cookie mode”, so I’m guessing we’re going out for dinner, which will be a treat since we haven’t done that since we were in Florida with Dave and Sandy…
HDTV project nearing completion
December 18, 2007
Peoria, AZ
I have no idea how those DirecTV installers do it. I’m sure, like most everything, experience helps speed things up. Anyway, I spent a couple of hours on Saturday and a couple more on Sunday moving the TV project forward. If I was getting paid for this, I’d be fired by now. On the other hand, this knowledge may come in handy when it comes time to convert the coach to HD. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Before we left for Thanksgiving, I had put up the replacement dish, so all I had to do was aim it and run the wires. Nothing is ever that simple, or course. First, I had to run a new ground wire (lightning coming into the house via the TV cable isn’t a good thing). The dish needed to be grounded to the nearest cold water pipe, which is all the way on the corner of the house. Then I had to run the cables from end of the dish back to the house. There are 4 cables, since the dish can support up to 4 receivers. I wanted to plan ahead and connect all 4, since I don’t want to take the dish apart if we add more boxes. The HD Digital Video Recorder (DVR) I’m installing uses two connections itself; it can record two things at the same time on two different channels.
I made sure that I labeled each cable so I know what connects to where, and used a test wire through the slider to verify that everything was working before I made up the final cables. Aiming the HD dish is a bit tricky, as you have to get the direction, elevation, and tilt set to “see” 5 different satellites at the same time. I used the new meter and got everything pretty good, I think. I’m seeing signal strength of low-to-upper-90s across the board.
The finishing touches were to add the over-the-air (OTA – everything has an acronym, just like when I was working) module (the DVR will pick up the local HD channels), cut and fit the cables to exact size, and upgrade the wall plug module (this wall plate needs three cable connectors). While I was at it, I added a heavy-duty signal splitter for the OTA module and ran a cable through the wall to the bedroom, so we have local HD channels there as well. I’ve tried to make the installation as professional-looking as possible, with neatly-run wires, properly-installed grounding blocks, rubber boots on the external connections, etc. This takes time, of course, but the satisfaction is worth it.
I was able to test the whole thing out with some Sunday afternoon football, and I think we’re in pretty good shape. The only remaining piece to this phase of the project is to put up some trim strips to cover the 3-cable run on the patio, and maybe to add a brace to the dish arm.
Of course, you’ll note that I said “this phase”. I need to work out something for the TVs in the kitchen and spare room. I’ll probably add another DirecTV HD box (not a DVR) for the kitchen, and just have OTA channels for the spare room, unless I can figure out a way to drive both off one box. The last phase will be to close out the cable account, which will have to wait until I add an internet dish (that’ll have to go below the back wall to meet HOA rules) or see if we can live with the Verizon Wireless service. I want to get these phases done by April, so I can cancel the cable before we head out for the summer.
Peoria, AZ
I have no idea how those DirecTV installers do it. I’m sure, like most everything, experience helps speed things up. Anyway, I spent a couple of hours on Saturday and a couple more on Sunday moving the TV project forward. If I was getting paid for this, I’d be fired by now. On the other hand, this knowledge may come in handy when it comes time to convert the coach to HD. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Before we left for Thanksgiving, I had put up the replacement dish, so all I had to do was aim it and run the wires. Nothing is ever that simple, or course. First, I had to run a new ground wire (lightning coming into the house via the TV cable isn’t a good thing). The dish needed to be grounded to the nearest cold water pipe, which is all the way on the corner of the house. Then I had to run the cables from end of the dish back to the house. There are 4 cables, since the dish can support up to 4 receivers. I wanted to plan ahead and connect all 4, since I don’t want to take the dish apart if we add more boxes. The HD Digital Video Recorder (DVR) I’m installing uses two connections itself; it can record two things at the same time on two different channels.
I made sure that I labeled each cable so I know what connects to where, and used a test wire through the slider to verify that everything was working before I made up the final cables. Aiming the HD dish is a bit tricky, as you have to get the direction, elevation, and tilt set to “see” 5 different satellites at the same time. I used the new meter and got everything pretty good, I think. I’m seeing signal strength of low-to-upper-90s across the board.
The finishing touches were to add the over-the-air (OTA – everything has an acronym, just like when I was working) module (the DVR will pick up the local HD channels), cut and fit the cables to exact size, and upgrade the wall plug module (this wall plate needs three cable connectors). While I was at it, I added a heavy-duty signal splitter for the OTA module and ran a cable through the wall to the bedroom, so we have local HD channels there as well. I’ve tried to make the installation as professional-looking as possible, with neatly-run wires, properly-installed grounding blocks, rubber boots on the external connections, etc. This takes time, of course, but the satisfaction is worth it.
I was able to test the whole thing out with some Sunday afternoon football, and I think we’re in pretty good shape. The only remaining piece to this phase of the project is to put up some trim strips to cover the 3-cable run on the patio, and maybe to add a brace to the dish arm.
Of course, you’ll note that I said “this phase”. I need to work out something for the TVs in the kitchen and spare room. I’ll probably add another DirecTV HD box (not a DVR) for the kitchen, and just have OTA channels for the spare room, unless I can figure out a way to drive both off one box. The last phase will be to close out the cable account, which will have to wait until I add an internet dish (that’ll have to go below the back wall to meet HOA rules) or see if we can live with the Verizon Wireless service. I want to get these phases done by April, so I can cancel the cable before we head out for the summer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)