Katie=12.4 pounds; The Palms=11,760 pounds

WELCOME to our new follower, Theresa! She wants to be an RVer, but for now is following blogs about RVing.  I followed tons of blogs for more than a year before I got my RV.  Theresa is hoping to start traveling next year.  I hope that works, it sure is fun to be on the road in an RV, and we're happy you are following along with us.

WELCOME to our new Follower, Harriet Mayeaux!  Harriet, you don't have any information shown, so I can't give you a plug for your blog.  If you have one, please leave a comment with the blog address so I can check it out.  I guess you are either an RVer, a future RVer, or an RV dreamer.  Whichever one it is, Katie and I are happy to have you along on our adventures.  (NOTE: Harriet's new blog is: Giddyup! Gumbo.)

Welcome Aboard to you both!

Don't forget to check your moderation and spam folders.  The old version of Blogger gave an indication that there was something in those folders, but this new one doesn't.  After I blogged about a couple of free Kindle books, I've had some followers' comments end up in those folders.  Also some others that were just normal comments, not referring to Kindle, were in there.  (Denise, this might be your answer as to why my comments aren't showing in your comment section - they might be in your Moderation or Spam folders.)  FYI.

Katie went to her new vet yesterday, Dr. Pollock at Anasazi Animal Clinic in Camp Verde, AZ, and everything was fine.  Her weight and temp were good, and she got her shots.  She shook a little, which is unusual for her, so I knew she was nervous, but she didn't bat an eyelash.  She was so good.  When they took her temp, though, her eyes got round and she looked insulted.

So Katie is good to go for another year.  Dr. Pollock wasn't concerned about her nose, he just said to get some Triple Antibiotic Ointment at the drug store if it becomes a problem. He didn't see anything wrong.

I'd recommend this animal clinic if you are ever in this area. The staff and doctor were all very nice, spent time talking to Katie and petting her, making her feel comfortable, and the clinic was nice and clean.  I'm glad I chose this clinic.  For those of you who are interested, Office Visit/Exam was $40, Rabies and DHP Booster shots $20 each, total cost $80.

I asked the vet if I could give Katie people peanut butter in her Kong toy, and he said, yes.  It won't hurt her, but don't give her too much, because it has fat in it. She loves this stuff, so I'll keep giving it to her.  It gives her a little challenge and keeps her busy for a while.  Here she is trying to lick the peanut butter out of the Kong.

Then our weighing company came over, it's called Weigh To Go, LLC.  It is owned by a husband and wife, Tom and Lonni Case.  They were great!  It was more involved than I thought it would be.  Some of you know this, but for those that don't, here's what happened.

 Tom getting out the scales and other tools.
(Click on the photo for their phone number or website)

As Tom got out his tools and the scales, Lonni got all the information on The Palms from the Forest River stickers inside my driver's door.  They take into account if your tanks are full or not, and add that into the weight equation.  Then Tom laid out the scales so that when I drove up on them, I'd be completely level.

Tom checked all my tires to see what kind they are and how old they are, and he measured each tire's pressure, except one. One rear outside tire's valve is laying against the hubcap, and none of his tire pressure tools could get it. They measured the distance from the front axle to the rear axle.  Tom got under the Palms to see exactly where all the tanks are located.  (While he was right near the cabin step, he found a place where a critter chewed through the insulation and chewed the covering off a copper wire that controls the step.  He said next time I'm in for service, have them repair that area.)

After they checked everything and got all the information they needed, I drove up on the scales and they recorded those numbers.  

While Tom put away their tools, Lonni went into their truck to enter all the information in her computer and printed out a report for me.

One thing Tom said is that the tire pressure shown on the side of the tires or suggested by the maker of the RV is only an estimate.  You can't know how much the tire pressure should be unless you weigh each tire with it's load.  You need to know how much weight that part of the rig is carrying.

Also, if one tire is carrying a heavier load in the front or in the back (my passenger front tire is carrying more than the driver side tire), you always inflate both the front or rear tires at the higher PSI.  That makes sense. You want the tire with the heaviest weight to be inflated correctly.

He said it's okay if the tire pressure is 2 to 3 pounds more or less than it should be, but try to keep it in that range for optimum safety and performance.

Then Tom came in and we sat down and went over the report.  He explained everything on each page, and The Palms came out with flying colors.  We are balanced well, each tire had the correct pressure within the approved limits of 2 or 3 pounds.  Tom couldn't get to that one tire - when I get the tire valve extensions I want them to check that one to see what it is.  He said it looks, feels and responds like the others, so it should be okay. I'll also have the tire company put the correct pressure into each tire, according to our weight chart.

The GVWR  (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) for The Palms is 14,050 pounds, and she weighed in at 11,760.  I can add more weight if needed and not worry about it, we're 2,290 pounds light.  Not that I want to add more weight.

Also, the Wheelbase/LOA Ratio was measured. They measured the overhang in front and back in realtion to the axles, and that came out very good.  Of course - we're only 24 feet.  We don't have a lot of overhang, but that helps give us a better ride down the road.

They measured The Palms from bumper to bumper, and she's 23.5 feet (24 feet if you also measure the ladder).  I've seen limits for vehicles of 24 feet, so The Palms would fit into that measurement.

I haven't been good at checking my tire pressure, but Tom said losing pressure is more of a problem if your rig sits for a long period.  Since I drive The Palms every ten days to two weeks to dump, shop, etc., that keeps my tire pressure more constant, and that's probably why my tire pressure measured within limits.

So - whew! - we are good.  Tires are good, pressure is good, rig is balanced, and total weight is good.  And, if I buy something that is kind of heavy, I'll know the best place to store it, weight-wise.

At $50, well worth the cost.  This is a safety issue, and I thought I was okay, but now I know.  I would advise anyone who has access to one of the companies along the way to take advantage of the service. What you don't know could hurt you.  And if your rig is within all the limits, you won't have to worry about it as long as things stay pretty much the same.

When they were setting up, my neighbor across the way came over and asked if she could cut my hair when they were done weighing The Palms instead of doing it today.  That was just fine with me, and so after Tom and Lonni left, she came over and cut my hair outside while I sat in one of my chairs with her cape over my shoulders.  It was kind of windy, so when she got most of it off, we came inside for the fine tuning.  When she was done it looked really good, she went home and I swept up and got my hair wet and used the hair dryer to style it.  It looked pretty good as it was drying right after the cut.  When I "styled" it with the hair dryer a round brush, WOW, it's one of the best hair cuts I've every had.

After she cut my hair, she trimmed Katie's nails.  She did a good job, and Katie behaved.  The hair cut and nail trim only cost me $20.  What a bargain. 

Yesterday was a very eventful and productive day.  Now we just have the wash/wax of The Palms on Monday and our appointments will be done.

Every month I think I'll save more money, but it's amazing how all these come up from month to month, whether it's the rig registration and insurance, health issues for me or Katie, keeping The Palms (the truck, tires, coach and all the things in it) all running and checked out.  On my balance sheet each month, there are always Miscellaneous Expenses I wasn't planning.  Having the annual spreadsheet will really help in the years to come, because I'll have a good list of these odd-ball things that don't happen every month and I'll be able to plan for them and have a good idea what they will cost.

Roger, who did most of the research and work on my generator/converter issues back in Quartzsite, answered an e-mail I sent him.  I told him where I was, and he said I am in the Goldilocks zone.  Not too hot, and not too cold.  I liked that.  And I like being in the Goldilocks zone.

I just took a break from blogs and defrosted my freezer. It's been a year, so that's not bad.  I was starting to lose some space, and it was definitely time.  I used the old hair dryer/dull plastic spatula method, and it didn't take long.  I'm going to wait a while to defrost the fridge, which has the same ice on the upper shelf/back area.  I kind of like it there, because I put my little milk and water bottles there, and the ice keeps them colder.  When I start losing space on the shelf, I'll defrost that, too.

That's it for now.  From me and Katie, have a great weekend, everyone!  :)

Apointments, apointments, apointments, and apointments

One nice thing about staying put for a month is that I can get a lot done.

Tomorrow at 10:00 Katie is going to the vet for her annual exam, rabies shot and the other vaccines that are due. I'm also going to have them look at her nose.  Today after one of our walks we got back and I looked at her, and both of her nostrils were brown.  But... it looked like dirt, and it wasn't all there before our walk.  I got some foaming soap and warm water on a washcloth and carefully washed off her nose, and - what do you know? - it all came off.  Now I'm wondering if the brown spots are just dirt that stuck on her nose when we were walking and she was sniffing the ground.  If her nose was running, maybe some of the dirt and dust stuck.  So we'll see tomorrow.

Then around 1:00 a company staying in the park for a Safari RV Rally is coming over to weigh The Palms.  They weigh each wheel and then will give me a report.  I've been told with the size of my rig there's no way I can be overweight, but I want to make sure, and also make sure we are balanced.  If we're good, then I won't worry anymore, if there's something that needs to be fixed, then I can fix it.

Then on Friday I'm getting my hair cut.  The woman across from our site is a hairdresser, and she's going to cut my hair for me.  She said she charges $10, but I said I'd give her $15, $10 doesn't seem like enough.  That's still less than anywhere else I can get my hair cut, and I usually give them a $5 tip at the cheap hair chains, so I'll just consider the extra $5 to be a tip.  It's still cheap.

Monday around 9:00 another company is coming by to give The Palms a wash and wax.  He charges $150 for a small rig, $175 for a larger one.   That's what I paid last year at Santee Lakes RV Park in San Diego. The owner came over to look the rig over and give me an estimate. I wasn't sure about him doing the roof since I have the solar up there now, and I was worried about it.  He said we should definitely do the roof, otherwise the dirt on the roof drips down the sides, leaving streaks on the clean rig.  He said they would be very careful up there.  I told him I wanted him, the owner, to do the work and would wait until he had a free appointment.  I've been wanting to get The Palms clean and waxed for a while, so it will be good to get this done.

My neighbor checked my tire pressure this evening, and they were good.  The rear tires were a little low, but he said they are fine.  He checked the front and rear inside tires, but we couldn't find the valve for the rear outside tires.  He said maybe the hubcaps need to be removed to check those tires.  I think I'll hop on one of the forums and see if the answer is there.  But at least I know I'm good on 4 out of 6 tires so far.

I got a couple of bird feeders, one for finches and a new hummer feeder.  Unfortunately I don't have a tree in my site and there's nothing to hang the feeders from, so I also bought two window holders with two suction cups. They will hold up to five pounds, so I put each feeder on one.

It was interesting to watch the finches, but they were making such a mess on the rug and concrete pad below the window, they were covered with little black seeds.  I finally took that one down and stored it for when I'm in the forest or desert.  I put the other hummingbird feeder there, so now I have two hummer feeders up.  I'm not getting many hummingbirds yet. The man across from me found a hummer laying on the concrete, and he picked it up.  It has a purple band around it's neck and was very pretty.  He put it in a bush, and it later flew away.

There are a lot of birds here, mostly small ones, and the birdsong in the morning is really nice.

Katie is always extra ready to go outside, in fact she bugs me a couple of times a day - and it's not for a potty break.  She loves chasing after the lizards that hang out under the rocks and bushes here.  There are tons of them.  It's kind of hard on Katie since she is on a leash, but she doesn't give up.  I was outside reading my Kindle the other day and Katie just stood "on guard" watching the bush behind The Palms.

Boy, are these guys fast.  I don't know if Katie could catch one if she wasn't leashed.

This Green-tailed Towhee (thank you, Sondra!) was around the dog park area - he was really pretty, lots of different colors.

Green-tailed Towhee

Cottonwood tree in the park.

Pretty terrain across the street from this RV park.  One of the volunteers said there are fossil imprints in the soft white rocks in this area.  Katie and I walked over and checked it out, but we didn't find any.

I'm interested in getting results from our two appointments tomorrow.  I'll let you know what happens.

From Me and Katie, have  great Wednesday evening, everyone!  :)

Free Kindle book - How NOT to RV

Just a quick post today.

I mentioned in a previous post that I get a daily e-mail from Amazon for free Kindle books.  I have almost the limit on my Kindle again, so I'm very careful now which books I download. Until I delete more, I don't have much room for new books.  But when I saw this book this morning, I had to get it.  I haven't read it yet, and don't know how long it will be free, so I thought I'd let you know, if you have a Kindle, it's available free at Amazon.com.  The reviews are good, it sounds like a good, fun read, and the price is right.

How NOT to RV; The Rvers Guide to RVing in the Absurd (The How NOT To Guides)

By: Jennifer Flower (Bumpity Bump Publishing)

(24)

It's a beautiful Sunday morning - I don't know what it is about this RV park, but I'm waking early, ready to get up and make that coffee.  I must be getting a better sleep?  Even Katie is getting up early most mornings. 

I have a long list and will be driving to the closest Walmart this morning to replenish food and paper products.  It's only about 14 miles away - I overheard some people in the office talking about going to the Walmart, and asked the volunteer. I was surprised there's a Walmart in this area.  Nice!

The scab finally fell off Katie's nose.  I'm taking her to the Vet next week for her Rabies and annual shots, and will see if there's something I can put on her nose when it's hot and dry to stop that from happening again.

From me and Katie, have a great day , everyone!  :)

Good News! and a visit with another full-timer

The good news is, my condo recorded today!   It kept being put off for one reason or another, and was set to record on Monday, but they funded the buyers' loan today and had a special recording, so it's done.  I used to work (in  one of my many jobs) as a loan coordinator, and also as a real estate agent, and I don't remember ever hearing that phrase, special recording.  But I have to say, it sure was a special recording to me!!  :)

I had a meet-up with one of our fellow full-timers, Lloyd, this morning.  What an interesting man!  He's really easy to have a conversation with, which seems to be the norm for RVers.  We drove to a local Starbucks and talked for a while, then back to The Palms where we sat outside in the sun and continued our conversation.  Thanks, Lloyd, for coming over and visiting.  I really enjoyed meeting you!

That's about all the news or information for today.  My son, Tom, sent me an e-mail with the latest two cars he's restored, and if you are interested in cars, here are the photos.  I always enjoy seeing his restored cars and houses, they are usually junkers when he buys them, and jewels when he sells them.  He is not selling these cars, at least not now.  He likes to keep them for a while and drive them.  Might as well enjoy them after all the work to get them so pretty!

The first one is a1968 Rally Sport Camaro.  He has much of the original paperwork as well as ownership history back to the original owner.  Tom found some 8 track tapes to play in the restored 8 track AM/FM radio. The tires are original bias ply (non radials) from the 1960's. He found a guy who had a small inventory of these original Red Line Firestones. 

Here's the other one.   Tom said it's the rarest and most valuable car he's restored. It has all of the original factory paperwork as well as all of the original CA registrations since 1970 when it was first sold (it has the blue CA license plates). It has been seen recently driving down the Coast Highway with two small boys in the back seat enjoying the view from their car seats!  (My two grandsons, Graydin and Gavin.  Gavin is a real car guy at 7 years old, and knows all Dad's cars.) 

Today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the breeze very light, and it was warm, not hot!   It would be nice if every day was like this, except for an occasional storm.  Plus my condo sale is done and I had some good company.  What more could I want?

From me and Katie, have a great weekend, everyone!  :)

Backing up your blog and FREE Word Press Guide Kindle book

Thank you for your comments - thinking my blog was gone was pretty stressful.  Not only is this a blog that I enjoy writing and hopefully you enjoy reading, it's my travel journal with all the facts and photos of my RVing experience. I often use the blog to find things by using the "search" gadget on the right sidebar, so it's a good resource for information I need, too.

It would have been nice to get a message from Blogger when I logged in stating they were transferring accounts over to the new format, "Please come back later when the transfers are complete.  Your blog will be up and running in a few hours."  Or something like that. (I had already moved my blog back to the new format.)  Instead of:

My first thought was, "My Blog has been REMOVED!!!  OMG - what did I do?"

I do back-up my blog from time to time on Blogger, and I have also opened a Word Press account and transferred all my posts, comments and followers to that blog so if I ever do want to switch, some of the work will be done. It doesn't take long to set up a Word Press account.

I've had comments and e-mails asking me about backing up the blog.  Rather than re-create the wheel, please check Rick's blog post, Back To Normal And How To Backup Your Blog, from June 5, 2010.  Quoting Rick, "If you are a Live Writer user, then your blog posts are saved automatically on your HD."  That's  nice - I don't use Live Writer, except for a few times when Blogger was giving me fits, but that's actually a good reason to use Live Writer.

As much as I, and some of you, complain about Blogger, I have to admit I like using their program. I find it easy to use for the most part, and the fact that it's free - well, what can I say, IT'S FREE. We all use it every day, either posting or reading others' posts, or both, and seldom is there a problem.  So, although I'm sure I'll complain and rant about Blogger again, I do appreciate having a blogging program that doesn't cost me anything. (Except for the info they are gathering about me, I guess.) I just have to remember to back up on a regular basis.  That way, if it DOES get removed for real, I won't lose much.

If you are thinking about moving your blog over to Word Press, I've done some research.  The best information I've found is at Beautifully Invisible.  This is the information I used.  I opened the Word Press account and moved all my Blogger posts over, but didn't make it "public."  It's my back-up, JIC.  I'm keeping my Blogger account because I like it.  I only opened the Word Press account and moved my posts over as a "ready-to-go" backup just in case.  As I've said before, I don't completely trust Blogger.  Sorry.  But I don't.  I also use Blogger's back-up which is stored on my hard drive, so I feel double insured.

Another resource is Grit and Glamor.  If you scroll down a bit to Moving from Blogger to Word Press, she has a lot of links concerning moving your blog.

UPDATE:  Free Kindle Book 

30 Minutes to a Wordpress Website - The ULTIMATE Guide to Getting Started With Wordpress

By: Eric Allyn

I subscribe to Free Kindle Books [freekindlebooks@ereaderiq.com] and this one came up today.  I don't know how long it will be free, but if you have a Kindle and are interested in getting a copy, check it out at Amazon.com.


My TV came in the mail yesterday, and it's all set up.  I've been listening to the radio a lot since my TV burned up, and now I don't know which to use.  My mom and dad listened to the radio all the time, my mom had her radio soap operas on when she was doing her housework and my dad listened to all the baseball games when he was out working in the yard, so it's kind of like "comfort food" to have the radio on in the background.

There has been a  Montana RV Group here since I arrived, and they are all pulling out now.  That's one row of sites that will be empty.  It was kind of neat walking past them on our walks, all lined up, looking the same.  People were sitting outside, socializing in the late afternoons. Hope they all had a good time.

Here's last night's sunset:

The clouds were coming in!

Today we're covered with clouds and it's raining and the wind is blowing - it's 69 degrees in The Palms.  It hasn't been this cool for a loooong time.  Looks like we might have the storm that was predicted - it's coming from Los Angeles where they had a big storm yesterday with power outages.  Isn't it nice not having to worry about power outages?  If the power goes out, we just carry on.  With our propane, solar panels, batteries and DC power we're little power houses.   :) 

WOW!  Thunder and lightning!!!

From Me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)