RV MOD - Lowering the Dinette Table

I've been living in The Palms now for 2 years and 5 months, and the dinette table has always been too high.  About three inches too high.   That really makes a difference in my comfort level when I'm doing anything at the table.

Well, I have something new that just wasn't going to work for me unless I lowered the table, and yesterday was the day.  I had mentioned to Hazel that I wanted to do this, and she had done it before, so she came over in the morning to help.

This is the table before:

You can see below the top tabs/slots that hold the table, and also the bar that fits into the channel, with those white plastic pieces screwed in, keeping the bar from raising up and coming out.  Simple design, but it works.

Close up of the tabs that fit into the slots on the wall, holding the table securely:

This is the wall after the table was removed:

So this hardware attaches the table on the wall side, and one wood leg keeps it steady and level on the outside:

You push on the little tab to release the leg - then fold it up toward the table and raise up the end of the table to release the tabs/latches on the wall to remove  the table.

Hazel and I worked together to remove the table from the wall, and then she started unscrewing the hardware from the wall, and re-attaching it three inches lower.

Meanwhile, I took the table outside with my trusty Coghlan's Sierra Saw - a small folding saw that is very sharp and worked perfectly.

Coghlan's Sierra Saw - nine inches folded, 16 inches when opened.

I measured three inches at the bottom of the leg and started sawing, then about half way through, flipped over the table and sawed from the other side.  The cuts almost  met in the middle.

After the piece was off, I trimmed up the bottom of the leg and that was it.  Done.

I brought it back inside and Hazel was finishing up lowering the hardware.

Lined up perfectly:

Then we manhandled the table this way and that until we were able to line up the tabs into the slots.  Once that was done, the bar was placed, with a little hammering and adjusting, into the channel and the final screw with the plastic piece was screwed in, making sure the plastic piece was securely on the bar to keep it in place.  We lowered the leg and waaa-laaa.   Just right!

And here it is in the photo below, all finished.

 Doesn't it look great?

This morning I got out the putty and patched the holes and cleaned up the wall area, and it looks original.  I wish I had done this a couple of years ago.

I cannot tell you how much more comfortable I am.  I can easily slide in and out, and can rest my arms on the table now.  I could hardly type before - my laptop keyboard was so high - but now it's perfect.

Tune in next time and I'll show you photos of why I needed to lower the table.

One final photo of Katie enjoying the flower-covered field next to The Palms yesterday:

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

Wordless Wednesday

... except there is a fish that actually DOES climb trees.  Really. 

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

Bird photo round-up

This post is going to show all the birds I've been excited to snap during the last few weeks.  I've photographed a few new birds - new checks in my birding guide - and a couple of repeats that I just liked.

I've gotten this guy before, but I just love his coloring.  I have to admit, they seem to be all over the place and are very easy to get pictures of, but I still try to get better, clearer shots.

Here's the Hairy Woodpecker again - check out the last shot.  His little pink tongue actually made it into the feeder's tiny opening and it looks like he's getting some nectar.

Next are some House Finches - a red male and the plainer brown female.  I don't know if I've seen them here at Bluewater before, but these are pretty good shots.

I changed the settings on my new camera to see if I could get the wings clearer while the female Anna's Hummingbird was was feeding - and it worked, especially in the second photo. 

 
I was parked in the parking lot of Saint Theresa of Avila Catholic Church in Grants, NM and heard some bird calls.  I looked up and here was a Chihuahuan Raven.  I wonder if he was singing a hymn?

This next bird is a first sighting and photo for me.  I snapped his photo at Bluewater Lake State Park.  He's a male Violet-green Swallow.

Blurry picture, but I may never get one in flight again.  Wish I had changed the camera setting before I got this shot.

This next bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch.  It was climbing all over a Pinyon Pine in the campground, then hopped off, jumped around and climbed back on the tree.  I took a ton of pictures, but it moved so fast, only a few were clear.  The male has a black cap and nape, and the female has a grey cap and nape.  I think this one is a female.

These Great-tailed Grackles are in the parking lot at Wal-Mart, the males are black and the females/juveniles (who are molting right now) are brown and black.  I liked the way this one looked, kind of raggedy:

I put up a seed feeder to see what would come by.  So far, Pinyon Jays have emptied it, but no other birds so far.  This first guy is standing on a little broken branch coming out of the trunk, looking down at the feeder.

Before I knew it, I had a tree full of Pinyon  Jays on the Pinyon Pine.  There were more, but this was taken out the front windshield, and I cropped out the rest with the steering wheel, rear-view mirror, etc.  It was fun to watch them all jockey for position to get to the feeder.  Most of them didn't make it.

This one is a Say's Phoebe - I've seen them twice in the park, I don't think they are very plentiful and felt lucky to get a photo of this guy.

I've had this green bird for a long time and she's a favorite.  She is always standing near my houseplants, and is a Fat Green Kitchenbird. They are usually seen in threesomes - one with a hat, one in a bikini and one with a belt.  Although they like to hang around together, I think the other two are stored in a cupboard for now. 

And that's all the photos of birds for now.  I have to say, although I'm not a real birder, I sure love finding new ones, getting their pictures, and checking them off in my Field Guide.  It's nice to post them in my blog for easy future reference.

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

Wordless Wednesday (on Friday)

I missed Wordless Wednesday because I was driving back to Bluewater Lake and getting settled in. And I forgot.

I saw this quote and decided to use it today with a picture I put together.

From me and Katie (thankfully neither of us needs a crown), have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

Water Filters in The Palms

We have a triple water filtering system in The Palms.

FIRST FILTER   Since starting out, we had a whole house filter.  I didn't know it was there until I had the solar installed, and Ron asked me when was the last time I changed the filter.  I said, "What filter?" and was really happy to find out that he had found an installed, whole house filter.  He ordered new filters for me, and put one into the plastic holder. 

So, fast forward to the present, and I needed to change that filter.  I've been thinking about it for about a week, and a few times I tried to unscrew the plastic housing that contains the water filter cartridge, but as hard as I tried - with all the muscle I could muster - it would not budge.  

I decided to tackle the problem on Saturday while I was parked in the Catholic Church parking lot in Grants, and by hook or by crook, I was determined I was going to change that filter!  To get to it, I had to remove the drawers that are under my closet.

The three drawer openings are 12" x 12 " and the depth of the interior is 24". 

Can you see the filter?  It's in the top left opening, on the backwall.

By the way, in case you were wondering, that black cover is for my Power Center where all the breakers and fuses are hidden.  Their wires come out the back and go to all the electrical stuff.

The exterior fill areas for the fresh water tank and the city water are both there on that outside wall. This area contains my converter, inverter, filtering system, and water pump, all fastened to the floor, as well as myriad wires coming to and from those electrical units and hoses coming to and from the fresh water tank (under the couch) out to the kitchen and bathroom.  Lots of stuff in that little area.

And I do mean little area.  I had to get into the opening for the top drawer in front of the filter.  One foot by one foot square.  I am a little bigger than one foot wide.  Thank goodness. :)

So... I turned off the water, ran the water from all the faucets to make sure no more was in the pipes.  Then I had to reach all the way in, getting my arms, head, shoulders, and chest past the lower wooden drawer holder, and reach all way to the screws holding the filter to the wall.  Four of them.  In the dim light.  And unscrew them.  Then unscrewing the IN hose and the OUT hose.

The problem was, in addition to the small area, I had to first get my arms over my head, put them in, then my head, etc.  I had to go all the way in, past my chest, or my hands wouldn't reach the screws.  But - by putting that much of my body into the space, my head was too close, and I couldn't see the screws clearly, with or without my glasses. Quite a conundrum.  

Whew!  I finally got them all unscrewed and the hoses un-attached and carefully lifted the dripping filter with it's housing and metal top out and carried it to the sink.  (You understand, the best plan isn't to remove the entire unit from the wall or from the water pipes, but simply to unscrew it.  Next time, don't let a strong man screw it in for you.  In fact, for me, the next time I switch out the cartridge, I won't have any problem just unscrewing the plastic housing, because I screwed it in.)

This metal plate attaches the unit to the outside wall, to keep it securely in place.

New filter cartridge, plastic filter holder and plastic top with in and out attachments - metal top plate to attach to wall removed.

Even with the container out and on the counter, I could not unscrew it to get the cartridge out.  I removed the metal plate to see if something underneath was holding it tight.  Nope. I tried everything I could think of.  I even nudged the edges with a hammer, nothing.  Ran a sharp knife around the edge.  Nothing.  Pushed and pulled the top.  Nothing.  Finally I got out my silicon spray and sprayed a tiny bit all around the edge where it's screwed in, and tried again to unscrew it, and it worked. YEAAA!  I took out the old cartridge and threw it away in the trash.  Next I had to completely clean the cartridge holder and it's top, getting all the gunk out as well as make sure I washed off any silicon spray.

The instructions say to wash the plastic housing with dish soap and water, then rinse it out well.  Of course, my water was turned off, so I used some baby wipes and wet some paper towels with water from my Brita, then dried it, inside and out;  I did that three times. Then I put in the new cartridge, screwed the top on, screwed the metal plate on the top, and re-entered the tiny 1 x 1 foot cave.

Here is where all the fun really started.

It took forever, with me slowly inching my way in and trying to hold the screw, which I couldn't see because of the angle, through the hole in the metal plate with the tip of the screw in the hole in the wall.  I'd drop the screw, then have to inch my way out, and find it in all the wires and hoses.  With the four screws, I can't tell you how many times I did that.  I had a towel under that area to catch any water that might drip, and I stretched it out to catch the screws, because I was tired of trying to find them in the wires, pipes and sawdust on the floor.  I was sweating bullets.  (I know, I know, ladies don't sweat.  I was glistening bullets.)  I actually started praying.  I was in the parking lot of a church, so - even though I believe in God and know He's here with all of us - I was in front of his house!  He had to hear me.

Little by little I got the first three in, and the fourth screw just wouldn't line up, or I'd drop it, etc.  I was determined I was going to finish this job right, and not leave it attached with only three screws.

Actually what I finally did was hold the last screw in pliers in my left hand, squeeze in, put it through the metal hole and it was already lined up to the last hole in the wall, and I carefully put my magnetic screwdriver on the screw and sllloooowly turned it.  Honestly, the job shouldn't be that hard.  So I was done.  It took forever, and it was blazing hot in The Palms, but I was done.

Taaaaa-Daaaaa!  Nice and Clean.  And it doesn't leak. :)

...and boy, did I need a shower.  Isn't it nice that we have showers that are always nearby?  I removed my clothes hamper thingie, a box of stuff, and Katie's food from the shower, flipped on the hot water heater switch, set the timer for 10 minutes and closed all the shades.  By the time I was ready, the water was hot and I had one of the best showers ever.  Washed my hair, shaved my legs, the whole routine.  Got out, dried off the shower floor, walls and door, put the things stored in the shower back, got dressed, etc.  Katie was doing a little barking, but I figured people had walked by while I was in the shower.

When I opened the shades, lo and behold, there was a parking lot full of cars all around me, with people heading over the the church.  Some were looking my way, checking out The Palms.  I had forgotten about Saturday Evening Mass.  They very nicely gave me lots of room to get out, so I got behind the wheel and moved The Palms to another parking lot in town in case more churchgoers arrived and needed the spaces.

I'm so glad that job is done!!!

SECOND FILTER   This is MUCH easier.  I have a water filter cartridge that I attach to the end of my hose that plugs into water faucets, and the other end of the hose goes into the fresh water tank opening on the outside wall the The Palms.  Easy Peasy.

When it's time, just throw it away and attached a new one.  A link to these filters at Amazon is on right sidebar.

THIRD FILTER   This one really made the difference.  Even with the other two filters, which gave me good water, this one gave me good tasting water.  I know they say that in their ads, but I really wasn't expecting a difference in the taste.  I don't know why it is, but cold water coming from this Brita Pitcher really tastes better.  I don't drink nearly enough during the day, and I've been drinking a lot more water since I got it, so it's working for me.  And I even pour Katie's water  into her bowl from my Brita.

Yes, Gayle, Jim, Debbie and Jimbo - that IS the same bottle of wine from our dinner.  I'm such a slow drinker!

I don't use ice any more since I keep the pitcher in the fridge door and it's always cold. Here are some photos that show it's size, and how slim it is:

It's about as narrow as my water bottle.

There are lots of Brita options, I did the research and chose this one because of it's size.  It fits really well in the door of my fridge.  I wasn't sure I would like it, but now I wouldn't be without one.  I put a link on the right side panel in case you want to check them out.  Hummm, I paid $16, but I see they are on sale right now as I write this.  Well, it's worth it at either price.  :)

Three filters might be a little overkill, but I don't worry about my drinking water at all, and I don't spend money on bottles of water or have plastic bottles to toss in the trash any more.  And I've gotten back the space they took up in my fridge (with the extras stored in the shower).  And that's just more than you all wanted to know about my water filtering systems.  But it's posted now, and I have a record for the future of what I have - with photos.  And if you're visiting me and I offer you a glass of "house water,"  you'll know it's going to be cold and delicious!  :)

Beautiful frosty glass of water photo courtesy of dreamstime.com

We're heading back to Bluwater Lake State Park tomorrow morning - this time the required six days out of the park, after camping for 14 days, has gone by like a flash.  I got lots of things done, and for the next two weeks, I'm going to relax.  Except for one project, which I'll post about after it's done.

From me and Katie, have a nice Tuesday, everyone - and have a nice, clear, cool glass of water!  :)