December 28th - A Little Electrical Project for Marge Using a Christmas Present

The 50 amp electric cord that came with Marge is 36 feet long, thick, heavy, very stiff, and thus really hard to handle. Very rarely do I ever need a 36 foot long cord to plug in at a park pedestal. I decided it would serve our purposes to cut the cable at about ten feet and install a male plug on the ten foot cord and a female plug on the remaining section. By doing this I can just pull out the ten foot cord for almost all hookups and plug in the other section as an extension cord when I need it. With this project in mind I put on my Christmas request list male and female 50 amp plugs.

Well, Santa (daughter Erin) was good to me and I received the plugs I requested. Today I went to the storage shed and retrieved the electric cord from Marge. I brought it home, cut the cord, and installed the plugs making a shorter cord and an extension.  Here is a picture of the finished cords.

This modification will make future electrical connections much easier. This cord is about an inch in diameter and has a black polyvinyl casing which is really stiff and hard to handle even in warm weather. If I ever upgrade the cord I would go with a cable that has a rubber casing which is much more flexible. Those cables, however, are more expensive and I just haven't been able to bring myself to spend $300-$400 for a new cord when I still have a functioning one.

Also on my Christmas request list was a portable LED work light. So many times I am working under one of the campers or on something else around home and I need a lot of light in a dark area. I have good flashlights but they throw a small beam and I have to hold them to get the light where I need it. In almost all things I'm working on I need two hands for what I am doing. Flashlights just don't work very well for that. Santa Erin came through again and got me two LED work lights. They are really bright with two settings plus a flashing setting for emergencies.  The lights came with Lithium batteries, are rechargeable, and have a nice adjustable stand which allows me to set them on a surface and point the light where I need it. Here is a picture of one. They are about six inches wide.

I will leave one light in my shop toolbox and put the other in my toolbox in Marge. They are exactly what I wanted and are well-made so they should last a long time.

Another nice item I got for Christmas from daughter Alexa, is a "Pad Pillow".  It is a wedge shaped foam pillow which I can sit on my lap and browse away on the internet without having to hold the I-pad. It has a lip on the bottom which keeps the iPad from slipping off. Here is a picture of it on my lap.

I love it!  I use the iPad a lot traveling and camping while sitting in my recliner. It will get a lot of use at home and on the road.

I also got some nice clothes from daughter Annie, some of which fit, come of which didn't. The pants that didn't fit have already been sent back and I'll pick out a replacement soon.

Hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas.

I wish we were in Florida for the winter but just not in the cards this year. We have, however,  scheduled a week in a condo in Gulf Shores in January. We have never been there and will enjoy seeing it for the first time and visiting with Perryville friends who will be there. We are also thinking about scheduling a short trip South in April when the Chemotherapy is complete. We will see how things go.

Happy New Year to everyone.