December 4, 2020 - All Setup for Christmas

Yesterday was a sunny, warm and thus busy day. We laid down the mats which decrease the amount of sand we track into Marge. They also make it easier to blow off the leaves as they fall over the next month or so.  We also set up the Dish satellite. I always have a terrible time getting the dish pointed correctly. I absolutely hate this project every year but I am too cheap to buy an automatic dish. Two neighbors from across the street, John and Jack, were a great help. Once the dish is pointed correctly we have to call Dish Network and have them move the service to Florida (for an extra $7.00 per month) and reactivate the receiver. Here is a picture of our site with the mats down and dish installed.

The tan mat I pulled out of the dumpster here two years ago at the end of the season. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just a little stained so someone threw it away. The black mat in back is a mesh mat I bought at Harbor Freight two years ago. It is thin but works fine. The little blue mat is the one we usually have under the steps but since we have a concrete patio we don't need it there so I placed it forward.  You can see the sandy soil with grass sprouts around. 

We didn't bring the little refrigerator this year but we do have the portable icemaker set up on a table under the fifth wheel to keep it out of the rain. I need to clean it out before plugging it in. One of today's projects. 

In the picture you can also see our little palm tree. Most of the Audrey Street residents have a lighted palm tree. It is cool driving down the street at night. This one was pulled out of the dumpster by a neighbor about four years ago and given to us. It worked fine but this year about 1/2 of the lights are out. I will trash it before we leave, it isn't work trying to fix.

The plastic female hose connector on the hose to the water filter cracked yesterday. I went to Home Depot early this morning to get a replacement. I couldn't believe that they were sold out of the size I needed. I didn't feel like driving seven miles to the next closest hardware store to check so I will just use a longer hose until I can find a replacement fitting. 

We did online grocery shopping at Publix yesterday with pick up service. It worked out great. We now have all the groceries we need allowing us to just sit around and eat and drink!!!! I grilled chicken last night which was the first full meal we had since we left home. On the road we ate sandwiches and soup we made so we didn't have to go in anywhere.

The park is about half full. Many Americans are not coming down due to Covid and the Canadians cannot get across the border. Basically all park activities have been canceled due to Covid. They are still having a bonfire every other Friday but we will probably skip that as well. I don't get much out of a bonfire I have to sit ten or more feet away from. We also saw pictures of a lot of people at the last one without masks. We don't need that.

Kelly decorated for Christmas. She hung the Christmas bells, the Santa picture she painted, and we put out the lighted ceramic Christmas camper decoration Renee gave me.  Here are some pictures.