December 21 - 26 - Weather Change, Drawer Repair, Kelly's Birthday, Christmas

On the 21st the rain finally stopped. We were walking around the park when Kelly spotted some Sand Cranes raiding a bird feeder on an RV lot. I thought they were statues until they moved. I could get within three feet of them and they couldn't care less. They are about four feet tall and obviously have no fear of humans. 

Wednesday it was sunny and warm so before supper we sat out and enjoyed the nice weather with an adult beverage. Unfortunately, we had to brace ourselves for the cold front moving in on Christmas Eve. The forecast was for it to get down to 32 degrees at night. 

 

Wednesday evening, while getting something out of the drawer under the stove, I lost my balance, and fell on it with part of my weight. The fall did a number on the drawer's runner system. I forced the drawer back in but clearly it needed to be repaired. Thursday when I went to repair the drawer, I had a devil of a time getting the drawer out because it went in under a bind. Once I got it out for a repair, I found I did more damage than I suspected. I didn't damage the drawer itself but its mounting framework. 

Looking inside the drawer cavity this is what I found.

There was one screw in the middle of a board which held the drawer slide mounts in place. My weight falling on the drawer caused this piece of wood to snap at its weakest point - where the screw was inserted. My first thought was to put some glue on the broken area then just push the board back into place. Unfortunately, the wooden piece was too far back for me to reach to attempt such a fix. With a screwdriver, and my arm fully extended, I was barely able to reach far enough into the opening to unscrew the board. While the mounting apparatus was out, I took the opportunity to glue the back riser piece that was stapled on and had loosened by the twisting of the drawer. I had a clamp for that repair.

I tried to butt glue the two pieces together but, without a clamp on the pieces from one end to the other, that didn't work. I needed something to reinforce the broken area. I scrounged around in my toolboxes and found a piece of metal I had taken off of something and saved. It was the correct width and was already pre-drilled. It worked perfectly for this repair. Here is a picture of the metal piece added to reinforce the glue joint. I let it sit overnight for the glue to completely set.

Friday morning I reinstalled the wooden frame, the drawer hardware, and the drawer. It worked fine. Mission accomplished.

Thursday evening Kelly prepared spaghetti and meat sauce, a salad, and bread to share with Wayne and Judy. They have a park model so we took everything over there to eat since they have a lot more room for enjoying dinner. It was a nice evening.

Friday was Kelly's birthday so she made dinner reservations at the Jacaranda Hotel in downtown Avon Park. The non-fast-food restaurant choices in this area are very limited. The Jacaranda Hotel is a nice venue but the only menu selection on Friday night is a seafood buffet. The hotel is historic and takes up an entire city block. Here is the hotel brochure:

 

The buffet was average, but the ambiance was great. Here are some pictures with the lobby area decorated for Christmas.  This is the main entrance from the street:

The lobby with people in the back queuing up for supper:

 

Santa and Mrs. Claus in the lobby:

As we walked outside we could immediately tell that the temperature was already dropping. Here is a picture of the Jacaranda Trees in the median of Main Street across from the hotel.

The temperature dropped throughout the night with it becoming the coldest Saturday morning.

This is COLD for this area of the state. It only warmed up to 48 degrees Christmas eve and 46 degrees on Christmas Day with 10-15 mph winds both days. We bundled up and give the furnace and space heater a good workout. 

On Christmas Day we went to Wayne and Judy's for a Christmas Dinner with them and Judy's brother, Gary, and his wife, Lisa. We had a great meal and a nice visit. Christmas evening was spent watching "It's a Wonderful Life", my favorite movie, followed by a little football.

Monday morning I got up at 6:00 a.m. and it was 50 degrees in Marge. During the night one LP tank was depleted so the furnace wouldn't re-light. I went outside and turned the valve over to the other tank and got the furnace to fire up. I will need to find an LP tank filling location soon because the high today is only going to be 56 degrees, which is ten degrees warmer than yesterday. If the sun would come out it would help.

I didn't sign up to play golf on Monday because it is just too cold to make it enjoyable. Kelly will play a little Bunko this afternoon in the clubhouse. The weather will slowly be warming up all week.

 

December 15 - 21, 2022 - Storms, Rain, Small Upgrades

Thursday evening a line of thunderstorms passed through. We were under a Tornado Watch for four hours. You aren't safe in an RV in a tornado, so we were glad when that watch expired. Here are two pictures as the storm rolled in. It was much darker out than the pictures depict. At 3:00 p.m. it was almost totally dark outside.

The thunderstorms were over about 7:00 p.m. We didn't get the winds predicted but we did get a lot of rain in a couple of hours. One lightning strike was very close and apparently tripped the breaker for the water pumps because we had no water when we went to bed. By morning they had the water pump issue fixed and water was back up to pressure.

Friday, I went to woodcarving and continued to work on my boot. It is still a work in progress and may be for a while. LOL. I need to buy some plastic wood to fill in the hole I accidentally made.

Friday was granddaughter, Violet's, sixth birthday. We were able to Facetime with them in California as she opened the presents from us. What a cute age. She was thrilled with the presents. It's hard to be two years old and watch someone else open presents, so Violet was kind enough to let her little sister, Wren, open one or two to share in the excitement. After going to a farm in October when the family was in Perryville for a visit, Violet wanted a farm theme for her cake. The cake was very nice with a John Deere tractor, a cow, a pig, and horse in a pen, and a farmer raking.

The storm brought in cooler weather on Friday and Saturday. We decided to close the windows before going to bed. It got down to 56 degrees overnight but got back up to 73 degrees on Saturday.

Monday I played golf and actually shot worse than the first week. I wish there was a driving range around here where I could practice. Fortunately, these guys are kind and do not comment on my poor play.

On Tuesday another bout of rain came. It rained all day. I picked up the mail which contained a bathroom sink stopper I ordered from Amazon. The bathroom sink stoppers in the RV are plastic. The plastic stopper sits down in the hole. You are supposed to be able to pull it up and turn it to hold it up, then turn it to let it down.  It doesn't work. It just falls down and closes off the drain no matter how you turn it. To keep the bowl from filling this is what it looks like all the time. If you take the plug out items can easily fall down the drain.

The new drain plug inserts into the hole. You push it down to pop it up and to lock it down. Here are pictures open and closed.

I am very happy with the drain plug purchase for $10.00. I also like the fact that it covers the ugly yellowed plastic drain.

We purchased the TV in 2008 when we bought the RV.  Being that old it is not a smart TV. The other day I ordered a Chromecast receiver for the TV so we can cast streaming sites from my phone to the TV.  The unit arrived so I installed it yesterday as the rain continued to keep us indoors. The Chromecast receiver works but, because the TV is so old, I can't "mirror" my phone. Fortunately, I am able to cast my phone a different way.  Last night we watched three hours of "The Handmaids Tale" on Hulu. 

It rained all night and continues this morning. 

It should clear up but then it is going to turn COLD! Some areas of Florida may set record lows. Tomorrow it is predicted to get down to 33 degrees. Without heat that means it will be 35 degrees in the RV. Poor insulation, single-pane windows, and three slide outs all mean lots of heat loss. I'm pretty sure I have one full tank of propane for the furnace, plus we have two electric heaters. With blankets at night, we should be fine. Luckily it is only going to be that low at night for a couple of days. It still beats being home where it is predicted to get down below zero.

Friday is Kelly's birthday. She wants to go out to eat but the choice of restaurants, excluding fast-food joints, is extremely limited here. Friends, Wayne and Judy, told us that the old Jacaranda Hotel in downtown Avon Park, has a decent restaurant so Kelly made reservations. Wayne and Judy have invited us over for Christmas Dinner, which will be nice. 

No more blogs until after Christmas so MERRY CHRISTMAS to all and stay warm!

December 11 - 14, 2022 - Golf, Pool, Decorating, Woodcarving, and Block Party

Sunday I took a picture of these two guys walking around on our lot. At another time I saw four of them walking down the street liked they owned the place.

Monday I played golf for the first time this season. The golfing group goes to an RV resort ten miles away that has a nine-hole course. It isn't the fanciest course around, but you can't beat it for $18.00 for nine holes including the cart. I laughed because the carts are 1995 models. I'm sure this helps keep down the costs. We played at 10:00 a.m. and it was really overcast and cool. I didn't take my jacket off until the 6th hole. I played terribly, as usual, but the guys I played with weren't a whole lot better and could care less how poorly I played. 

Tuesday morning Kelly went to the pool for the first time here. In six plus years at Roberts RV Park neither of us ever went to the pool. The pool and surrounding pool area here is quite large and there are periodic pool parties. Here are two pictures

Tuesday morning we received an invitation to the first "D Street Block Party", which is held the second Wednesday of every month. You bring your drinks, your chairs, and a snack to share. A nice way to meet the neighbors. 

Tuesday afternoon Kelly decorated Marge for Christmas. We do not have room for a tree, so we hang various items around, including two Santas that Kelly painted by number. (Those are my Christmas presents up on the shelf.)

Wednesday woodcarving was at 10:00 a.m. As I continued to work on my boot I screwed up and punched a hole in it. A dumb beginner's mistake. Someone suggested plastic wood to the rescue. I didn't know if he was kidding or not. I think the picture makes the boot look rougher than it really is.

These guys are serious carvers. Look at the tools they have and their skills. The arrow points to the top of a walking stick. The top has balls inside that roll around. Unreal.

Wednesday evening was the first "D Street Block Party". There were about eight couples. A number of people aren't here yet. It was nice meeting the neighbors from Ontario, South Dakota, New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota. You brought your own drinks and only one guy besides me had a beer. Everyone else was drinking water and bottled tea. I learned it is a block party, not a "Happy Hour". Kelly brought a tray of her homemade Christmas cookies, and they were a hit. The food provided was great and there was enough that we didn't need to make supper. A nice group. Some of them have been coming here for twenty years. 

After the block party we took down the sunshade and put the awning up because thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow with winds up to 20 mph. No sense taking any chances.

Kelly said tomorrow is the pool party so we will see how that goes. It is two hours long around the pool with live music. Should be fun.

December 6 - 9, 2022 - Laundry/Sunshade /Night Lights/Reef Shoes/Woodcarving/Christmas Party/Woodcarving/Medication

FIRST LAUNDRY DAY: 

At 7:00 a.m. Tuesday I used my pull cart to take clothes to the laundry house a block away. Early risers are few and far between, so I had the place to myself until 9:00 a.m. I found one dryer that gave a lot more time than the one next to it so I will make it one of my default dryers. In the laundry room there is this sign:

The small print was helpful and if this was the setup at Roberts RV Park we might still be there. Not only is there a sign about repairs, but there are also actually repair forms and a pen available under the sign. Cool.

While I was doing laundry, at 8:00 a.m. an employee came through, asked me if I had any issues, and then checked out the other machines before leaving. Again, unlike Roberts RV Park. Also it is nice that all the employees great you and talk to you, again unlike Roberts RV Park where they were forbidden to talk to the residents or barely acknowledge your existence.

While waiting for the clothes to dry, neighbor, Don, came through. Monday morning at the resort meeting I had heard him say he played golf, so I asked him - when, where, and how much. He said on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. I told him I was a terrible golfer. He said is also so I should not worry about embarrassing myself. (I'm sure I will anyway.) He said I need to pay George on Wednesday at the Woodcarving session. The cost is $18:00 for nine holes including a cart. You can’t beat that.

SUNSHADE INSTALLED:

Lots of sun on our lot. Tuesday afternoon the sunshade I ordered from Amazon arrived. I am not one to wait around so I opened the box and proceeded to install it in the heat of the day (much to Kelly's dismay).  The top section slides into a slot in the awning tube. I thought this would be a simple install, but I soon learned that the motor head on each of the awning arms is too close to the awning tube to get the cord started. I studied it for a minute to find a solution. I got on the ladder and had Kelly run the electric awning forward and backward a little until the awning slot was above the motor housing. Doing this allowed the cord to slip right in and I could feed it in a few inches at a time. As I fed it in the slot Kelly slowly pulled the shade across from below. As we were working the neighbor behind us, Ralph (from Ontario), walked over and introduced himself and asked if we needed any help. We accepted his offer.

The sunshade comes in two pieces. The top piece hangs down from the awning about three feet and the bottom part is zippered to it. It is made this way so you can take the bottom off and roll up the awning if the shade needs to be taken down in a hurry due to wind issues. The three of us had the top section installed and the bottom section zipped on in no time.

We took a beer break and got acquainted with Ralph. Ralph’s wife died seven years ago, and he comes down six months of the year because his only son lives in Lakeland, about forty miles from here. He bought a fifth wheel from a friend and leaves it down here, putting it in storage when he isn’t here. A really nice fellow. After the beer break, I staked the sunshade to the ground. Here is a picture:

We are quite happy with the results and the quality of the awning we ordered. It blocks about 85% of the sun, which helps a lot.

WOODCARVING DAY ONE:

Wednesday morning was my first session of wood carving. Alexa bought me a woodcarving set a couple of years ago and I had never used it. The club at the park carves in the clubhouse every Wednesday and Friday starting at 10:00 a.m. The clubhouse is all carpeted except for the dance floor. Due to all the wood chips, tables are set up on the dance floor for an easy cleanup. By noon each day all wood shavings are cleaned up and tables put away. On Wednesday I was one of several total woodcarving newbies, so Earl took me under his wing. I was surprised that there were at least twenty folks there, all men and one woman. They suggest I start off making a boot. The basic shape is cut out on a band saw and a hole drilled for carving out the inside. The wood used is basswood because it has good grain and no knots. They charge for the wood blanks but as a newbie I got mine free. I quickly learned I was only semi-equipped. Everyone had a board they carved over and tool bags or toolboxes full of tools and supplies, etc. Earl was very helpful in getting me started with the proper tool from the club's collection. Most folks wore gloves. I didn’t have any. I previously made some glove fingers covered in duct tape to go over my index finger and thumb. I had read about this idea some time back and made them at home. These finger coverings help avoid splinters and cutting yourself. I quickly learned carving is a slow process. Trying to take too much wood off at a time is a big mistake, which I made several times. 

Wednesday afternoon there was a meeting to sign up volunteers for the car show in January. It is open to the public so my assignment is to ride my bike leading outside guests to areas in the park where they can park their cars. A golf cart then picks them up and takes them to the show area.

NIGHT LIGHT IMPROVMENT:

The blue courtesy lights I installed a couple of years ago in the hallway, bathroom, and bedroom, ended up being too bright. They were made for lighting boat decks at night. I ordered some material which is made to put over LED lights to dim them down. The material arrived so I cut pieces to cover each of the four lights and installed them. The hall light looked like this before and after.

The two bedroom lights looked like this before and after.

A major improvement! We now still have plenty of light to see our way around in the dark without the entire room being lit up.

REEF WASHABLE SHOES:

Daughter Annie bought me some Reef, machine washable, slip-on shoes. They arrived just in time to bring to Florida. I love the color and the feel. When I walked by the lake in them yesterday, I found that they are a magnet for cockleburs though. Here they are after I picked the cockleburs off.

CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Thursday evening was the park Christmas Party. We bought tickets earlier and it's a good thing we did because it was a sell-out. It’s really not a party, just a dance with live music. You bring your own snacks and drinks. Here are some pictures:

A fellow was going around taking pictures. The first is a group picture of our table. The second is a picture of Kelly and me at the table.

These people take these events seriously. Some were up at the Clubhouse at 3:30 p.m. to reserve their spots and they bring lots of snacks to eat. Most of the spots were taken when we got there just before 6:00 p.m. We ended up at the end of a table with some really nice people. Ron and Denise from Michigan went out of their way to welcome us. The music was seventies and eighties, and it was a dancing crowd.

WOODCARVING DAY 2:

Friday morning was woodcarving - day two. I got there a little early to help set up the tables. Here is a picture of my boot after working on it for two days. It is about three inches tall. There is a lot left to do as you can plainly see. I should have taken a picture of the block I began with. Woodcarving is all about patience.

I quickly learned that everyone has a "spot" where they sit at every session. Earl made a spot for me next to him. He is carving a foot-long chain with interlocked links. It will be long time before I get that proficient, if ever. There are different people with different abilities, and everyone offers help whenever asked. 

MEDICATION:

Since coming down last year I began a medication that I receive monthly from the Siteman Center in St. Louis. It is so expensive that if I don't pick it up in person, they send it by FedEx and someone has to be home to sign for it. On my last visit I learned that the Siteman Center cannot mail a prescription out of state. They told me to call Washington University downtown to get the prescription sent from down here. I called downtown the other day and learned that they cannot ship interstate either. I called the doctor back and they sent the prescription to Express Scripts and said I would hear from them in a day or two. I did not so I called back yesterday. They checked into it and today I got a call from Express Scripts telling me the medication will be delivered on the 13th - just in time. It will be a load off my mind when it shows up. 

POST SCRIPT:

Nothing is going on the rest of the day. Tomorrow we may go to a boat regatta on Lake Jackson in Sebring. 

December 5, 2022 - First Resort Meeting to Get the Scoop

At this park every Monday there is a meeting at 8:30 a.m. where everyone is advised of activities, etc. coming up. Free coffee and donuts are provided. I sat with a nice bunch of people. I am sure I will not remember most of their names. LOL The clubhouse is large and really nice. Here is a picture taken from the back just in front of the kitchen. Almost all the tables filled up before the meeting started.

They play a lot of Pickle Ball here every day and can accommodate sixteen players on the courts at a time. They have about thirty-two wanting to play at all times. A fellow announced that he had set up a time to teach the rules and show newbies how the game is played. It filled up immediately and he had to cutoff participants at this time. Crazy.

On my way back to the RV I went by the Corn Hole Courts. The Cornhole boxes are made out of concrete. It doesn't seem to me that the bags would slide very well on that surface. I don't know if you have to bring your own bags or if some are available somewhere. I'll have to check that out. Here is a picture of the courts and a concrete Corn Hole box up close.

The surface isn’t all that smooth, so I don’t think you get much sliding into the hole action.

This resort is more like a mobile home park than an RV park despite lots of RVs here. There are no games like Corn Hole, or any other games, played in the street like we did at Roberts. Many more golf carts go up and down the streets than cars. The place is really quiet, and no gas golf carts are allowed.

Also, on my way back I stopped in the mail room next to the office. Getting mail here is also different from other parks where we have stayed. There is an actual "Mail Room" by the office. Your mail is placed in a pigeonhole with your lot number on it. If you get a package that won't fit a pink card is put in the pigeonhole and the carrier places the package on top of the mail rack as close to your lot number as possible. If the package is too large to sit up there it is placed on the floor along the wall. We had no mail, which wasn't a surprise. Our mail is being collected and mailed to us once per week on Wednesday.

Kelly’s first activity was playing Bunco this afternoon.  I passed on that and rode my bike down to Lake Adelaide in the back of the resort. Here is a picture of the lake from the shore and from the dock. The lake isn't nearly as big as I expected.

As I rode along on the sidewalk I noticed these guys hanging out nearby pecking around.

I turned around at the end of the sidewalk and as I was riding back a lady walking her dog told me there were no bicycles allowed on the path. I told her I didn't see a sign when I came in. She said "Yes, there is a sign". I said "okay". I exited by a different path, which is in the middle of the resort, and sure enough where the path intersected with the road there was a sign saying, "no bicycles or golf carts allowed". I then peddled over to where I entered the path at the far end of the resort and THERE WAS NO SIGN SAYING 'NO BICYCLES OR GOLF CARTS'! So, she was right, and I was right. Anyway, I don't want to get kicked out, so I'll stay off the sidewalk to the lake. In fact, I'll probably never go back down to the lake. It isn't much to see although someone said you can see the alligators' eyes at night. That might be fun.

Kelly got back from Bunco and didn't win. Surprise, surprise. Kelly will be helping with Bingo tomorrow and will play "Card Bingo" (Bingo using playing cards rather than Bingo cards) on Wednesday. Wednesday and Friday they have woodcarving so I may go check that out. Busy, busy, busy.

December 2-3, 2022 - I Hate Dish With a Passion!

 Kelly insists on having Dish TV here in Florida even though we can get cable TV in the park. Every year it is an ordeal for me to set up the antenna and find the satellites. Normally it takes a couple hours. This year was a MAJOR exception. I hooked it all up on Friday morning and spent six hours on the phone with Dish trying to get connected. We finally got one satellite. They said that since the receiver hadn’t been on for almost a year, in order to get the other two satellites we had to leave the receiver on overnight so it could download the software upgrades. I did that and this morning we had nothing, not even the one satellite from yesterday.

I talked with Dish for over an hour this morning and gave up. Kelly and I talked about ordering an antenna that automatically finds the satellite. One of these costs about $350.00 but we don’t think it has all the features Kelly wants for recording programs. We were going to order one anyway but I decided to look for an installer in the area to see if he could get the satellites locked in. If something was wrong with the equipment and we bought the $350.00 automatic antenna, we still wouldn’t have things up and running. I googled and found an installer with a five star rating. I called him and he said $100.00 to get it up and running. I agreed and in 45 minutes he was at the campsite. He found several things wrong with the Dish antenna and the connecting cables. He fixed all of them then worked on getting the antenna aimed correctly. Even he had trouble with that and had to get out his meter to verify the antenna was locked in correctly on the satellites. We then had to go through all the Dish upgrades, etc. These take a long time so he said he was leaving. He had done all he could. He gave me his address and said to send him a check. If it didn’t work call him back. Here is the culprit and my nemesis every year.

Bob used to be a Dish technician but quit some years back. He said their setup takes forever. After he left the screen was stuck for a half hour on the screen looking for a signal. I called Dish once again. The technician had me reset the Wally receiver once again. This was probably the tenth time I had done this in the last two days. The screen sat there for well over twenty minutes with the same message. Then FINALLY it started to load. After another hour we had programming. Everything was working as it should so I mailed Bob a check. I wish I had called him yesterday!

The next issue to deal with here on our lot is the sun. We have shade in the morning but sun all afternoon and it has been hot -  80, feels like 82. Here is a picture. No trees in sight.

A number of campers here have sunshades like this attached to their awning. They cut out 85% of the sun.

We decided to order one from Amazon. It will be here December 7th. It should be an easy install. Hopefully much easier than the Dish antenna! We then did a little grocery shopping, ate supper, and turned on the AC. When it gets dark it cools down to about 60 degrees and we can turn it off. 

We will give the Dish network a workout tonight to make up for lost time.

There is no recycling at the park because it costs them more than just dumping the trash. They have a big dumpster at the storage lot so I rode my bike up there with the trash. I hate throwing away aluminum cans but I’m not going to accumulate them for fourth months.

Settling in slowly.