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!