MR. CHEAPSKATE!!

Ever gone to the store to buy something & then just ended up having a cheapskate fit when you got there? Happened to me again this morning. Cold wet rainy day so figured I'd better get myself out of the house for a awhile to ward of those gray day blues. Had a few things on my grocery list & wanted to pick up a 50' non kinking garden hose at Walmart. Also on that list were a few additional things for the Winnie Wagon. That meant another cruise through Gadget Gulch. I never know when I am in cheapskate mode until I actually find what it is I am looking for. Standing in front of the shelf my mind goes to the sticker price first. And this is where I find out & get my first indication that I am locked in cheapskate mode. Looking at the garden hose this morning my mind immediately begins to rationalize & doubt itself. Do I really, really, need this new hose?  Seemed like such a logical idea just a day before.  But why spend all that money when the existing hose I have had for years still works but drives me batty because it kinks all the time? Can't I just be more patient with the old hose I have & just keep the money in my pocket? No I can't!! Yes I can!! But the new one won't kink. Ya but the old one still works. Yes I can. No I can't.

HADN’T REALIZED KELLY HAD TAKEN A PICTURE OF ME WASHING THE RIG’S ROOF THURSDAY UNTIL I UPLOADED MY NIKON PICS TODAY & REMEMBER ME TELLING YOU ABOUT THE HIPPY FLOWERS ON THE BACK OF KELLY’S CAR A FEW POSTS AGO……WELL THERE YA GO:))

Same thing looking for a light weight full length mirror to go just outside our bathroom door in the Bago. Found one but justified not buying it because of it's white frame. Ok, that was justifiable but what if it had had a frame of acceptable color. Not a likely purchase because I was firmly entrenched in my cheapskate mode. Even if Walmart would have had a super sale on something offering 2 for the price of 6 I wouldn't have budged. My Gadget Gulch cruise was a mere formality. Looked at some stuff, looked at the sticker prices............and left the store empty handed.

<<< GOLDEN PRIMROSE MIXED WITH PURPLE PERIWINKLE

By the time I reached the supermarket it was very debatable whether I was even going to get myself to part with a few dollars for a jug of Cranberry juice. Looked at the sticker price & had quite a tussle with myself. After all I had just spent X amount of dollars on gas to drive the short distance from Bayfield to Goderich. Then of course there was the wear & tear on the tires, oil used, & strain on the windshield wipers. Yep I was definitely in heavy duty cheapskate mode alright but knew I had to justify those auto expenses. Left the grocery store with 1 jug of Cranberry Juice, (I needed two) one quart of milk, (should have got 3) a 6 pack of 4 oz Yogurt made by the Acme Cleaning Company with last year expiry dates. (hey, they were cheap) & a small bag of Oatmeal because it was probably the cheapest eatable thing in the whole store. Who knows, on my next shopping trip I could just as easily come home with half a dozen pairs of socks I don't need, 14 bags of Brazilian birdseed, & 3 jars of Dill pickles which I hate. But remember that two for the price of six sale? Yep, sometimes them stores can catch me in a real spending frenzy. Never know what mode I'm in till I get there though.  No wonder the smiley Walmart greeter gives me the big two thumbs up sign when I walk through the door:((

 

FORSYTHIA & MARSH MARIGOLDS

  

A WEE WALK AROUND OUR FRONT YARD WEDNESDAY EVENING AFTER PUBLISHING MY POST

Nice to see the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks in our front yard again.  I had been watching for them & spotted 3 today.  Also had a Cowbird at the feeder.  Aside from some Cardinals it is the Blue Jays this year that are the prominent ones around our feeder station.  Followed closely by Red Wing Blackbirds & a smattering of Grackles.

 

ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK & A COWBIRD

TWO MALE GROSBEAKS WITH A FEMALE GROSBEAK

And a Bayfield Bunch welcome to RICK ISNOR for becoming our latest Blog Follower.  A fellow Canadian working in Halifax Nova Scotia with a desire for he & wife Jamie to retire & travel to a warmer climate in true RV’er fashion some day.  Aw, tis a dream many of us have been so fortunately happy to have come true.

HEY QUIT ROCKING THE BOAT WILL YA!!

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A cop pulls over a guy and says, "Sir, I need you to breathe into this Breathalyser for me." Guy says, "I can't do that. I'm asthmatic and if I do that I'll have a really big asthma attack." "Okay, then I'll need you to come down to the station with me and I'll have to do some blood work, just to make sure." "Sir, I can't do that either. I'm a haemophiliac and if I do that I'll bleed to death." "Okay, fine. Then I need a urine sample from you." "I can't do that either, sir. I'm sorry, but I'm a diabetic and if I do that my sugar will get really, really low." "Okay, then why don't you step out of the car and walk this white line for me," the officer says. "I can't do that either, officer." "Why not?" "Because I'm drunk."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

NOT MUCH TODAY, MAYBE TOMORROW……………..

Our expected overnight rain never happened & we ended up with another beautiful warm & sunny Spring day. Just amazing how Mother Nature bursts forth in all her Spring finery every year at this time.

Not a good day for my hip but I was able to get up on the rig's roof this morning with a bucket, a garden hose, & a scrub brush.  Time for a good cleaning. That fiberglass roof sure is much easier to clean than our Damon's rubber roof was. Just a little bit of soap & water & it ended up bright & shiny looking like a brand new roof. I like the Gel-coat finish RV's come with nowadays. Long way from those older aluminum sided rigs of yesteryear.
 
EASY TO SEE THE DIRTY PART & THE CLEANED PART

I don't have a lot to write about today. This hip problem pretty much kept me grounded after I finished cleaning the Winnie Wagon’s roof. I'll see how things go tomorrow.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One Sunday a cowboy went to church. When he entered, he saw that he and the preacher were the only ones present. The preacher asked the cowboy if he wanted him to go ahead and preach. The cowboy said, "I'm not too smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I'd feed him." So the minister began his sermon. One hour passed, then two hours, then two-and-a-half hours. The preacher finally finished and came down to ask the cowboy how he liked the sermon. The cowboy answered slowly, "Well, I'm not very smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn't feed him all the hay."
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-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

KELLY GETS OUR DAY STARTED OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT

TRACKED DOWN A RED TRILLIUM TODAY FOR A GUEST IN OUR SHOUT BOX…NOTICED IT THIS MORNING & IT WAS RIGHT IN OUR FRONT YARD

Kelly got our day started off on the right foot this morning & it set the pace for the rest of our day. After our morning walk she decided to have one last go at that home entertainment center problem in the rig. About 5 minutes later with a DVD in the player she had Roy Orbison not only singing in surround sound but on the big flat screen TV as well. Problem seemed to have had to do with one of the in house receptacles & a power bar. Luckily Kelly had the patience to switch plugs around & for some unknown reason she hit upon the right concoction of plugs working in the right combination of receptacles. It was as simple as that.  We both immediately perked up knowing we not only did not have to drive all the way to London but we finally had our great sounding home entertainment center working. And working well.  Yaaaaaay Kelly:))  But don’t forget, & like I’ve said many times before…….I’m pretty darn good myself at taking the garbage out sometimes.

By the way, for any Roy Orbison fans out there I would suggest you pick up this double CD set entitled, 'Black & White Night'. Excellent production qualities & he sings all his songs just as he originally sang them. The session was done in black & white & features a great collection of friends & quality musicians backing him up. Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Rait, Jackson Browne, KD Lang, Tom Waits, Jennifer Warnes, J.D. Southern, Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett & others. If you have a good sound system you will enjoy hearing & seeing Roy Orbison sing all his old hits. What a voice that man had & what a trip down memory lane from back in the days when the word talent really meant something.  And this DVD was probably recorded not long before his death……………………..

SHADES OF GREEN
We spent a fair chunk of our day happily puttering in the rig. We both had a definite spring in our step today as we discussed how much we enjoy this Winnebago & how it just feels right to both of us. Just like the Damon did when we first bought it back in 06. I wasn't long in getting myself up to Canadian Tire in Goderich this morning to have me a cruise through Gizmo Gulch looking for gizmos to jazz up our Ford's dash a bit. Yep, got the proverbial RV dash compass & visor mirror for starters. Kelly & I always add our own personalities to whatever house we live in or whatever vehicle we drive. Kelly even put hippy flowers on the back of her Santa Fe, so see, it's just not me. Well OK, so I got a lime green frog on my Jeep dash & Garfield the attitude cat sitting on the back spare tire.  Oh ya & an orange Orangutan on my motorcycle.  No, we will not be doing any painting in this rig but you can bet your boots our interior will definitely end up with a South-West flavor again. Now where can I hang up that string of Cactus lights...Hmmmm:))

A VERY ENJOYABLE DAY JUST DOING SOME RELAXING RV PUTTERING
Don't know how many RV's may left in our future but I'm hoping this one runs well for us & remains trouble free for many years to come. We are definitely needing a big break from all this RV wheeling & dealing, buying, selling, importing, trading, etc. etc. Not our cup of tea in the first place & we've been involved in this grind since way back last winter when we first decided it was time to sell the Damon & get ourselves a newer & smaller rig.

No immediate travel plans yet but I have my fingers crossed we can pull something together before too long. Nothing major but a 3 or 4 day getaway up into Ontario's Bruce Peninsula would be nice for starters. Been quite a few years since we have been up that way & there is some pretty great scenery along the way. Light Houses, fishing boats, sandy shores, sunken ships, Lake Huron ports, Georgian Bay Islands & rock strewn shore lines. And even almost a small (very small) mountain or two. Getting myself all revved just sitting here typing about it.

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE MARSH MARIGOLDS EVERY SPRING
Kelly slipped over to Deer Park Lodge this afternoon to discuss her semi-retired role & less hectic schedule at Deer Park Lodge this coming summer season. With recent health concerns her natural workaholic tendencies are just going to have to be somehow reined in & curtailed.  More relaxation & less work.  We need to get ourselves back to our good old boondocking ways:))

PHEEBS LOVES MEETING UP WITH HER BEST PAL DEXTER ON OUR MORNING WALKS
We called Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida this morning to see how she made out getting home last week. Trip went fine but the wait in Baltimore was a bit of a stretch. Tuesday she was back on the golf course again & played a full 18 holes on one of the largest courses in the area. I think she might have even wrestled a few Alimagators along the back 9 as well:))

WHITE MAGNOLIA

And a bit of a shocker in our extended Blog Land family today. But I will let Roxanne & the many comments she received over at the GOOD LUCK DUCK  tell you about it. All the best to you & Annie as you go your separate ways in search of new horizons, new adventures, & new beginnings.  By the way Roxanne, I tried living in my Volkswagon once & I lasted about 6 hours……………

PHEEBS FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WINNIE WAGON:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking Organic Chemistry. They were doing so well on all the quizzes, midterms and labs, etc., that each had an 'A' so far for the semester. These four friends were so confident that the weekend before finals, they decided to go up to the University of Virginia and party with some friends there. They had a great time, but after all the hearty partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided to find their professor after the final and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that they had gone to UVA for the weekend with the plan to come back in time to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get help for a long time. As a result, they missed the final. The professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up the final the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, worth five points. It was something simple about free radical formation. Cool, they thought! All at the same time, each one in his separate room, thought, "This is going to be easy." Each finished the lengthy problem and then turned the page. On the second page was written: For 95 points………………. Which tire?
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

WE ARE LIKING OUR WINNEBAGO ACCESS BUT A FEW FRUSTRATIONS TODAY……………..

Don't have to tell you what we occupied ourselves with for most of the day. Kelly worked away inside the rig getting things put back into cabinets & closets. Got the big rear bed wrestled into shape with clean sheets & pillow cases.  I busied myself with organizing, & stowing things away in bins & checking out the systems. Added water to the fresh water tank & cranked on the taps. TV aerial up & down, check. Climbed up on the roof & made a mental note it needs a good wash. Fiberglass roof by the way & on the flip side we are running on 6 nearly new quality Michelin tires.

 

LOADING UP WINNIE THE BAGO THIS MORNING

 

THIS LARGE STORAGE AREA IS LOCATED UNDER THE BEDROOM AREA

 

I’M CURIOUS AS TO WHY WINNEBAGO PLACED THE AMBER FRONT CLEARANCE LIGHTS  ON THE CABS ROOF JUST AHEAD OF THE SATELLITE DOME INSTEAD OF FORWARD & LOWER DOWN ON THE CAP

No complaints about the sound quality of the Jensen radio but I'm afraid my frustrations came roaring back with that dam touch screen crap. Working with treble, bass, fader & sound balancing I sat there & practically wore my finger out trying to make simple adjustments. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-poke-poke-poke-poke-peck-peck-peck-peck-press-press-press-hammer-hammer-hammer-kick-kick-kick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I said Monday, I do like the graphics much better in this radio but why oh why oh why & where oh where is the common sense logic in this repeatedly irritating peckable touch screen technology anyway.  If one could just press the key once & it would change, fine.  But it takes me 4 or 5 or 6 pokes to get any key to change at any time.  Of course Kelly can just look at the keys & make them change………………………….’Aaaarrrrgghhhhh’
  

I LIKE THE SIMPLE EASY TO SEE RADIO GRAPHICS BUT DAM THAT TOUCH SCREEN STUFF!!
I like the fact this Ford has an actual working tachometer & it is not digitalized. Easily readable needle tells me when I'm cruising at a comfortable & fuel efficient 2,000 rpms. No need to go through half a dozen computer screens for that information. At first I was a bit put off by the Ford's simplistic instrument panel until I realized last night when I turned the lights on this simpler approach was probably going to work better for my aging eyes in the long run.

A SIMPLE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS MAY JUST WHAT I NEED
Really appreciate the easier entry Ford has for the driver. Seems to me like their cab is lower than the Chevy & instead of having to step up & climb into it I just sort of somehow step straight into the driver's seat. Really like the wide running board & it makes it much easier for me getting out with my sore hip. The door seems to open a bit wider as well. Very driver friendly entry.  Thanks Ford:))

BIG SCENIC HEATED MIRRORS ARE ADJUSTABLE FROM INSIDE

 
EASY ACCESS & LOVE THAT BIG EASY TO USE RUNNING BOARD

THEY SURE CRAM A LOT OF ENGINE UNDER THE HOOD

I was under the impression our macerator pump actually mashed up the black tank grunge before discharging it. Thought that is what a macerator pump did. But no, in our rig it only macerates the gray water which seems kind of pointless to me. We can dump the black tank the normal way but to empty the gray tank we have to now press a switch & activate the pump to discharge the water. What!! Also, the compartment for the sewer hose is on the opposite side of the rig from where the dump pipe is. What again!! Both our Damon & Sunseeker had the gray & black valves & pipe enclosed in a bin keeping them free from road grime. The Winnie’s dump pipe is underneath the rig & not as easily accessible. Hmmmmm. Oh well, at least if we have a nasty black tank accident we won't end up with a pile of soup in a bin. It will just simply be all over the ground. Yep, been there, done that.

NOT SURE IF THIS OUTSIDE PLUMBING THING IS A GOOD IDEA OR NOT…THE GRAY WATER VALVE IS BACK BEHIND THE DUAL WHEELS NEXT TO THE GENERATOR

Like the bigger & much brighter interior lights & the 3 big windows in the bedroom.  And we love the easy pull down MCD roller blinds instead of the day/night shades.  Deep cabinets in the bedroom are welcome as well. The shower door is kinda weird because it is a squeegee door. Not sure how I am going to like that. It is a spring loaded material that is pulled out of the wall & locked into place. It then snaps back into place when released squeegamagating water off the plastic like curtain as it goes. May or may not be a good thing. Don't know until I get myself all wet in there.

INSIDE THAT ROUNDED & CURVED WALL IS THE BATHROOM

  

FIRST TIME WE’VE HAD PULL OUT PANTRY SHELVES…SHOWER CURTAIN SLIDES INTO THE WALL AT RIGHT

MCD BLIND DOWN & SLIDE OUT…BOTH DRIVER & PASSENGER SEATS CAN SWIVEL & FACE INWARDS

Couch seems comfy enough but that blow up mattress inside is going to be a tolerance tester if we ever have to use it. Pulling the couch out is a bit of a spine stretcher & getting air into that mattress bladder seemed about one snort short of hopeless. It has an air pump but seemed to take forever to get any kind of air into the blow up bladder. Even the technician guy demonstrating it Monday was obviously frustrated. Took all three of us to get what little air was in it out again & fold the couch back up. I think we are going to have to pour some thought into replacing that couch with a better couch system or a couple comfy recliners. As most RV’ers know, nothing is perfect & one has to make the necessary changes to get things as close to perfectly comfortable as possible.

SLIDE IS NOT OUT BUT WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM

 

NICE BACKSPLASH FOR THE STOVE & I LIKE THE BIGGER BRIGHTER LIGHTS…SMALL PODS ARE SPEAKERS FOR THE SURROUND SOUND

LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING THE TV DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE COUCH

We like the additional colorful graphics on this particular coach simply because they cover more of that basic bland white look.  White is not one of my favorite colors & anytime I can take something white & change it’s color it makes me a creatively happy guy.  Maybe that’s another one of the reasons I do not like winter.  White, white, white:((

 

 

  

We did end up with one major frustration today though.  Kelly patiently worked for hours trying to get our home entertainment center working.  She’s no slouch at this stuff….but no go.  Partially our fault in that we did not have the folks at FOREST CITY MOTORHOMES fire up the TV/DVD & surround sound system & walk us through that.  Forest City Motorhomes removes the televisions from all their rigs because of security & re-installs them when units are sold.  We are probably going to have to bite the bullet & drive the rig all the way back to London & have them get this entertainment center working properly.  We both ended our day so frustrated with ourselves for not remembering to have them do that:((

KELLY POURS OVER THE JENSON TV & RCA DVD MANUALS…SEEMS IT IS THE DVD PLAYER THAT IS NOT WORKING

  

KELLY WORKED ON THIS PROBLEM FOR WELL OVER AN HOUR BUT, NO GO:((

 

TV IS ON A STURDY SWIVEL MOUNT & FOLDS BACK TO THE WALL WHERE IT CAN BE SECURELY ANCHORED

And a question for Ford……At the bottom of the front end grill right in the center of the bumper there is a 3 x 30 inch opening.  When I look in there I can see the bottom of the radiator yet there is no protection for that radiator.  No grill in that open space, no wire mesh, nothing.  Any kind of road debris like a rock, a chunk of tire or ice can come right through that opening & into the radiator.  Even a bird or animal.  And by the looks of the way that big 10 cylinder engine is packed into that cab’s front end I would say that would be one major & hugely expensive operation to change that radiator out.

Noticed ONE TEXAN'S TRAVELS has joined our Blog Followers list.  Looks like some nice photography over there & I think there may be something for all you Foody folks as well.  Welcome aboard:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((    For his wife's birthday party, George ordered a cake with this inscription:  "You are not getting older. You are just getting better."
Asked how he wanted the message arranged, he said, "Just put 'You are not getting older' at the top and 'You are just getting better' at the bottom."
It wasn't until the maid served the cake that he discovered, that the cake read:
"YOU ARE NOT GETTING OLDER AT THE TOP. YOU ARE JUST GETTING BETTER AT THE BOTTOM."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.