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October 22, 2009, a Thursday
Parker (K), Colorado, USA
— Washed the outside of the RV and cleaned the carpets
Had my normal breakfast and opened up a new 2.2-lb bag of LavAzza Gran Filtro Dark Roast Whole Bean coffee. I finally heard back from Exposure Manager about the bad cards they sent me. (You may read more about the bad cards on my blog entry for October 20, 2009.) They will have the cards reprinted at no cost. We prepped the RV to move, then I went up on the roof to clear off the 4 inches (10cm) of wet snow that accumulated yesterday. It was about 37°F (3°C) and was forecast to reach about 55°F (13°C). We left around 10:30 in the RV.
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to wash the outside of the RV and clean the carpets. We usually wash the RV once a year, and it's way over-due. It's been almost a year and half since we washed it last, and it has accumulated a lot of dirt from the drive to and from Alaska. We wash the carpets more frequently. There are some area rugs that we can wash anywhere, but we only wash the wall-to-wall carpet when we have access to J's old carpet cleaner that's at SJ&DilK's. After I leveled the RV, plugged into electricity, and hooked up a hose, I vacuumed the whole inside of the RV while J washed the area rugs outside. Then I washed the roof of the RV while J cleaned the carpets. As we were doing that, we also started to watch GJ (grandson J, age 4) and GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5) while DilK went to run some errands. GJ and GS played outside in the snow, so it was easy for me to watch them from the roof of the RV.
We took a break for lunch with the kids around 12:30 of DilK's leftover corn chowder from last night. It was delicious!
I went back outside around 1:15 to wash the sides of the RV, and GJ and GS "helped" me. GJ sprayed off dirt with the hose, and GS washed the lowest parts of the RV with a tiny brush. :) DilK came back and was amazed at how patient I was with my "helpers." I must have picked up that trait from my father who was very patient with me helping him when I was young. DilK went inside, and the cleaning team continued washing the RV. As I was cleaning the driver's side of the RV, GJ climbed up the back ladder of the RV to the roof. He was quite proud that he had gotten up there, but he couldn't figure out how to get down. I climbed up and helped him climb back down, then went back to washing the RV. Next thing I knew, he as back up on the roof, and after I found him up there, he confidently climbed down on his own. I was glad that he had accomplished that without J or DilK watching — at his age, I would have been climbing all over the RV too. Shortly after GJ made his second ascent, DilK came out to see how things were going, and she took the kids back inside with her. The timing was perfect because the "helpers" were starting to become less helpful. :) I finished washing the RV around 3:30. That's right, it took about 3.5 hours to wash it, and I was pooped! That's why we don't wash it too often. I loaded up the RV with some fresh water while we had easy access to a faucet. I had planned to shower, so I turned on the hot water heater — or so I thought. While the water was heating, I detilted the solar-electric panels that I had tilted so that I could wash the roof under them. I started to take a shower when the water should have been hot, and was surprised that the water was freezing! I dried off, then checked the water heater switch and discovered that it had been off the whle time. :( I turned it on, then got dressed and went outside to play with all of the grandkids — GA (grandson A, age 7) had come home from school by then. I helped them make a snowman, and the wet snow that was melting was perfect. I went back inside the RV after a while and showered — with hot water this time. When I finished, I took some Advil because my back and shoulders were sore from washing the RV.
I went inside around 5:50 and relaxed while watching J and GA play a Wii game.
After SJ came home, we had dinner of J's Baked Ziti that she had made this afternoon in DilK's kitchen. It was the first time J had made the recipe from my cousin, and we agreed that it wasn't as good as when my cousin had made it. We had root beer floats for dessert. My back and shoulders were feeling much better by the time we finished eating — drugs are good!
We returned "home" around 7:45. I had some Asbach Uralt while working up a blog entry. I went to bed early.
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to wash the outside of the RV and clean the carpets. We usually wash the RV once a year, and it's way over-due. It's been almost a year and half since we washed it last, and it has accumulated a lot of dirt from the drive to and from Alaska. We wash the carpets more frequently. There are some area rugs that we can wash anywhere, but we only wash the wall-to-wall carpet when we have access to J's old carpet cleaner that's at SJ&DilK's. After I leveled the RV, plugged into electricity, and hooked up a hose, I vacuumed the whole inside of the RV while J washed the area rugs outside. Then I washed the roof of the RV while J cleaned the carpets. As we were doing that, we also started to watch GJ (grandson J, age 4) and GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5) while DilK went to run some errands. GJ and GS played outside in the snow, so it was easy for me to watch them from the roof of the RV.
We took a break for lunch with the kids around 12:30 of DilK's leftover corn chowder from last night. It was delicious!
I went back outside around 1:15 to wash the sides of the RV, and GJ and GS "helped" me. GJ sprayed off dirt with the hose, and GS washed the lowest parts of the RV with a tiny brush. :) DilK came back and was amazed at how patient I was with my "helpers." I must have picked up that trait from my father who was very patient with me helping him when I was young. DilK went inside, and the cleaning team continued washing the RV. As I was cleaning the driver's side of the RV, GJ climbed up the back ladder of the RV to the roof. He was quite proud that he had gotten up there, but he couldn't figure out how to get down. I climbed up and helped him climb back down, then went back to washing the RV. Next thing I knew, he as back up on the roof, and after I found him up there, he confidently climbed down on his own. I was glad that he had accomplished that without J or DilK watching — at his age, I would have been climbing all over the RV too. Shortly after GJ made his second ascent, DilK came out to see how things were going, and she took the kids back inside with her. The timing was perfect because the "helpers" were starting to become less helpful. :) I finished washing the RV around 3:30. That's right, it took about 3.5 hours to wash it, and I was pooped! That's why we don't wash it too often. I loaded up the RV with some fresh water while we had easy access to a faucet. I had planned to shower, so I turned on the hot water heater — or so I thought. While the water was heating, I detilted the solar-electric panels that I had tilted so that I could wash the roof under them. I started to take a shower when the water should have been hot, and was surprised that the water was freezing! I dried off, then checked the water heater switch and discovered that it had been off the whle time. :( I turned it on, then got dressed and went outside to play with all of the grandkids — GA (grandson A, age 7) had come home from school by then. I helped them make a snowman, and the wet snow that was melting was perfect. I went back inside the RV after a while and showered — with hot water this time. When I finished, I took some Advil because my back and shoulders were sore from washing the RV.
I went inside around 5:50 and relaxed while watching J and GA play a Wii game.
After SJ came home, we had dinner of J's Baked Ziti that she had made this afternoon in DilK's kitchen. It was the first time J had made the recipe from my cousin, and we agreed that it wasn't as good as when my cousin had made it. We had root beer floats for dessert. My back and shoulders were feeling much better by the time we finished eating — drugs are good!
We returned "home" around 7:45. I had some Asbach Uralt while working up a blog entry. I went to bed early.