Dog Days of Summer

I thought I needed to update a little bit. I turned 63 a week or so ago. I am a little down that we haven't sold the house yet. I think that it will be just a matter of time. I have been very busy at work lately. We are working on an extension to our current light rail line, and also a start on a street car demonstration line. That means that the city of Charlotte is building a 1.5 mile line from center city to the community college and hospital. The long term plan calls for extending that farther in both directions. The Streetcar project is marked to open in 2015 and the light rail extension 2019. On top of that we are getting ready for the upcoming Democratic National Convention that is to be held in Charlotte. There is a lot of planning with the security (as in Secret Service) for that. I have been trying to hire an additional employee to replace the one that left and went to DC.

The time has been flying by, and if I have to stay in Charlotte for another year, before I retire, that will probably fly by also. I will post a picture of the excitement I was having on my 63rd.

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Travel to Colorado

I have pretty much recovered from my eye surgery. I was not suppose to do anything that was a strain on my eyes, so I went took a few days off and rested. Then we decided to take a vacation and go for a ride in the RV. I got clearance from the ophthalmologist, and headed for Colorado. We broke the drive into 4 days going and 3 coming back. We stopped in Memphis and went through Graceland, sense we had never been there. I enjoyed it and think Alex did also. When we left Memphis, and got into Arkansas, we had a Stop Engine light come on. This is usually due to low oil pressure or a hot engine. We have gauges for these and the oil pressure was at a steady 60 psi, and the engine and transmission temperature were at about 180 degrees. I felt that it was a oil pressure sensor and that stopping and shutting off and re-starting the RV would clear it. It did, but only temporally. So we looked up and stopped at a Cummins dealer, and that delayed us about 4 hours. It was the sensor for the oil pressure and they replaced it and we were on our way with no further trouble the rest of the time. The folks at Cummings Little Rock, treated us as a priority, and the total cost was $11.90 for sensor and 19.00 for a wiring adaptor for the upgraded sensor, plus tax and 2 hours labor made the total at $284.00. I thought that was a bargain for a road breakdown. We had a great time and saw the kids and grandkids. Brahm, Louis and I went to the property and replaced a water hydrant that had corroded and then spent some time target practicing with their guns. We are now expecting puppys from Shiloh and Ruger. No explanation necessary. 

Retinal Tears

Retinal detachment is a condition in which the vitreous gel that fills the eye contracts and fails to separate cleanly from the retina. Instead, the vitreous pulls and tears a hole in the retina. That is more than I wanted to know about what retinal tears are. However; that is just what happened to me about a month ago. I had laser surgery, and have lost some peripheral vision. I still have some floaters and some blood in my eye, but that will clear up in time.  So I will get back to a little more regular posting when I can see a little better.   I've been feeling a little rough.

NorCold Recall

A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail from NorCold. They are the company that makes refrigerators for motor homes, camper trailers, 5th wheels etc. It was a recall notice for the model 1200, side by side refrigerators. It said that if you have that model to unplug it immediately. I checked ours and unplugged it. I took it to the Country Camping Corner near my home. They said that they would have to leave it for a few days, so they could order the repair kit, and install it. That was no problem. About a week later, they called and I went and picked it up. I looked in the back or the refrigerator, and they had indeed added a part labeled "R 1001". It is a shut off switch that shuts it off if the temperature gets too high. When I took RV back to the storage facility, and went to shut off the main power, someone had tried to cut the battery cable.

Back to Country Camping Corner I went with the picture on my cell phone. The owner of Country Camping Corner, told me that someone had stolen one of her most expensive 5th wheel trailers. As I talked to her, she did not except any responsibility or offer to even fix my cable.  The cable was only about 30" long and It is not available in auto parts stores.  It is a 2/0 copper cable and that is the size that is used for welding cable.  I just thought it would not be worth the fight. I was able to fix it without any trouble.

But to the folks at Country Camping Corner, "Adios", I was planning to have other items repaired and replaced at their shop. It would have been convenient for me.

I also focused on the idea that I should clean and paint a little in the battery area. The other terminals and nuts are starting to corrode.

That is it for now,  be safe everyone.



Transition Strip

I have not updated in a while, and I thought that I should write a few lines as to what's up. I have not been able to get any interest in my upsidedown home, So we will think about our next option.  I decided to put a sprinkler system in the front yard, just to make it easier to care for, in the event that we stay for a while. I think that I can do it for just a few hundred dollars myself.  I will post some pictures as I can.  I replaced the aluminum transition strip in the MoHo (Motor Home), and changed the oil. The transition strip was where the previous owner replaced the front carpet with some very nice bamboo flooring. However; when the did, they put an aluminum strip between the tile kitchen floor and the bamboo flooring. The tile had a notch of about 4"s at the edge of the J couch. This left a very sharp point in the aluminum 90 degree turn. I was afraid that someone would get hurt if the were to catch their bare foot on it.  In came the wood replacement. I'm happy with the results, and we love the bamboo flooring in the front. I didn't put out the slide for the picture, but you get the idea.  I still may sand the point a little. I guess that is all for now, be safe.