A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

Thanks, folks.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

My chimney is repaired, and we were on the road by 1pm.

Stopping to use my own facilities , my pump ran but the fresh water I had loaded up with would not come thru the system.

I had a place in KY winterize again for me in March, and they apparently turned things off that I never do.

Once we were parked for the night, they were of course closed, so I pulled out the manual but after careful reading could not find anything on a fresh water tank bypass valve or whatever it might be called.

Much stewing and reading and searching later, I determined the only valves I had access to seemed to be by the hot water tank...so, therefore, they must be the solution.

Ta-daaaa!!!

I turned both valves to be perpendicular to their respective pipe, and solved the problem, all by myself!!!

Yeeaaayy to me for figuring it out.

I was awake at 3:30 this morning, and out of bed by 4:00.

We will be down early tonight and on the road at dawn tomorrow.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We are on Lake Superior, and this is the view from my chair for the next week or so.

We did NOT sleep well last night , and are both exhausted from the 600 mile drive and two short nights.

However, everything is now tidied and set to rights inside, coffee is made for the am, and I have had an entire frozen Margarita.

Tonight, we will sleep.

[OTRA15]

Inspiring that you got on the road again . . . and thanks for the reassuring photo . . . the world is still out there!

Hope the evening libations were soothing.

Cheers

[Lily&Me]

Hi Peter.

It is great to be self contained, and I otherwise stopped once for coffee and once for fuel all the way up.

Cell service is limited, but available, but no signal for the TV so no morning and nightly news.

I need a break.

We’re fixin to go for a walk, and Lily is very happy we are not traveling.

View out my rear doors this morning. One row of W/E sites behind me, all the tent sites are closed here because the bathhouse is closed.

[Lily&Me]

Using the WeBoost for the iPhone, then connected to its hotspot.

Makes all the difference.

I like to be connected.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

It was in the low 40’s here on the lake this morning, cold enough that I pulled out the space heater and ran it for awhile.

It was in the mid 80’s with high humidity when we left home on Wednesday.


I finished “The Gift of Fear” for the second time today, making some notes and doing lots of highlighting...and some sections I read a third time, pen in hand to asterisk passages that especially rang true with me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_Fear

Never having been a victim of physical violence, attacked or assaulted by a stranger, or any of those horrific events many experience, what I identify with in this book is the failure at times to accurately identify and then heed warning signs emanating from people who meant me other kinds of serious harm...and which my intuition had alerted me to, only to have me discount them.

And some sections I knew enough about that I could have written them myself.

Some kinds of danger I am very familiar with, and some I am still learning about.

Like a professional whose services I engaged some years back, who was as morally bankrupt as any deviant I have ever come across.

There were signs of what he was, but I misread them, thinking that because he had fancy letters and degrees after his name his moral and ethical responsibility to his clients must be intact. Not.

Becker also spends a fair amount time talking about the need to pay attention to what our intuition is telling us while not spending a lot of energy on needless worry about what might happen in any time, place or space.

Pay attention to what is happening with people you encounter, not what may happen.

It is a really excellent book. I think I’ve said that here a couple of times.


We have slept hard the past two nights, recovering from the getting ready, travel stress getting up here and two nights of little sleep.

It is beautiful here, a view of Lake Superior at all times.

Nice to be away for a bit. My good friends from northern Minnesota are coming next weekend, staying in a cabin nearby, so we will have a socially distant visit, catch up a bit and just enjoy the time together.

A good thing.

Maggie

[Foiled Again]

Ah, nothing like a margarita, though I like mine.on the rocks. Of course, I only partake because I tell myself the alcohol will sterilize my breath, and the limes will ward off scurvy. [emoji16]

[rmkrum]

A buddy of mine had a ‘bartenders book’ that had several excuses for drinking every day of the year. I remember one party he threw that was dedicated to the celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the US mint in Denver...and that’s all I remember of that party. It got a little drunk out...I think!

Limes are good for preventing scurvy, hence the British sailors nickname of “Limeys”. You’re not that far off...enjoy!

[Lily&Me]

I had picked up a couple of those frozen drink packets, the ones you can find everywhere, whose frozen, slushy nature are wonderful when it is really hot out.

I had thought I would just break off half, but drank the first half and then the second.

Nothing since, but I have another in my little freezer.


I am really glad I have electricity here, as the need for a little heat has been consistent.

But, the lake and the break in temps is why I am here.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

A few thoughts to share...

Gavin de Becker refers in his book to “symbolic violence”, which is not a term I believe I have come across before, and it has really stuck in my mind.

I can’t find a definition online that is not laid out in a complicated and cultural context, but think about it.

Symbolic. Violence.

Such a perfect description of what we might otherwise think of as passive-aggressive behavior at its most extreme.

Like, on a scale of 1-10, the 9’s and 10’s.

“Symbolic violence” is a much more accurate term for non-physical incidents we know and feel viscerally are hostile, aggressive, mean-spirited, retaliatory, intended to upset, isolate, punish, etc.

When you can define something accurately, really put your finger on it, that helps to see it more clearly for what it actually is...and why you feel what you do in response.

In my experience.


It is amazing how getting away to a beautiful and peaceful place can calm one, when one didn’t really realize how stressed one was.

Reading, crocheting, walking Lily, a little housekeeping and cooking, visiting with the neighbors...then sleeping soundly each night to the sound of the lake.

Wonderful.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

It took me a bit of messing with the water system to get all valves turned their proper directions so that I had water flowing where it should this trip, after having the Interstate winterized by someone else on the mad dash home in mid March.

Note to self...next time do it yourself, so you know what has been done, and how.

Once I had water flowing, tho, I had very little flow, and reading and re-reading the owners manual led me by looking at everything a few more times and the process of elimination to believe the problem was the filter in the water pump.

Did I want to drain everything in order to take that out, I have debated the last few days, since I will be home this time next week???

I decided this morning I had nothing better to do today than to improve my quality of life by having enough water pressure for an actual shower rather than only a sponge bath.

I’ve been using the solar shower outside to wash my hair.

It took about 2 1/2 hours, the draining of about 30 gallons in the water system being most of that...after which I pulled out the little filter (per the owners manual I have now nearly memorized), and used an old toothbrush to scrub out what was almost the consistency of peanut butter in there.

Filled again with fresh water, and Ta-daaaa!!!

I have proper water flow in my Interstate, and better yet I fixed it all by myself!!!

[TouringDan]

Maggie- Oh, the satisfaction of fixing it yourself! And the next time you will winterize it yourself and make sure the filter is clean. Clap, clap.

Dan

[Lily&Me]

Yes.

I do usually winterize myself, tho this was a second Winterization because I had to get home early because of, ya know, the pandemic.

I just didn’t feel like it, but should have done it myself because he not only did it differently but didn’t drain my fresh water tank which I fortunately discovered when I got home and was removing things

He “bypassed” the system, and apparently effectively because I haven’t found anything burst or problematic...but he did it differently than I do, so undoing it was a chore.

But, I got it done, and then solved my water flow problem.

I have made a note on my winterization checklist to remove and clean the pump filter each fall.

Maggie

[Al and Missy]

Well done, Maggie! I once did almost everything myself, but some of it I either can't do anymore or I choose not to do anymore. I did, however rework the front end electric wiring in our trailer and install a recliner loveseat in place of the terrible sofa that was there. I got help for the axle and brake change and the lift kit, but I was the mechanic's Gofer in my driveway.

There is satisfaction in being somewhat self-sufficient, and it often (but not always when I screw something up) saves me money.

Al

[Lily&Me]

Hi Al, and thanks.

I’m quite proud of myself for figuring out what was the problem, for starters, then actually fixing it.

Lots of time on my hands and knees under the sink, but I’ve learned something new.

It’s all good.

Hi to your sweet wife.

Maggie

[SSquared]

Good job!



Ahh, Lake Superior. I grew up in Houghton. We were up there last summer for the first time in about 25 years and would love to go back. We've been hunkered down in CO since March but are thinking out getting out for some boondocking soon--maybe the Snowy Range. We will de-winterize on Thursday.

[Lily&Me]

Thank you!

I encourage you to get out and go as soon as it is safe for you to do so.

It has been very relaxing, being away, and the Snowy Range would certainly be a spectacular destination.

I drove thru there last year, and hope to go back.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

So I was almost wriggling and giggling at the thought of even a water-conservative hot shower last evening.

Until I flipped the water heater switch to find it did nothing...didn’t turn red, didn’t light the water heater.

Back to the owners manual, found the fuse page and determined...I think...that the fuses are okay.

More time on my hands and knees, on the floor with the fuse puller, reading glasses on and a flashlight... where I spent an inordinate amount of time yesterday if I wasn’t on my hands and knees outside, peering under the RV, checking that water was actually flowing from the drain valves.

I also lit the burners on the stove to be sure propane was flowing, and it is.

If I remember correctly, something with the ignition on that was replaced last year, tho now it seems broken again.

Sigh.

Maggie

[Hittenstiehl]

Oh Maggie, sorry for the continued frustration. You will be able to recite that owners manual verbatim any minute now. And your patience is improving (not that it needed to) in the meantime.

Here's wishing for you a endless warm shower sometime soon.