Big Bertha in the Shop and Laundry

Monday, December 7, I got up at 6:30 with my neck stiffer than yesterday. Did all of my neck and spine stretches but it was painful. After we had a light breakfast I took an aspirin and got some relief for 4 or 5 hours. The low was 44 this morning and it only gets to 53 this afternoon. The skies are gray all day and it mists off and on.

By 8:45 we head to Hoffpauir Chevy here in Lampasas and leave Big Bertha for some annual maintenance and an inspection. We also told them about the gas gauge failing but wouldn't you know it, when we fired it up this morning to drive to the dealership it was working. Hasn't worked for weeks until we got a car wash in OK, then it quit again, and yesterday it failed on our 230 miles trip south from Dallas. Go figure. Just as we pulled in the lot we got a call from Debbie and Rick in Ohio! How fun to hear from them. They want to discuss dates for our visit in May so Rick can schedule vacation. We settle on 5/15 through 5/22. We'll work out the details later. So glad they called. While we were chatting some older guy was backing out from in front of the service bay and almost backed into us. Geez!

We start to walk back home in a chilly mist when we realize we never actually tried the spare key we left with Allen. So we walk back and he tries it and it works. He asks if we want a ride so we hop in Big Bertha and drive back to the RV Park and Allen says he'll call us later.

Wow, we have free time and we can get something done. I vacuum and clean up the breakfast dishes. Then I put out our decor that was still packed from yesterday's move. I also break out some Christmas decorations. Bob installs the rain vent cover that we bought at Camping World in Denton. This first one we put over the bathroom vent. It's a smoke color and I'm pleased that it doesn't make the bathroom darker; at least as far as we can tell on this gloomy day. It didn't take him long to install. He said taking the bikes off the ladder so he could get on the roof and hauling the drill and all of his tools up there was the hard part. I'm just glad to have that huge vent out of the RV. We moved it from the loveseat, to the bedroom to the kitchen yesterday.

I brave the cold and clean the bugs and dirt off the front of the RV from yesterday's move. We have leftovers for lunch. Then I pack up three loads of laundry (they only have three machines here.) I call Karen and confirm the new time of 11:30 tomorrow for The Yumm Factory. She will not be coming from Georgetown so I tell her if we don't get the truck back she may see us walking around the corner as she passes by Boone RV Park. I walk to the office and meet Trudy (her and her husband Doug moved here and are working several days a week in the office.) She also has her 3-month old granddaughter in an electric swing behind the front desk. She says in the past they have spent the winter on Goose Island in Rockport and love it down there. She gives me two rolls of quarters for my $20 bill. I mention that our Iowa friends might be here Tues/Wed and she says no problem they can go in #38. I see a puzzle with the Lampasas Boot Mural on the way out the door and she says there are postcards too. So of course I purchase two of them.

Back home to drag my baskets over to the laundry room. Bob is taking a shower and joins me later for folding. I read my book and Bob works the puzzle in the Rec Room. I tried the puzzle for about two minutes but it was killing my stiff neck. The Chevy dealer calls just as we finish up the laundry. They could find nothing wrong with the gas gauge. All systems say A-okay. If it ain't broke; you can't fix it. They are done with everything else though. So we stow the laundry and bundle up to walk in a cold mist to the dealership that is about 30 minutes walk from here. A guy is delivery metal art to the country store next door; Lone Stars, crosses, crocodiles, etc.

As we walk along several crazed Texas drivers fail to yield to our pedestrian status. We are glad to get to our destination and get out of the cold, wet air. The guy in the shop points me to a new pot of coffee he just brewed. As we pay our bill we hear them talking about a gal who swerved to miss a raccoon and rolled her vehicle four times causing $12,000 worth of damage. Bob said she should have just hit the raccoon. And the guy said she hit one before and it knocked out here air conditioner and cost her $400.

We head back home with Big Bertha's fuel gauge working perfectly. I melt some white chocolate for Ritz PB cookies. Then we read the paper and have leftovers for dinner. It's 8:07 p.m. and 44 degrees with 82% humidity. I can hear the rain on the roof as well as big pecans that keep falling and sound like a shotgun. The news shows blizzard conditions in Arizona!