RVing

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Solar Powered

I never cease to be amazed by how different I feel when it’s sunny and pleasant out versus rainy or even just grey and damp. I knew this when I bought the property, of course, which is why buying property in what is supposed to be one of the sunniest and driest climates in Canada was important to me. We had a great 2013 summer and I was busy and super active, but it was all grey and rain last year and my activity level really dropped.

This summer is starting off shakily, with the odd beautiful day cut by a stretch of grey. I have been feeling utterly bla the last four or five days and thought I was coming down with a cold. But it started to clear up yesterday and it has been absolutely marvelous today. Guess what? I’m running on about six hours of sleep, absolutely all I needed and being incredibly productive!

I thought I had about 11 hours of work to do today, but it wound up being one of those files with a lot of dead air that goes very fast, so it’s going to come in at about only 6.5 hours worth of work. I started around 7:00 and then took a long break to work on my roof.

There are no pictures of the roof repair because, frankly, I don’t need anyone going YEESH. 🙂 I used a hair dryer to soften the Eternabond and it came right up.

(For the curious, I plugged an extension cord into an outlet in the kitchen, threw the cord out a window, and then threw the cord up onto the roof! I carried the hair dryer and supplies in a bag slung over my shoulder.)

I then scraped off all the Dicor and then washed with rubbing alcohol, which brought everything up. I’ve tried mineral spirits and acetone and the alcohol did the best job, even though it’s not something I’ve seen recommended for this type of project. Hmm. It really was impressive. I had little bits of Dicor that refused to come up and I just had to sprinkle them with rubbing alcohol to get them to peel off cleanly!

For the repair, I used Rust-Oleum Leak Seal in clear. I had a choice of black, grey, or clear and wish I had gone with the grey so that I could see if I missed any spots. This is a very easy product to use, similar to spray paint, and there is no mess. I applied, as directed, a fine initial layer along the entire seam, then I climbed down to have lunch.

When I came back onto the roof about an hour later, the rubber coating seemed to have seeped into the grooves and cracks of the seam, a good thing! I applied a second thicker coat (again, as per instructions), and headed back down to get more work done. I went up another hour later and applied a final coat, as I only had just enough in the can for three coats.

I’m cautiously optimistic optimistic at this point since the entire seam is covered with a thickish layer of rubber. But I believe in overkill, so I’m going to check the home stores in Assiniboia the next time I’m in town to see if they carry this product so I can do another three coats.

If this repair doesn’t hold, I am pulling out all the stops and going up there with more Dicor, screws, and a piece of metal roofing! In fact, I have a piece of ridge cap the right length and width left. Now, wouldn’t that be a redneck solution?! But hopefully, this will work…

The roof dealt with, I came in to type some more, then did some work in the kitchen. I want to add a counter under the window on the driver’s side. I thought of doing that last year, but the money went elsewhere. I think it’ll happen this year.

So that’s all the excitement out of southern Saskatchewan today. Back to work I go since I still have about 1.5 hours left. I don’t even feel daunted by that since I expected to be glued to my computer today rather than having had the chance to knock off a few projects!

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Some Catch Up Pictures

It was too dark last night to take some of the pictures I wanted to share in addition to the fact that I’d left the camera battery in the truck and I was too knackered to go and get it. 🙂 BTW, it is DARK out there at night. John left me a flashlight. He thought of everything!

First of all, some neat things about this RV.

Notice the beautiful solid honey oak cabinetry like I have in my rig. It feels very natural to handle. 🙂

Next, notice the big drawer under the sink?

Big drawer under the sink?

Big drawer under the sink?

Nope. What a clever use of space!

Nope. What a clever use of space!

That is brilliant! In case the picture isn’t clear, you have two little drawers on either side, a long narrow one in the middle, and the interior is cut open for the sink.

Next, the shower, which is within a little tub. This was hanging in on the towel bar:

A chamois says so much. :)

A chamois says so much. 🙂

I know that that means! Dry the shower after use! I’m pretty sure this is common RV language that does not require words. 🙂

There is no shower curtain, but rather one of those roller doors on a spring (like a window blind, only installed vertically):

Challenging shower screen.

Challenging shower screen.

I’d heard about them, but never used one. You need firm steady pressure to extend it. Do not let go or it will snap back! It then needs to be snapped into place at the other end of the bath.

So I had my shower last night, lovely water pressure, hot water, all is wonderful, and I’m about to crawl into warm jammies and a comfy bed when…

I realise I have no idea how to get the dang shower screen open again.

Since it had snapped into place, I figured a firm pressure at the right place would dislodge it, but it took a minute to find the right place. I remembered to hold on tight to keep it from snapping back! Tonight will be easier. 🙂

I like the screen very much as it’s more water tight than a shower curtain, plus you don’t have to deal with the shower curtain flapping around you. I now get why a lot of RVers have upgraded to them.

Finally about the RV:

View from my office.

View from my office.

Now, some pictures for the curious ladies. Here’s that purse/wallet I bought yesterday. The exterior weaving is gorgeous!

Wallet/purse opened up to show the pattern.

Wallet/purse opened up to show the pattern.

The inside is a fine denim with lots of pockets. The only thing I don’t like is the Velcro and I will likely pick it all apart when I get home and replace it with a few snaps instead.

Lots and lots of pockets in it!

Lots and lots of pockets in it!

Closed up in purse mode.

Closed up in purse mode.

My glass bead earrings were easier to photograph in daylight. I’m sure all the earring wearing ladies reading this would agree that I couldn’t possibly leave these behind, right?

So pretty!

So pretty!

And here are my turquoise earrings, understated and unpolished and full of iron oxide and one has a chunk missing from it. I would have paid $4 anyway to support the community, so what’s an extra $6 for a souvenir that will ensure I’ll never forget driving the Turquoise Trail?

The imperfections make them perfect.

The imperfections make them perfect.

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Lighting a Propane Stove

I Skyped with my good friend L last night and he brought up something that he has told me before, in relation to my exploding BBQ lighter last night. It’s something that I’ve known for years and which he has shown and demonstrated to me, but which has never stuck. And it bothers me because I could have saved myself a lot of money over the years and also prevented yesterday’s accident.

His words of wisdom?

You don’t need fire to light a fire.

He’s, of course, right. To light propane, all you need is a spark.

I have friends who light their RV stoves with flint spark torch igniters.

I haven’t had much luck with them for propane stoves. They are great for lighting a soldering torch because you can bring the tip of the torch right over the sparking surface, but with a round propane burner, you just can’t get in close enough. It takes me too long to light the stove with one of these and I have a mini explosion each time because the propane has time to build up.

So you need the opposite scenario, a flint that creates a concentrated spark. Guess where you can get one of those? A BBQ lighter.

Which brings me back to my friend L. He has been lighting his RV stove with a depleted BBQ lighter for years.

So guess how I lit my stove the four or five times I lit it today? Yup, with a spark from my now depleting BBQ lighter. It works great and I start the stove on the first snick of the lighter, rather than clicking it several times to get a flame going.

I feel like a complete moron, but I plan to cook with gas for the rest of my life, so I have plenty of time to make up for years of stupidity!

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My Isla Kitchen Is Trying to Kill Me

Well, I had a rather dramatic time making dinner tonight, even more so than the first (and last) time I tried to light my oven.

I had the cast iron pan on the stove and it was hot seeing as I was searing red peppers (since I don’t have an oven I trust).

Next thing I knew, there was a boom and the counter and my left forearm were on fire. The BBQ lighter I use to light the burner, resting a full foot away from the stove, had exploded!!!

I cook like this at home all the time — propane stove, BBQ lighter a foot (and even less) from the stove, extremely hot cast iron pan, etc., so I can’t figure out what went wrong tonight. The only thing I can imagine at this point is that the counters here are made of tile and get hotter than my laminate counter top at home.

I actually have no idea how I put the fire out. I think I might have used a dishcloth. There’s absolutely no evidence that anything got cooked, except for the lighter casing being melted.

I am absolutely fine. I lost all the hair on the left forearm and it feels like I got a mild sunburn on it, but that’s it. I’m not even anywhere near close to a first degree burn. I am just annoyed that I don’t have a way to light the stove tomorrow morning to heat water for coffee!

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Blogger Happy Hour Meetup

Around 4:30 today, I headed over to Contessa and Colin‘s for a happy hour gathering with fellow RVers Chris and Juan and Kevin and Ruth.

I know of Chris and Juan through Croft and fellow former Ottawans Kevin and Ruth have been following me since even before I got on the road. But here’s the kicker. The five of us met here in Mazatlán tonight, but Kevin and Ruth spent the summer just a few hours northwest of me in Saskatchewan and Chris and Juan pretty much drove right by Haven heading for the border after visiting Kevin and Ruth!

I’m telling you, the continent’s small and all roads eventually merge! I’m pretty sure the only (formerly) RVing bloggers I have left to meet are Sean and Louise from Our Odyssey! It was lovely to get to match voices to writing styles and faces.

At any rate, we had a nice time eating munchies and watching the big cruise ships sail out of port at sunset. Talking about RVing again was great, making me realise just how much I’m missing the lifestyle!

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