North America

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Off the Grid

This morning, battery monitor working or not, it was time to get off the grid and make sure that my new electrical system works off of the new batteries.

I started by shutting off the computer UPS, the electric heater, then I threw off the necessary breakers. I am aware that breakers aren’t meant to be used like light switches and be turned on and off a lot, but I’m not going to be spending that much time going back and forth, so I’ll take my chances.

Next, I turned off the water and switched the fridge to propane. I went outside, unplugged from the house, plugged the shore power cord into extension cord leading to the inverter, and then plugged that extension cord into the new inverter.

Moment of truth. I haven’t so far been able to so much as charge my iPad with the new inverter.

The inverter switched on with nary a beep of protest. I then turned on the UPS for the computer system. All still good. I just wish I wasn’t blind and could use the battery monitor to determine my draw to know if I can still run the heater or not.

As for my printer, turning off the converter turned off the printer’s outlet! So I am going to have to snake an extension cord around the room and get the printer plugged into the UPS, too, which is something I should have done eons ago anyhow.

I located the fuses for the battery monitor, so I will change them next time I am out. If changing them does not help, I will get a professional to look at my set up and get it working 100%. I’ve done the heavy lifting, so I’m not convinced getting in a pro for and hour or two will kill my budget.

What a difference new batteries make!

I’m getting pretty excited about heading out on Sunday. I think I’ve located propane and I know where I’m spending the night. The best months of my RVing life lie ahead of me, I am sure of it!

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Propane Locator

I haven’t been very mindful lately and ran my on board propane tank to just about empty. I always like to leave a buffer in case I can’t easily find a place to fill it when I get under way again. I hopefully have just enough to run the fridge until I can find a place to fill.

Since I’ll be here a few more days and want hot water, use of the stove, and possibly even use of the furnace, I asked my friend if she’d perchance know a place to have my little 30lb cylinder filled.

She gave me the website for Amerigas. I was able to put in our zip code and get all the propane dealers in a 20 mile radius. Most were bottle exchange places, but there were a few refillers, too. This company seems to be USA-wide.

I located a couple of refillers in Smithfield since I was going there anyway today. They wound up still being closed for the holidays or looked too sketchy to approach, so I called the nearest place in Suffolk, Suffolk Automotive, on Main Street, and they told me I could get propane until 6:00 p.m.

This location wound up being a tiny little garage with almost zero manoeuvring room, so it wouldn’t be a place to take an RV, but it’s convenient to get cylinders refilled since it’s just a couple of blocks from the Walmart and the staff is super friendly!

I’ve made a note of the refillers on my route south and I will call each one until I find one who says that they have lots of room for RVs. Perhaps finding propane on this section of my great adventure won’t be as much of a challenge as it was going north in the spring.

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Local Delicacies?

Every time I visit the grocery store, I see something that makes me think, “I’ve got to take a picture of that!”

Today, I finally did. I’m still afraid to Google what it is exactly:

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It is called a ‘chitterling loaf’ and there is a label that says ‘cooked pork chitterlings and pork stomachs, gelatin added.’ The ingredients are pork chitterlings, pork stomachs, water, vinegar, salt, gelatin, and pepper. My most educated guess is that this is akin to head cheese.

Okay, okay, the things I do for this blog. OMG, chitterlings are the intestines of a pig. And you’re supposed to eat this stuff cold on crackers. Note to self: if someone offers you chit’lins, smile, close your eyes, and remember you like raw fish.

Something else caught my eye and made me jump, but for what reason I cannot fathom:

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Eating pigs’ feet is part of my culture! Only, I’ve never seen the pig feet like these, only all yummied up in my aunt’s ragoût de pattes de cochons.

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End of the Year Lunch

My friend and I went out to lunch today to Ruby Tuesday’s. It wasn’t really meant to be a celebration of the end of the year, just a chance for a last meal together before I push off, but there sure was a lot of reminiscing about the year going on!,

Ruby Tuesdays is a fairly new discovery for me and I really like it! I especially appreciate that I can get lots and lots of healthy veggies with my meal. Portions in the States tend to be ginormously unhealthy, but it’s easy to make better choices at Ruby Tuesday’s and I like that some dishes have smaller portions, like half a rack of ribs instead of a full one.

Since I wasn’t driving, I had a Seaside Oasis, a yummy fruity vodka cocktail with bits of mango. It seemed like the perfect drink to toast the coming weeks. 🙂

We even had dessert (their coffee was fantastic and included!!!) in the form of very reasonably priced cupcakes. She went with carrot cake and I tried red velvet for the first time!

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Mine was decorated with sprinkles. Hers was decorated with… carrot. LOL!

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A Glass Half Full Kinda of Gal

2012 has been quite the year. It’s easy to look on the six months of it that didn’t go as planned because of the accident and call the year a write-off.

But that’s not how I tally up a year. Rather, I look at where I was, where I wanted to go, and where I wound up. Doing that exercise makes it obvious that 2012 was one of the most successful years of my life.

I welcomed 2012 in an apartment while I was working for an outside company, albeit part-time and most definitely temporarily. For the year ahead, I wanted to finish winter with a journey eastward through the US, to spend the summer with my family, to continue growing my business, and to welcome 2013 from a warm spot in the US. I have done all of that. How can I not deem 2012 a success?

Sure, my eastward journey wasn’t uneventful and there was more stress this summer than fun. But the culmination of all that is that I am in the best place I have been in years.

The accident meant that I had to stay put for the summer and gave me the time to learn a new trade while upgrading my home. Except for a little paint, my good home is as done as it ever could be. It took 14 years of adult life to get the idea of ‘home’ right and to fall into a sustainable housekeeping routine. Now, I wake up every morning now contented with my space rather than bemoaning what needs to be done.

Even though I miss my little green car, I have to admit that I am happy with my new rig and consider it to be superior to my old one in many ways. Could that old codger’s misdoing have been a blessing in disguise? It’s starting to feel that way.

But most wonderful of all, because of this new solid foundation to my life, I am parked in my best friend’s driveway for the holiday season. A few days from now, I am going to be heading for the Gulf coast where I will finally get to sit on a beach and drink wonderful rum-based drinks out of coconuts and snicker at all those silly Canadians who choose to winter in snow and sleet. And I missed Snowmaggedon 2012!

I can only look at 2013 with hope because 2012 ends with so much promise. Happy new year indeed!

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