It's Always Something

Thursday evening, as we were settling in to watch "The Taste", we realized that it was getting a bit chilly in Jumbo. Larry went back in the bedroom to check the thermostat and had to turn the furnace off and back on again in order to get it to come on. Usually this only happens if the battery is low, but it was fully charged, so we were a bit perplexed. When it did come on, it immediately shut off again. Oh no, this can't be good! Larry got down on the floor and peered into the furnace, poked around a bit, and determined that we must have a problem with the igniter. He took it out and discovered that it was covered with gunk, cleaned it off, put it back, and turned the furnace back on. It blew out some nice hot air for a bit, but soon the air turned cold. This is definitely not good! It seems to be one thing after another in this old behemoth! I couldn't help but be a bit depressed about the whole situation - sitting in the middle of a horse pasture, looking forward to a freezing night and morning, spending more money to fix this latest problem. Larry felt terrible. We both wondered if moving into Jumbo had been the right decision. Larry asked me if I wanted to spend the night in a motel, but I figured I could make it through the night - we have LOTS of blankets on the bed - and Friday was supposed to be a nice day. When the sun shines through the windows, it does tend to warm up pretty nicely inside Jumbo. Larry wrote down the part number of the igniter, and hoped to be able to find one sometime Friday.

Larry got up around 5:30 Friday morning, started the generator, and plugged in the little electric heater, facing it into the bedroom. At that point it was 12 degrees inside Jumbo - colder than it was outside. My car thermometer read 14 degrees! Duchess and I stayed under the covers until 7:30 when I let her out to go potty. It had gotten up to a balmy 20 degrees by then. She ran outside, did her business, came back in and made a beeline for the bed, where she curled back up under the covers. I put on my jacket and joined her. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I read awhile until Rachel called me around 8:30. We chatted for awhile and I let her know what was going on inside our big igloo. I wandered out into the living room  and opened the curtains to let the sun shine in. It was 40 degrees by then. I called Larry around 9:30 to let him know Duchess and I weren't frozen, and the warmth of the sun had risen the temperature to 60. Woohoo!!! Larry had found the part he needed, but it wasn't in stock and wouldn't be available until Monday. We figured we could make it through the weekend, since the daytime temps were supposed to be pretty high, and if for some reason replacing the igniter on Monday didn't do the trick, we would check into a motel for the first few days of the week, since the temperatures were going to be in the low twenties during the days and in the teens at night. That sounded good to me!!!

That afternoon Larry went to Dick's Sporting Goods and found  an indoor  propane heater that solved our problems, and its $85 price was a lot cheaper than a few nights in a motel! I was ecstatic! I figure that the less we have to rely on the antique operating systems of Jumbo, the better.

I was amazed an how efficiently it heated our living space. Larry will still try fixing the furnace when he gets the part on Monday, but we plan on using this as our main source of heat.

On a more positive note, Larry worked out a deal with his partners which will allow him to leave his job next Friday rather than the end of March, as he had originally planned. That means we will be able to pull out of the horse pasture and head down the road towards Santa Fe and beyond a week from Monday, if all goes well. I will be so sad to leave Rachel, Ivan and the girls, but it is time for some new adventures and time with family and friends in Washington. We are excited!

Out and About

Since the road out of the horse pasture has dried up and Larry has been driving the motorcycle to work rather than my car, I am experiencing my third day of Freedom From Jumbo! Not that I don't love our cozy little home on wheels, but 20 days of being sequestered within those four walls was really wearing on me. I was able to get out on the weekends when Larry & I would go grocery shopping and to the laundromat, but it just wasn't the same as having the freedom to go here and there on my own.

Here's the Road Leading Away from Jumbo, perfectly clear and dry, except for a few ruts. I've managed to maneuver my way around them so far... I just put my little car in AWD and I don't have any issues!

Before I ventured out on Monday, Larry had me practice opening and shutting the combination lock on the gate. I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive about coming and going in this manner, especially since the horses tend to congregate in that area on occasion. And the lock itself, with all of its chains and whatnot, was a bit intimidating. What if I didn't do it right and the horses escaped? Unfortunately, my mind always tends to fast-forward to the worse-case scenario!  But after dealing with it a few times, I now have it down!

That's Jordan Road straight ahead. From there, I can get just about anywhere I need to go!

Today I'm doing my blog update from the library in Castle Rock. I prefer it to the Parker Library, maybe because I used to work here and it just feels more comfortable, or maybe because they have a bigger selection, but actually I think it's because of the parking lot - it's not nearly as crowded and I don't have to worry about running over someone when I leave!

After I spend a little more time here, it's off to the UPS store to see if we have any mail in our box, and then I'm going to stop at the King Sooper's where we used to shop, just for old time sakes. Hmmmm...  and maybe I'll need to pay a visit to Bubbles as long as I'm in the neighborhood!

Real Egg Celebration

To celebrate our re-connected electricity, we decided to cook up something special with the beautiful eggs supplied by our tie-dyed friend Eldon Weber's backyard chickens. I never get over the amazing difference a real egg makes!  We were going to make some sauteed red potatoes and an omelet, but it became more of a fritatta. In any case, it was delicious. Thank you, Eldon!!!

Sauteing up the onions and green peppers...

Adding the mushrooms and potatoes...

Mixing it all up.... and just who put that Jim Beam bottle in my kitchen?

Looking good...

 A little...actually, a lot... of Swiss and Muenster cheese...

Time for the eggs... aren't they lovely?

A little Herbs de Provence and garlic powder...the cheese...

and we popped on the lid and let it sit for a few minute...

Aahhh... perfection!

Obviously, we love to eat, and regardless of what trials we face during a particular day, everything is always better with a great meal! Bon appetite!

Full Moon & Tenacity

We thought we had our issues in Jumbo pretty much under control when Larry fixed the electrical problem last weekend, but we were wrong! Last Wednesday the generator decided to stop firing up. This was frustrating, since we couldn't use the coffee maker or the electric skillet again, nor charge up the computers. Larry remembered Richard telling him that the generator wouldn't work if the gas tank was less than half full, so we were hoping that when we took Jumbo into Parker on Saturday to fill up both the propane tank and the gas tank, the problem would be solved. We could easily work around this issue, heating water on the stove for coffee, etc.

As we were getting ready for bed Thursday night, I detected an aroma of Propane. I hollered to Larry, and we discovered that the furnace was blowing cold air. I suggested that Larry try lighting the stove, and nothing... we were out of propane! It was going to be a cold night, since we weren't able to start the generator and couldn't use our little electric heater. No problem...we have lots of blankets, and we got Duchess under the covers with us and were toasty warm until we eventually had to get up in the morning. Larry stayed in bed as long as he could before he ventured out into the 25 degree Jumbo and scurried off to work as fast as possible. Duchess and I stayed in bed until around 8 a.m., and it had warmed up to 28 degrees by then, thanks to the sunshine coming in the windows. I wrapped myself up in a blanket and sat on the sofa, watching Duchess shiver as she kept shrugging her blankets off. Finally I started up the motorhome engine, which blows out a LOT of heat, and before I knew it, the temperature had climbed up to 60 degrees. Yay!!! It was a beautifully sunny day, so the heat never did go back down after that. Larry came home at 3:30 Friday afternoon, we took off in Jumbo for the propane store and the gas station (and the liquor store!), and when we got back "home" to  the horse pasture, we had heat and a generator!All was well...or so we thought! When we re-started the generator, all of the outlets except the bathroom, were dead again! Larry knew how he would be spending his Saturday, but he didn't anticipate it taking the entire day...

On Saturday morning, he decided to start outlets for continuity, and began in the bedroom...

He decided to replace all of the outlets, pulling each one out individually, and testing the wires connecting the outlets, searching for the ground fault.

 It was a very frustrating and physically exerting job for him, and required more than one trip to Home Depot! Larry started at 8 a.m. and did not finish until 3 p.m. He disconnected the wiring from each outlet. As each outlet was replaced, we restarted the generator and tested - each one worked until we got to the very last outlet, and of course when that one was connected it flipped the breaker. We had found the culprit! When that one was disconnected and the breaker was re-set, all other outlets worked. That one was reconnected and flipped the breaker again. So, those wires were cut and sealed, and left for another day (or not, considering that that outlet once fed the above-dash TV, which no longer exists). We asked ourselves, "why us?" and then considered that perhaps the recent massive solar flares coupled with the full moon created an electrical vortex around Jumbo. Hey, it's as good a reason as any! I compliment Larry on his tenacity and ability to stick with a job until it's done, even when he doesn't know in which direction to turn. Once again, all is well in Jumbo!

Mud, Mud...and More Mud!

Before we moved to our  spot in the horse pasture, it really hadn't occurred to me how bad the mud would really be. One of our first purchases after moving ourselves here was a broom. And we sweep, and sweep, and sweep some more, but it's never-ending. And poor little Duchess! Every time she goes out to potty, her paws become encrusted with the nasty stuff. We have to pull it out from between her toes and just wait for the remnant crumbs to dry so that we sweep even more. I made the mistake of wearing my Crocks outside one day when I took Duchess for a walk about a week ago, and haven't been able to bring them inside since! I don't think they'll ever be the same. But we keep reminding ourselves that this is only temporary... before we know it we'll be on the road and experiencing much more beautiful sights!

Beautiful Skies

I sometimes find myself bemoaning the fact that I am stuck in the middle of a horse pasture all day, but then I look outside and marvel at the gorgeous view we have. This sunset was incredible. I will miss the beautiful skies of Colorado once we move on down the road...

Aaahhhchooo!!!

 Because of the snow and muddy road out of "Jackville", Larry hadn't been able to ride the motorcycle to work, as he had planned, and consequently drove my car every day, leaving me "locked up" in Jumbo for what seemed like an eternity. I have to admit, it was beginning to get to me, especially since I have no internet connection out here in the middle of the horse pasture. At least on most days, if I could get the generator to kick in, I could charge up my computer and get some work done on my book. It's a long process, since I have so many historical note to go over, but it's coming along! Both Duchess and I found ourselves sitting in the window each night as the time approached for Larry to come home from work, looking forward to the moment we saw him drive up the road.

Somehow, even though I only made it out of Jumbo on the weekends, I managed to come down with a cold. Maybe I picked up a stray germ in the laundromat. I soon discovered that the sofa in the living room makes for a pretty comfy place for a nap.

You can see a bit of the snowy driveway through the front window... and I have my ever-present cross-stitching project nearby on the table...the only thing that keeps me sane through the long days in Jumbo!

I Can Finally Use My Electric Skillet Again!

It had been so long since we'd had electricity in Jumbo, that when it was fixed (as we found out later, only temporarily) I was very excited about being able to use my electric skillet once more. We made a trip to King Soopers and I stocked up on stir-fry ingredients - tofu, baby bok choy, green onions, mushrooms... mmmm! I first browned the tofu...

Larry has the remote ready, along with a beer...

He found a great spot for the moose candle holder he found at Jackalope a few years before I met him. I'm so glad he decided to bring it along. It makes a lovely glow in the front of the motor home. The Jackalope store in Castle Rock went out of business a number of years ago, but I was excited to find that there's one in Santa Fe. We'll most likely pay it a visit when we stop there on the first leg of our journey to Washington.

Candles aglow in the "conservatory"...

Time to take the tofu out of the skillet and add the onions...

Larry relaxing with his beer. Personally, I think he could use a haircut, but it's his head, after all!

Now we add the celery and baby bok choy...

and the mushrooms...

 A package of frozen stir-fry veggies goes in...

and dinner is served!

Aha Moment!

After about a week of trying to figure out our electrical issues  in Jumbo, Larry figured it out this morning! When we first arrived in Jackville, everything worked fine. It snowed that night, and the next morning all of the outlets were dead. Larry replaced the outdoor outlet, which he thought had gotten wet and the GCFI outlet in the bathroom, which would not reset. That made those two outlets live, but none of the outlets in Jumbo were live. He also replaced three 20 amp breakers inside. And still no power. After consulting several online forums, he found that there were hidden breakers on the generator itself, but was told they should be pulled toward him. This still didn't solve the issues. This morning, while beginning to test for ground faults, he had an "Aha moment" and flipped both generator breakers away from him. Ta-Da! Everything is live. We no longer have to make coffee in the bathroom and  I can make stir fry in the electric skillet tonight! Life is good!

Horse Whisperer

I soon discovered which of the horses was the Alpha Stallion. One day while Larry was at work, this big guy decided to hang out very close to Jumbo, so I opened the door and decided to have a conversation with him. I told him that there was nothing here to interest him - he listened for a few moments, turned around and headed the other direction. I really have no knowledge of horses, but it seemed like the logical thing to to. The horses are very interesting to watch, but I don't like them to get too close!

Our First Visitors

There are six horses on the 400 acres in which we find ourselves. We soon found out that they are very curious creatures, and before we had been there long, they came to pay us a visit. As it turned out, they not only visited us during the day, but in the dark of night as well. They chewed a bit on Larry's motorcycle cover and tasted my windshield wipers, but so far haven't caused any real damage. The scariest moment was when Larry was coming home one evening, unlocked the padlock and opened the gate, only to look up to see the whole here running towards him - and the open gate! He managed to get the car inside the gate and close it without any of them escaping, but they showed no interest in moving out of the way and no fear of either him or the car. We have learned to be sure of their whereabouts before we approach the gate area.

The KLRs New Home

It seemed like an unlikely place to call home, but we proceeded to settle in. Larry unloaded the KLR...