DONE!

Wednesday, 25 November, dawned in the clouds and rain. We were hoping for the windshield to be installed today. We got a call from the glass company saying that they were at the pickup dock, and how was the weather where we were? Well, it wasn't actually raining at the moment and was in fact drying a bit. The forecast for the rest of the week was worse, we really didn't want to wait any longer. They tentatively suggested waiting for better weather  but didn't take much convincing to come out and see how it went.

They arrived about noon, the installation went well. The good news was that the weak Canadian dollar meant the $200.00 deductible was 151.02 US dollars.

Tomorrow is the US Thanksgiving and there will be a pot luck dinner at noon with the park providing Turkey, with stuffing. This afternoon Art made a large bowl of cranberry sauce as our contribution.

It had been raining all afternoon, we had hoped to get some packing up done. Tomorrow we'll hook up the car, get the bike on the bike rack, put the chairs away dump and fill tanks as appropriate, wind up the electrical and cablevision cords, water and sewer hoses and be ready to roll as soon as lunch is done. Checkout time is actually 11:00 but we have been told to stay. It has been fun, all things considered, but we'll be glad to get out of here.

We will likely not have email until we arrive in Zihuatanejo, hopefully on Sunday. Here is the plan:

Thursday afternoon head to the Welcome Center just north of Laredo for the night.

EARLY Friday head to the border, the Columbia Bridge crossing, hope to get there by 8:00 AM. We have no idea how busy it will be or how long it will take. The norm is an hour or so. We also hope to get the phones sorted out. We will likely end up with new numbers.

Friday night, either Matehuala (our hope) or if late, Saltillo.

Saturday drive to Guanajuato via a new route via San Filepe (from near San Luis Potosi) a new route for us.

Sunday, if we are still on schedule and don't have to detour too far for fuel, we will run to Zihuatanejo via Morelia and Patzcuaro without stopping (other than lunch and fuel).

All three will be fairly long days but we are tired of waiting. Zihua here we come!

And still longer

Though the windshield was ordered and shipped most promptly, it didn't get too far before being delayed by weather in Oregon. It was held up in Hermiston OR. for two days!

Gillian made good use of the unexpected spare time and gave the rig a good Spring Cleaning. The weather was actually very spring like, nice warm sunny days, cold nights, clouds and showers and repeat. Though to be fair, this week we had more sun than showers.

Art took advantage of the weather to go for a ride around the area. He thought he would check out the nearby town of Elmensdorf. But first a detour north to highway 181 to see what a couple of small stores there might have on hand. The Dollar General Store was a good one, everything from rubber boots, hand lotion and dairy products--including skim, 1%, 2% and whole milk. And beer. Don;t forget the beer. The grocery store next door did not live up to the name. Snack foods and of course, beer.

Back on the Old Corpus Christi Highway he proceeded south and eventually came to what must have been Elmensdorg. The GPS (which he had borrowed from the Jeep in case he got lost) said he was there. Some houses and possibly a couple of cafes though it was hard to tell if they were open. There was a nice park, occupied by one couple enjoying each others company.

Just out of "town" was a large well kept commercial operation of some type, then it soon became apparent: It was a huge or HUGE parking lot for rail cars. No wonder trains are so numerous past the RV Park. At all hours. 


He called Gillian and said he'd be home soon. He has hardly made a dent in the battery readout so decided to push it on the way home, setting the assist to level 4, about 80 or 90 percent. On the flat and level roads he cruising at just under 30 KmH and was home in 20 minutes.

We made a few trips into San Antonio, some for shopping, some just to look around. We had planned to go to a typical Texas Barbecue, but the recommended place closed early and the next night was closed all day!Fortunately ? the windshield disaster meant that we would be around another day or two or. . . so

Texas Pride Barbecue was way out in the hinterland, 15 or so miles away. We made it Tuesday with Mark and Dianne following in their truck. (Neither of us have a vehicle that will carry more than two people.) It was an interesting experience to say the least. No dishes, not even paper plates! The meat
was served on butcher's paper, the sides in small paper bowls. Good comfort food. The theme was an old gasoline station and I'm sure we were eating on the garage floor. (Well,from tables on the garage floor). No chairs, just benches. I'll post more photos later.Especially if Dianne sends me hers!



On the way home on the very dark road we were startled by the sight of a very large and fortunately grey horse dashing across the highway in front of us. Don't know how, but Gillian managed to miss it by no more than a foot or so. At 90 Km/H !  We carried on feeling fortunate and Art dialed 911 to alert the authorities of the danger.

Back in the rig Art poured Gillian a large vermouth and helped himself to a large scotch.

Then to the internet to check the whereabouts of the windshield. In transit Denver. Hmmm. That's a long way, but it was time stamped 3:30 AM.

About 2:00 AM Art woke up, felt unable to get back to sleep so he got up and checked the tracking number again. It had arrived! 

Then the wait gets a litte longer.

Wednesday Morning the weather turned out to be bright and sunny as forecast though it had been cool overnight. Shortly after noon as promised Lighting Glass arrived with the windshield in the back of their pickup truck and they got to work immediately.

The old one came out easily:

 There was quite a bit of rust around top of the inside frame. We had had a small water leak years ago
that had seemed to seal itself. Jerome, the owner, said that it was common on rigs of this age (14) and he could give it a rust treatment that would stop its progression. We had found the same problem when the passenger side windshield was replaced several years ago at home.






Then the new windshield went in. The top right corner was not quite seated so Jerome gave it a few slaps with an open hand:

We all heard the crack!

I'll give Jerome credit, he was on the phone immediately to have a new windshield shipped. Jerome called today (Friday) to give us the tracking number. We could see on the tracking info from FedEx that it had been picked up in Coburg Oregon by FedEx at  3:49 PM and is scheduled to arrive in San Antonio Monday.  Jerome said that he would be here Monday midday and that we could leave Tuesday.

Since we had already to hang around until our friends arrive on Saturday and leave Sunday, that is only another two days. Four weeks since the day we arrived. We're paid up to the 21st. Better go into the office and pay for three more days. Fortunately,  their Passport America discount is 50% so we are only paying $23.50 a day.

Thursday morning before the sun came around to the front we put a coat of paste wax on the front cap, not that it looked like it really needed it, but it is much easier to remove the bugs from a well waxed and polished surface and our up coming  travelling days will be through some bug country.

Then after a nap and lunch (yes, in that order) Art did a load of laundry. After the local BC Evening News we went off in search of a Chinese Restaurant. Following advice from various internet pages we chose to the Lung Fung Restaurant. (Ladysmith friends will recognise that name!). Though not the very best we have ever had (That distinction belongs to one in Mission BC we went to at least a couple of decades ago) it was certainly not the worst. It was in fact very enjoyable. We brought enough home for another meal each.

Friday, 20th November. Jerome called, things are (once again) looking good. So far. Weather forecast for today was cloudy and wet but it dawned a third clear day, though looks like it is going to deteriorate later and for the rest of our time here with cool even cold temperatures forecast for some nights--mid to low 30s. Fahrenheit! Good thing I brought my jammies.

The wait gets shorter.

Saturday morning Art had breakfast at the activities center, Bacon, eggs, toast and just had to try it, biscuits and gravy. Never had it before. Interesting, probably won't bother again. Biscuits were OK, somewhat similar to but not nearly as good as Mom's Baking Powder biscuits. The gravy was reasonably tasty white mushroom gravy. Probably a commercial mix, it tasted better than it looked! Not being an egg fan anyway Gillian stayed behind with her own granola and coffee.

Since the rain looked to be holding off, under cloudy skies, early in the afternoon Art decided to go for a bike ride around the area. A few miles up the road towards San Antonio (not on the freeway!) we had seen a Mexican restaurant that advertised 5.49 breakfast.

Art decided to stop in and see what the menu looked like. He ended up staying for lunch! Very good Mexican food. We may go back together one day. Continuing around his planned loop the rain began. No rain jacket of course, the only one Art had brought is a heavier cool or cold weather one. His denim shirt getting wetter he took a side street and a more direct route back to the park.

Checking the tracking number we saw the windshield getting closer! Looking good!

Monday morning it looked like the windshield would be here tomorrow! YEAH!!

We have been slowly changing out the incandescent light bulbs and florescent tubes in the rig to LED units. They have a much lower current draw so when boondocking the batteries will last longer. We phoned a few RV places and found one that claimed to have a good stock. It was on the other side of town, but we headed over.

We found it without difficulty and discovered to our surprise that not only did they have a reasonable selection, but also, a nice surprise, the salesman knew his stuff! Unfortunately they only had one bulb that would fit the bedside lamps or a pack of six. They're not cheap so just got the one to see how it would work. We also bought an LED replacement for the front 18 inch florescent fixture. The fixture takes two tubes but we find it quite bright, we'll try one for now.

Tuesday The glass shop phoned! Cloudy, showery and windy day (it had been a very windy night) though it was forecast to improve later, they said that they could come later but Wednesday would be better for the weather. We were OK with that since we had already decided to wait another couple of days to meet with Mark and Dianne, friends and neighbours from home. They will come mid day Wednesday. Spoiler Alert! In hindsight this may have been a mistake. (Not the waiting for Mark and Dianne!)

Good day to try out the new LED stuff. The one in the bedroom bedside lamps works very well. The one bulb gives more light than the two original incandescent bulbs at much less current draw. We also had purchased a flood for over a dinette bench, the other side already has one. Another good choice.

Now for the front florescent fixture. Art removed it from the ceiling and took it out to the picnic table on our little patio to do the required mods. Take out the tubes, chop off all the wires, drill out the rivets securing the ballast.

The replacement snaps into the florescent tube connectors and wires directly to the feed wires. Art noticed a blank dummy switch. He had noticed that the RV shop had a good selection of such switches so we have decided to add the second tube and install a switch to enable/disable the second lamp. Power to the fixture is controlled by a wall switch.

On the same circuit and controlled by the same switch is another fixture with two thirty inch tubes which are much too bright especially since both fixtures come on together. One of these florescent tubes had died, the other was dying—flickering—so we just took them out. The wires' retaining clips have lost their sticky so they can be seen laying across the glass. Art will tape these up with white duct tape and leave the fixture empty.

Two more to go: The “over” the dinette light. We had long ago installed this light where the coffee maker belonged and soon after removed most of the bulbs leaving just one as it was quite bright. This will be replaced with the LED equivalent. And the bedroom overhead (over bed) ceiling light has 5 incandescent bulbs, same ones as in the dinette fixture takes so we will probably put four in there. IF and only if we can find a new LED compatible dimmer switch. The original one is likely not LED compatible.

Art took the perfectly good 18 inch florescent tubes he had removed into the office to see if they knew of any one who might have a use for them. The eyes of one of the staff lit up. She had two tubes out in her rig.

Probably post a couple of photos here tomorrow. Or the next day, or the day after that or. . . .  :)

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13^th

We both had a rather poor night's sleep last night, Tia was quite restless beginning about 2:00 AM. We took turns giving her a little fuss, she settled for a while (we didn't) then she started again until about 5:00AM. We finally got up about eight, Tia about half an hour later!

Still no word from Lightning Glass, though Mike from the bike shop called: the shifter was in and they would do it while we waited. We headed out around noon. At the shop no one could find Mike, or where he had put the shifter! About 10 minutes later he wandered in, coffee cup in hand!

While Mike went to work we went across the street to the Bird Bakery for lunch where we had very good turkey sandwiches and OK coffee. We just managed to find a seat in the very busy establishment. We were surprised to note the demographics: Of the 40 to 50 patrons, only 4 were men. A significant portion were 20 to 30 something ladies. Art remarked that he was surprised that there weren't a lot more single males! Repeating this comment back at the bike shop one of other customers laughed and said he had thought the same thing earlier.

Mike was fine tuning the shifting and soon we were done and back on the road by 2:00 PM. One stop at HEB for groceries and another box of Franzia wine then home. (Though in all honesty we do consider wine to be a food group.)

Next on the must do list: Phone Lightning Glass. Art was told that the glass had left Oregon on yesterday and was in California. He thought it might be here by tomorrow but didn't know for sure. He promised to call Art back with a tracking number. An hour or so later he called back.

A search on the internet found the shipper's website (Thanks Mr Google.) and Art entered the tracking number. It was shipped on the 11^th, arrived in Fontana CA at 6:30 this morning. Estimated delivery date in San Antonio: the 17^th. We arrived here on the 27^th of October. To compare with our last trip down this way, on November 17 2013 we arrived in Zihuatanejo.

We have been in the USA much longer than estimated and are rapidly depleting our US cash. Hope to keep enough at least for fuel on the way home in the spring. By now we should have been spending pesos!

Dinner tonight was again in the activities room, Pot Roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad and chocolate/marble cake. Sure beats cooking and doing dishes!

On another note, we heard heard this afternoon from friends and neighbours from home who will be arriving at this RV park on the 21^st! As it is very unlikely that we will be able to leave here before the 19^th we may elect to stay a couple more days for a visit.

This delay has also meant that we probably won't detour to Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on the way south since timing will be very tight and we will in any case be in PV in late February. To spend 2 nights and one day in each of Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and 7 or 8 days travelling from here to there and in between would put us late into Zihuatanejo, where we will be leaving earlier than usual (Mid February) because of commitments in PV.

Scheduling our lives was almost easier when we were working for a living. Not that we regret retirement!

Into Week Three in San Antonio

Still hanging on in San Antonio.

One thing taken care of; the antenna for Art's shortwave ham radio was an easy fix. A connector from the antenna tuner had broken off due to the vibration and bouncing down the road. Cut back and strip a bit from the end of the wire and crimp on a new connector (he always carries a selection) and its good to go.

Monday, 9 November we got through to the satellite dish company—they actually returned Art's call. After some questions from Robert and answers from Art, the problem was diagnosed—the controller needed a software update.

We had known that and had thought that it had been done when the new LNB was installed before leaving home. Should have tested it completely. We had a good signal after the new LNB was installed, the receiver worked fine. BUT we hadn't tested the controller from the beginning, with the dish down.

We had a good signal because the dish had already been locked onto the satellite's position before the LNB was changed and hadn't been moved. With the old firmware the controller didn't recognise the new LNB.

Then we decided to chase down the windshield problem. Call to Trans America Class but the agent wasn't available. We then called Lightning Glass, the shop that was to do the work. They had been waiting for Trans America to order the glass. Trans America had contacted them and told them to order the glass and they would be reimbursed, including shipping. Art was told that the glass had been ordered and would be shipped Tuesday. Lightning Glass then dug up the paperwork and checked with Art to make sure all the details were correct. Passenger side glass? NO! Driver's side!

At least Art had remembered that today is Gillian's birthday! She wanted to see the Natural Bridge Caverns northwest of San Antonio.

Art's bike still wasn't shifting properly so since we would be here another week we decided to take it in to the shop on the way out to see the Caverns to get the shifter replaced. They confirmed that the problem was in the shifter, couldn't find the exact one in their reference books to they called Pedago

and ordered one from them. It should be in in . three days.

We arrived at the Caverns about 1:00 PM and had a little look around then asked what the walk was like and how far. 75 minutes, steep and wet surface. Art decided that even with the side stix it was probably better to stay back with his book. (He always has a book!) At the ticket counter Gillian was told that the tour would start in 10 minutes. She said we needed lunch first and was told to come back after lunch.

Much to our surprise there was no restaurant in the place. The nearest miles away. We opted for the snack bar. Chili Nachos and a beer for Gillian and Chicken and Chips and a root beer (an occasional treat) for Art.

Poor Gillian, not a happy birthday lunch, the nachos were exceptionally terrible. Disgusting. A few soggy thin “tortilla chips” round and very thin crackers of some kind—not real tortilla chips-- a little chili sauce drizzled on and a load of disgusting orange semi liquid stuff that was supposed to be cheese. Cheese Whiz from a jar would have been a huge improvement, and neither of us like Cheese Whiz!Art willingly shared his very nice chicken and chips with her.

Then it was time for her Cavern Tour while Art settled down with his book for a while. . . and popped back to the snack bar for a hot dog and another root beer. 

After a bit he returned to the Jeep to take Tia out for a little stroll then relaxed in the Jeep with his book until Gillian returned. Happily, she much enjoyed the tour and walk through the caverns.

We were back at the park about 5:00 PM. Once Tia was fed we changed and drove downtown for Gillian's birthday dinner. We found a place to park in a hotel parkade and walked out to the street. Art asked “Which way do you want to go?” Well right there in front of us, directly across from the parkade exit, was ZINK Bar and Bistro.

We had an excellent dinner and a nice chat with the waiter who was pleased and surprise to find that we knew of and had even driven through the small town in Jalisco Mexico that he was originally from. We had no room for desert but cheese plate and wine item caught Gillian's attention. We'll be back for that some evening.

Tuesday Lightning Glass called to ask again details about the motorhome, make, model and to ask if it was the passenger side windshield. A little late! It was supposed to have already been ordered! And NO, NO, NO! Its' the driver's side windshield. They (Lightning Glass) had been to the rig, had taken details from there registration and photos of the windshield damage. And they asked this yesterday. Windshield should be here for Saturday. Yeah, Right. Somehow we are not brimming over with confidence.

The internet was very intermittent today, but eventually it came back and later in the day we downloaded the firmware fore the satellite controller. Now, where did we put that USB-Serial adaptor? Or did we bring it? We do have one. We had located it at home when we first knew that the controller would need an up date. Ah. Then we decided to let Jim do it when he changed the LNB. It's at home.

Oh well, back to town. There was a Radio Shack and a Best Buy near the HEB grocery store and we could use a few more things from there too. Of course then it was time for lunch, so we tried out the nearby Cracker Barrel.

Food was reasonably good, no real complaints. Art ordered the chicken livers. He is quite fond of liver and Gillian is not so it's not usually cooked at home. (Though when Trekker was ill and not eating she used to cook liver for him. Art would always sneak some for himself!) A surprise though, the livers were battered and deep fried. Quite good, just barely over done. The side salad he had with them was excellent.

Back home, lets try to update the controller. If it all goes well we should be in time for the 5 O''clock news at 7:00 PM.. Let's just say Art is barely computer literate. Connected everything up, followed the “read me first” doc which we had printed out, line by line. No luck at all. As soon as we turned the controller on to start the up load everything stopped. Tried several times. Frustration. Have to call Robert in the morning. We watched local TV on the park's cable.

Today had been a very warm day mostly sunny and very little wind. Quite pleasant outside, very warm inside (86F) We thought about turning the air conditioning on to at least reduce the humidity but were reluctant to since the forecast was for much cooler temperatures. Later in the afternoon the breeze came up, blowing through the motor home from left to right, and with the extractor fans on the temperature began to drop. By dinner time we closed the windward windows and by bed time it was very comfortable.

Wednesday morning Art called Robert again and explained what had happened. On had not happened. His suggestion? Download and use the firmware upgrade for serial to serial connection rather than USB to serial connection even though the laptop has no serial port.

Again the internet was being difficult but eventually we had the desired download. Plugged the computer into the controller. Clicked the .exe file, selected the desired port (previously decided upon after much frustration) and turned the controller on. ZOOOOOOM it was done.

Now to select the various parameters such as what language, what type of LNB (given that by Robert) and the type of dish mount. Gillian climbed up on the roof to find that, only to later find it printed on the Controller manual! When the last item was selected (dish mount) the controller began it calibration routine, moving the dish through its limits then shut down.

Now the test: Turn the controller on. Up down and around for a while then several minutes later: Locked on! Turn the receiver on. TA DAAAA! Lots of time to spare before watching the 5 O'Clock CHEK 6 News and various Remembrance Day ceremonies. At 7:00 PM of course, thanks to being on Central Time.

Thursday morning came verrrry early (twoish) Tia waking us up with a bark, then later a few grumbles. She has been doing this on and off for a while. At home it was every night for weeks. At first we thought that she needed out but later realised that was not the case. She was just upset or worried about something. Now she settles with a bit of attention, a bit of stroking and goes back to sleep.

We are pretty sure that she has somewhat from dementia and wakes up lost and confused. At home, if she lost sight of us she would stand and bark twice—two sharp barks. She is also very deaf so calling her or talking to here is not very effective.

At 3:00 AM Art woke up again, a very cool breeze blowing through the bedroom window and across the bed. 1^St, close the window, then turn the ceiling fan down to low (Gillian might want it on) then close all the other windows and turn the kitchen ceiling vent thermostat down 'till the fan turns off.

The forecast as right. It was much cooler today. In fact for much of the day Art wore a T shirt, a thin light weight sweatshirt and until late afternoon, a light denim shirt over that.

After watching local (San Antonio) news and weather and, at long last, Global TV Morning News we spent the rest of the day catching up with the blog, reading, visiting with neighours and a doing a couple of loads of laundry.

Now as 7:00 PM approaches it's time to post this and get ready for the 5 O'Clock CHEK news! 

Helping out a neighbour

Last week we met a couple who had made a big change in Life Style. Bought their first ever RV, a large nearly new 5th wheel and began full-timing. Picked it up from the dealer in September. No experience and a 10 minute walk through from the dealer!

He had a problem with his batteries. They didn't last long if they weren't plugged in. During his walkabout after the big storm Art went by to say hello and they asked him if he could have a look at the rig. One concern was that if they weren't plugged in, such as at a rest area, they had no water.

Art looked at the various switches in the rig and found one marked "Pump". And turned it on. Further investigation showed that there was no water in the water tank!

While Art went back to the rig for his multimeter and hydrometer to check his batteries the owner began filling his tank. Then, disconnecting the power cord, he found he had water at the tap.

Problem 1 solved.

Battery. Art had a look and found a group 24 marine/deep cycle battery connected. Minimal, but since they were almost always connected to AC power, not a problem. Maybe. Then he said "There is a second battery in the front compartment. Here it is. Notice something?

ITS NOT CONNECTED TO ANYTHING!

The volt meter read 7.5 volts. A fully charged 12 volt battery should read 12.6 or 12.7 Volts. A really dead one. under 11.0, 7.5?  DEAD, DEAD, DEAD

Art took it out to check the specific gravity. No measurable electrolyte. Tilted the battery to about 45 degrees--still couldn't see any liquid. No point in pouring distilled water into that!

Why was it there anyway???

Back to the "working" battery. NO electrolyte above the plates. More than a liter of distilled water added. He was advised that this battery too was likely toast. He is leaving it here in Texas and flying home to Canada for Christmas and New Year and will have words with the dealer there. Then on his return he will replace the battery.

Art pointed him to some good resources on the internet. A day later he pulled out heading south. Wish him luck.

Can't believe that a dealer would let someone off the lot without a better introduction. They knew he was a novice.

. . . Or so indeed!

Yes we're still here!  Weather is crappy and it's Saturday so everyone is indoors and online (or watching sports on TV).


Here are a few pics of the park taken while on a bike ride around the park a day or so before the big storm. (The date in the camera is wrong.)

Sunday Art discovered that the shifter on his bike wasn't working properly. It would shift up but not down—the lever was very stiff. Now to find a bike shop.

On line Monday morning, looking for somewhere close. Nearest bike shops were in town. Art started calling in order of distance—the first two no one answered! Finally one a bit to the east of the city said to come on out.

We had been told when we arrived at the park last week that there was a big group coming in later this week and we would have to move Monday if we were staying longer. We had looked at several sites but this morning Art went around again and found that most of the better (flat and well drained) ones were occupied. There was one nice wide on at the far end. Since he would be walking around more than just a little he had taken his side stix (as recommended by his physio). After seeing what was available we went to the office to let them know the we liked a particular site. 

He was told that they usually don't usually put big rigs in that spot since it on a tight corner. The lady said she would check with the boss. The boss came out and said that we could just stay where we werre. Great news as we like our site as it was flat, dry and close to everything.

With that settled we headed into San Antonio to the bike shop. In the shop the tech played around a bit then disconnected the shift cable at each end and found to be quite stiff and not moving as easily as it should. He replaced it, having to use a long one made for a tandem bike since the regular one was three inches too short. Anyone need a couple of feet of stainless steel wire? The old one was was a little corroded.

Well, it's better but still too stiff. The tech examined the derailleur and realised that it was slightly bent and was able to straighten it somewhat but was reluctant to mess with it too much. A new one was only about $40.00 but had none in stock. Art and the bike left, his wallet only $20.00 lighter.

From there we headed into the center of San Antonio to the River Center Mall for lunch and a bit of a walk around the river, leaving Tia sleeping in the Jeep.

Tuesday, Pizza night. Take out from across the street. Nothing exciting but filled the hole and we didn't have to wash up after!

Wednesday afternoon, Gillian asked Art if he wanted to go grocery shopping. Why would she even ask? Art thought that meant that she wanted him to come, but she said she was fine on her own, she knew exactly where she was going and didn't need a navigator. So Art elected to stay home with Tia—it would be hot in the Jeep for her. Gillian said “Good. While I'm gone you can do the laundry.” Rather the laundry than shopping.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Lightning Glass had promised Thursday to call in 5 days. Now Thursday a week later, haven't heard. Art called his cell and was told the windshield hadn't come in yet, said he'd track it.

Friday, November 6^th,

Not having heard back about yesterday's call, Art called again. Poor line, but something about they couldn't find anything under my name and that I should call the insurance company I had filed my claim with. It almost seemed that they thought the insurance company should have ordered the glass!

Art called the American company that ICBC uses and was fortunate enough to get the same agent he had spoken with last week. She was most definite that she had sent clear instructions to Lightning Glass and put me on hold while she called them again. There was no answer, she told Art to call her if he heard from the glass company first, and she would call him if she heard first. Nothing by Friday night.

Beginning to look like Lightning Glass needs a name change. Thunder Glass. Big Noise, no Flash.

Art had been out of whisky for a couple of days. Time to return to Costco!

They had no more Old Pulteney! At least the Red Label was still on at 34.99. Art's usual blended tipple, Ballantine's Finest, at the LCB stores is listed at $48.78. ($63.00 US) No contest!

Then to HEB for a few forgotten grocery items then across the street to Walmart for a new jean shirt for Art. Somehow his old one grew holes just after he had topped up the batteries with distilled water a few weeks age. Served him right. He paid good money on a closed battery watering system to save his clothes but still, he just had to look first!

Dinner in the park again, tonight pork chops. Again more than we could eat. The fridge is getting full!

Saturday Breakfast served again in the park. Bacon or sausage and eggs, biscuits and gravy (we gave those a miss), toast , jelly and coffee. Sundays will be waffles or pancakes.  We're getting spoiled!  

We spent the day inside with the three Rs; reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic. (a little household book keeping). 

Earlier in the week had Art tried a few options to get the satellite to work without any luck. He'll have to phone again Monday, though he had a thought last night which will mean a trip to the roof to check. Too cold and windy today.

His ham radio shortwave seem to have an antenna connection problem too, That too will wait for warmer and dryer weather. 

His APRS though has been connecting well through the International Space Station recently although it was off for just over a day while the Astronauts did some maintenance outside.