Holiday Absence

Greetings, everybody! I am truly sorry for the two-week lapse of posting a blog. We are still here in South Arizona, trying to make progress on some of the upkeep and repairs we can do on the motorhome, while see-sawing from progress to regress on personal issues and figuring out how we’d like to proceed with the blog.

We recently spent three days washing, buffing and waxing the motorhome. I think it may be my last time doing it as that sonofabitch has so much surface area to tackle, that my aching body cannot handle anymore. It looks mighty purdy now, and most of the backwoods tree & shrub pinstripes are undetectable again!

Last week, I devised a prototype stand for the solar panels. On Thursday, Al finished up the framework to support them. They look pretty stable and should keep from doing cartwheels in the wind. The added benefit is putting a stop to additional scuffs in the motorhome while they leaned against it. Most of them buffed out, but a few remain, largely minimized.

Our rooftop solar consists of eight panels totaling around 1700 watts potential, but as they are flat to the roof, they only bring in 350-400 watts for 3-4 hours due to the shortened daylight and steep Winter angle of the sun. The three new portables have a capacity of 660 watts and are bringing in more than the rooftop ones, with the ability to reposition them through the day for more energy.

A big thing yet to tackle is the slide room. With help of Lippert Customer Support, we discovered a couple broken rollers and have now received the replacement parts in the mail. One of the arms must be removed for access and we are grateful that Brian borrowed a couple hi-lift jacks to support it for the repair attempt we may be making this weekend. If it gets too complicated, we will slap it back together and take it to a shop, but the reviews on RV repair facilities within 200 miles of here are utterly underwhelming. I would have more confidence if we repaired it ourselves.

Our Duxtop induction dual-burner cooktop has been slowly working less effectively for a couple months. I discovered that the over 1500 watts it would consume on the high setting previously is now under 800 watts, which makes boiling water or searing foods take excessively longer. It has a 2-year warranty so I contacted the company. After a few detailed emails, they say they’ll send me a replacement if I cut the cord and send them a picture or the destruction. How ever will I prepare a holiday feast without it? More emails later, they’ll reimburse me for a newly purchased one if I send them the cord-cut pic after I receive it. Replacement ordered, should be arriving in the next week... I sure hope they own up to the reimbursement.

I completed another lap around the galaxy last week, which was like every other birthday: just another uneventful date. Al made pancakes for breakfast. At noon we watched a livestream with hopes of winning an electric bike, but no such luck. The rest of the afternoon wasted away. Jeff joined us while I drove to Culver’s, since there were no prior plans and I didn’t feel like cooking my own birthday dinner, as I do every other time. I told Al he could have a re-do for the following day, which he blew again. I’m really not all that mad about it, but it disappoints considerably the little to no effort he exerts in comparison to what I repeatedly do yearly to make his birthday seem special that one week earlier. At least I got some deep-fried cheese curds.

The past few days, I’m not walking too well as it feels like I have a half dozen of those goatheads in my heel. Additionally , I have a killer headache and feel bruised everywhere. Don’t I sound like a sniveling bundle of joy?

I wish we could say all is well, but alas, it is not. It’s not been very festive. We’ve had our battles, independently as well as alone. One suffers from depression, albeit undiagnosed, while the other with perpetual physical and emotional pain. I try to be encouraging, but there have been too many failed attempts on my part received with a lack of action or ambition on his. Most days, I want to go running for the hills, but I’m still here, trying. My efforts are for naught as I’m beaten down, and it’s tormenting me inside. It’s a toxic mix, and I’m debating if a separation is in order as we can’t seem to be helpful to one another.

I hope everyone else is doing well this holiday season. It’s been pleasant that the daytime temps have been in the mid to upper 60’s. I wouldn’t mind if the overnight temperatures were a bit warmer, but at least they’ve been above freezing most nights. There are very few around here decorating for the season, and without that white lumpy stuff, it doesn’t feel like it’s that time of year. There I go, back to being Scroogy McGrinch again. <sigh!>

I wish this post was happy and joyful. Maybe the next one will be merry and bright?

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