Went fishing, and door problem - Day 1038 (Year 3, Day 306)

Lexington, NC

I finally got around to taking my rod & reel out to the lake yesterday.  Mitch was home yet again (4th day) due to the 3 days of rain, as the ground is still too muddy to work in (at least, thankfully, he does get paid).  It was actually his idea to go fishing since neither of us had much to do in the morning.  Side note:  this was yesterday.  He is off once again today, making it a full week that he's off due to rain.

Unfortunately, again due to the rain, the lake was very cloudy and we were told by the pro in the office that fish just weren't really biting and no one that week had reported catching anything.  Still, I was very much out of practice with my casting, so I didn't mind trying.  We generally use plastic lures, but for whatever reason, Mitch wanted to use live bait which they sell in the office store.  He bought a small cup of worms (which I made HIM put onto the hook!)  I did get 3 nibbles.  I felt something pull on my line, but by the time I reeled it in, I discovered that either all or part of the worm was missing.  I wasn't catching anything but at least I was keeping the fish well fed!  The biggest catch, however, was a giant turtle!  You may recall when we first landed here, that I reported a family of turtles on one side of the lake.  Well, for some reason, one of them swam to the other side where the fishing dock is.  My line grabbed on to something very heavy, which I was having trouble reeling in.  I tried and tried (thinking, hopefully, it was a huge bass) but then I saw the turtle.  We tugged real hard (Mitch had to help) until the line broke and allowed the turtle to escape.  Hopefully no damage done.

Again, I reiterate how addicting this is.  Although I was getting a little bored and tired after 1.5 hours, my mentality was "just one more time" - just like playing the slot machine.  At least it's not as harmful.

Now, about the door...  We have a double door: an outside heavy one and an inside screen door.  I love having the outside one open as it lets in a lot of light and gives me one more large area to view the outdoors (we have a heavy-weight plastic covering the mesh which keeps the heat or coolness in).  We didn't realize it, but apparently the 2 doors are attached; it's one unit with 2 doors as opposed to 2 separate doors.

The inside door is held on by 3 hinges.  About 2 months ago, one of those hinges broke.  We had to add a little more pressure to close the door, but it was ok (we didn't replace the hinge because it's welded in place and a custom size, not found in Home Depot type stores).  In any event, yesterday when we returned from fishing and went inside, one of the other hinges broke (I'd say a combination of metal fatigue and too much wear & tear and pressure on the frame).  It became totally unusable.  Mitch, with the help of our new friend and neighbor - Darrell  (who used to be a welder) removed the inside door and tried to troubleshoot how it could be fixed.  Apparently the manufacturer of the door is out of business and we're having a hard time finding a replacement door.  Even if we could, it will cost almost a grand.  We called an RV tech and between the 4 of them (2 techs, Mitch & Darrell), they came up with a solution: finding a metal fabricator and having a customized piece made that we could attach the door to.  Mitch and Darrell can probably install it themselves; if not, the tech will help.  Still a whole lot cheaper than replacing the door (which is also welded and riveted in place and will be next to impossible to remove).  We took all the measurements and today Mitch is taking advantage of not being able to work and going to various metal fabricators.  Fortunately, he did finally find someone who could do the job.  Meanwhile, I'm experiencing severe claustrophobia (ok, not exactly, but still...).  It's hard to live without being able to open the door, as it seems very dark and closed in.

Today is kind of slow and I am preparing for Shabbat.  Looks like the forecast for the weekend is more rain, so we shall see.

Finally sun! - Day 1036 (Year 3, Day 304)

Lexington, NC

Not a whole lot has happened this past week.  On Saturday, I got to bake challah once again (although I can't eat it, but I do take a bite).  It was gorgeous weather, so after our prayers and naps, we spent most of the day on the swing bench by the lake; such a serene spot, despite all the "weekend warriors."

On Sunday, however, a slow moving storm system came through, which lasted for 3 days, finally ending today.  It has also been in the 50s, and today it's up in the 80s.  North Carolina got hit pretty badly with flooding, but we were fortunate not to be in the flood zone, despite being on a lake.  Unfortunately, Mitch is not able to work in the rain as his gas sniffing equipment can't sniff a leak on wet ground.  He went out to work today, but had to come back because, although the rain stopped, the ground is still too saturated.  At least he does get paid for 3 days per week minimum for bad weather and hopefully he'll be back to work tomorrow.

It has also been quite horrible for pollen and tree droppings ("yellow season" they call it here).  Everything was covered in schmutz, which the rain not only didn't wash away, but made big pollen puddles and stuck even worse to everything.  I was going to have Mitch power wash the rig on Sunday, but the forecast is for more rain, so I'm having him do it today.  I was actually hoping to go down to the lake to fish, but I doubt he'll want to go with me after working so hard.  He doesn't enjoy fishing, but I need him to help me get a fish off the line and rethread it (assuming I catch anything, which there's a pretty good chance of in this lake).  Meanwhile, the day started out very slowly (no work at all), but as soon as I went outside to sweep, take a little walk and sit out there with a book on my newly replaced tablet, my client called with some work to do.  I'm hoping after I finish that, it'll be quiet for the rest of the day so I can take the time off.

UPDATE:  Mitch did spend most of the day up on the roof and outside washing the rig.  The electric went off three times; the first 2 he checked on it and it came back on a few minutes later.  He thought perhaps with all the water he was using, he might have shorted out the circuit breaker.  The third time it went out, it didn't go back on so we had to call the office for assistance.  Turns out the problem was caused by thousands of ants in the breaker box!!!  Box was replaced and we put down tons of ant poison to keep them from coming inside.

Just a tidbit - Day 1029 (Year 3, Days 297)

Lexington, NC

Last night after dark was the end of the Passover holiday, when once again we can eat leavened foods.  Too bad the end-the-chametz-fast is totally wasted on me, since I don't eat those foods anyway (grains, bread, pasta, beans).  I used to look forward to breaking the "fast" with a pasta dish or pizza.  Oh well, at least it's great to remove all the foil from the counters and put away the pots, pans, dishes, utensils and food that was kept out.  Back to "normal" again 😄

Another nice weekend - Days 1026 (Year 3, Days 294)

Lexington, NC

We had absolutely amazing weather this weekend - in the low 80s and no humidity and not a cloud in the sky.  On Shabbat we spent much of the day outside: 3 walks and sitting outside for prayers and reading.

Sunday, we had a surprise visit from my cousin Sharon, who lives in FL and was up this way for business.  It was a short but enjoyable visit, especially since it's been well over a year since we saw her (when we were in Ft. Myers).

My only real disappointment this weekend was when our neighbor, Darrell, expressed an interest to be my fishing teacher and had other plans when I was ready to go.  It has been pretty much proven that there are a LOT of fish (crappies) to be caught at the fishing dock.  I told him that if I caught one, I had no clue what to do next, including how to rehook my line for the next one.  He said he'd go with me, but when it came time, he had other plans.  I was incredibly disappointed.  Oh well, such is life.  Although I was hoping to be cooking freshly caught fish for dinner, I went with my Plan B of zucchini casserole.

Visit to Raleigh, Passover - Days 1017-1023 (Year 3, Days 285-291)

Raleigh, NC; Lexington, NC

Sorry it's been a while since my last post.  Nothing really exciting to write home about until now.

First, let's talk about more truck problems.  Between last Wed and Thurs, Mitch needed to have it jumped 4 times.  The last time it was very difficult to get it started.  Rather than bringing it back home, at the risk of it not starting again, we found a diesel mechanic nearby who could work on it.  As suspected, it was the alternator (we also had the maintenance done while we were at it).

The plans for Friday were to drive 115 miles from Lexington to Raleigh, staying at our favorite place - NC State Fairgrounds.  We were having some friends over from shul (Ann and Fred) to join us for Shabbat dinner, which turned out to be fun and very lovely.  We made the challah the night before, and I kept the menu simple (tuna steaks, mushrooms, cauliflower, baked potatoes) in anticipation of potential problems and delays.

We got out of bed at 7 am on Friday morning, packed everything up, hitched, and planned to leave at 9:00 am.  Wondrously, it was exactly 9:00 am when we were ready to pull in the slides and hit the road (insert my oft-used phrase here: "plans are made in jello").  Once again, the slides would not close.  We thought we had the problem fixed back in Livingston, TX when we had the pump replaced.  Unfortunately, we only opened and closed them once more since then, so we really didn't have much to go by.  We called the tech and told him about the problem.  He suggested there may be air in the system and to give it a little more time before having it re-examined.  Fortunately, just like the last time, they did go in, one at a time, after waiting about 5 minutes in between each slide.  We pulled out of the campground at 10:00 am, and arrived in Raleigh at 12:30 pm.  It took about 45 minutes to park and get set up.  Jessica made an unplanned visit with Ellie around 3:30 pm and left around 5.  By then, I had most of the food made and everything was calm and under control.

On Saturday, we went to our favorite shul in Cary.  As always, very inspiring and interactive services.  Since they were set up for the seder (which wasn't until Monday night), services were held in the small back room and there was no lunch (since the kitchen had to be koshered for Passover).  After services, we hung around with the kids, and then went out for dinner to Crazy Fire (a mongolian grill place) where there were many things on the menu for me.

Sunday was Jessica's 32nd birthday.  We actually got out of bed at 8:00 am so that we could spend the morning koshering the "house," which for us involves covering all the counters and stove, cleaning out the frig and freezer and putting away all the forbidden foods, and unpacking the Passover pots, pans, utensils and dishes (paper!).  Unlike in our sticks & bricks house in NJ, where we had to make several trips into the garage and elsewhere around the house to pull out all our Passover supplies, our current, very limited, inventory is tucked away in the storage compartment under the bed.  We didn't start the process until a bit after 9:00 am and finished by 11 (it used to take several days and lots and lots of planning!)

When we were done, we went over to the kids and hung around there for about an hour.  There was a lovely street fair - actually more of a high-end, homemade arts & crafts festival in downtown Cary (like the kind we used to participate in nearly 40 years ago when we were candle-makers) , so we all headed over there.  Great weather and great day to be out.  Afterwards, the kids took us to one of their favorite craft breweries which had an olde English theme (I had my first kombucha tea).  Afterwards, we returned to their house and chilled for a bit before taking them out for a nice birthday dinner at a Japanese hibachi grill (live entertainment!)

On Monday, we started the day by going to the doctor for follow up visits and prescription refills.  The good news is that my blood pressure is back to normal (from 160/80 to 125/70), the swelling in my legs is gone, and I lost 18 lbs since the end of January.  Dr. didn't want to run blood tests yet but that's ok.

Jessica took the day off work so we met up with her again.  Mostly we hung around the house while Mitch helped her with a kitchen project (installing LED lights around the cabinets).  Since Passover was to start that evening and our home was already koshered, we decided to have our last "chametz" meal out, which was brunch.  We went to a nice place called The (something) Toastery (Jessica will correct me, I'm sure) where I had an omelet.  In the same shopping center was a huge kitchen place called Whisk, where Jessica assists with their cooking classes (they have a McMansion type kitchen there, not to mention every imaginable gadget).  Next door to that was an oil & vinegar store, very much like Pinch & Pour that we found in Bismarck.  It was time to restock the infused garlic oil and raspberry vinegar.

After shopping and doing a little more LED work, we headed back to the rig where we changed into our holiday clothes.  We enjoyed our first seder with other shul friends - Lara and Paul (we joined their seder 2 years ago).  Their seders are similar to the ones we used to host, complete with props and very laid back.

On Tuesday, we went to holiday services at the Raleigh shul, since Cary didn't have any (again, set up for the seder so no room).  Afterwards, we returned for lunch, took naps, and then headed out for the second seder at Chabad of Cary.  Just like the Shabbat services, it was extremely interactive with lots of Q&As and very engaging and inspiring.  His kids (8 and 5) did a great job as well, performing several songs and asking the Four Questions in Hebrew and Yiddish.  We returned home at about 11:30 pm.

Wednesday was time to return to Lexington.  We got out of bed at 7:00 am and were packed and hitched by 9:00.  This time the slides did not give us any trouble, so we made it back by 11:30.  The camp manager helped us get into our tight spot, and it was then back to work for me by 12:30.

Which brings us to today.  Mitch went back to work (he's off again tomorrow for Good Friday as the gas company is closed).  I had a lot of work to do, but took time off to walk around to the lake (and sit and meditate on a nearby bench for a few minutes).  All the flowers and bushes are starting to bloom now, so the place is starting to look real pretty.  I also discovered that most people here come for the weekends and bring their boats; I see a lot of boats pulling in and out starting on Thursdays.

No plans for the weekend.  Back to Shabbat isolation for a while and Sunday I  must pay the monthly bills and do my taxes.

BTW, this campground has cabins on the lake if anyone wants to come visit us! 😉