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.