Passover & truck - Day 1385 (Year 4, Day 290)

Williamsburg, VA

Well, the truck is still not ready.  We're told it will be ready this afternoon, but probably not until after we need to leave for Norfolk, so we'll pick it up on Monday.  At least we know they've been working on it.  Turns out it was NOT a bad fuel injector, but rather a bad O-ring in the high pressure oil pump (the entire pump having been replaced 2 years ago).  Thankfully, this means that the cost will be far less than expected, and we're still grateful to have the loaner truck.

That being said, it has been a busy few days koshering the place, but at last all is finished, with foil and plastic covering all surfaces, chometz sold or disposed of, Passover plates, pots & pans, and utensils out.

It has been our tradition that on the night before Erev Pesach, since the kitchen is newly koshered for the holiday, but Passover hasn't started yet, I can't cook non-KP foods in the kitchen, so we always go out for dinner. We decided to splurge and go to the place I wanted to go to for my birthday: Food for Thought.  As a reminder, this place has a literary theme (also has a little library!).  Even the menu is rather literary and charming.  You really do need to read every word for entertainment:  https://www.foodforthoughtrestaurant.com/dinner-menu/.  Here are some photos of the place (the walls are also decorated with pictures of famous authors, scientists and other key innovators, as well as numerous quotes):

Logo, with Ben Franklin



Little library nook when you enter



Huge painting of Roman scholars, directly in front of you when you enter



Sculpture, also when you first enter



For at-the-table entertainment (in case you can't think of anything to talk about), they have 2 sets of trivia card games and "Food for Talk" on the table



This Sunday is also Easter Sunday, so to all my Christian readers, Happy Easter! 

I'd also like to give a special "warm" welcome to Spring, which I think has finally arrived.  Temp was about 85 degrees yesterday (back in the 70s and 60s for the rest of the week and next), but I think the 30's and 40s are behind us for at least another 9 months!  Trees are starting to bud, and there are daffodils and azaleas in bloom.  Life is returning.  Such an appropriate time of year to celebrate rebirth.

And finally (truck)... Day 1382 (Year 4, Day 287)

Williamsburg, VA

It was determined that the reason the truck wouldn't start when warm was due to the engine not getting enough oil pressure.  It was then discovered that there was a leak, caused by a faulty fuel injector.  Sucks because we had all the injectors replaced about 2.5 years ago (in North Dakota).  This is setting us back another grand, but it's part of owning a diesel truck.  There's only 80K miles on it and it's good for close to a million (if the body doesn't rust away before then!) so we'll just keep fixing it as needed.  We're still grateful that this place gave us a loaner truck, and their customer service is fantastic!  Hopefully we'll have it back today or tomorrow.

We decided to go to Chabad in Norfolk for the seders since they have one each night (and in Richmond they couldn't locate a family in community to host us for the 2nd seder).  We'll leave on Friday and stay in a hotel about 5 miles away.

Thursday will be spent koshering the RV.  It's a big job, but still small compared to our house in NJ!

Truck saga continued - Day 1377 (Year 4, Day 282)

Williamsburg, VA

This is just unreal!  If you've been following the blog, the last entry claimed that we were waiting for the part to arrive (note: it was Harry's Mobile Repair in Williamsburg, VA -- DO NOT EVER USE THEM!!!)  Mitch had the tracking number and confirmed on Sunday that the part did indeed arrive.  We brought the truck over on Sunday night so they could start work on Monday (this has been going on for the past 2-3 weeks. Recap that the truck has been drive-able but you can't shut the engine off or else you need to wait at least 2 hours for it to cool off since it won't restart).

Mitch called them at 9:00 am on Monday to confirm that, now that they had the part in hand after 2 weeks, that they were working on it and he could pick up the repaired truck later that afternoon.  Their response?  "We refuse to work on your truck.  Come and get it."  The reason is that Mitch has been the squeaky wheel all week, not only trying to get answers from them, but also trying to get the tracking # for the shipment so he could help intervene (we truly believe they never ordered the part when they said they did, but he never came out and made that accusation).  In any event, they didn't like that he was proactive or calling every day for status and at the last minute decided not to do the work as they didn't want him as a customer (not that they even bothered to call him to tell him-- he had to call first !!!)  And, yes, we are putting a review on any and every social media outlet we can, as well as informing the BBB.  This behavior is totally unacceptable.

Fortunately, we were able to find another diesel mechanic, about 10 miles away, that is much more reputable (actually, they also do RV work and they were the ones who sent out the mobile tech when we had the generator problem).  Mitch brought it in on Tuesday and they told him to come back today (Thursday) when they could look at it.  From their diagnostic codes, they said it could most likely be a stuck valve.

Mitch brought it to them this morning, and they were incredible -- they gave him a loaner car!!!  This way he can go to work while they repair it (he lost 8 days of work while the other place was trying to get the part).  I just wish we had chosen them originally to do the work.  The original decision was a place 3 miles away versus 10 (needing to pay for a taxi or ask a neighbor for a ride, 3 miles just seemed more reasonable at the time).  Sigh.  Hopefully this will be the end of this problem.

Meanwhile, the 4th Nor'Easter in a month has hit the East Coast.  This time around, although there was a forecast of more snow, we were very fortunate and had nothing here.

Passover starts next weekend. Still trying to figure out our seder plans.

Some updates - Day 1371 (Year 4, Day 276)

Williamsburg, VA

First, about the truck.... spoke too soon in my last post, as they fixed something but not the right thing.  When Mitch took the truck out the next day, he got to his location and then couldn't get it started up again.  However, after about nearly 2 hours of waiting for a tow to arrive, he was able to restart it.  So apparently, the problem actually lies in a part (sensor?) that controls the fuel flow and temperature, and it's telling the truck that when the engine is warm to shut off the flow.  So this part needs to be replaced.  It was explained the reason they didn't diagnose this the first time is because the engine was cold, so not only couldn't they get a diagnostic code, but couldn't recreate the problem (since they didn't take it out for a test drive).  When Mitch got it restarted, he drove straight to the mechanic, where they were able to get a code as the engine was now warm.  So the truck is driveable as long as you don't shut the engine off, and if you do, you have to wait about 2 hours until it cools to start it up again.

This happened last Thursday (March 7th).  Mechanic allegedly ordered the part either Thursday or Friday, allegedly had it overnighted.  We dropped the truck off on Sunday night (he needed to work on it with a cold engine).  By Monday afternoon, the part still had not arrived, so Mitch picked up the truck so he could at least work on Tuesday.  Long story short, today is the following Friday (1 week, 1 day later) and still no part.  Allegedly it was shipped on Wednesday and should arrive today.  So we'll see how that goes.  Mitch has been working but has been leaving the engine on the entire day (taking an extra set of keys so he can at least keep the doors locked).  Frustrating not only because of the air pollution it's causes, but who knows what it can do to the engine (we will have the mechanic give a run thru to check for any potential clogs or lack of lubrication).

One other problem we experienced this week was part of the refrigerator door broke off.  It was a little plastic piece on the inside door flap.  It's all one unit and would cost about $400 to replace the flap that attaches to the hinge (the piece of plastic where the screws go in).  So Mitch took it off, used superglue and duct tape and put it back on.  That kept for a few hours but broke off again.  He tried once again, this time with special epoxy and an added layer of tape.  It's been 2 days and so far it's holding.  Hopefully it will continue to hold.

On a more positive note, last Sunday was a milestone birthday for me (#60).  For over a month, I have been trying to figure out how I wanted to celebrate.  Ideally, I would have liked to have a party surrounded by family and friends, but alas, due to everyone being so spread out and we in the middle of nowhere, that wasn't meant to be.  So I explored several local indulgences such as going to a spa, or staying in a fancy hotel for the weekend.  At the last minute, however, I decided it wasn't worth the expense and decided instead to treat myself to 2 meals out and a movie in between (the major indulgence here being going off my low carb diet).  The plan was for an Indian buffet for lunch, seeing Jumangi (there was nothing playing in the theaters that we really wanted to see; this was kind of the least worst), then going to Food for Thought - a literary-themed restaurant with a huge vegetarian selection.

Realize, however, that the truck still hadn't been repaired.  We went for lunch, but of course, the truck didn't start so we had to sit in it for about an hour (we anticipated this and thus brought along our phones and tablets for entertainment).  Suddenly, Mitch realized that we had Jumangi already downloaded, so I suggested that rather than spend $20 in the theater, we should just go back home and watch it there (maybe even put up some popcorn -- which we didn't after all).  Then we could decide if we wanted to go back out to the restaurant or perhaps just order something in.  Of course, the movie had not been fully downloaded so we just hung out and did computer stuff for about 2 hours.  (I'm also glad we didn't see it in the theater; it was not that great a movie!)  By the time it was over, I was no longer in the mood to go out but I still wanted to indulge, so we ordered some pasta (baked ziti and eggplant parm).  Also shared a bottle (or 2) of wine. All in all, not a fantastic celebration but a mostly pleasant day anyway.  Monday it was back to work and back to the diet!

One other note: there have been 3 Nor'Easters in the past 2 weeks, most of which hit with feet of snow further north.  One day, however, we did get a little snow (here's a video).  It was actually quite beautiful to watch falling.  Fortunately, it only covered the grass and trees - no accumulation, although Mitch had a weather day off as the ground was too wet to work in.

Truck back - Day 1361 (Year 4, Day 266)

Williamsburg, VA

Finally got the truck back today.  Thankfully it wasn't anything major.  I don't really understand exactly what it was, but something to do with a cut off switch that sends signals to the fuel system that needed to be reset.  Such a simple problem, but still cost a few hundred $ for labor and 3 days of missed (no pay) work.  But again, could have been a much worse problem or could have happened while towing.  So still counting blessings.

Continued woes - Day 1357 (Year 4, Day 262)

Williamsburg, VA

First the truck:  recall on Wednesday it broke down at a gas station and Mitch was lucky enough to be at a place where they could fix it.  A fuel filter was clogged, which they replaced.

Well, yesterday, after going to work, Mitch went to the supermarket for our Shabbat groceries.  When he got out of the store, the truck wouldn't start.  He was down in Hampton (35 miles away), so had to have it towed back to the mechanic in Williamsburg.  As of noon today, they said the batteries were completely drained so they couldn't diagnose the problem until they were recharged.  Could be a starter, or could be something with the engine.  Who knows?  Hopefully we will by this afternoon, although we probably won't get the truck back today.  Thankfully, we're going into Shabbat and didn't have any major plans on Sunday.

Next, there is a huge storm across the entire east coast.  It's hitting the northern and mid-atlantic states in the form of a Nor'Easter with heavy rain and snow.  We are getting the tail end of it -- no precipitation but gale force winds (45-50mph with gusts up to 65).  It is extremely scary with the rig shaking and rocking & rolling.  We're also in a heavily wooded area so there's the fear of a tree falling.  So far, many branches are coming down.  Slide toppers could possibly be torn off and who knows what else.  There's a little bit of a fear we could be knocked over (yes, it does happen to big rigs), but I think having all these trees and other trailers next to us makes it a lot less likely than being in the middle of an open field with nothing on the side for the wind to go around.

Meanwhile, we just lost our power.  It's in the entire campground, possibly the entire area.  Office said it could be a limb that fell on a power line.  Interestingly, since the power went off (about 10 minutes ago), I have seen at least 5 fire engines roar past on the road and if it's related, it could be something big. 

Will keep you posted.

Purim & truck - Day 1356 (Year 4, Day 261)

Williamsburg, VA

Purim is a holiday which commemorates the Jews' salvation in Persia (feel free to Google "purim" for the details and history).  In effect, it is an extremely joyous (and sometimes raucous) celebration, in which people are suppose to dress up in costume (Jewish Halloween) and do all kinds of crazy, fun stuff, including get drunk.  Of course, the most important part of the holiday is to be in synagogue and hear the "megillah" (scroll, which contains the story of Esther) being read aloud.  Whenever the evil person, Haman's name is mentioned, the entire congregation needs to make so much noise that you can't hear the name being read.  It's a lot of fun, celebrating the end to a potentially terrifying tragedy.

Another Purim tradition is to bake (or eat) special cookies called "hamentashen" which is a triangular shaped cookie (to resemble Haman's 3 corner hat), filled with pretty much anything.  Most traditionally it's poppy seeds or fruit, but you can use whatever you want.  I spent many hours yesterday researching a keto-friendly recipe (which, to my delight, I found) and then preparing and making them.  I was so excited, even though for the dozen I made, it was by #10 that I finally got the hang of folding them so that I got 3 corners instead of 4.

I BURNED THEM!!!!  I was (and continue to be) absolutely devastated by this.  So much time, energy and love went into making them and I set the oven 5 minutes too much.  They tasted like ash and I had to throw them out.  Way too much trouble to make them again today.  Sigh.

Although there are no shuls nearby where we are comfortable attending for Shabbat services, there is a place (reconstructionist) not too far from here.  We made the decision to go to their services to hear the megillah and enjoy the festivities.  It was to start at 7:00 pm.  Since Mitch gets home around 4, it was doable.  But.....

Wouldn't you know - he stopped for gas on the way home, and the truck wouldn't start again.  Very fortunately, he was at a station that also had a mechanic shop and a mechanic who knew about diesel engines.  He took a look and determined there was a clog in the fuel line (he suggested that one of the tanks probably had some rust or something in it that was putting out sediment and we should avoid using that tank).  Fortunately, he was able to fix the problem and Mitch was able to return home, although he didn't get back until nearly 6:30, by then too stressed and tired to go back out.

At that point, we decided to try to find a synagogue that offered a live streaming of their services.  We did find one, but of course, our internet connection sucked big time and it was nearly impossible to watch, being that we'd hear 1 or 2 words and then it would buffer for about 2 minutes.  We just gave up and spent the rest of the night watching our downloaded shows.

In addition, it is one of our wedding anniversaries.  We exchanged our vows (eloped) on 11/11/78, and then had a formal exchange in front of family and a rabbi on 2/29/80 (leap year).  We always celebrate in November (this year will be # 40 and we hope to be able to do something really special, including a renewal of vows).  But we do try to have a little acknowledgement during the twilight zone between 2/28 and 3/1.  Sadly, because of the mood, it just didn't happen.

On another note, a milestone (new decade) birthday is coming up for me in 1 week and a few days.  I really want to do something very special, but can't think of what.  Ideally, I'd love to have a party, be pampered and be the center of attention (I know that sounds selfish), but we're just too far removed from everyone to make that happen.  I'm thinking of maybe finding a spa with good rates and indulging in something I've never done before -- maybe a couples massage so Mitch doesn't feel left out and have to wait outside for an hour.  But can't find anywhere local that offers that for a reasonable price.  I do know there's this fancy restaurant with lots of vegetarian options.  It means going off my diet but I've been planning to go there for my birthday for a few months.  So I suspect it'll probably be going to the movies and then out to eat.  Who knows, maybe if the weather permits, since my birthday is on a Sunday, we can have a campfire on Saturday night and invite some of the neighbors here.

Anyway, PIBE (play it by ear) as I always say.  And remember that plans are always made in bubbles anyway.  For all I know, we'll get our marching orders in a day or 2 and need to be out of here before March 11th.