RVs Cheaper than a home, well?

4.10.18-Saturday night before Easter Sunday

It was Saturday night before Easter Sunday. Nothing special, our usual meal of pizza, beer followed by, hopefully, a good movie. I went to the freezer to pull out a pizza and noticed it was not nearly as firm as it should be, but it was still very cold and it cooked up very nicely. All set to eat the frozen delight and it was off to the fridge for a couple of beers. Once again not nearly as cold and refreshing as they usually should be. By bedtime we knew we had a problem and by morning we were off to the plaza for a couple of 20-pound bags of ice.

We were not shocked. It was only a couple of years ago we were forewarned that this would happen, but no one gave us the reason why. By Tuesday we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we needed a new unit, after all this living with ice is both expensive and does not quite do the job. We figured it would possibly go around $3500, more or less, the good money was on the “more.” Tuesday the 3rd we would have to go to Alliance RV here in Wildwood, FL for them to install a new unit on Thursday. We decided on a residential unit; these run on AC current and or batteries.

At Alliance we sat down with Mike to go over options for the replacement. The new unit would cost around $1300 before installation, I could understand that. Then he mentioned we would have to remove and upgrade or inverter, to gadget that turns DC current into AC which is what the fridge needs to function. Okay with that, then he mentioned they cost about $2700 before installation. I thought it was getting a little expensive but it is what it is. “Oh, by the way”, he said, “you’ll also have to add two additional batteries to your battery pack, about $250 , once again, before installation.” I’m still Okay, but it felt like we were in the process of buying a new RV. He said that would be about it except for the need to  make a modification to the wall cabinetry it would have to be fitted to, no options there, can’t leave it in the middle of the floor and, of course, there’s the expense of installation, the unit, inverter, cabinetry and, of course, the ever loving batteries that would have to occupy one of our storage bins, under the coach, because the battery closet has no room for expansion. Oh, he forgot, additional wiring would be needed for the new batteries in this new location. All in all with sales tax, of course, the job should come in around $8000, more or less!

We were not really thinking of going to Paris this coming winter, but I think it’s possibly a sure thing we’ll spend the winter months and longer just admiring our new Samsung Refrigerator. He did assure us that these new appliances will never permit soft ice cream. The new fridge will save us on propane, which the old unit needed for cooling. The savings on the propane alone should pay for the fridge in about forty-four years, more or less.

For what it is worth, we continue to enjoy the RV lifestyle and continue to come in at under the total cost of property taxes and home-owners insurance on the home we used to own in Titusville.

How’s your refrigerator doing?

 

 

 

 

Not fully installed:

Well it’s finally here! Not fully installed, but installed enough for us to go out and re-stalk the fridge. We arrived at Allison RV on Thursday evening in order to be serviced as early as possible. Well, not everything goes as planned. The electrician was not able to complete the installation by the end of Friday night, but he will be back on the job on Monday morning, we hope. We are optimistic, however.

The cooling beast is in:

Well the cooling beast is in. It’s so big, and best of all, it came in under the projected cost, about $7100. We did notice that when we bring in the slide holding the new fridge, the slide experiences a bump as it is being retracted. This is another issue we’ll have to tend to probably end of this month.

 

Pay the Ghost/The Quiet Place

4-08.18

Movies we’ve watched. It is very seldom to brag about a movie, but the last couple of days we’ve been impressed. Saturday night we watched Bruce Willis in his flick called “Pay the Ghost.” This is a must watch film. Sunday we took ourselves out to the Brownwood Village, part of ” The Villages.” We spent an hour or so walking around; a village very similar to Mystic Village. Our purpose was to go to their movie house and view “The Quiet Place.” Dennis tells me it is also available on “On Demand” a viewing option we don’t have. This also is a must see film. You do NOT want to see this film alone!

I did receive some good news on Friday. I’ve begun the final phase of Chemo. Turns out it will be completed by the beginning of May, instead of June. There will still be a need for a PET Scan and then we must hand deliver it to my surgical team in Tampa, Dr. Rosemurgy and his staff.

April 2018- grandchild Abby

https://www.rawartists.org/abbypfister

4.01.18

I am always so proud of my kids, but sadly they don’t share their everyday challenges with me as I would hope they might. Abby, our surrogate granddaughter, seems to have been in our lives for so many years now. A few years ago she graduated high school and decided to take a year off. She’s always had a yearning to draw and/or paint. We always hoped the best for her in that field but very few are very successful. She’s tough and has proven to have the tenacity to continue with very little encouragement. As of today she’s been contracted to do several paintings, where she now gets paid for her talent.

She describes herself, in her own words as:

I am Abby Pfister, a self-taught artist from Florida’s space coast. My passions include painting and drawing. I enjoy all mediums but mostly use acrylic, gouache, pastels, and watercolors. Many of my paintings and illustrations include healing geometric symbols which have been considered sacred by many past civilizations. I enjoy using art to heal and express myself as well as uplift others!

I am drawn to Sacred Geometry and esoteric knowledge. My art is a representation of the divine connection between all of us and primordial source energy. Many of my inspirations come from nature itself, these shapes and patterns lie in every leaf, cell, animal, building, and human being. Sacred Geometry and art can be found everywhere in my daily life, a constant inspiration.

As I looked over her website this afternoon I was trying to think of anything I could do to help her along in her quest for success. As of this week I’ve had almost 135,000 viewings to this blog. The last twelve months I’ve been averaging 70 views a day and I’ve had little to nothing to say.

It is my hope that some of my visitors will take the initiative to visit Abby’s’ website. Her work is so creative and very original. Please take a couple of minutes and click on the link below the picture she created for us , and check out her portfolio of artwork. I call this beautiful painting “Creation,” I don’t know if she might have her own name for it. I realize it is a little difficult to appreciate it’s full beauty but if it had been a typical 16 by 20 you would be looking at a “sea scene” blanketed with ominous stormy clouds typical of what earth might have looked like after HE had finished creating the worlds oceans. I would only hope that she might re-create this production as a full picture as opposed to the letter “G” portrait.

Her work is a little different, but if you wanted something your phone could capture, then just take yourself to one of those big box stores, pay out $9.99, take it home  and hang it on your wall with full knowledge there are ten thousand copies of this item hanging in other homes everywhere.

As I mentioned, Abby’s creations are original and will grow on you not to mention her work is very pleasing to the eye.

Thank you.