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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Getting Sherman ready for three months in Mexico

The sun never appeared like the weather forecast said it would, but at least they got the temperature right and it turned out to be a decent day despite the lack of sunshine. So I spent most of it outside giving Sherman a sponge bath and puttering around on a few fixer upper type of projects.

While I was doing that, Ruth was cleaning the inside of the windows and frames in our bedroom. Took all the screens out and cleaned them properly too. Sherman had sat for a full year prior to November 15th, and it has been so cold for the past six weeks of this trip that we've never been able to properly clean things.

Plus, because of the cold and dampness and lack of sunshine the past week, it was good to be able to open the windows and the door and let things dry out a little bit.

I grabbed an old quilt that I keep just for when I have to crawl under Sherman. That quilt belonged to my grandmother and I don't quite remember the story behind it, but I'm sure it must date back to the 1940's. It had become worn anyhow, so a few years ago I started using it that way. I think of my grandmother every time I use it, although I'm sure she wouldn't have approved of it being used this way!

Grandma's old quilt.

Strange, but the name "Branham" is written on the quilt. I say strange, because the spelling is incorrect and should be Bramham. I wonder who wrote that there.

Barb and Mark who are staying at the nearby state park, sent a message saying they were going to town and asked if we needed anything. Ruth was going to do some baking, but realized she didn't have enough butter. So she asked Barb if they would bring us some butter.

Here comes our butter delivery!

They showed up with our butter and sat and visited for an hour. I remembered that I wanted to test out the new radio that was supplied to us for the caravan trip. They used to use CB radios but are migrating to a new GMRS style radio. Mark has already installed his 15 watt unit, and so I quickly hooked up our 15 watt unit to see how it did.

I'll install it permanently today.

Using channel 7, they were clear as a bell until they got to the entrance to the state park, and then the signal went downhill and when they got to their campsite almost two miles away (as the crow flies) we couldn't make each other out.

But it turns out that if you use the higher channels (17 and up), the unit is put into a higher power mode, and we could talk to each other just fine. So these are going to work out far better than CBs. You're supposed to have a licence for them in the U.S., but it's not necessary in Mexico.

This is the radio we're using...


They also have a five watt unit that should work well for our caravan purposes, and a more powerful 40 watt unit if you feel you really need it.

With Sherman all cleaned up, I only have to change the oil and finish greasing the front end and check the tire pressure as I do once a week or so. Then, we're ready to go!

It was even warm enough to get out the Weber and do some outside cooking...

Grilled potatoes and pork loin chops.

A little change of plans coming up, I think. There is an arctic cold front coming into Texas. Surprise, surprise. Today is supposed to be okay, but it will get cold overnight and stay that way for Monday and Tuesday. So I think we're going to move over to the state park where we can plug in and run our electric heater. Our Mr. Heater Buddy works well, but when you're using it on a continuous basis it causes lots of dampness and humidity in the motorhome. Then we'll move down to Mission on Wednesday and visit with friends Bill and Bonnie, and then Thursday to meet up with the caravan group. 

Have we mentioned that we can't wait to get to Mexico?!

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Kindle Unlimited...


And in Canada...





25 comments:

  1. Glad you got some time to work on Sherman. We are going to wait for a lot warmer weather than this to do some fixing. We will be down in our country on Tuesday hopefully. Wish we were going to Mexico with you!!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. are you the same lorne green who is a previous customer?

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    2. He still needs some more things done but we need better weather. Hopefully our paths will cross once again Lorne.

      No, Paul this is not the same Lorne Green.

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  2. Regarding Branham vs Bramham, was your grandmother particularly religious? There was a popular "Brother Branham" faith healer right after WWII. Feliz nochevieja!

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    1. Yes, check out William Branham he was an amazing man of God and I believe he also did some healing meetings in the Ottawa area. I have a collection of books telling of his amazing unusual life. If there is a connection between your Grandmother and him that is amazing.

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    2. No, it is definitely Bramham - very English and fairly popular in Yorkshire.

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    3. Kevin's mom said that his grandmother had put together the material but a quilting bee did the actually quilting part so someone from the quilting bee probably wrote the name on the quilt so that they knew that it was his grandmother's but just didn't know how to properly spell the last name.

      Happy New Year, Doug!

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  3. I field trialed the 5 watt unit in Fall and even it worked much better than the CB. I am hoping the 15 watt version is even better. it is only $50 more and also has the advantage that you can change channels using the mike. The mike on teh 5 watt, seems to use a standard RJ-11 phone jack so I will experiment with a longer ocrd. The 15 watt may be RJ12 as it changes channels. Maybe you can look, Kevin. An RJ-11 has 4 conductors, an RJ-12, 6. I did find the mike cord a mite short.

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    Replies
    1. We think the 15 watt one will work great for the trip. So much better than the CB's!

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  4. Oh carp. We are arriving in Mission on Wednesday. Wish we could have met up for even a short visit. Happy New Year.

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    1. Are you arriving to Mission this Wednesday? If so we are still around so we can try to get together. Just send us an email. :-)

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  5. We've been in Mexico since late October. It is finally cooling down to a nice level of warm, it's 79 this afternoon in Mazatlan. If you come through Mazatlan I'd love to buy you and Ruth dinner. Shrimp or ribs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mexico sounds soooo good right now. We are tired of being cold and not seeing any sun!

      We will be going through Mazatlan right near the end of March. We would love to take you up on your wonderful offer. Keep in touch and we look forward to meeting you. :-)

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  6. Happy New Year! Bundle up and stay warm. Catch you in 2018!

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  7. What a shame that you are using your Grandmother's quilt that way, don't you know that is an antique and very precious?

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    1. The quilt was very well worn before we started using as a padded ground cover for doing repairs. If we didn't use it for that who know where it might be by now. Kevin always has wonderful memories of his grandmother every time he brings it out. It will be around still for a very long time.

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  8. Happy New Year, safe travels!! Enjoy the electric heater.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you and Happy New Year to you as well.

      We are looking forward to the sun more than the electric heater. Boy, it sure has been a cold time here in Texas this December.

      Delete
  9. Happy New Year Kevin and Ruth hope you had a wonderful evening. We are looking forward to your Mexico trip caravan posts. Are you guys going with an actual caravan group or are you guys doing your own caravan?

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    1. Thanks Brigitte and Happy New Year to you as well!

      We are leading an actual caravan group through Mexico but it's our "own".

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  10. Sounds like you are ready for the trip south. I can say for sure, I have never given any of our motorhomes a sponge bath:)

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    Replies
    1. Pretty much, more than ready when you consider the temperatures that we have been having!

      Sponge baths work well when you are in spots where you can't do a proper wash. :-)

      Delete

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