Soda, Screens & Windows, Rest & Pretending!

Well...I keep trying to turn my camera on, but it appears to be truly gone. Oh, well!

I am sitting here drinking an IBC Cream Soda. Yum! Dave and I like their cream soda more than their root beer...and we both like root beer a lot. We don't normally buy soda, but we found it on special for a good price and decided to by a six pack of each. Normally, sodas are too sweet for me to finish...but I really like these.

It is raining today. After a few days of nice warm weather, we are dipping into the 40's in the daytime and 30's at night. Brrrrrr!!!! It is getting chilly. We put the foil insulation in the windows last night to help keep the warmth inside. It is a good thing we did not put the oil heater outside yet!

Last week I put the screens back into our big side windows. I take them out in the winter because of the ice that forms on the inside of the windows. On an RV, the screens go inside, not outside. When ice forms on the window, it freezes the screen to the window, making it difficult to remove the ice.

Darn! I just realized that I never took a picture of the ice on the windows before it melts. Thankfully, this last winter was nearly as bad as the winter before. We did get ice, but not as much...on the windows anyway. We got a lot MORE ice on the roads...which is where it really counts. That is where people's lives are at stake. I would much prefer to deal with ice on the windows than on the driveway and the roads!

I heard a really good sermon today on pretending. Are we real in our walk with God? Or are we pretending? Do we do things to try and look good...being hypocritical? Or are we being real about how we live? Dave and I love sermons that step on toes...especially our toes. We want to be challenged. We do not want to live a complacent life.

We are resting today between church and the evening class. Dave worked hard yesterday on the creek trench. So hard, in fact, that he came in sore. So, when he asked what our plans were for after church, I told him "rest"!

Well, I am getting a bit sleepy. Hmmm...maybe I will take a nap!

From our little RV on the hillside to you on this lazy Sunday afternoon...blessings!

Long Day and Home Education!

Wew! I made it through yesterday! We have started going to a home school co-op on Tuesdays. We have not been able to go due to no money, no car. Well, God made a way for us to do it through someone who worked things out for us. But it means a VERY long day!

We leave about 5:45 a.m. Yep, you read that right! A.M.! As in...it is still dark. Now, I am used to getting up most days right around that time. However, having all three of us out the door by that time is vastly different! The night before we all need to be showered up and I have to have something packed for both breakfast and lunch.

First I drop Dave off at work; although, when the weather turns nicer, he will be dropping me off instead. That way I won't have to go pick him up. The classes are in two different places. Well, actually, the first set of classes are not really co-op classes, but a lot of the same people are there.

So, my son and I get dropped off at the first church, where the music classes are held. The church secretary is a home schooling mom herself and she has a place for us to work on schooling until the music theory classes start. My son really likes it.

From there we go to the second church, where the co-op classes are. We will need to catch a ride once we start getting dropped off. We go to the second church and eat lunch while we wait for his classes to start. He is taking Oceans, P.E. (for which I am currently a helper), and Art.

He loves all of his classes and he is making some friends. I get to meet and talk with other home schooling parents. Adult conversation! Yay! We are very blessed by this.

Last week, the first week, we were still not up to speed with getting well after being sick. I asked a friend if she would mind dropping us off for the afternoon classes only. She was gracious to do that as it is way out of her way normally. She decided to do shopping that day instead so it worked out nicely for us both.

This week, we did the whole thing. I was exhausted. With PTSD, it does not take much to overwhelm me. I am realizing that I must find a quiet place to just take a quick nap or something during his first class. Yesterday, I was so exhausted that I had my eyes closed most of the way home. I did not even go into the store with Dave on the way home. As soon as we got home I hit the couch. I sort of dozed off and on...not sure if I actually slept at all or not.

Later, I dragged myself off the couch and checked email and a couple of things on the net and then was in bed by 10. This morning, I could still feel the aftereffects of such a long day away from home. But it is worth it! I will just have to take each week as it comes.

It snowed yesterday and part of today, so far. I love watching the snow come down. I just hate that it keeps turning to rain and then sometimes to ice. This is not the winter weather I remember from before. This is like the transitional weather from winter to spring. It is almost as if winter never hit this year. :(

On the one hand, that may be good...saves us the cost of heating and makes it easier to do laundry. On the other hand, it is dreary, muddy and icey. The ice is bad because of how dangerous it is, too.

Today, the sun is shining. I love the sunshine...warm or cold...I love the sunshine!

The mouse population went down again by two (oops...editing in correction...THREE) within the last few days! Sure wish they would just stay outside! My son and hubby get to do the mouse trap duty.

Ice, Lockin, Mice, Mildew & a Blanket in the Bathtub!

OK...you are probably wondering what those things have in common...or maybe not! :)

Our church has a youth lockin tonight. So far, it has not been cancelled due to icy roads. The roads are in pretty good condition...right now. However, a lot of driveways are not...which effects us. Last night Dave parked across the creek rather than risk trying to get down an icy driveway this morning. That was a good thing as there is at least an inch of ice on our driveway. :(

The lockin...well, the ice effects our son getting there. Dave has to work late. We have only one vehicle. The driveway of the person who could give us a ride there...yep...you guessed it...is icy and she cannot bring us. So, Dave will have to bring him about two hours late.

Now, what does this have to do with mice, mildew or a blanket in the bathtub? Well, this lockin is overnight. We did find the sleeping bag, but it had gotten left outside in a garbage bag when we had to spray the inside of the tarp shed for mildew. The bag apparently got ripped open or something and there is frozen water in it. The washing machine is wrapped up for the cold and I cannot use it to wash the sleeping bag.

Our son has a favorite blanket that someone gave him. It is bit large for his sleep area, so it was in the tarp shed. Well...the mice got to that and bit holes in it, which has son rather upset. It was a gift...poor guy. So, he cannot use that, either.

We found a bigger blanket in our box when we went looking for his small sleeping bag...a bag that was NOT outside. However, this blanket smells like the box and needs to be washed. So, we have a blanket in the bathtub.

I have washed smaller blankets in there and it is not too bad. We have a shower curtain rod in the middle of the wall at the top to hang things from. I use it to drape things across and then twist them to ring them. Only one problem with that...this blanket (a queen/king, if I remember correctly) is too heavy and will just bring the rod down. I know...I tried and almost brought it down. :P

Ever try to wring out a big blanket? It is very heavy...and hard to wring. What makes it even better is that our hot water heater only holds 6 gallons...which means the water is pretty COLD!!! Yikes! So, I have this blanket that is soaking that I have to get wrung out enough to get it into the dryer. Hmmm...I wonder what happens when you put a soaking wet blanket in the dryer? Do you think it will ruin the dryer? Uh oh!

So, as I write this...we are trying to get the smell out of the blanket...with only partial success...partly due to an inability to really wring out the water. Plus, I am waiting for the hot water heater to heat the water up again. Oh, what fun...NOT! :)

This is life in our little RV on the hillside. We have mice and mildew, ice and lockin and a blanket in the bathtub! What is YOUR day like today? LOL

Answer to Another ? About the Icey Windows

Anonymous said...

I still dont understant why you have to remove the ice. would it drip on the floor? Would it stay frozen? Do you need the window open in this kind of weather?


We don't actually need to remove the ice from the window. What we need to do is to unblock the drain holes. Once I take the insulation sheets off the windows, the ice starts to melt...fairly quickly. So, I need to remove the ice plugs from the drain holes so that the water won't run over the lip of the track and down the wall.

The sliding window has a very narrow space between it and the front wall of the track. If that space is filled with ice, which it usually is, the ice on the window melts and runs right down over the ice in the track and onto the sill and down the wall. I don't remove the ice to open the window. In fact, even when the ice is removed on the inside, there is often still just enough ice at the bottom to keep the window frozen shut anyway.

So, really, it is all about keeping the water from running down the wall inside. I squeegie the windows above the ice where there is just water. The water running down over the ice actually helps to melt it. Removing the water also makes it a lot easier to see out the window, which is why I squeegie it every morning to remove the condensation.

I hope that answered your question. Feel free to ask more!  :)

Snow! & Answer to ? About Icey Windows

We have snow! Only about 2-3 inches, but it is still very pretty. We also water dripping off the tarp that covers our roof, which means that it is melting and will probably turn to ice.  

I thought we would be moving back into the type of weather I remember as a child when we lived in this are for a few years. I have to admit it is disappointing having this weather, not to mention also difficult to work around with all the ice buildup.

Someone asked why our windows get icey. I will try to answer it as best I can. Our windows get cold from the outside. The cold glass is touched by the warm air inside and draws the moisture out of the warm air. This causes condensation on our windows. If we did not put anything in the windows, I don't think we would ever get ice because the warm air inside would keep leeching to the outside through the glass, keeping the condensation as water.

However, because we put insulation sheets in  there is a slight gap created. It is just enough to let a bit of warm air, forming condensation, but not enough to keep it warm enough to leave it water. So, the air in between the insulation sheet is cold enough to freeze the water to ice. When I take the sheets down in the morning, there is always a mix of water and ice. Water at the top, ice at the bottom. I guess it makes sense that it would water at the top since heat rises. Obviously, the warmer air would be higher up.

How much ice is there seems to be dependent on how low the temperature gets and how long it stays low enough to freeze the water.

I am sitting here listening to an older PBN podcast...one with Christmas music. I so love the Christmas music they play. It is very worshipful! It is something I can listen to any time of year as it reminds me of what Yahweh has done for us through His Son, Yeshua. I am always amazed when I think of the love of God. It is simply beyond my comprehension. So, I just sit and bask in it as He wraps His arms around my heart. mmmmmmmmmmm! How wonderful it can feel!

The Van's Across the Creek!

Well...Dave could not get enough ice broken up in the driveway before running out of steam. As sick as he has been, I hope he did not over do it. He actually had to back the van across the creek. It barely made it up the other bank, but he got it up there and then turned around. Tomorrow...if he is well enough to go in...he will have to walk down the icy driveway and across the creek. Hooboy! That country livin'!

Well, off to watch a movie together as a family...if we don't all fall asleep first from being so worn out. :)

Appointments on Ice & Hand Goop!

I pretty much have a standing once a week appointment. Today, I was not sure if I was well enough to make it, but I did drag myself in there. He knew that we had all been sick, and so had his family. Oh, what joy...sharing germs! So, I shared with him about the hand sanitizer we use.

It might seem odd sharing about it since we have been sick, but it has actually been awhile since we have been this sick. Dave has managed to dodge most of the stuff going around. We use it on shopping carts and after shaking hands, especially in places like church. We noticed that it really seemed to make a difference once we started using it.

We all feel as if we are on the upswing, but we are very tired and still feeling very drained. Because of the road conditions, Dave insisted on taking me to my appointment. I drive so seldom that he was concerned about me.

When we got back home, we could not make it up our driveway. He is now trying to get the van turned around, but it is not in a good place for turning around. I love the winter, but this is the part that is hard. And salt won't melt ice if the temps drop below 20 degrees F, which it will do tonight. Which reminds me...we had better leave the water dripping! It is no fun to have a frozen water hose.

Well, I am just updating quickly here, then I am off to lay down again...after I see if he got the van turned around. If he cannot turn it, I don't know how he will get to work tomorrow.