Fickle Finger of Fate

Jan. 13 - ?, 2014

Fort Stockton RV Park, Fort Stockton, TX

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONTENTS
RV LIFE
RV TIP
PET PEEVE
CRAFTS
PETS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Texas is cold too!

RV LIFE:

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade...Alcoholic lemonade that is!

The weather has been all over the scale. The other day it was near 80°. Today it was 29° this morning and may not get out of the 40's all day. This is my own homemade adult lemonade. Some simple syrup, fresh lemon, true lemon powder, grapefruit vodka and tonic.

When I use up a bulky item, it makes me happy. Living in an RV, every little bit of extra space helps. With our truck engine woes, I have been enjoying more alcoholic beverages than usual. My norm is probably 2-3 glasses of wine PER WEEK. But these past 3 weeks, I've been adding Irish Cream or Frangelico to my coffee. I've been having wine more often and later in the evening. And, my hard liquor consumption has risen. With that, my large bottles are disappearing. My bottle of gin is now gone and my bottle of Absolut Ruby Grapefruit vodka is also now gone. Ahhh, some vacant space in the cabinets! Since we don't have a vehicle and are dependent on the  kindness of others to take us into town, we dare not also request a stop to the liquor store. That is not a necessity at all. Besides, I've still got 4 bottles of wine left.

I'm sure you can deduce from my above drinking habits, that the truck is still not fixed. Although Fernandez Auto may not be the fastest, you can't blame this delay on them. We had to order an engine and get it delivered. We are hoping it will arrive tomorrow and they'll start working on it. The mechanic picked me up today to bring me in to pay for the engine. Sigh....$5000.00 on my personal charge card and $9400.00 on our joint charge card. Sigh....and that's just for the engine (+tax). Scott has been researching online all about the engine troubles. There have been MANY cases and the price we paid is the general going price everyone else has paid. This is JUST FOR THE ENGINE! I think we'll have to do what Carla, of Cozy Be Gone has been doing. Just stay in one spot that offers a monthly rate. We'll save on park fees and diesel gas fill ups.

From Scott's Facebook: "Just found out that we missed out on a Ford 6.0 diesel engine class action lawsuit by 3 weeks. 3 of the things in the suit we've had. Papers had to be filed by 12/31/13. Guess the Fickle Finger of Fate (how many remember that?) has decided to poke us a bit. Poke, poke, poke."

So because of this engine dilemma, our plans have drastically changed.

Corpus Christi-Cancelled

Galveston-Cancelled

Alabama Gulf Coast & meeting up with Carla, of Cozy Be Gone-Cancelled

New Orleans visit with Mickey and her great Cajun food-cancelled

Dina's adoption transport-Cancelled by a week

So we just wait, keep working on our state of mind to deal with all this and go on. RV life is still good.

Since today is on the cooler side, I think I'll make myself a comfort drink...hot chocolate with fluff in it! Maybe I'll add a little Frangelico to it, maybe not.

And since cocoa comes out of a tree, that makes it a plant, therefore chocolate counts as a vegetable right? That means cocoa is really a veggie drink! OK, I know, I'm stretching.  I'll have my real salad later, but for now I'll relax with my hot chocolate.

By the end of the week, it should be in the 80's again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV TIP:

I've mentioned this newsletter before and I'll mention it again... Roadtreking Here is a very handy tip for those that driveway camp. You can use the stick & brick house sewer to empty your tanks. Check out the how to here. Maybe we'll try this out while we're in NJ staying in my in-law's driveway, in the Spring. I'll update if we try it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PET PEEVE:

I thought of something else that I was missing. Good coffee. I just ran out. Scott's light roast is ugh. While Scott was at the grocery store the other day, he picked up Starbucks Sumatra. Starbucks? You picked up Starbucks????!!!!! My eyes grew wide and flames started seeping out. Scott started trembling because he could see the "wrath of Debbie" was about to be thrown on him. My mind is whirring. Starbucks! How could he? But at least he tried, with the little choices he had. What a guy. He gathered our groceries and got almost everything on the list. Calm... easy... quiet... Deb. Ok, I'm good. The dragon has been contained.
"Thank you honey. I'll give it a try. I hope it's better than your coffee. I love you." 
Why you ask? Why does the word Starbucks have such a negative effect on me? Do you know what you are asking? The dragon is about to come out and rant!
I am not a "label" watcher. I do not pay the extra money to show off a label. In fact, I'm just the opposite. I am anti-label. I did not buy Calvin Klein jeans in the 70's/80's. I will not ride a Harley Davidson, I could not care less about "Coach" bags. I do buy name brand items if I like the quality, usefulness, design & no hype.
While I was still working, I went out for a cup of coffee on a cold Winter's day to the local Starbucks shop about 4 blocks from work. Having never been there, I was almost too overwhelmed by the strange language, but decided to order a cappuccino with whipped cream. I walked back to work thinking about the yummy drink I'll partake while on my break. I get to the lunch room with a good book and take off the lid.
Ugh Grrrrrrosssssssss! There was a 1/4 inch layer of OIL on my cappuccino! Bull crap! I paid all this money only to be given fake cream???? I have boycotted this establishment ever since, which adds up to at least 10 years. Their practices may have changed, but with all the hype of how wonderful Starbucks is and the snobs who order  their fancy worded beverages, I have no use for Starbucks. (Unless I'm stuck in Fort Stockton, with no other coffee available.)
For those that enjoy Starbucks coffee,but need help ordering. Here is a how to guide.
Choose a size. Starbucks is known for having their name-specific sizing. Fear not getting the sizes down is "easy" Yea, right. .
Short is the equivalent of 8oz
Tall is the equivalent of 12oz
Grande is the equivalent of 16oz
Venti is the equivalent of  20oz
Trenta is the equivalent of  24oz
 ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!! Don't you think small, medium, large, extra large, giant would work???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRAFTS:

This is what our rig and truck will soon look like if I don't curb my yarn purchases!!!

We had our mail sent here and I received more yarn and an assortment of beads. I already have a use for this yarn. None of my stash yarn was right for my February Mystery Knit-a-long, so I HAD to buy yarn.
It is getting to the point, that I am knitting just for the pure challenge and enjoyment. I'm really enjoying knitting with speciality brands of yarn, instead of big box craft store yarns. There is nothing wrong with big box craft store yarns. They are less money and usually more durable, but more generic. I am realizing I LOVE silk blend yarns and mohair. The silk gives a slight sheen and drape to the fabric. But it's gotten to the point that I don't know what to do with my knitted items. My recent projects are made with quality fiber that needs hand washing. Who wants to deal with that, unless you are a fiber enthusiast? I will continue to knit and continue to try to sell my beautiful (yes, I'm proud of my work) items, or if the opportunity comes along, I'll give them away to an appreciative recipient.

Doris, in Illinois, wearing her sweater I made for her. Keep warm sweetie.

I've finished my Indian Feathers shawlette. I used up the beautiful mohair, wool, silk yarn from the lace scarf I recently made. I really really love this Luna yarn. It feels like a cloud. Hmm, do I know what a cloud feels like? You know what I mean. This shawlette which is really an arched scarf is so light, lofty, soft, squishy and beautiful! Too bad I have no reason to wear it. I'm lucky to get out of my PJ's these past few weeks. This scarf is for sale for $60. Yep, big bucks, but it IS SILK AND MOHAIR, plus the time it took for me to knit it. 

Can you see the Indian feathers on the bottom?

Unfortunately, I have yet to take a photo that shows it off correctly. It is beautiful! It has just a few blue beads near the points of the feathers on the bottom.

When blocking the shawlette/scarf on the picnic table, it was soooo windy, I had to use all kinds of items to hold it down and keep it from blowing away.

This was all the yarn I had left over. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PETS:

Where is Devin's head? It's on the arm rest on the left side of the photo. Devin covered his eyes with his feet when I turned on the light when I got out of bed. I guess he wasn't ready for the day to begin.

Somedays I spend my days in the bedroom. The reason is usually because it's so cold outside and the bedroom is the warmest and coziest spot in the RV. The other reason is shown above. There's no place for me to sit! So I head to the bedroom and within minutes, all 3 dogs are upstairs joining me.