BoUnCiNg MiCe

I worked my butt off cleaning the RV. It gave me flashbacks to cleaning a damn boat in the tropics, except I did not sweat as much this afternoon. Although the inside wasn’t too dirty, I vacuumed the dirt I had tracked in during the past month and the mouse turds found in the stove’s burners. I looked for more mice nests, but did not find any. If there are any rodents onboard come Friday, they better evacuate the RV before the cats find them. I envision them dropping out as I tool down the highway, their little furry bodies bouncing and then rolling down the warm asphalt before skipping off into the embankment along side a country road.

Over the past month I had slowly unloaded gear from the Rig as I needed it, bringing in one or two items at a time—an extra pair of underwear or socks, another t-shirt and finally a pair of long johns when I went to New Hampshire
last weekend. But today it all went back at once except for my computer, a change of underwear and my slipper socks—essential gear for the next day and night.

Of course I haven’t loaded the cats and their provisions. My poor kitties. They have enjoyed the freedom of the house, despite the cat spats with their cousin, The Booter Cat. Back into the RV they will go for the next six weeks and hopefully I’ll keep them there. Ever since Phoenix learned how to open the door and slide the screens off the windows I have feared I would come home without one cat or the other. I don’t think my heart could take another blow.

It took three hours to wash the RV using a bit of elbow grease. I got up on the roof and swabbed the deck removing mostly tree droppings, dried sap and bird dirt. The sides were dirty and most of the seams had mold or mildew. The RV wasn’t washed before I left in August and I don’t know the last time Dad had the chance to scrub it down. When he came home tonight he said it looked brand new. Almost. If I had the inclination and nothing else to do, I’d give it a good waxing. Thank God, I have something else to do.

I took it down the a gas station to check the tire and air bag pressure and filled the compressed air tank to 110 pounds, learning it is easier to put air into the rear dual tires with the air compressor than to use the air hose and nozzle at the gas station. It is an angle thing. I’ll need to change the oil in 1500 more miles.

The price of gas is going down, but after driving through Vermont where it was $2.45 in Woodstock, New York gas is high at $2.65 in Saratoga Springs, NY. In August I paid $3.29 in Connecticut. I’ll find out what it is this weekend when I return to Mystic, CT. My Jeep still has $3.03 gas in it from July.

Hair Cut

After a little cajoling and a mild refusal to pick up the scissor and do it myself, Dad got a “professional” haircut at a salon in the mall. He told the young stylist that it had been twenty years since he had a professional cut. I guess mom did it or maybe he tried to manage it himself. Regardless, he was in need of one despite being rather bald, a condition he continues to deny by having a comb-over that consists of a few wisps of hair. He had to admit it looked a lot better and he was pleased that he lucked into a deal on Tuesdays when men can get a $10.00 cut. Considering the amount of hair Dad doesn’t have, he should have got a $7.00 discount. Now, if I can just get him to put that Chicago White Sox ball cap in the wash. After all, I found a photo of him and Mom in Hawaii and he was wearing that hat. I think that was in 1996. However that is not the record. I graduated from Michigan in ‘85 and he still has that hat and it looks all of 21 years