State of Emergency: Tropical Storm Erica

Our first possible hurricane.  A state of emergency has been declared before Erica gets here--better planning by FEMA perhaps.

Time to put everything away, inside and out.
Checklist:
__ Food, water, and snacks for 2 adults and a cat for 5 days
__ Nothing loose on outside of boat
__ Car filled with gasoline
__ Generator and extra gasoline prepared
__ Clean out cockpit loose items
__ Charge boat batteries & fill tanks
__ Check tie Lines



http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2015/8/28/governor_scott_decla.html

Spice Corral

i have discovered that even a small wake can disorganize your rotating spice rack in a hurry.  After speaking with several ladies, and researching, I am trying out bead storage jars.  Not sure it will be practical yet, but it sre takes up alot less space!

 

Soggy Laptop

I always place my computer in a protected area overnight, especially when it rains.  The torrential rains that came last night found a way to get to my laptop.  It had beads of water in it when I opened it this morning and I have lost the use of a few important letters like L, P, F and H. I am placing it in a 2 gallon baggie with the foot of a pair of pantyhose filled with rice in the hope that it will dry out and I'll get my full alphabet back.      

Three Transmissions Later . . . More Life Changes

 
   Life is never predictable, but sometimes it is more unpredictable than usual.  We delivered recreational vehicles from the manufacturer in northern Indiana to dealerships throughout the United States and Canada.  We started working for the company when we were still living on 3 acres in rural Michigan, just a 2 hour drive to the office.  January 1st we moved aboard the S/V Tumbleweed in northern Sarasota Bay, a couple of days drive to the office.  We took several runs to Florida and were often able to stay at the home of one of our friends or relatives along the way.  Life was grand, and our boat seemed so much larger when we lived on the road in the back of a pickup truck.  And then--the transmission on our dual axle pickup truck began to slip, so we took it in for repairs.
     We received good news from our trusted mechanic that had done work on our diesel truck before--it seemed to be a part in the transmission that could be rebuilt, not the failure of the entire transmission as we had feared and it would cost us less than a$1,000.  The truck was repaired in a week and half and we were on our way, stopping in Indiana to pick up a trailer and a motor-home bound for Houston.  We had provisioned for a long haul, planning to make deliveries for several weeks to make up for lost income and the repair bill
     Just as we crossed over the Texas border, the same gear began to slip again.  We called our mechanic and decided we needed to replace the transmission after all.  We waited for two weeks while a newly rebuilt transmission was ordered from a local dealership and installed in our truck.  Success, it would be expensive, now totally about $6,000, not including even more than that in loss of income, but our finances could handle it--not setting us back too badly.  We called our dispatcher, and were told that not much was available, so Doug accepted a single run since that was all that was available.
     I could hear the frustration in his voice when he called me from the Georgia-Tennessee border--the transmission was failing.  The newly rebuilt transmission was failing after 600 miles.  Yes, it was under warranty for parts and labor, but to say it was a major disappointment would be an understatement.  He turned around and came home to return the truck to the mechanic.  We lost the cost of the fuel and were now facing more down time.
     The mechanic looked the transmission over for a few days and decided that we needed to take it to a local dealership to a particular mechanic.  We waited a week before calling, and the guy said he had it apart trying to detect if the transmission had totally failed, or if it could be repaired, explaining that is was a warranty issue.  We called the following week and were told that he was still investigating.  We called at the end of the week and our contact was on vacation.  We talked to the service manager that told us it had not been taken apart, but that they had replaced our faulty recalled airbags (what?) and that they could not work on the transmission. We called and returned the truck to the original mechanic.
     The original mechanic ordered a replacement transmission from the local dealership where he purchased the first replacement.  Another week and half went by before the final repairs were made. Doug set out again for Indiana and called in to the company's dispatcher to be told that they were short of work, there was nothing really available.  We called to resign and were told  by the boss that there was at least one run we could take, but it hadn't been offered to us because our dispatcher was frustrated because nobody would take that delivery. We would have taken the delivery, but it had just been "the last straw."  Our ability both mentally and fiscally to sustain such a major financial loss without deliveries was quickly dwindling.  It was time for a change, time to regroup, time to get off the road.
   

 We began discussing the possibilities.  Doug had enjoyed his career in sales before he began driving big rigs for a living, so we began looking at local employment ads for furniture or garden store sales positions.  So, with a newly updated resume in hand, Doug set out to seek a local job.  He decided to stop by the stores in order of preference.  The first store asked him to come back for an interview.  Then the second interview, followed by an invitation to attend a two-week long, paid training session near Orlando with the company providing a hotel suite for each individual and their families. Two more day left for training and then the job begins.      It will take a while to get back on track, but life goes on . . .