Looking For A Lull

So the house is a true mess.  The fix-it guys have been in and out tearing out floors, ceilings, walls, carpets etc, putting up plastic containment barriers and moving in big noisy machines.  It's nice to know that we could just take off to the camper and live there if we needed.  I would probably do that if I didn't need to be here to let people in/out while this process takes place. We've been assured all of this mess is covered, but strangely we have yet to see our insurance adjuster.  This mystery person that holds all of the answers as to where we go and how we get back to normal is nowhere to be seen. Oh, well,  It will all work out in the end.  Here are a few pictures of our fun so far. Workers in droves descended upon us. Parts of the house are sectioned off in plastic, like in E.T.! Our kitchen is out of commission, all of the floors have been removed and there are big dryers in there too. There are not plastic "Doors". ...

So we made it home and the water damage was pretty bad.  The kitchen flooring is bubbled, the ceilings in the basement have fallen and the carpet in the basement is a total loss.  I called the insurance company and it sounds like they are going to be pretty good to work with.  I'm a little apprehensive since this is the first claim I've ever had to file for homeowners insurance.  I'm hoping the process is smooth and we can get it all repaired.  What fun. That's the most action the elliptical has seen in a bit. What a mess!

It's been a busy week with work, but that is a good test.  Only a couple more days left on this trip and then we will start working on the next one. It has not been the smoothest of trips, or months for that matter.  The Donk got bit by something we think and had an allergic reaction.  She has not been eating right the whole time we've been here either so she has been a pretty miserable puppy.  We also found out that something leaked back at the house while we've been gone and we have a bit of water damage to contend with when we get home.  It's easy to get discouraged when you have so many things that go wrong in a short time, but we just have to remember that it's not always like this and just because everything isn't going your way at the moment life is still good. Sad puppy wearing her sock to cover her bug bite.

I can hardly make a trip to SW Michigan longer than a day without stopping by my favorite restaurant in the area and having a couple of beers.  This trip however, it only worked out that we could go on Sunday which you may know from past posts is when I normally would have brunch with my bloody mary. My favorite Michigan restaurant did not disappoint when it came to delivering a bloody mary, although state law made it so that it was delivered to my table precisely at noon at the tail end of my repast instead of when I began to eat at 11:45 AM. This particular restaurant though is not known for their bloody Mary's but rather their VERY robust selection of beers.  A separate menu for beer is available where you will find hundreds of different choices.  Join the beer club, take a few home, and try something different each time.  Many years ago I was introduced to Big T's in Lawton, Michigan and it was a regular stop for us when we lived in the area.  Now it i...

This trip we've been doing better with the food.  We've cooked almost every meal this week at the trailer with the exception of 1 rotisserie chicken we picked up and even then I still cooked the side dish. The combo of the grill and the instant pot really work well.  We can put both of them into play together and make some great meals.  The small grill works really well although it is easy to burn food on it, and we can use it under the awning if it rains.  We've not used it as much this week though, with the temperatures in the upper 90's and the humidity really high, there have been a few storms that have popped up that caused us to roll up the awning.  I don't grill in a downpour. All in all, we've picked up a few new recipes and even been eating a little more healthy!  It's really nice to sit outside and eat though, but the mosquitoes have been making that difficult at times but we manage.  The dogs really like being out for dinner too! Mak...

So I've spent the last few days working from the trailer and I have to say it's been pretty smooth.  First the cell signal has gotten better here over the last year and I have not had to use the WeBoost at all. I've been using my Sprint phone for hotspot and with a 50GB monthly limit on hotspot data, I've worked out that gives me around 20-25 days of work time.  Being that the phone has unlimited data to itself, we've been using it to stream Prime Video and Netflix, sharing the screen with the TV.  I still have the Google Fi hotspot to use too if I need it and in case of dire emergencies, I could relocate to the truck and use it's wifi. I want to experiment working at different locations in the trailer to see what will be the most comfortable and convenient.  I think next week I'll try putting a chair in the bunk room and setting the laptops up on the top bunk to see how that goes. My current work setup. Thinking about putting a chair on that ...

So the hitch did give me fits again. Not only was it hard to hitch up but it would not unhitch for anything. I tried, my buddy Shannon tried and we could not get it undone. Finally, after letting the trailer sit for a day or two, I stretched it again and yanked on the release and it came free. Yeesh, I'm going to have to report this and to Curt and see what their customer service is like. Aside from that we are enjoying camping here in Michigan at the "Tyler Lull Campground". Here is a pic from before I got the truck unhitched. We are much more level now that we are unhitched!