Ewwww....

I'm not sure what to title this post - "Yonder she blows?"

"Into every Full-time life a little cr*p must fall?"

Yep - we've been told by helpful men around the campground we are LUCKY (I'd say blessed) to have been full-timing for 3 1/2 months and not have a major repair yet. ::snort::

The seal in our toilet valve went out. Not a big deal. We ordered a kit to fix it.

BUT a few nights ago the blank tank was full - for those of you not familiar with RV'ing - the poop is held in a tank (with water from flushing and paper) and you have to drain the tank  - for us every 4 - 6 days. We've not had trouble with sewer smells.....we are using one ply TP.....but alas.....one night while flushing, Michael was met with sewage he could SEE. EWWWW.....

We drained the tank.

The next night - there it was AGAIN - we drained again.

I know there are 5 of us living in the Caboose but we do NOT use 40 gal of sewer a day.

My hero!

Michael bought a  back fill thingy (clear attachment in the photo). It allows him to attach a hose (clearly marked with duct tape assuring it will NEVER be used for drinking water) to the stinky slinky which carries the poop from the tank to the septic system at campgrounds. He can then flush it with water and SEE the stuff coming out. EWWWWWWWWW again.

It took a long time but finally ran clear. We're hoping that's the end of that.

One of our neighbors came over and said we should buy two ply TP but only RV rated and we can get this at Wal-mart. The consensus is we "overcompensate" when using one-ply because our fingers go through the one ply paper. We should also double flush - each.and.every.time.  Yes, I sat and had this conversation with my husband and another man - can I hear an EWWWWWW?

In any event - all are suitably impressed we only have to drain 4 - 6 days with 5 of us living here.....and we hope this is the end of the sewage woes. 

BREAKFAST Comeback

Stacia and I have a previous tradition of weekly Saturday morning breakfasts - the two of us. We sometimes allowed Arielle or a visiting big sister to join us. We invited friends along two or three times. It was a time to connect with just her in the  midst of our busy ministry and household schedules. It allowed me to focus on her heart in the midst of preparing Arielle to fly the coop, Michael to retire and what we thought was our transition to the missionary lifestyle.

We've not done this weekly in the trailer. Sometimes we are traveling. Sometimes we are in strange towns and I don't want to venture out alone. Most recently, it simply isn't in our budget. Our retirement income is 1/3 of our former income and we aren't willing to guzzle our savings at restaurants.

We've had lots of time together. Full time RVing affords us much family time. However, as we're out and about she often comments on various breakfast spots. I talked with Michael and we agreed I would take her out this a.m. We've not done this since 31 Oct.

I tiptoed to the bunk room, pulled the curtain around her bunk and whispered in her ear,  "Would you like to get up and go to the shower house and out to breakfast or would you like to sleep in this morning?"

Her response warms my heart. Our slow-waker shot out of the bunk, grabbed her purse (ID for getting back on base) and said, "Let's go."

I suggested we visit the shower room first and she may want to change from her PJ's. We're a bit lax about this as we walk back and forth to the shower house in PJ's.

Waffle Barn was her choice. We've driven by it many times in our years in the area - never stopped. It was PACKED - a good sign.  It reminded me of an old time diner - or a cafe in Springfield, my hometown.

We had - are you ready? - waffles. They were good. Stacia's was loaded with chocolate chips and circled with whip cream. Mine had pecans in it - though the waitress kept correcting my pronunciation of pecan.

"Oh, you want Pee Can waffles."

I'd prefer pecan (puh - con) and we drink soda rather than pop - we've been in the south.

They only brought us one glass of water. We got tired of waiting for the second and decided to share....Stacia insisted on wiping the cup each time. 

 We headed to Marshall's and Michael's after breakfast. I'm working on building my perfect journal and wanted to see what they had which I might use. What we found were lots of Christmas gifts - which thrilled our little gift-giver.  We're preparing for our trip to Oregon.