$85.  That is what I paid yesterday to find out how little I know yet about our fifth wheel.  I think I have mentioned that the water heater has been misbehaving.  Nothing but hot water (in both hot and cold feeds!) one day, nothing but cold water the next.  We might have hot water for showers, then no hot water at all an hour later.  It seemed for a while that it was only cranky when using electricity, but then on Sunday we couldn’t get hot water even when using gas.  It was possessed.  With the grandkids in residence we had to take action.  So we found a guy at the campground who was a competent RV repairman.  He agreed to look at it for his standard $85 “house call” fee.

It took him about a minute to identify the problem: the water heater had not been properly de-winterized.  I *thought* that the previous owner had de-winterized the coach before I took possession.  I *thought* I had asked him about that.  Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.  But in any case it hadn’t been done.  At least not correctly or completely.  And, to be fair to him, he was a relative newbie as well and it would have been just his second de-winterization so maybe he didn’t know how to do it right either.

Something about the bypass dohicky not being connected to the thingamajob.  I will talk to the repair guy again to get the details right so that it won’t happen again.

Of course de-winterization won’t be an issue if we avoid winter.

But I still have to learn all these things.  At $85 a pop I can’t afford to be ignorant for long.

We will be signing a lease today to rent the house.  This was the last known impediment to our Great Escape and by tonight it will be out of our way.  There is nothing to stop us now.  Or, more to the point, now we HAVE to go because as of September 1 we have no other place to live.

It is premature to give notice, but I am SO tempted.  58 more working days.  And if working wasn’t difficult enough already, I now have to submit my 2013 goals by the end of June.  Is “getting the f**k out of here” a legitimate professional goal?

We are increasingly feeling like visitors in our own home.  A rubbish removal guy came yesterday to clear the basement.  Some other stuff from the porch stash went to the AmVets.  Rita’s brother was with us most of the week painting the living room, dining room and basement.  I almost don’t recognize the place anymore.  And, as Jett noted yesterday, “I think there is an echo in here.”

We also had one showing from the “for sale” ad and a couple of phone calls from the “for rent” ad.  Whichever produces a commitment first wins.  When we know for a fact that the house will pay for itself next year, either by sale or lease, then we can work hard at getting rid of the remaining furniture and I can give notice at work.  I hope that happens soon, because my heart is increasingly in NH with our new lifestyle.

But there are still some chores remaining.  The big ones are the back deck repair and the hardwood floor in the main bedroom.  I am hard at work on the floor and have passed the two-thirds point.  But it is slow going.  Ever board has to be positioned and stapled in place.  And then I have to use a hammer and screwdriver to drive all the staple heads further down.  Without that last step too many board crack when hammered into place.

Pictures taken this morning:

As for the deck, Jett’s son is flying in from VA on Tuesday to help. He is a carpenter by trade and will be immensely helpful.

With some luck (from the weather – it is supposed to be “unsettled” all week) and a lot of hard work the two big jobs will be done within a week or so.

Then maybe Jett can start to relax.

Well, it COULD happen.

The first night in the fiver was mostly successful.  We brought up a whole truckload of stuff (about 300 lbs – we weighed it all) and got “settled in” in a minimal sort of way.  We cooked our first meal – mac and cheese on the stove and burgers on the grill.  The refrigerator is working fine – the beer was frosty and the freezer kept our bag of ice well.  The dogs were pretty comfortable with the metal stairs, though Cha-Cha needed some encouragement in the form of a hand on his collar to start the descent.  We met two dogs on our morning walk and neither produced a fight.

Pretty successful, overall.

But… we had a lousy night’s sleep.  The mattress is too thin and we didn’t bring enough blankets.  It gets COLD in NH at night.  Who knew?

We will get a foam “crate” for the mattress before our next overnight.  If that doesn’t work, we will get a new mattress.  As for the cold… we could try closing the windows before we go to bed.  And maybe bring another blanket.  We could even think about turning on the furnace (which I tried, this morning, successfully), but it is fairly noisy and I will avoid that if possible.

The other significant problem is the water.  Yes, we have water – no problem there.  We just don’t have any cold water.  Hot water – VERY HOT – comes out of both spigots.  I am told there is a “mixer” valve somewhere, but I have no idea where.  I may have to email the seller to figure this one out.

In the meantime I am not sure I want to chance a shower.  Can you say “scald”?

The Wi-Fi is also kind of “iffy”, as is the cable service.  It took about 15 minutes to get the Wi-Fi connected this morning and the cable went out without warning during breakfast.

But I expect that the Wi-Fi will be iffy just about everywhere.  We will get our own Wi-Fi before we hit the road.  I just have to arrange that with Verizon.  And we will get DVD capability in the bedroom as well as the living room and have a supply of DVDs that we can play if we get bored.

It will work.  I just need to figure out how to sleep and take a shower.  Little things.

No, not New Year’s Ever, silly… our FIRST NIGHT in the fifth wheel.  This is when we find out if we can sleep in the thing.  Or maybe we find out that we need to upgrade the mattress.  And the dogs try to figure out where they will sleep.

Should be interesting.

Sunday was a beautiful day in Medford, MA.  The sun was out, the birds were singing and all was right with the world.  It was a great day to lounge on the deck and have a couple of brewskis.

But we weren’t on the deck.  We were sweltering in the 100-degree attic, doing a second round of cleanout in preparation for our second yard sale.  So instead of thinking about those brewskis (though they would come later), I passed the time thinking about all the things we will regret not having done while we lived here.

I don’t think there are many things that I will regret having never done, just because I have done most everything at least once, I think.  I am sure there is much I will miss, but it is more along the lines of “Gee, I wish we could _________ again” rather than “Gee, why didn’t we ever _________?”  There are a few things, though, that I have never done and would like to do before I go:

• Spend a day on Nantucket.  I have been to Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island, but never Nantucket.
• Visit Amherst.  I have heard nice things about it but have never been.  Maybe we can drop in on our way west.
• Visit the Museum of Natural History at Harvard.  I think I was there once, but Jett has never been.  Gotta see them ol’ dinosaur bones.  And the glass flowers, too.  And while we are there we can pop over to the Peabody Museum, which neither of us has ever seen.

There are lots of other things on my B list: Fruitlands Museum and the Higgins Armory, for example.  But there is little chance that we will find the time to see these before we leave.  No tears will be shed.

But I will see if we can allocate a day for Nantucket.

After the attic is clean.

I am making progress on my To Do list, but it has become clear that I can’t do it all myself.  Fortunately we won two painting jobs at a charity silent auction, so I have a day’s worth of painting available for “free”.  I will have the pros to the bathrooms.  I also have a brother-in-law who loves to do odd jobs and painting, so I will hire him as well.  Then I can sit back, watch and eat bon-bons.

Well… maybe not.  There is still plenty for me to do.  That hardwood floor is only 20% installed and a lot of yard work has gone begging.  No rest for the weary.