Thinking of camping while surrounded by snow

All said and done Wednesday's snowstorm did not meet expectations. Only 10 inches of the white stuff was deposited on my yard, nevertheless we've had our work cut out for us cleaning up. Thursday morning I ran the snowthrower just enough to get the vehicles out for us to go to work and then shoveled out the dog pen. That night I did the rest of the driveway area and with Carol's help the patio and deck were cleared as well as widening the driveway entrance. This morning I pulled snow off from a couple roof areas and moved that snow away. Everything is tidy now.

Scotia and E'owyn enjoying a morning on the deck.

Late morning we left for the annual open house at the Call of the Wild RV Center. From all the models of travel trailers we looked at two stood out that we really liked.

Most of the campers for sale at Call of the Wild were outdoors which makes looking them over a little surreal.

Number two was one by North Trail, nice layout with a couple unique twists to it one of which was a kind of breakfast bar/partition dividing the dining area from a bunk room area. This particular model would make a terrific family or grandparents choice. The one we liked the most was the Autumn Ridge 284RBS. There really was not anything about it that we didn't like, the living area was spaciest, the bathroom was roomy and well laid out and the bedroom appeared luxurious. The TV could rotate from the living space into the bedroom, very nice indeed. We'll keep an eye on this model for the next couple of years in case we are able to upgrade. Both of the models were on display inside the facility.

This is the kitchen area of the
North Trails model we liked.

The kitchen/dining area of the Autumn Ridge.

Tight aisle space outside of the Autumn Ridge.

Next weekend is the big RV show in Portland which will also have campground booths which is as interesting to us as the RVs.

What's in your orbit?

The International Space Station
Can you image this in your back yard?
This thing is about the size of a football field

While supper was baking in the oven Carol and I spent 4 minutes at dusk watching the International Space Station (ISS) pass to the north of us in it's orbit of earth. With the help of NASA's Satellite Sighting Information webpage (follow the links under the title "Sighting Opportunities") It's easy to step outside at the right moment to find its appearance in the sky and you may be surprise how often you can see it if you have a good sky view. What you are seeing is a bright star about the brightness of Jupiter moving along at a high rate of speed, much faster relative to us on the ground than a passenger jet high in the sky. The ISS is traveling at 12,000 mph I believe. Sometimes the angle is relatively low so if you are surrounded closely by trees and/or buildings you may have to wait for a time when it passes close to directly overhead. The times I've used are all near dusk as there are no flashing lights to see, only the reflection of the sun on the ISS itself. I had discovered the webpage last fall after having spotted the fast moving light one evening and knowing that neither of the space shuttles were in orbit I figured it was the ISS so I looked it up on the web. Since the time change and the approaching winter I haven't taken the time to see when there might be some sightings coming up. But tonight I did, and four minutes is a long sighting. There was also a sighting for a few seconds about an hour and a half later which I caught barely above the treetops to the west-by-northwest direction. Monday at 5:25pm in my region is a six minute sighting. Yes, its only a light in the sky but considering what it represents I feel a little awe everytime I see it.

Yeah, it's snowing alright

Some dogs don't mind the snow, especially if you're outside with them. The storm is going about it's business, should be a little more than yesterday's forecast called for. The only way to spruce up old snow is to dump new snow on top of it. As I had planned I begin the snow removal process in the morning.

So what, more snow on the way

Another storm coming through tomorrow, could be 10-15 inches of snow. No big deal, just that it will arrive shortly after we leave for work and by the time we return the end of the driveway will be blocked by the snow from the plow trucks going by. If that's the case I'll park up the hill from the driveway, Carol and I will walk back, then through the snow to the house. Out with the snowthrower to open up the driveway enough for the car to get to the garage. If the storm lasts well into the evening I'll wait until Thursday morning to finish clearing the parking spots, then after I get home from work I'll take care of the extra areas. Might even take some snow off the roofs. Other than the fact I'm clearing away snow the only bummer about the storm is we had planned on my brother Dennis coming over for supper. We've put that off until next week.

Camping show season is almost upon us. This weekend we'll be visiting the dealer where we've bought our campers for their open house. The weekend after that the annual "Vacationland Camping and Outdoor Recreation Supershow" will take place in Portland. These will take the edge off the winter season.

How to store your prized possessions

As a response to Neal Asher's latest post on his blog this is my somewhat disorganized bookcase collection of SciFi books. Mostly what I've been reading over the last fours years and a number yet to be read. There are several books I've read from the Portland Public Library in the same time frame. About twenty-two of these I bought from some local used book shops. There's also some of my infamous Asimov's in the lower right corner.

In my attic are several boxes of mostly scifi books which I read over thirty years ago. If I live long enough there are a few I'd like to read again. In earlier blogs I've mention I have a unfinished blog detailing my journey into scifi. It's been a long time since I started it and it still has a long way to go, It's been awhile since my last entry in it.

Happy Birthday "Mrs just a little is enough"

Today is Carol's birthday. We celebrated with dinner at Cole Farms last night and Lois baked a cake which she brought over to spend part of today working on the cookbook with Carol. Otherwise a rather quiet day here on Ledge Hill.

Reading overlooked

Finished reading my July 2008 issue of Asimov's SF magazine. During that time period I came across the March 2008 issue I'd overlooked so I have a bit further to go to complete reading my backlog of those magazines. It's definitely a bonus, though I still haven't decided if I'll re-subscribe soon. I've subscribed for a year to Popular Science so for "side" reading I'll wait and see how that goes. It's crazy having magazines that one hasn't read stacked up, might as well just send the publisher a check telling them not to bother shipping me any copies. Here's what some of the stories in the July issue were about: jazz musicians in space - a woman copied via the original attempting traveling back in time - mutant dating - adult orphanages - disappearing and reappearing monkeys - historical Brits with alien encounters. Of course the stories are really about people in situations that do not exist for us but the human condition is at play and occasionally does prevail.

Wouldn't know a dull moment if it bit me

With Ian on the mend after his foot operation we've settled in on the change of routines around the house that it entails. Ian often propels himself around by hopping on his good leg, he's quite good at it. My nickname for him during this phase of recovery is "Pogo". Named after the device, as in pogo stick, not the comics character. For longer or more casual jaunts he uses a pair of crutches.On Saturday Lois and Elaine came over for a cookbook work day with Carol. They're putting it together in scrapbook style. I made a shrimp stir fry for lunch and probably brewed three pots of coffee, otherwise I stayed out of the way. Funny thing though, none of them broke out a bottle of wine - now that's focusing on the task at hand!

Sunday we had received six inches of the white stuff, the cold, fluffy version. This provided our exercise for the day, Pogo was off the hook as shoveling with crutches doesn't quite work.

Second time around

Ian and I took a drive down to Newton, Massachusetts today for some ankle surgery. It was corrective (do over) surgery for a procedure Ian had done last May in Portland which didn't do the job thoroughly enough by another surgeon. After yesterday's storm which amounted to barely more that an inch of snow the highway was a mess to drive on. We made good time (2:50) and the traction was fine but between the slush remains splashing up on the windows and windshield and the bright sun at a low angle coming in on the driver's side in heavy traffic I had a lot to monitor as we zipped down I-95. The surgery was done at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Ian is staying over night. The surgery went well so I was told by the doctor and he's sure he got everything that needed to be cleaned out. We trust him about this, time will tell. I'm spending the night at Park Lane Bed & Breakfast, a short drive from the hospital. A very nice place, comfortable 100 year old home and Pat the innkeeper is quite pleasant and helpful. After breakfast tomorrow I'll head over to the hospital and pick up Ian then get us home. He'll be on crutches for awhile again we hope for the last time on this problem.

New family member arrives

Congratulations to Mark and Megan on the birth of their first child, Brock. Mark is Carol's nephew, her sister Elaine's son. Carol and Lois provided my marching orders to stop in at the hospital's birthing center on my noontime walk and take some pictures. He's a great looking kid and will be a lot of fun to watch in the years to come.

Love in a vacuum (apologies to 'Til Tuesday)

Finished installing a central vac in the house yesterday. That took me a couple of days, unfortunately the first day was in April 2008. I was a couple of items short of what I needed during the process and one thing led to another and well... here it is January 2009 and I had a day to work on it. It works pretty good in spite of my scheduling issues. The concept of a central vac is pretty good but have you ever used one? It's quite a workout. I do the regular vacuuming at our house formerly with a standard canister type vacuum cleaner. You drag it around behind yourself and lug it up and down the stairs, change out the bag every third or fourth time you use it, etc. Well, a central vac involves installing special outlets located in a couple (3 in my house) of strategic spots which you attach a 30 foot hose to. A heavy duty vacuum cleaner hose which depending on the area of the house one is working in could be doubled up in places. After a while I felt like I was in a Indiana Jones movie wrestling with a giant snake. So in my first encounter with the beast we battled to a draw. It may take a couple of times to perfect my technique and then I think I'll be ready to take the show on the road. Know any county fairs I could join?

Love in a vacuum - 'Til Tuesday

Happy Another Year

In recent times I haven't been one to mark new beginnings by the date on a calendar though I wouldn't begrudge those who do. Starting diets and ending less then beneficial behaviors that are compounded by the recent holiday season aside, I think any changes that I may make should begin as soon as I can figure out how to go about it. Some changes need extra time away from work and distractions to think through. One change that I am trying to jumpstart is paying attention to my retirement funds. I know, a little late given the way the economy has tanked over 2008. With the time I have over the New Years holiday and weekend I've brought up my 401K and IRA accounts onto the computer and reviewed their present status (poor), gone through some online tutorials and am now prepared to make some adjustments to how my money is distributed between mutual fund types. Presently I'm heavily into the growth funds which with my inattention to these matters has cost me a pretty penny. In the first couple of months of 2008 these choices were going great but by not following trends and making a few adjustments to reflect what was happening a steep slide ensued. At the moment all the funds I'm in have been making steady gains so I probably should not be hasty to make changes yet, just prepare and keep my eye on things for a change.