Creve! Again!

Liz and I finally got settled into the house; Dee left on Friday morning, so I moved my things from the upstairs room to the other bedroom on the first floor. We spent the day quietly, taking a ride into Mt. Vernon, a little town about nine miles west of John Day. We went looking for a farmer's market we saw a flyer for, but all we saw was a small flea market. Being the adventurous women we are we decided to take a ride on the road leading south through town. It took us to the forest and a much higher elevation. When we ran out of road we headed back on the road we'd passed and coasted down the mountain, to the main highway, somewhere between Mt. Vernon and John Day. Later in the afternoon we grilled bison burgers and watched the sun go down. No big crowds or fireworks this holiday.

On Saturday and Sunday we planned and implemented some of our ideas about the landscape and interior changes for the house. Liz pulled the Heatolator out of the fireplace - all by herself. It's now sitting in the living room waiting for someone to help her get it out of the house. On Sunday we both put our hands to pruning the shrubs and making a landscape plan for the house. I took photos and drew a site plan noting proposed changes.

Today we offered our written report and the photos to our boss, Don. It being a Monday after a holiday, he was preoccupied by other activities and didn't get a chance to look at our progress report before we left the office to take care of some personal things.

Most immediate to me was ANOTHER flat tire on the truck, this time the right rear. I called the road service who sent someone out to put the spare on. Then I took the truck down to Les Schwab again for repairs. Another stem valve that failed. I got it! Replace all the others, too!!! So that's what I did - another $50 for three (including labor for removing the tires, and putting them back.)

It turns out that the people who came on the service call to repair the tire thought they were repairing a tire on the trailer. I contacted the road service to advise them to correct their records to show it was the truck. BUT - it turns out that the people they sent do 95% of the RV repairs in this area. They'd been to the trailer and offered that the tire didn't look so good...DUH!! But they suggested that I might need new wheel bearings. I told them that I would get back to them after I heard from the insurance agent, and I'm still waiting to hear from him/her.

Liz is making plans for a flight back to Tucson for a Social Security hearing on her application for disability. She's been hoping that the government would make a settlement, but no such luck. It looks like I'll be driving her to either Boise, ID or Portland, OR to catch her flight at the end of the month.