A Better Day

Well, we made progress today — driving from Richmond, VA to Florence, SC. Russell was up bright and early and took the dogs to the campground’s pet area where Tigger was able to play with another dog — Dante — for a good long while. Then it was on the road. We encountered traffic right away but it was just rubber-necking at a pretty bad accident on the other side of the highway and for the rest of the day it was pretty much smooth sailing. We listened to The TED Radio Hour, How I Built This  , some classical, some ABBA, some disco and some “classical music playlist: sleeping” (which was heavy on the sleeping and light on the classical if you ask me).

Anyhow, we got in to our campground around three/three-thirty in the afternoon which is pretty much our preferred time of arrival. Early enough so we can chill before dinner. We’ve stayed at this campground before. It’s a former KOA with an artificial lake, some weird looking Muscovy ducks, a very small pool, palmetto palms, an A-frame office building and sandy sites. I’m sure it’s hot as heck most of the year but since I’ve only stayed here in the winter I associate it with cold, mostly unpleasant weather. Today was more of an exception to the rule as it was sunny this afternoon and in the upper fifties. Russell took the dogs and played ball with them while ai took a shower and shaved — something I was badly in need of. Let me tell you, you haven’t lived until you’ve lathered yourself with a Glad bag on your hand in an RV shower! Nevertheless it felt good and I was definitely refreshed. 

Funny thing happened after my shower though. Russell wanted to take a shower also so I went to empty the gray tank. Naturally, I pulled the gray lever (there was a black one and a gray one  which I assumed corresponded to the black and gray tanks). So I pulled the gray one and after five minutes Russell informs me that the gray tank is still reading full. To which I responded that I didn’t know what to tell him. I opened the gray tank and that I presumed he would have to wait for the tank to reset itself. More time goes by. More questions from Russell. More annoyance from Stephen. And a still full reading on the gray tank. So finally I return to the scene of the crime. Now, let me explain one thing that I neglected to mention. The sewer hook up for this site is about a quarter mile UPHILL from where it should be. So I’m thinking maybe all the water is backed up and not emtptying because it has to go uphill? So I decide to help it along by walking the hose toward the sewer intake. Well right away I can feel there isn’t much water in the line — which is suspicious— and then when I get to the see-through part of the Jose right before it disappears down the drain I can see that the water is yellow?! Yellow! That’s not gray water! That’s black water! So I go back to the RV and I close the gray valve and I open the black valve and lo and behold the gray water tank starts emptying with a tremendous whoosh, something that had been conspicuously absent when I initially opened the gray valve. So I go to tell Russell and before I can tell him he says, “Hey, the gray water tank is going down!” Ay carumba!

The evening was spent working on my ANG certification project. Do not even ask me why I am doing this but doing it I am. I’m too far deep now to turn back (or at least I sincerely hope I am!) This project is just the FIRST STEP in becoming a master needle pointer and I won’t even tell you how long it has taken me to complete something that I am sure your average person blows through in a couple of months. But me? Oh no, not me. I have to complicate everything and make it way harder than it has to be. So here I am agonizing over ever laid stitch and every compensated stitch — it’s maddening! And the thing is diabolically difficult because there are all these angles which requires loads of partial stitches and of course you want to compensate them each the same way each time and blah blah blah. Russell asked me if I was having fun stitching it. The best I could come up with was: “Well, I’m working on it which is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time” But honestly now I’m wondering if that’s good enough? I suppose it’s going to have to be because this is one project I will be seeing through to the end. I’ve already made up my mind on that one. It’s kind of like the RV trip to Florida. Am I enjoying it? Well it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I’m seeing it through to the end.