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Sometimes Slides Are No Fun
Reed Bingham State Park, GA, April 2026 Especially when they are attached to your RV. No, we are not towing a pool with a water slide; we are talking about the expandable living space. Apparently, the motors have a slip mechanism to make sure they do not break anything when the slide is stuck. We…
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Best way to stay cool in the summer
Semmes, Alabama, March 2026 Robert and Glenda have been making updates to the house and pool area. The pool is under construction; it is getting a new liner. Something that we (meaning John and Robert) could do was install the two new ceiling fans. Kate’s job was to take pictures. Robert was the supervisor. John…
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Spar Varnish and Its Many Uses
Sparta, WI, August 2025 Earlier this year, mom asked if John and I could look at the front door. She was hoping we could rescue it from water damage. Ken (the handyman that helps mom) said the door only needed sanding and varnishing. Mom’s house was built in the mid 60s. All the doors are…
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Dad Needed a Flue Shot?
Sparta, WI, September 2025 Or maybe his Flue was just Shot! Pops used to have a wood burning stove to heat the house and separate one to heat the garage. A few years ago, Dad replaced the house furnace for a propane furnace with AC. The garage wood furnace was left in place. Dad called…
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Tire Replacement Day
Des Moines, IA, October 2025 On Thursday, John worked to do some repairs on the trailer. The tire blowout had ripped two pieces of fender skirt off and damaged the weather coating underneath. The front fender skirt piece was never found; it might have disintegrated. The middle piece was found, but it was damaged. The…
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On the Road, Life is Seldom Boring, But …
Des Moines, IA, October 2025 … sometimes it is inconvenient or terrifying. About an hour north of Prairie Flower Campground, John was about to contact Kate to stop at the exit a few miles ahead. He glanced at the side mirror, heard a pop, saw a blast of compressed air jet from the side of…
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Screw the Whales, Save the Laptops!
Sparta, WI, September 2025 The Good We helped Bob get a new computer, and we helped Brenda with her new computer. Steve has been having some computer trouble recently, so he asked for some help too. It turns out that his computer was stalling out while he was using it, which was causing anger management…
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Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Garryowen, MT, July 2025 So we are staying in the middle of nowhere, Montana near a (small? tiny? puny?) private town name Garryowen. Wikipedia and the 2010 Census claim that the population is 2. The building in town is a combination of the city hall, museum, and convenience store. We have not been there, so…
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Repairing Foil-Backed Foam Board
Okmulgee, OK Do you have damaged foil-backed foam board insulation in your house? If so, why did you leave it uncovered instead of finishing your construction? Never mind; no one wants to hear your excuses. If you do have exposed foil-backed foam board insulation with damage, here is an interesting trick to help address the…
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RV Best Practices 20240930
Pineview Campground, WI, September 2024 Today’s best practice tips are: This happened Monday morning while packing up to leave for the next site. We left 3.5 hours late due to repairing the damage. Nothing additional appears to have been damaged. It looks like our trailer should be rocking in the waves. The seas are too…