Scenes from the Holidays

So hard to believe that we are already celebrating the our second Christmas as fulltime RVers. Still living in Alameda County Fairgrounds Campgrounds, it easy to see the difference between this year and last. Even though there are not quite as many trailers in the trailer park, most likely due to more people being at brick and mortar homes due to covid, but many more here are lit up with holiday lights than last year.

Decorating  the outside of our RV with Christmas lights may seem a bit strange, but it reminds me of hanging lights on our homes back in Minnesota. Days slipping and sliding to hang them up on the snow covered eaves. Frozen fingers and toes just to add some festive sparkle. In SoCal, we hung lights off of our deck overlooking the community pool. There was no frosted fingers. Just rose thorns and spiders scampering away. Multi colored lights in each location shimmering in darkness, bringing Christmas cheer.

A year ago, as camping newbees, we spent much of the month of December baking. Pan after pan after pan of sticky sweet caramel rolls came out of time RV oven. This year, with Natalie working as an essential worker. we just didn't get any baking done. What we did do was make cocoa bombs. Dozens of sweet chocolatey deliciousness to give out as gifts.

Even though we started this project early, we could not find any cocoa bomb molds, so we used these cute gingerbread people (see above). Coating the outside of the mold with wilton colored candy melts, we used Ghirardelli milk and white melting chocolate for the rest of the shaping. Inside each molded chocolate form we put powdered cocoa mix.

After making several of these over a few weeks, we came across a silicone mold for 'egg bites' to be cooked in an instant pot. This ended up being the perfect size mold. Natalie used this mold for the cocoa bombs she made for all of her friends and work buddies.

We spent an evening out with friends for an intimate Holiday gathering. The only truly social thing we did all season long, and we all kept our masks on the entire time. Ho Ho Holidays!

Because we just didn't have time to bake, we picked up a box of cute Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve from Primrose Bakery, a local bakery. It just isn't Christmas with a few cookies, after all. It also just isn't Christmas without SUSHI! Thank goodness our favorite Sushi place, Little Mad Fish, was open for a couple of hours. Just even time to stop in and pick some 49er rolls for our Christmas Eve dinner at home. I have to say, I seriously miss being able to go out to eat in a restaurant.

Another quiet Christmas morning with just the three of us. I miss the chaos of the whole family being together for gifts and games and socializing. We had a pleasant time opening gifts and playing Nintendo games. Mario Kart, mostly.  And then we mad a nice roast beast in the instant pot for Christmas dinner.

A few more photos of this and that, mostly the shining lights on the daughter and trailer. All the looks and feels of life inside the world of full time RV living!

A few days after Christmas, Luci is hanging out in our still gowing trailer as we get ready to celebrate the coming new year.

Read More

Frozen

Sticking to our early Christmas gift pattern this year, Greg received his gift from Natalie this week, a 3 cubic feet Midea WHS-109W1 Upright Freezer. Of course, he wasn't actually supposed to get this present so early. He just cut the box open after picking it up from the P.O. box, much to Natalie's and my dismay. So, surprise! It's early December and you have already opened your big Christmas present DAD!

But, alas, now that it has been opened, there is no reason not to put it into use, right? After almost 16 months of living in this beast fulltime, we have realized that while it is nice to have an outdoor kitchen, two refrigerators is not necessary. Many, many packages of meat have gone bad waiting to be barbequed in the small outdoor refrigerator. The tiny indoor freezer has also been pretty worthless once it becomes more than half full. Ice cream, popsicles, anything sweet stays a sad state of soft serve mush. Not good for an ice cream loving family.

A new freezer mini freezer seemed to be a simple solution. We would just order on the same size as the mini fridge that was already sitting in the outdoor kitchen space. Jus swap them out, right? Ha! Ha! Ha! Nothing is ever that easy. What should have been so obvious is...the motor for a freezer is bigger than a refrigerator. Thus, a 3 cubic foot (the inside measurement) freezer is bigger than a 3 cubic foot refrigerator.

After removing the mini fridge on the first day, Greg and Natalie tried to push the freezer min at an angle. That was a complete and utter failure. We were sure were would have to send the freezer back. Which would be tough considering the box was thrown away on day one and this was now day four of the big thing sitting in the center on the only open space in our living room.

Back into the RV this albatross of potential frozen ice cream sundaes and pot roasts  was pushed. After a couple of days walking around it, we decided to measure it and see how close to fitting it really was. Side to side, we were just tine. Front to back it appeared to one half inch too wide. One half inch! In the end, it was a bit more than that because, to make this freezer, that is hidden away behind an outside door on our RV slide, PRETTY, they curved the door outward! Sigh.

We had to gain about an inch of space in a set space! The first thing we did, after, of course, dinging up the brand new freezer door, was to remove one of the two spring hinges that holds up the fold up door. It still, as you can see by the photo below, holds itself up just fine with only one spring hinge. 

Then, we created some magic. By removing the eight screws that were holding the door frame in the slide unit, we were able to pull it out about an inch. Replacing those 2" screws with 3" screws and using washers as spacers, we reattached the door unit to the slide. We never actually removed it rom the trailer, just slide it out far enough for the door to close.

Once the screws and washers were in place, we used large amounts of goop to seal the edges of the door to waterproof it again. Finally, we had to slide the latch plate on the bottom of the doorframe out just a 1/4 of an inch to allow for the curve of the freezer door. 

We long ago pushed the cup holder rings in the shelf unit all the way to the back to allow us to use an basically useless shelf into a small pantry shelf. We use it to store our extra pastas and brownie mixes. The space directly below that shelf unit is just exactly the right size to store our instant pot cooker. 

With a freezer filling up with ice cream and hamburger, Greg had time to work on setting up an amazing Christmas gift from our Bay Area friends, Ryan and Amanda. A new BBQ grill. We are totally set for a new year. One without quarantines and pandemics. Time for some happiness, joy and togetherness.

Read More

Looking at lights

Driving around around looking at lights. One of the few things we are still allowed to do now that the Bay Area has ben thrown back into full lockdown. With hospitals dropping below 15% capacity, we  have ben put not into just the purple level of lockdown, but the deep purple level. 

COVID-19 just won't let go. After weeks of being better than the rest of the Country, we are now heading towards the worst. Lock down with restaurants closed, Movie theaters closed. Masks mandatory everywhere, even outside. But, with a vaccine now on the horizon, hopefully normal is near. But, unfortunately, not before, at least, the first week of January.  

Read More