I gave up

If you have a computer, most likely you too have experienced glitches with software, or had issues with the Internet or perhaps hardware problems on a laptop. We all do from time to time. Usually the issues get fixed in short order and I move on. This time, however, when “Outlook” on my iPad stopped working and I tried to resolve that with the so-called online help, I got the runaround. It seems Microsoft couldn’t care less. Their technical support had no clue to fix it either and after days of frustration I finally gave up. I then had to figure out how to get my email working, changing passwords and routing it to my other mailbox. As much as I like having “Outlook” I decided it was not worth my time to insist on something that no one had been able to fix.

Meanwhile our garden sprang to life and needed my attention pronto.  Every year after the winter the yard needs a cleanup and this year after the flood there was more stuff laying around that needed to go into the yard waste bins.  Our property looks good now but I discovered the frost damaged some of our shrubs that need replacing and because of the heavy snow piles we’ve had some of the tulips did not make it up. They were probably crushed. We bought some pressure treated logs, taking advantage of the special sales at “Lowes” for another project we are planning in the garden, but the ground is still too soggy to start that job, so I tell you about that later.

Benno had been busy with several projects and ran into snags of his own. While we were in the States we had purchased a set of new 13” wheels for our utility trailer to replace the 12” ones that came with it.  Benno thought 12” wheels looked flimsy and the larger ones would be more up to the task. Those he had mounted onto the trailer but the old fenders were now too small and would not fit the new wheels so we ordered a set of larger fenders. When the package finally got here, there was only one fender in the parcel and who knows where its companion ended up. So there was more waiting for the second shipment. 

And then there was the trouble with the voltmeter.  You see we had from “Camping World” this 120V digital voltmeter that plugs into any outlet and lets you see what the shore power is.  We had that thing in the camper and we liked it. The trouble was that all our outlets are so low that you have to bend down to see the display. Benno thought it would be nice to have a 120V voltmeter next to the 12V meter at the panel, so he ordered one from Amazon that had a good price.  There was some rerouting of wires involved and I am glad we were not living in the camper while this was going on.

When the meter arrived and Benno installed it, it didn’t show the voltage. A blue light was on and that was it. We shipped it back to Amazon and ordered another one of the same kind.  When that one arrived, it also didn’t work! What a frustration for Benno. He started to search the Internet and found several entries with dissatisfied customers complaining about the product.  Back it went to Amazon.  Thinking that the Voltmeter we had on hand was a good product but had the spades to be plugged into an outlet, that was not a problem for Benno. He opened up the meter, unsoldered the spades, added two wire leads and now the pictures show his handiwork.  It works fine and we should have done it right from the start.

A few other things we wanted to tackle on the camper. One was the wooden support under our queen mattress. It is a raw board and every time we lifted the bed to use the storage underneath we would get a splinter in our hands or my hair got caught on the rough surface. Benno took it all apart and I sanded it and put three coats of varnish on it before it got put back.

One other thing was that I wanted was to create some storage underneath our foldout sofa bed, which is right above the two trailer axles to hold heavy items like cans. The trailer came with several plastic rectangular trays that would fit there, but they needed wooden supports to hold them in place so they don’t slide around while we are on the road. That little job got tackled as well.

We also ran out of cupboard space in the washroom. The hanging mirror cabinet is much smaller than the ones in our previous campers and by adding two small shelves on the side; we have gained some room for larger and heavier items that can be used when we are stationery.  I think Benno did a good job with all those projects.

Aka Lake Erie flood two weeks ago; there are lots of construction machines in the area with various cleanup and improvement works going on. Many boulders have been brought in by tractor-trailers to help in the shoreline preservation by some homeowners. The public areas where the city is responsible however lacks its progress. We shall see what happens.

Thanks for being so patient waiting for my posting. By the way, we are out of power at the moment and I’m typing this on the laptop in the camper while the generator is humming along, because the computer needed charging.  As soon as the power comes back on and I have Internet I’ll post this.