October 23, 2005

Still in Georgia

We're still here!! Trying to outwait Wicked Wilma. By Tuesday, we will be so rested that we'll be able to push the RV out!! We have done nothing but watch TV and eat. We've been to the only Mexican Restaurant 3 times in 3 days, drove by Winn-Dixie (the grocery store) but never went in. Drove up the highway 14 miles to the American Legion that turned out to be the VFW that is only open on Saturday nights for a dance. That is rumor only - we saw no signs or posters. We heard this from the man at the building supply store where we did actually stop - and that was only to get some blocks sawed for leveling. The cedar blocks that we highgraded from Canyonville are slowly disintigrating. So they needed to be replaced. That's pretty good really, they made it 3,000 miles!

Now that there is NO news and nothing going on, I'll tell my refridgerator story. We sat in Powers and Keith found out that my nose and ears are heredity. There is my Aunt Nita whom Uncle Jim swears can hear a "fly land on soft cotton and smell it when it @#$#'s". The others of the family gathering had to share the stories of how bad the Bland line (of which I am one) is on the hearing and smell. Now with that out of the way, those of you that know me well remember that I had to completely replace my fridge at home after the hurricanes last year because I couldn't stand the smell. I tried Mom Judy's suggestions about the vanilla and charcoal, I tried rubbing all the plastic surfaces with lemon, I tried spraying bleach. I ran bleach thru the water and ice intake for the auto stuff. The fridge was sparkling clean, but every bottle, piece of ice, leftover, carton or candy bar had a slight moldy smell - to me. Keith couldn't smell a thing. I couldn't even drink the water from the double FILTERED fridge or use the ice because of the smell. Keith finally took pity on me and bought me a new fridge. Oh, so much better. We took the other one to the rental and no one could smell or taste a thing - so it was just me.

Anyhow, the camper was in the shop for the whole 3 weeks that we visited S'te in San Diego. Keith stopped by every couple of days to make sure the fridge light was on and there was plenty of propane - as I had just bought one of those meat-packs that the guys come around selling- and the freezer was pretty well full of beef steaks and ground beef. The fridge had the normal condiments in it - relish, salsa, tortillas, mayo, etc. Well, we got the camper back on Saturday, October 1. I didn't rush down to see it, I've seen it and I was more interested in looking at the bill than the camper! Sunday morning Keith comes into the living room - very early- and says "which light means the fridge is working" - I KNEW something was wrong!! Right then and there, I knew it. So I just got my shoes on and went down to the camper. The "check" light was lit - which means the fridge was not getting lp or electric. I was afraid to open the door without protection. Whatever had had the chance to grow might have matured by then!! To make a longer story short, the meat was very,very,very rotten, and everything that could grow anything - DID. And STINK, boy there are few things that stink that bad. And I only had Sunday to get rid of it enough to be able to sit in it and ride on Monday. Well, Keith cleaned it out. At least a hundred dollars worth of steaks and pre-pattied burgers. That's what I get for not taking it into S'te to start with. Keith's reasoning was it was all packed for 2 and with us, there were 11 - so we probably had enough for 1 or 2 meals there. We could just buy that as we went along and not have to restock for us. Boy was he wrong!!! So with S'te's help, alot of elbow grease, charcoal, lemons, bleach and more scrubbing, we got enough of the smell out to use it. I was really afraid that it was going to have to be replaced. But in Arizona, Dad came up with another thing to try - and after (or with) everything else - It seems to have worked. I put small tubs of water with a squeezed lemon in both the freezer and the fridge. I change them often but I barely get a whiff every now and then - so maybe this one can stay!

Then, we get gone, we are gone for 2 weeks, S'te gets the tenant out of the Condo which has had no electricity since before Katrina. See where I'm going with this? She gets possession and does a short walk-thru with the deadbeat tenant and opens the fridge door. The child says "so that's where my drink went" before S'te immediately slams the door - to keep the stink in and the child out. In her words she politely told the child that even though she isn't his Mom, he wasn't getting ANYTHING out of there. I was watching them shrink wrapping and picking up the appliances from Katrina in New Orleans - maybe this fridge should be shrinkwrapped before they try to take it out. Of course, we have to replace it. I suggested that S'te not even try to clean it. Just close it and leave it. She has had to do so much with the mess the renters (this is why renters have such a bad name) she doesn't have time for that.

So that is my fridge story, what do you think?

More later (if I can think of anything to tell)
Diane

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mom,
you could have put the meat in the freezer until you left. Just because it's in there doesn't mean that we will eat it, silly!! You just don't have good luck with refers.