HEAT IT UP!

Sunday, January 20 – With Mother Nature continuing to treat us with some rather “BRISK” temperatures – especially at night, on Thursday, Paul decided to install our Blue Flame propane heater that he removed from the Motorhome. It took some searching to find all the needed parts, but after driving all over the RGV, Paul gathered all the parts and hopefully will get the installation completed in one day.

He started by installing a shut-off valve in place of an existing 1/2” plug in the propane line. This will allow us to shut off the propane gas supply when we remove the heater in warmer weather.

He then ran a propane line from this shut-off to the location of the heater. This required the removal of a wall in the main basement storage area. By removing this wall, Paul could crawl into an area normally reserved for running electrical, water, heat, and other utility lines.

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From there he drilled a hole through the wall,

fed the propane line through the hole

and bingo….he had a location for the heater. He used a quick disconnect on the heater so it could be easily removed and stored when not in use.

To finish up, Paul then checked all the fittings for leaks, using a soapy solution. No leaks, so the final check was to turn on the heater and see how it works. It was a pretty simple install except for the many trips to Home Depot for materials. It doesn't matter how well you plan, it always seems to require extra trips for parts and supplies......jeesh!

Bella prefers the warmth of the sun.

POST NOTE (SEVERAL DAYS LATER). It's amazing how much warmer the RV is with the Blue Flame heater and with very little propane used. These cold mornings made the overhead heat pump work pretty hard or required using the RV furnace which is not very fuel efficient. Now the Blue Flame heater has everything toasty in no time!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

AROUND THE VALLEY

Sunday, January 13 – On Wednesday, we met up with the Carriage Owner's Club, RVers that own Carriage 5^th Wheels, in Pharr for a luncheon. This was our first time attending an owner's group get together. There were 45 of us.

We met many new RVers and as luck would have it, ended up sitting next to a couple, Dutch and Di, that Paul has been exchanging emails with since we purchased our Carriage Cameo. Another example of “It's a small world.”

We enjoyed the lunch, sharing war stories with fellow Carriage owners, and talking over things we've done to our 5^th wheel.

On Friday, we finally got another beautiful day here in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Paul used the opportunity to wash the 5^th wheel. He started by scrubbing the roof with Murphy's Oil Soap. This really does a great job on the fiberglass roof.

After finishing the roof and having all that dirt run down over the sides of the RV, it kind of forced Paul to keep going and do the entire vehicle. So he got out his folding ladder and scrubbed his way around the RV.

This is really the first chance he has had to give the entire 5^th wheel a good washing. With all the rain and cold weather we've experienced, it's tough to get motivated to spend one of the few nice days scrubbing the RV.

Once he finished with the washing, he spent some time tightening screws, checking areas that need caulking, and attending to a couple areas that needed extra scrubbing. The previous owner must have gotten into some pine sap somewhere and that wasn't easy to get off.

On Saturday, another nice day broke over the RGV, we decided to head over to the Don Wes Flea Market. This is one of the largest markets in the Valley. There are several smaller markets – called Pulgas by the local Hispanics – one just across Highway 83 from our RV park. We'll be attending that Pulga another time.

Don Wes has 100's of stalls. Some are inside a large building and some in smaller stalls arranged in rows outside. There is even a second building out the back and across the railroad tracks. In this second building, is a farmer's market loaded with locally grown produce.

The flowers make it feel much warmer than it really was.

Of course there's entertainment too! The Hispanic people know how to have a good time. There is usually a Mariachi band playing at any gathering.

Overall, we were disappointed with this flea market. We spent several hours strolling through the many booths and enjoying some people watching, but it just didn't seem to be what we were hoping for or as good as other markets we've experienced in the past. Of course there are tool booths with tons of cheap tools for sale, produce by the tons, food stands, jewelry, t-shirts and other Texas shirts, cowboy boots & shirts, and a few unique locally produced crafts all for sale at prices that aren't easy to ignore (at least they hope that's the case). But we left disappointed in the whole experience.

For all those cooks out there….what the heck is this and how do you use it?

We are never just sitting here in Mission. Everyday we are doing something. We want to leave you today with a few Bella photos.

Each morning we find Bella reading her favorite blogs. This morning we caught her using Marsha's computer to read Just Wanderin. She enjoys knowing what everyone is doing out there.

With the sun at a premium here so far this winter, Bella will sleep where ever she can find the sun. This is a new one on us.

On really cold days, you can find her warming up by laying on one of our computers. If we ask her to move so we can use the computer, she gives us that "I don't think so." look.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

JANUARY 8 – We headed to Nuevo Progresso, Mexico, with friends Jan and Barry on Tuesday. It's about an hour southeast of Mission. Paul had a 10 o'clock dentist appointment, so we headed out early.

The river that separates the US from Mexico.

We were the first people in the dentist office at 9:30, but the dentist was going to be about 20 minutes late arriving. So rather than sit and wait, we decided to walk around town for about a half hour. Upon returning, Paul found himself sixth in line. There were six people with 10 o'clock appointments. To say the least, Paul was not very happy.

Wanting only a teeth cleaning and knowing Progresso has about a 100 dentists, Paul decided to go down the street. He easily found another dentist and no wait! Price for a through cleaning.....$25.

Dental Clinic Olivares

We then went to our favorite pharmacy, Jessica's, to pick up some medicine.

We picked-up several Z-packs for future colds, etc.and some of Marsha's monthly medicine. As you may know, medicine in Mexico is a fraction of the cost of what we pay in the States and no prescription necessary.

Jessica's has its own little cantina attached. When we purchase anything in the pharmacy, we get a free Margarita or coffee…coffee???…bring on the Margaritas.

There is always some type of entertainment in the bar area.

We then spent time walking around, checking out all the small shops and sidewalk booths. Marsha and Jan did find a couple of things they “bargained” for while Paul and Barry enjoyed several Margaritas.

We headed down to the Market area where we made traditional stop at the painter's booth.

José is one of three brothers that make a living painting on vases, canvas, spoons......you name it. He is amazing. Using cans of spray paint, scraps of paper, and plastic shopping bags,  he produces unbelievable works of art. Jose' produced a piece of art especially for Jan that she was delighted to snap-up!

Can you guess what he is painting for Jan and Barry.


The squiggly lines of spray paint, he turned into mountains.

The finished, framed picture.

After watching José paint, we were all hungry and thirsty. We needed to head on in to the nearest restaurant. We all had a delicious lunch and a few refreshments.

More entertainment

Jan and Barry

Finally, after about six hours “South of the Border,” we headed to the immigrations checkpoint and crossed back into the USA. With very little wait, we had our passports checked, answered a few simple questions and walked across the bridge to the States.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!