We’re about 36 hours from shoving off, and boy oh boy are we ready!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. We started by throwing out lots of our junk and putting the rest in one of the sheds. Plural.  _Normal_ people have one shed; we have a little one and a big one. Full of stuff.

You may recall our leaking tire valve extensions. Turns out that when it gets really cold the o-rings get hard and shrink causing leaks. Same thing that caused the loss of Challenger but fortunately we discovered the flat tires before moving. I got Borg entended-length valve stems and we went to Pritchett’s Tire to have them installed.

That was fun.

We waited about an hour, then the tire technician sauntered over, looked at the stems, looked at me like I was certifiable, and gamely proceeded. He got the stems installed in the rims and that’s when the fun began. We have these eight-inch valve stems that had to be threaded through hand-holes and holes in the Centramatic balancers.  Then a big rubber stabilizing grommet goes in the outer hand-hole and the stem is inserted through it.

Thing is, that grommet was way bigger than the hole it was going in. After lots of monkeying around, spray lube and a big screwdriver did it. Then all we had to do was hold that big wheel up while threading the stem we couldn’t see through the hole in the grommet that kept popping out.

And that was one side; the other side was waiting. I told the tech he was growin’ and learnin’. Since I was horsing around the wheels too he as nice about it.

Pritchett’s Tire in Cleveland, Ga. Good shop, nice people, fair prices.

Anyway, got that done. Next to Ingles to lay in a supply of wine, a little food and 39 gallons of diesel.

I spent all day Tuesday getting sorted out. Donated cheap-ass Walmart water hoses, filled up the water tank, checked the water separator, had a nice visit with the poopie-man.

Wednesday morning we were in trim save needing to fill the propane tank, so we went down to the corner and wonder of wonders caught the propane truck just as it was pulling out. Got filled up, $75. Went to Cancun Mexican restaurant for lunch. Got filled up, $25.

$25 may seem ridiculous for lunch at a Mexican restaurant, but we got well and truly filled up for the entire day and it was great food. The lunch-size items would be dinner-for-two anywhere else.  Highly recommended.

Took Mom to the Doc. The Doc said he’s proud of her for losing a lot of weight and _walking 76 miles last month_ and also said to take these pills or your ass will fall off. Fortunately Mom’s not buying it too much. But now Mom’s free of the clutches of the medical profession for a while Good Lord Willin’ and The Creek Don’t Rise.

Thursday’s plan is to get Bob up to speed as pool boy and, late in the day, single up.

Friday’s plan is to launch as early as feasible, 339 miles to go down to Kolomoki without going anywhere near any sizable city. The Friday night forecast for here in Cleveland is 23F; the low in Blakeley is expected to be 56F.

I wonder; when a watermelon freezes do the seeds squeeze out?