Some Tools of the Trade

Welcome! to Joe and Nancy who just signed up to Follow the Roadrunner Chronicles.

We finished up our second week here in Moss Point, Mississippi working with NOMADS.  There are 9 couples on our team and we are divided up into groups to work on four houses in the Pascagoula area.  The house we are working on is about 17 miles from where we have our RVs parked.

 Moss Point/Pascagoula are between Pensacola and New Orleans on the Gulf Coast.

The primary task at our house is to get the sheet rock up on the ceiling and walls.  We have been at it for two weeks so far and it will probably take us another week to finish it.  Then we will have to do the mudding.

Steve and Jerry are unloading this stack that was delivered while I take the pictures...

We have been working with four types and sizes of sheet sheet rock.

The two stacks of sheet rock are 4' x 8' sheets of 1/2" regular wall boards and  'greenboard' which goes in the bathrooms and around sinks in the kitchen and the laundry room.

In the garage, we had a stack of 4' x 12' sheets of 1/2" sheet rock that we started with to put up on the walls.  After that ran out we went with the 8' sheets.

Another size,  the 5/8" sheets of 4' x 8' lengths went up on the ceiling.

And this brings me to the Tools of the Trade.

The lift for the sheet rock is one of those Tools that is a back saver.  We hoist the sheet on that guy and crank it up to the ceiling and can maneuver it into place so that all we need to do is get the 'drill guns' (drills with Philips head on the end for the screws) and we are all set.

The drills are indispensable.

Pam and I have a Ryobi and Kawasaki drill.

I think Roger's is a Craftsman.  Though none are what I would consider to be construction 'name brands'
they seem to be doing the job well.  We keep one battery charged while we use the other and have had no problems.

Another tool we use is our beloved tool belts.  In mine today I have sheet rock screws, a quik square, a tape measure, band aids, screw drivers, a putting knife, pencils, a utility/razor knife, and gloves.

My work gloves keep me from busting up my fingers.  After the second time I tried to drill my finger, I decided it was time to try the gloves.  My bloodied and bruised finger is much happier.

Knee pads ~ very useful for as much time we have been spending putting the screws in the bottom part of walls.  And we usually are on the ground cutting pieces to fit in lots of places.

And the ladders.  We couldn't do this with out lots of ladders.  I prefer the shorter one which works great.  We climb up the ladder, find the studs (most of the time) and screw in the top of the wallboards.  Good exercise.

In fact, we find ourselves getting stronger and stronger.  That is not to say that we are not tired and sore each day, but it is good exercise and we are enjoying it.

Working of the sheet rock has been good  and we estimate another week before we will start the mudding.  My goal every day is to get a little better and these tasks and learn something new.

And we love learning how to use different tools.  Next week no doubt we will expand our skill list on that.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Hope you have had a great week.

Roadrunner Reflections - First Year Do Overs

First - let me say 'Thank You' and Welcome to our newest Follower:

Melanie Ditmars

Glad you're following and we appreciate you signing up!

Over the past year of the Roadrunner era, we have learned a lot.  And we keep learning.  I am not one to wring my hands and live in the past about what 'woulda, shoulda, coulda' happened.  We try to conduct our due diligence, think about it, talk about it and then 'pull the trigger' ~ do it!  As with most things in life sometimes it doesn't quite work out the way you thought it would...

Roadrunner Resets:  Do Overs....If I had it to do over I'd:

1. Get an Apple computer and shelve my Dell PC.  Apple is more convenient, less hassle.  I use the computer every day.  With my PC I had to worry about a lot of anit-virus stuff and the darn thing crashed at a couple of inconvenient times.  So far the MacBook has been great.

2. Get a laptop that is not so big.  My Dell PC has a 17" screen and takes up a lot of room.  A 14" screen is fine.  I thought I wanted a big, powerful laptop but the smaller computer works fine and is similar in size to the size I starred into at work for years.  I like the smaller one.  (Can you say iPad?)

3.  Keep my toolbelt.  Can't believe I got rid of that because I thought we wouldn't have enough room.  I threw away. Wow - that was one I wish I'd kept!  It takes a couple of years to break one in right but what are you going to do? Get another one and keep it!

4.  Keep our plastic folding saw horses.  We gave those away also, but we could have room for them and they would be handy to have.  With our NOMADS work, we have used a lot of Joe's tools and sawhorses.  He tows his truck behind his motor home and we aren't going to be doing that.  Those plastic saw horses would have come in handy more time than I can count.

5.  Spend a little more time and due diligence setting up our budget.  I totally missed the food cost with zero money set aside for eating out.  We are about $370 a month (on average) OVER on food.  Eating out is a big chunk of our expenditures.  We are about $400 OVER on RV Maintenance per month.  On a conservative note, we are about $500 UNDER on diesel fuel.  Totals:  $4300/month which about $1000 over budget.

6.  I would have signed up for the local county school system bus driver training course.  Our neighbor Debbie has worked there for years and she suggested (on the day we pulled the Roadrunner up in front of our house to load the last of our belongings into it) that idea.  It would have been nice to have thought about doing that about a year before we started full-timing.  Another option would have been to set aside about $700 and take an RV driving course.

7.  Once we bought the MacBook, I should have signed up for the training.  For $100 I could have gone in and taken a lot of classes and gotten some 1 on 1 help.  Instead I have to settle for the free ones.  You can't beat the Apple Store Genius Bar!

8.  Kept more appliances.  Yes!  We got rid of our electric skillet, big (12 cup) coffee pot, blender, and vacuum cleaner.  Now we have new ones and we have found places to put them all!  But who knew?  When you look at your 2200 sq ft sticks and bricks house and then walk through a 400 sq foot RV, you know most things are not going to fit.  As far as all that 'stuff' we got rid of--we not missing anything :)

That's all I can think of ~ I am sure there will be more.  We are excited about this lifestyle and this time of year.  It is summer in Michigan.  Yesterday Pam put away the ceramic heater and pulled out the fan!

And it was a beautiful day.  I polished 1/2 of the Roadrunner,

watched a neighbor and his grandson catch a fish in the lake,

mowed the lawn (which I love),

we had Rod over for flank steak on the grill

followed by time around the campfire as we watched more neighbors go by for an evening cruise on their pontoon boat.

It was a fun  81 degree day!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And thanks too for all those wonderful comments!  Keep them coming!

Yard Work in Canada

Saturday morning we filled up with gas and made the two hour drive to Petrolia.  Along I-94 we had a Mc attack and got a sausage biscuit and a bacon and tomato biscuit.  Most times when we go to McDonalds now we look for Kit and Jerry (NOMADS friends we met in March in Galveston)...but they are in a different part of the country.  We got into a routine of having the daily team meeting and having a quick stop at McDonald's before we got to the job site.

We got to Petrolia about noon and met Marg and Bill outside.  They were with Brad and testing out a new Fiskar weed remover garden/yard tool.  In Canada, pesticides were banned a few years ago and the dandelions are  having a heyday.

It was a beautiful day outside so we spent all afternoon there.  I got the hang of the weed puller and did that for a while.  Brad and Bill went into town on a errand and we enjoyed the afternoon.

Pam and Marg both tried it out while I took the pictures.  A few hours with this thing and they will be gone.  OK ~ it is going to take a while because they have a BIG yard but we could see progress being made...

When Bill got back Brad and I helped him on the planter boxes in the back yard.  He used a leverage bar and hoisted up the side of the box as I slipped in a series of bricks around the edge of the planter.

Now when Bill uses the grass trimmer, the cord will not damage the cedar wood boxes, the cord will hit the bricks instead.

Next we worked on other planter boxes and added trim around the top.  Bill has a lot of tools and he was all set up to make the precision cuts.

And I painted the boards after they were cut.

Then they were put back into place and it looked great.   But I forgot to take a picture of the finish project.

Next, Bill pulled out the new Ryobi rotor tiller attachment.  He took the upper half of his grass trimmer and connected it to the bottom part of the rotor tiller.  And he had another handy tool to dig up the flower beds.

He was up to the task, but it really shakes your arms off.  And jars your teeth... and everything.  But the flower beds will be all ready for some new flowers soon.

By that time we were ready for some of Marg's special hamburgers and Bill cooked them to perfection.

After dinner we returned to Haas Lake RV campground and had a campfire before we called it a day.  It was a great one.  We got to see the Bakers and felt like we helped a bit, got some sunshine and exercise...it was nice!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

2nd Monday Morning NOMADS

First of all, I apologize for hosing up the video.  You can try in now and you should be able to view it.  Click this

If it doesn't work, email me, leave a comment, etc.

The day started out well with our 7:30 Monday morning meeting.  Joe led devotions and we sang a couple of songs.  It was enough time to wake up and down another cup of coffee.

Then we were off to our work sites.  Today Jerry & Kit Bertelsen joined our project team crew.

They are new to NOMADS and did great on their first day.  The main characteristics of successful NOMADS are:  being positive people, friendly, willing to learn and try new things, teachable...I am sure there are more, but you get the idea.

We finished putting up most of the insulation.  We actually ran out and need a couple more 8' strips which will do later in the week.

About mid-morning we saw a group of folks come by on their Segway's.  Those are such strange looking machines.

But they look like fun!  They must rent them near our work project because we saw another group go by in the afternoon.

Shortly after that, the guy from McCoys Building Supply showed up with 70 sheets of sheetrock.

Thankfully, he was able to hoist it up on his forklift to where we could just reach over the railing and carry them in.

They were HEAVY.  Especially since they were taped together two at a time.  We stacked them in a back bedroom out of the way.

By then, it was time for lunch.  We went a couple of blocks and set up like we did one time last week.  The sun was shining brightly.  Their are a lot more people on the beach too.

Since it is Spring Break for a lot of people, they are taking advantage of the good weather in Galveston.

After lunch we began putting up the sheet rock in the front bedroom.  We made good progress and only have a little more to do in that room.

We have to be careful and leave one side of the wall open so that the electrical inspector can see the wiring and give approval.  So we will sheetrock the ceiling and the walls after the inspection.

The inspection is going to happen after the wiring and work is completed downstairs on the first floor.  A  volunteer team from San Antonio arrived today with 10 members and two electricians.  That will help greatly!

We finished up at 4:00 after a busy day.

Back at the RV, we watch some TV, did some reading and went to bed after a good day!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Apple iPhone for a Fulltime RVer?

Yesterday Adam surprised us was when he called on his iPhone. I never know when he'll call and it is always good to hear from him. He called me, then paused. Next thing I knew Pam, who was at the commissary, was on the phone. He said, "Wait!" and then Kelly was on the call also.

Our first family conference call! That was pretty cool.

There was no special occasion, just Adam showing another neat feature of the iPhone.He has had his iPhone for a couple of years and really loves it.

I am thinking about replacing my aging Blackberry and getting an iPhone.

Is it worth it?

Do any of you out there have one?

What is the best thing about it?

An Apple Store rep told me a couple of weeks ago the best way to get one is to wait until the new ones come out and then by one for $99 that is the current one and has been refurbished.

It makes sense to me because it has the same warranty as a brand new one and you know it has been tested and retested. The new ones out of the box have probably been 'spot checked' with a percentage of them actually checked out.

Let me know what you think. With some of the cool apps on the iPhone, I think I can forego getting a GPS. We'll see...

That's all I have to share today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for viewing.

Beautiful Day for Backing up My Apple

It was another nice day in Tucson I am glad to say.  We did a lot of exercise yesterday so decided to take a day off and let the muscles rest (that is my story and I'm sticking to it :).  

We went over to the swap meet again to look for a small wallet.  We looked pretty hard but we didn't find anything.  I think my interest in these things is waning.  After a while it all looks like a lot of stuff I don't need...

La Mesa RV in Tucson was nearby so we stopped by to see if there free lunch was as good as the ones we had at the La Mesa in Quartzsite.  

Yep- Dave was the cook for the day and he did a great job on some tasty hamburgers.  We also took a look at a new Class C Cambia.  With three slides it has a lot of room for a small vehicle.  (No we are not in the market for one, just curious on what is out there.)

Next we were on a mission to get some Christmas pictures printed so we found the closest Costco.  When we got there I was disappointed to find out that I had not saved the file properly to my thumb drive, so we headed home.

I still don't know why I could not access the picture file on my thumb drive.  It worked fine at home.  Nevertheless, I save another folder of the same pictures to my thumb drive again and also to a memory card just in case.

Back at Costco, it worked like a champ.  While the photos were being printed we checked out a nearby Thrift Store and I found a denim shirt.  I have been looking for one for months.  I got rid of two when we were downsizing and wished I had kept one.  Perfect shirt for when we volunteer.  So that was $7.99 well spent.

With the new dark colored carpets, the lint shows up easily.  Our handheld vacuum does a good job with most things but I decided to get Pam a new little vacuum.  We looked at Costco but didn't see anything small enough.  At Best Buy it was a different story and we got a nice little Eureka that folds up and has a lot of suction.

I also picked up a new external hard drive for the MacBook.  Brandi at the Apple Store Genius Bar suggested I get one that was formatted for an Apple.  But the Apple guy at Best Buy said I could save myself $20-$30 myself if I formatted it myself.  He showed me how to do it and I fiddled with that for about an hour before I figured it out (I think) and started backing up my machine.

Pam wanted to wash and clean the car.  While she did that, I worked on the computer, gave myself a haircut and helped her a little with the car after she was almost finished with it :).

We had some great roast beef sandwiches for dinner and watched some TV for the rest of the night.

Hope you all have a great day here on Super Bowl Sunday.  Who are you rooting for?

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today.

The Computer Table

After a night in overnight parking we moved down to our reserved spot at Mission RV Park in Redlands, CA.

The Roadrunner was as dirty as I have ever seen it after 10 days on beach.

It was a little tricky to wash the coach without spraying my neighbors but I managed to get it done.

Our friends Bob & Soo invited us over so we have been spending a lot of time there. Soo was cooking up a storm. She got some help from Hillary peeling apples for the homemade dessert.

The turkey came out of the oven perfect. In fact Bob said it was the best he has EVER had.

Later Katieanne, Hillary and Kyle were hanging out in the kitchen.

Bob and I had some woodworking to do and started out at Lowe's to get materials. He is making a computer desk/table for us.

'We' got a lot done. (It is amazing to watch a guy who is really really good at what he does. This would have been a two week project for me.) He has the best stocked wood working tool shop I have ever seen.

It took 2-3 hours to get a great start. We have to attach a bottom shelf, maybe add a drawer, plus hang the two side pieces that will fold up making it a good sized little table for the Roadrunner.

I caught the sun going down before dinner.

I don't think I can ever get enough sunset shots...

I hope you are enjoying the bowl games and are having a great start to the new year! Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Mrs Ward Sees Her Home

Yesterday it was my turn to lead devotions with the NOMADS group. First we sang Victory in Jesus! then looked at three verses in Proverbs Ch 16 and three in Matthew Chapter 5. I really like devotions and our time together each morning. As full-timers we visit churches when we can but often we don't get to worship together as much as we'd like.

Next, we had team meeting to discuss the punch list at the two houses where we working. One group went to the Ward house and the other went to the new house. They spent the day getting it ready to put down new flooring.

At the Ward house, Pam and I worked on the bathroom flooring and layed down some luan to give it a very smooth surface before we lay new vinyl tile.
Arlin and Marley took a look house made sure they had an updated materials list. Marley is our current team leader (and NOMADS committee chair for the United Methodist Church.) Arlin and his wife Susan are here this week to help and also get ready to assume the project lead responsibilities beginning next week. Marley and his wife Nancy will be leaving next week after being here a month.

While we hung the medicine cabinet, Maryetta was putting the finishing touches on some sheet rock seams and baseboard. John hooked up the refrigerator and got the ice maker working while Pam put the fixtures back onto the new sink.Nancy was painting door jams and Harry got the closet doors ready to install. Then Mrs. Ward (the home owner) came by with her daughter Samantha to see how things were progressing.

During the Hurricane Ike had water up to four feet in the house and lost everything. Mrs Ward is living in Beaumont Texas with her daughter and is looking forward to moving back in to her 'new' home by Thanksgiving.She talked with us and was emotional at times as she recalled how things were and how grateful she was to be standing in her new place. It is hard to imagine what these people went through if you have never been in a disaster. It was special to be able to see and meet her. Many of the hundreds of volunteers that have worked on the house since March did not get the chance to meet her.We posed for a group picture on the front porch.

After a very productive day we met back at the church for dinner. We needed to finish up the leftovers we started on Sunday. We had a potluck on Sunday but had so much food we could not eat it all then. Every one was tired after a busy day so we didn't linger too long after dinner.
Pam and I did the wash using the church facilities and then went to bed. It was a good NOMADs day.

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles! We appreciate you stopping by!