Not yet...

I have the new (to me) washing machine in place and hooked up.  But the dryer is taking a bit more work than I thought.  First, I got a bit confused with the exhaust vent.  Vernon, the previous owner of this trailer, had taken his washer and dryer with him, so I had neglected that area.  Now, I found out that the duct in the trailer and the one below it were one unit (not two like I had first thought).  So, I am having someone lay that duct from the dryer to the outside.  I have all of the parts for the job, but I would prefer to have some professional help in doing the work.

Also, I plan on replacing some panels of the trailer's skirt.  I bought the new panels from a local trailer supply place just outside of town.  Getting it home was a challenge, as my car was not meant to transport 12' long pieces of vinyl.  So the person at the shop rigged up a string to hold my car's hatch down so that it did not fly open while I drove the couple of miles back to here.  Plus, I had to pull up the pieces to make sure they did not slip out the back.  Thankfully I got them home without any damage, and I was able to close the hatch.  Now all I have to do is cut the vinyl sheets into the proper lengths so that I can replace the pieces that were cut up when Vernon put his exhaust port in place.

The other part to this is that I also am going to hire a person to alter the electric cable for the dryer.  The first I knew that I needed to make an alteration was when I saw the dryer and compared it to the outlet that is the trailer.  The dryer had a three-prong cable, and the outlet is meant for a four-prong cable.  I bought a replacement cable at Lowe's (a day after buying the duct work parts).  I downloaded a copy of the dryer's manual, and then proceeded to crack open the back of the dryer to the work of replacing the cable.  However, I have gotten perplexed with the layout that I saw.  I compared it to the manual, and saw that the manual had a wire where I did not see it in the actual dryer.  So, I am going to contact a local appliance store and see if they can send a technician out to do the wiring.  I know that I am spending more than I wanted, but best to be safe. I want to stay in this trailer, so time to invest a small amount of cash here to avoid a larger expense in replacing the trailer.

Oh wow...

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of friends of mine were going over their voter ID cards.  They were comparing them to see what differences they had as to what they covered.  As they both lived in the same city, the only things different between them had to do with city precincts.  But that prompted me to go home later on and find my voter ID card.  I'm rather different than them as I live just outside the other town in our twin cities.  I do share the major area with them (US House, State House, State Senate).  The differences come in local voting, mainly county board and local precinct.

Now, the biggest shock to me had nothing to do with any of that.  What got me was a date that was printed on the card and comparing it to the previous card.  I've been living at my current address for 6 years.  Where has the time flown?

Before I moved to my current address, I lived with my parents in a local farming community.  It was the same town I lived in when I went to high school in the next town over.  I had moved from there to go to Illinois Wesleyan, but then moved back to the parent's place to start looking for work.  And then the years passed...

One day around six years ago, a coworker had placed a sign up at work advertising that he was selling his trailer.  I got interested in it, investigated the place, and was intrigued.  It looked like a nice place, the park looked good, and it was incredibly close to work (around 10 minutes by car).

But before buying, I decided to have the place inspected.  Vernon (the seller) said that there was no need for that.  I insisted, however, just in case there was something wrong.  The inspection came back with only a couple of niggling problems that were easily addressed.  I went for the deal, and got a sweet loan off of my profit sharing (10 year loan as opposed to 5 years that the bank was offering).  Vernon moved to a town to the north, but had issues with that house that would have been caught if he got that place inspected (he did not).  He moved out of the area around 3-4 years ago, and the last time I tried to get hold of him the phone number that I had was disconnected.

But here I stay.  Unless something drastic changes in my life, I am liable to be here for the foreseeable future.  I know that I am paying a lot of money for lot rent, and that rent is only going to increase as time goes on.  However, I still like the place, and it is still as close to my work as I think I can get, outside of moving to an apartment.  And I am getting comfortable in this home.

My latest home purchase is a used washer-dryer combo that was being sold by a coworker who is moving to a new place.  $315 for a set is not bad.  The next step in getting the pair setup will be a stop at a hardware store for a new power cord for the dryer.  Seems that the previous place had a three-prong outlet, and my place has a four-prong one.  Then I replace a portion of the trailer skirt from Vernon's time.  He just made a square cut in the piece for his dryer vent, but that piece is now so damaged that I cannot put in my vent.  Plus the vent tube is badly damaged, but I have the replacement tube.   So the dryer will not be working for around 1-2 weeks (depends on how quick an order for a skirt piece can be delivered).

So, that is my home update.  Six years.  How time flies, even when you try to keep track of it.

Just Found, part two...

Well, I'm doing a bit of cleaning, and I found an old Tootsie Roll container.  If you remember, the company that made Tootsie Rolls (oddly named Tootsie roll Industries) had a package that, when emptied, could be used as a bank.  Well, the one that I kept had some items in it.  So, what did I put in there?

1 bicentennial US quarter
1 1979 Canadian dime
1 US penny (not sure of the year, but it is a wheat penny)
5 Canadian pennies (1941, 1986, and the others are hard to read)
1 1967 Canadian bird penny
3 game tokens (two from an old Aladdin's Castle franchise)
a 1976 2 dollar bill (still very crisp)
7 50-cent coins (1971x2, 1972x2, 1974, 1985, 1988)

I had found a second 2 dollar bill (1995) which I will be putting with this set of coins.  I will most likely put my other set of coins together with this one.  And looking at these coins brings back some memories.  Playing games at the old Aladdin's Castle arcade.  Being with my friends.  Spending time with my grandparents (my mom's parents who gave me the 2 dollar bills as part of my Christmas presents).

Well, time to get back to cleaning my home.  I'm in the process of buying a washer/dryer, and I need to have the place ready to bring in the new units.