Well, here I am in Texas avoiding the cold, wet, gray Washington winter weather. Is the weather better here in Central, Texas? It’s warmer, a bit psychotic, but certainly warmer.
Central Texas Weather
Honestly, I love it here. No place is perfect, but I’m pretty happy workamping in Central Texas for now. You know I get itchy feet, so eventually, I’ll be ready to move on. I have been thanked repeatedly for bringing the rain when I arrived. Apparently, there has been a drought here for some time. When we arrived, everything was brown and very dry but now we have water in the ponds and green grass.
Working With Murphy
It’s kind of odd working again. Even though I have an extremely light schedule, it makes for a change in my routine and that’s a good thing. Murphy really loves to “go to work”. He takes one of his toys and spends the day waiting for someone to come into the office, napping, or chewing on an antler.
Love the Safari
The safari is the real reason I choose this job. On a sunny day, a trip through on the side-by-side puts a smile on my face every time. You never know what you’ll see around the next corner. I already have thousands of pictures and I’ve only been here a few weeks. Just one of the many reasons I love workamping in Central Texas.
Everyday Life Follows Wherever We Go
Of course, I’ve had my share of mundane life problems lately. Don’t we all? My furnace quit working properly, AGAIN. You can read about replacing the sail switch here. On top of that, my air conditioning/heat pump unit stopped working. Thank goodness it’s not hot right now.
Because I recently replaced the sail switch and the circuit board in my furnace, I was at a loss as to what I should do next. I contacted a mobile RV repair business. He came out and fixed the furnace. Apparently, the new sail switch I installed was defective. He put in a different one and declared it fixed. $241 to install a $25 part which I could have done myself. That’s sad but I had no way of knowing what the problem was and I was just done messing around.
This Repair Will Hurt
The bigger news here is that he also got up on the roof to check my Dometic AC unit and discovered there is a freon leak and the heat pump motor bearings are toast. Long story short, I need a new unit. These are designed to be ‘throw away” appliances. You can’t fix them, so you must throw them away and replace them.
After doing some research, I have settled on a RecPro brand AC/heat pump unit.
Those who have switched to this brand say the unit is quieter, more energy efficient, and doesn’t need an aftermarket soft-start. I’m excited to get it ordered and have it installed. I’m planning to do that in late January. The cost will be about $1,300 plus installation. Ouch!
Sometimes The Middle Of Nowhere Is Too Far Away From Everything
If you know me, you know I like being in the middle of nowhere. This can present some challenges. The closest grocery store is 30 miles away so planning ahead is essential. Unfortunately, with my avoidance of gluten, dairy, and soy, finding some of the grocery items I use routinely is a challenge. Even the larger stores near Fort Hood (45 miles away) don’t have many of the things I use.
Waco is about 60 miles away and they should have some stores with a good variety of specialty items. Next month’s big grocery shop will be done there. If worse come to worse, I’ll order what I need and have it shipped.
I Should Have Checked This Before I Left Washington
The other logistical problem I’m having is getting my prescriptions refilled here in Texas. Apparently, the state of Texas doesn’t allow naturopaths to prescribe. My doctor at home is a naturopath and getting my prescriptions has been tricky at best. Something to think about if you’re going to be in another state for an extended time.
The Big 6 – 0
I’ve got a milestone birthday coming up in just a few days.
That means I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my life over the past few weeks. All I can say is time go way too fast and you can’t slow it down so enjoy!
