- Good food, good company, good advice from Grandma

A Breathing Treatment For The Truck

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We have a 1997 Ford F250 diesel pick up truck. It has been a great truck. In December of 2006, we got one of those superchips for it, that revs it up and gives it more power. Ever since then FabGrandpa has wanted to get a custom exhaust pipe put in. The existing exhaust pipe was flat, and did not allow the engine to “breathe” as well as it should, so it could overheat when towing a large travel trailer over the mountains.

Yesterday, we went to Chuck’s Speed and RV in Phoenix to get this done. This involved me getting up early on my day off. We got there at about 8:30 a.m. FabGrandpa had made an appointment with them last week to get this work done, so they were expecting us. They took the truck right in and started working on it.

We called Enterprise and got a rental car for the day so we wouldn’t have to just hang around waiting. They came and picked us up at Chuck’s and took us to their office to get the car. It was a Chrysler Sebring, not the smallest car out there, but after riding in a Ford F250 for years, I felt like I was riding in an enclosed skateboard. It was a nice enough, but close to the ground.

The nice people at Enterprise told us about Fast Eddie’s Diner. They have been in business for a long time, and have a lot of regular customers. Their breakfast is $3.99 all day every day. It was pretty good, and had a great counter. I just wish they weren’t so far from where we are staying so we could go there every morning. It was that good!

We went back home after breakfast. I washed my hair and FabGrandpa took a nap. I had an appointment to get the ultrasound on my arm at 2:00 p.m. The lab is only two miles away. We got there with plenty of time to spare. I forgot to take my camera with me to get a shot of the ultrasound, dang it! To see what it looked like, click here: Ultrasound of lipoma in arm That’s not my arm but it looks just like mine. The mass was sort of oval, shaped like an egg, definitely there. She did one scan of my right arm for comparison and there was no egg shaped thing in that one. I guess I am eating too many eggs, as I am growing one in my arm now.

About 4:00 p.m. the guy called from Chuck’s to let us know they were finished with our truck, so we went back over there to pick it up. Here is what the new pipe looks like:

And FabGrandpa got these two really cool gauges:

The top one measures the temperature of the air coming out of the new exhaust pipe. The second one measures “turbo boost”. He is in “guy heaven”, he is such a gauge kind of guy. They even light up at night.

Project 365 Day 58 The Perfect Desk

Karen · 2 Comments

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OK, not exactly perfect but dang near close. We had to go over to Whole Foods today, and there is a Container Store next door to it. I have been wanting to go in there and look at some things since the first time I saw it but never had time until today.

That place is so neat! They have all kinds of containers and shelving and racks and stuff. You could organize anything with stuff from there. I want to get some square plastic containers so I can organize my pantry. Right now everything is in empty coffee cans that I have covered with white paper. I want the square plastic ones so they will fit in there better.

Anyway, while we were in the Container Store, we saw this desk:

It is 34″ wide, and the space I have to put it in is 36″ wide. A perfect fit! See how it has that section that pulls out? I would have plenty of space for sewing , and when the day is done, I can set the sewing machine up on the next level, and push that lower one back in, out of the way. It even has a drawer for my scissors and pins and stuff. I am in love with this desk!

The only problem is that it only comes in dark chocolate wood color at that store. I went online and found it in oak, same price, at a different place.

The other solution I thought of was to go to Home Depot and get a piece of counter top and a small base cabinet. I could attach the counter top to the side of the dresser on one side, and set the other side on top of the base cabinet. I saw some really cool basket type drawers at the container store that would work well with that sort of set-up.

But, now, I think I will just go for the desk. That way, if I traded campers I could move it with me. What to do? What to do?

Project 365 Day 57

Karen · 7 Comments

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The breakfast counter at Fast Eddie’s Diner in Glendale, Arizona. Yeah, I love those places. The breakfast was good, too. $3.99 for 2 eggs over easy, 2 stips of bacon, hashbrowns, and toast (if you eat bread). mmmmmm……

A Friendly Visit

Karen · 7 Comments

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Yesterday I had some visitors at the Christmas tree lot. Harlan and Arnette, a couple from California who are workamping in Mesa, stopped by to say Hi! Arnette introduced herself and said she reads my blog. She really introduced herself as “Anonymous”, as she has commented a couple of times anonymously. It was great to meet them.

This is their first time workamping. Arnette just retired in May, but Harlan has been retired for 12 years. Lucky dog! They described their job as being “food service”, but what they do is serve punch and coffee and oversee whoever is serving the food at meal functions at the campground where they are staying. It sounded like a pretty good gig.

Oh, I just LOVE being recognized. It is so much fun.

Budget Report Week 5 Cash Monday

Karen · 2 Comments

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It’s that time again, Cash Monday. This week we did pretty good. We went out to breakfast three times, once at Cracker Barrel and twice at Denney’s across the street from the Christmas tree lot. We picked up lunch at McDonald’s once (I had mine with no bun, of course). We drove across town looking for a particular store that sells Bio-Kleen dishwashing detergent because it is the only one that does not wreak havoc on my hands. (after we got there we found out they don’t carry it in the store after all, but we got some really good stuffed olives instead)

This week, we have an appointment to get some work done on the truck. We got one of those superchips two years ago, which really does boost the horsepower on our Ford F-250. Now we are going to get a custom exhaust done, and that will improve the performance of the engine, too.

When we were in Pennsylvania in 2007, FabGrandpa had talked to a mechanic there who quoted a price of over $1300. We were pleasantly surprised when the guy here in Phoenix told us it would be only $890 and that includes heat gauges! So, that little job will take place tomorrow.

The same day, I am going to the radiology place to get the ultrasound done on my arm. They quoted me a price of $100, which will come out of my pocket since I have no health insurance. (we call it self insured. what else can you do?) We also have to pay for the service done on our refrigerator last week over at the RV dealership(more on that later). That will be $120 or so. We haven’t paid them yet because we still have some things that need doing under warranty. We have to take the trailer back over there on Wednesday to finish that up.

So, while we are doing great on our spending money budget, we seem to be breaking the bank in other areas. This week’s bottom line is: we have a total of $14.11 left in our pockets. That puts us under budget for the entire period by $100.05. That should pay for my ultrasound. Whoo hoo!

A Palpable Mass

Karen · 7 Comments

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I have been having some trouble with my arm for about two months, ever since we were in Flagstaff. When we were there, I walked into the door between the living area and the bathroom in our trailer, and hit my left arm. I didn’t have a bruise or anything, but my arm has been hurting ever since then.

It doesn’t hurt when I lift it up over my head, or when I move it back and forth, or side to side, but when I try to pick something up, it hurts. Like when I try to pick up a can of soda or open the door to the truck, I have no “grip” and my arm hurts.

Then, this week, I happened to notice that it looked swollen, right below the bend in my elbow. I had FabGrandpa look at it, and said it looked swollen to him, too. And, there was a knot in there. Not a bruise, but a huge “bump” in there. My friend Lynda looked at it too, and said, “yeah, it’s swollen up, Kid” (she always calls me kid, I love that about her!)

So, today, we went to the urgent care clinic in Anthem that is down the road from the Christmas tree lot. They took a look and said “yep, it’s swollen”. They gave me a prescription for Naproxen, and orders to get an ultrasound done at the hospital in Phoenix. I have to call on Monday and make an appointment. The diagnosis right now is:

Palpable mass in left forearm. It does looks swollen in this picture:
The doctor I saw said it was probably just a cyst or a benign tumor. After I get the ultrasound done, they will call me with the results and refer me to an orthopedic surgeon. (Ick!) So, there ya go—the suspense is palpable!

Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Karen · 9 Comments

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My favorite pie in the whole world is Lemon Meringue. My mother used to make these pies for our family reunions, at Christmas, and maybe at Easter, too. If she ever asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, I am sure I asked for a Lemon Meringue pie instead.

I have not had a Lemon Meringue pie since I started eating gluten free in April of 2007. But, the week before Thanksgiving, I found some gluten free frozen pie crusts at Whole Foods in Scottsdale. When I saw them, my head just about exploded with joy, and I knew I would be making a lemon pie soon.

This morning, I made my pie, using my mother’s recipe. I think it is actually from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook from the 1940’s or 50’s. Mama had that cookbook forever, so used that it came apart from the binding. She kept it in a drawer in the kitchen, wrapped in rubber bands to keep it together. Several years ago, she wrote down a bunch of her most used recipes, and I made copies for all my siblings and one for myself.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 eggs, separated
juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
1 baked pie shell

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a boiler. Add water, stirring constantly. Beat egg yolks, add a little of the hot cornstarch mixture to the eggs. Beat well, and return the egg mixture to the boiler, stirring well. Cook for 2 minutes longer or until very thick. Add lemon juice and rind, beat well to combine. Pour into baked pie shell. Cover with meringue. Bake at 325 degrees until meringue is browned.

Meringue:

3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg whites until frothy. Add sugar slowly, continue beating until stiff. Add vanilla.

Refrigerate at least one hour, if you can wait that long, before cutting the pie. Enjoy, repeat until the pie is gone. MMMMMMMMM…..

Project 365 Day 55 Sunrise In Phoenix

Karen · 7 Comments

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I am almost never up before the sun comes up, but FabGrandpa wanted to get the oil changed in the truck today. He wanted to be first in line so we had to be there before 7:00 a.m.!! While he was getting the truck stuff done, I bought groceries. We had everything done and back home before 8:30. Can you say NAP?