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| This nice lady on the beach was clearly enjoying herself. I guess bikinis come in all sizes.  One elderly man was casually walking by, looking sideways at this lady, without turning his head, then he tripped on a rock, and fell down. His wife was fussing at him, while she helped him up again. |
Someone said I was a frontier lady when I was telling them of my latest kitchen exploits from making yogurt from scratch, then making yogurt cheese. Plus slow cooking dried beans to turn into delicious meals and dips. Add on battling thieving raccoons, plus washing laundry by hand. All in the day of the life of one enterprising mermaid...
I seem to be on a repair mode, with more to fix than I have time, but time I must make. Dining al fresco with the birds chirping while pine needles rain down on me, is actually rather nice. The raccoon hangs about in the shadows, seeking leftovers. He wants something to go with the full ketchup bottle he stole from me the other night.
A big vine, suddenly fell from a very tall tree, landing less than a foot away from me. Sometimes the palmetto trees let go of a large branch, startling me. I feel like a nature magnet.
In my travels from Titiusville, Florida, to the truck stop in Brunswick, Georgia, to Camping World in Savannah to getting lost in Hilton Head, to finally settling at one my favorite spots in the whole wide world; Hunting Island, South Carolina, I came across a Goodwill store while getting lost.
Goodwill is a non-profit agency that sells donated clothing and household goods. My motorhome, suddenly veered over, landing us in the Goodwill parking lot. Harley the puppy dog was a tad enthusiastic, he has two 25 cent teddy bears from Goodwill. One came with a sweater that fits him. Today, I left him in the motorhome with the hurricane 12 volt fan going, along with the exhaust fan over the stove plus three open windows. That way I figure, he gets plenty of fresh air movement, though it wasn't very hot.
I went inside Goodwill to look at clothing. I found nothing to my liking that also fit. Either I loved it and it didn't fit, or it fit and I hated it. So no clothes today.
I took a quick browse through the household miscellany. I came upon a vintage Singer Hand Vac with an old-fashioned black heavy duty cord, the kind built to last a lifetime. It was made in Anderson, South Carolina. That Singer Plant opened in 1950, briefly made sewing machines, then went on to make small appliances. The plant in Anderson closed around the 70's as I recall. Actually, I think it reopened in Pickens, South Carolina.
This is model EHV-1 vacuum cleaner. I know the HV is hand vac. I am unsure what the E is for, perhaps electric?
The case is made of heavy duty plastic, with metal innards. Overall it's weighty with a nice long 10 foot cord. I wandered around Goodwill until I found an empty electric socket. I plugged in the unit, then discovered some dirt. I began tidying up the Goodwill store with the hand vac. Matter of fact, I vacuumed quite of few shelves and a good bit of flooring, just about everything I could find within the 10 foot range of the cord. Goodwill definitely needed some cleaning. This Singer has super suction. I was amazed at how much dirt was in the store, and how much this handy vac was willing to suck away. Other shoppers must have found me rather entertaining, as several stopped to stare while I played with the vacuum cleaner. I turned it off, when I was through tidying up, then opened up the unit, sure enough it was full of dirt and dust.
The price was $2.99. I hemmed and hawed, a vacuum cleaner for my wheel estate would be a definite advantage, what with the puppy and all. Even though I ripped out the wall to wall carpet in favor of vinyl tiling, I still had carpet in the bath and cab area. The other day, when I flipped up the mattress (not an easy feat) I found loads of dirt and dust, which I swept up best I could. Then there is the upholstery that could use a good dirt sucker.
Oh the thrills of living on a teeny tiny budget! I am hesitating over a $2.99 used vacuum cleaner. I could easily justify it, because I needed it for health reasons. Living cleanly does improve one's health dramatically. That settled the matter. I took it to the cashier. She asked if I qualified for a discount. I said "I'm sick, old, tired and crazy." Without missing a beat, she rang up a 20% discount, reducing my purchase to $2.39.
After I arrived at the campground, I vacuumed everything in the motorhome. I was amazed at how much dirt I found. I guess you could say I'm trying to lead a clean life.
Last night my neighbor in the campground, left his garbage in the back of his pickup truck. South Carolina state parks have cleaned up their act, making garbage disposal in one central location, rather than unsightly dumps throughout the park. Its not a bad walk, especially if you haul your garbage often, so you aren't dragging a mountain with you. Of course many folks simply burn up the gas to drive to the garbage dump, while folks like me, hoof it there on foot with an enthusiastic puppy.
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