Residential Vehicle or Wheel Estate

The heat has cooled down considerably. Even though I drove 160 miles to repair my RV air-conditioner, I am thrilled when I can shut it down to enjoy the fresh air.


A gentle reader mentioned in a comment that RV also stands for "Residential Vehicle".  I like that too, much better than Recreational Vehicle, though Wheel Estate is my favorite description for what I live in. 


As a teenager, I thought a recreational vehicle, was simply the backseat of your boyfriend's car.


I'm afraid the cleaning solvents and freshener they used to clean the entire unit have affected me adversely. I agreed to pay extra to have the whole unit sanitized, but nobody said anything about adding all this freshener chemical.  I could see the unit needed a good cleaning, because my filter (unaware to me) had come up in one corner, allowing all sorts of dust and crap to enter the unit.  When the repairmen announced, after they had reinstalled the entire unit, that  they had coated it in this air freshener type stuff after cleaning it, to give my RV all these wonderful smells, I gritted and about ground my teeth off, hoping it wouldn't affect me.  


I don't care for artificial aromas at all, many of the chemicals used to make them sometimes irritate me. I used to never be this sensitive, but whatever they did to me that month in the hospital, has left me with temporary super sensitivities, that I pray will pass as I get stronger each and every day. 


Since the A/C repair, it's been brutally wretchedly hot and humid, so I've been forced to use it a good bit. Even the dog has begged for it, yet he typically loves the outdoors as much as I do.  Unfortunately,  I've about hacked up a whole lung.  


I assume it's the annoying freshener that I detest.  In the interim, I've spent a great deal of time cleaning the entire motorhome with plain old soap and vinegar trying to rid it of all minute particles of dust and dirt. Of course having the windows open invites more dust and dirt, but humans are built to withstand nature better than artificial chemical compounds. 


I've also pressed my electric germ killer as well as my negative ion generator into heavy duty work. It's only been a few days since the A/C repair.  I cleaned the filter, when it first went into a coma.  But I am willing myself to climb up on my stool to remove the filters from the ceiling unit again, and clean them once more. How I wish the engineer who designed this had made it an easier task. 


Any chance I can shut the A/C compressor off, I do. I have been throwing all the  windows open, but leaving the fan unit running on the A/C in hopes to get rid of that dastardly freshener. 


Yuck.  My eyes are watering, I'm whooping and a coughing. 


Around 7pm last night, it cooled right off, so my windows have been open ever since. I moved back outdoors.  Company called that they were arriving on short notice.  Being a southerner at heart, I insisted they come for dinner as well.  


Southerners are notorious for pushing food and copious amounts of iced tea on all visitors.   


I can usually throw something together on short notice. Even though I live alone, I often cook extra amounts of everything, so my fridge is full of my own version of "fast food" but it's the healthy type, not the drive-by kill-your-thighs type. 


The day before I had made a quart and a half of this heavenly pasta sauce in the little crockpot with organic tomatoes, garlic, olives, summer squash, vidalia onions, sliced mushrooms, chopped bell pepper, tiny bits of pepperoni, TVP (made from soy beans) and of course generous amounts of herbs such as basil, oregano and thyme. Because the sauce had cooked all day, then sat in the fridge all night and much of the next day, the flavors had thoroughly married giving it an awesome taste. I had some whole wheat spaghetti on hand, so that coupled with a salad made a great dinner for company. 


We dined al fresco, with a view of the lake, fortified with the fan I bought the other day (when the A/C first went into respiratory arrest).  It gave us  the illusion of  gentle breezes wafting across the patio. 


I'm a romantic at heart, so my plastic card table that I use outdoors when camping, is most always covered with a festive table cloth. Actually I use my old sarongs from the Caribbean, that fit a card table nicely.  This certainly gives it an elegant inviting look. Can you tell I was a private chef for years?  This campspot where I am workamping (trading work for rent) also came with a jumbo picnic table that seats 10. So theoretically, I could seat 14 for a dinner party. 


I've found that picnic tables are not always the best desk, hence the cheap card table I found at Big Lots one day. Even though it was cheap, it's top is heavy duty plastic, the legs are sturdy metal, that lock into place firmly. 


I've seen in campgrounds and many RV parks, that some folks live fully ensconced in their motorhomes or travel trailers, never once venturing outdoors except to hook up their utilities upon arrival. 


For the life of me, I would slit my throat, if I couldn't enjoy the great outdoors on a regular basis.  





Recently a fan and gentle reader, sent me all these wonderful organic herbs and organic tomatoes along with numerous other ingredients. I've been smitten with these fabulous spices and new choices in foods.  The organic tomatoes just burst with flavor. 


Even my company commented on the food, showing their appreciation by eating hearty amounts.  


There was only about one ounce of pepperoni in the sauce, chopped up. I was perusing my fridge for ingredients, when I saw a bit of leftover pepperoni, so I chopped it up and  in the pot it went. The TVP is Textured Vegetable Protein made from lowfat Soy beans which are high in protein and iron, super low in fat. When used in recipes, it resembles ground meat. It needs lots of flavoring, which it soaks up like a sponge.  Without good seasonings,  it's about as exciting as eating a raw potato. So if you are new to this stuff, it's great as a meat replacement (your waistline will thank you) but be sure to cook it with other ingredients and liberal seasonings. 


I also scraped together a hearty salad for three, even though I had barely a cup of leafy greens.  I managed to fortify the scant greens with shredded carrots, slivered almonds, chopped radishes, black olives, red bell pepper and broccoli florets. I  lightly steamed the broccoli in the microwave, then quickly chilled it in water fortified with a few ice cubes.  Once drained and added  to the salad, it wasn't hard as a rock, but it wasn't limpy either. Just a nice beautiful addition to the salad, without giving one's jaw pause for the cause. 


Afterwards, I actually managed to drag my friends out on a short walk. Puppy dog was thrilled.  He had already been doing his circus tricks and trying to play kissy face with his visitors. He thinks anyone that drops in (including the mail-lady, UPS and the folks that collect the garbage) is here for the sole reason of being entertained by a puppy.  

Since I don't much care for doggy kisses, he tries to sneak one on company, if he can get away with it. 


Silly dog!  

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