Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Death Of Our Refrigerator

Those of you who are friends on my Facebook already know that we had our refrigerator in our 5th wheel die about ten days ago. Fortunately we have a chest freezer on board so the frozen items were no problem and the high temps outside here in Victor, MT are in the 40’s range so an ice chest worked temporarily though inconvenient. The replacement cost new is around $1200 so I did some shopping. In the meantime I tried to console Nancy that the refrigerator under these conditions was more of a convenience than a necessity. Her glare would have made an Oak tree wither. That ploy wasn’t going to work.

While searching for some kind of a deal for a good used or refurbished unit I found that I could purchase a re-built cooling unit with a 3 yr warranty for
$440 incl shipping. I requested the instructions be emailed to me in advance to see if I thought I could do the job. Upon looking at them I could see it wasn’t going to be a cake walk because there is just enough clearance between the refrigerator and the breakfast nook to get it out. Then it had to be lowered to the floor and placed face down in the living room so the cooling system could be removed from the back. $750 is a huge savings so we ordered it. It arrived within a week.

Friday I went hunting in the morning and began work on the unit after lunch. With the help of my wife, Nancy, and some leverage principles I remember from my high school physics class (some memory, huh?) we used a 10 ft 2x4 and a step stool to lower it down to the floor. (I’d have to draw a picture to explain that.)

By 7 p.m. I was bone tired and though I wanted to finish the job Nancy & I both decided on the wisdom of waiting until morning. One problem was the hole in the outside wall which we blocked with pillows. Fortunately the really cold weather was yet to come so we survived the night just fine.

The following morning I got right to it and using the same levering system the unit slipped right into the hole. After hooking up the electric and propane lines we turned it on. About an hour later we could feel the freezer actually getting cold. It was WORKING! Once again a challenge was met and overcome with "patient persistence", my favorite phrase.

My Quote for the Day:
"Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to focus."

~Alexander Graham Bell


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Monday, October 4, 2010

BEST WISHES FROM MONTANA


"Daffodils In The Woods" 12"x 9" Oil on Canvas Board. c. 2010.
This was the last painting I was working on before starting work for the Census. Now that it is finished I thought I would share it with you.

As most of you know by now I just updated my Facebook site which languished for many months because I didn't think I had time to mess with it. Guess what? I was right! I've spent the last couple of days (not ALL day) trying to get it set up the way I want it. I must have taken a dumb pill before starting because I feel like I did when I was first introduced to computers. Everything was Greek to me then and this is the same now. Eventually I suppose I'll "get it" but for now........OK so I'm stupid or maybe too old, eh?



At this very moment it's raining. I like the rain. I like to sleep in the rain. Heck, I just like to sleep. One thing about the rain however is that I'm on a Hughes Internet satellite dish and there is a red type on the bottom of my screen telling me I've lost my connection. It just left. Whew! You almost didn't get my next thought. Yes I do have those.

I am quite pleased with the initial sales of my display panel making E-Manual which I have been marketing for only $29.00. People are delighted to be able to save over $100 on each panel they make. So far my activity has been limited to eBay but I'm trying to expand my reach which was one reason for my facebook site. My handle on eBay is Ernie$$$ if you'd like to check it out.

"River Orange" 8"x 12" Oil on canvas board.
c. 2010

This is a painting I just finished before coming to Montana last week. I guess I kinda like orange because I seem to use it a lot lately. This was inspired by a photo but I changed the colors to guess what - orange.

My next series will be smaller 6"x 8" inch paintings which can be either hung on a wall or set up on a desk or mantle. I call them "Personal Miniatures" and I'm anxious to see how they will be received by my collectors. You aren't a collector yet? Don't feel bad. Not everyone is a collector of mine, though I wish they were.

Gotta go! Here is my quote for the day: "The best time to give advice to your children is
while they're still young enough to believe you know what you're talking about." by Evan Esar

Please forward this Blog to anyone you feel might be interested in it and your comments are welcome. If you are a visitor and you would like to be added to my Blog email list please email me at ernie@erniekleven.com. Also please visit my website at http://www.erniekleven.com/ On the other hand if you wish to be removed from this list please reply with "Cancel" written in the subject line.