I'M A SNOWBIRD.

Absent these pages for two weeks was due to buttoning up my Oregon place for the coming winter. With back to back holidays, it made sense to close down.  A sign in the library had a "snowbird" book sale. I had heard the term in Yuma when we ran into gobs of Canadians and Alaskans.


Aha! Now I learn I am one.

 I had a repair scheduled on my brand new dishwasher and it was a simple fix on the third try. But my major job was to clean up the 5th wheel I bought for Doug to live in while he built the house. His stuff is now in boxes in my trunk. The windows and blinds are clean, the rug shampooed, etc. The RV consignment guy was a bit hesitant about putting it on his lot.

His son came by to look at it and ended up driving it away with a damp rug. I placed newspapers down for him to walk on. And within an hour he had closed it up and was driving away.

My van is tucked into the southeast corner of the building to get as much heat and shelter as possible. The carport will have to wait until next spring.

In past winters, I turned off the breakers to the well and went about my business. I must have lucked out. I had a sand filter installed on Saturday and the plumber told me Oregon is expecting extreme weather and the breakers will turn off the heating elements inside of the well house. He told me the holding tank can rupture in a deep freeze. I followed his advice, turned the water off at the well and drained all water in the house, closed down my frig and left the faucets on. The mini-split heat pump keeps the house at 52 degrees while I'm gone.

I'm becoming an expert on maintaining a house in a damp climate near a stream. I didn't have presence of mind enough to take enough pictures like I used to when I was blogging on the road. I did take insurance photos of the entire house and furnishings, though.