I kind of wanted to give a snapshot of our life at the moment, nothing really weighty or deep, but just how sometimes things conspire to make you sit up and say ‘REALLY???’
We finished up our assignment in WA the beginning of January. The plan was to travel down through OR and CA, and across, ending in CO. We had some work that needed to be done on our new rv and due to the company we bought it from being useless we had everything shipped to CO to the shop we normally patronize.
We were going to leave on a Thursday, and everything was ready to go. I switched on the ‘bring the bedroom slide in’ and it worked as expected. Then I tried to bring in the other two slides….nothing. Okay, it’s bound to be something simple, right? I checked the fuses. No bad fuses. There wasn’t another option that didn’t require a schematic, and the company doesn’t pass those out. We were stuck. We called around to find a mobile tech but had no luck. Cats got out of their carriers and we delayed the trip.
The next day I called the company that made the rv and talked to a tech. She fixed me right up. The battery interrupt button was pushed in, cutting off power. How it got pushed in is a mystery. I pulled it out – the slides did what slides are supposed to do – huzzah! But Nic had paid through the weekend so we ended up staying another 3 days. My plans were slightly disarrayed.
Monday came, we pulled out on time, and drove into OR. We got past Salem and almost to where I had booked us overnight…and the check engine light came on. We camped and in the morning we called around to the dealers to see when we could be brought in for diagnosis. Saturday morning. We called the man who had done the engine rebuild when we bought the truck and we were able to bring it in that morning. He ran the diagnostics and found a couple of things that needed replacing, and was able to get the parts and do the work that day. We spent most of the afternoon in a Starbucks. It was boring. The work cost us a little over $1k. We were able to leave Wednesday.
As we were leaving Ashland OR, just 6 miles from the CA border, the engine died. We lost power and braking. Luckily we weren’t going down a hill at the time. We coasted to the shoulder and I called Good Sam, who got us a couple of tow trucks. One took the rv to a park in Ashland and the other took the truck to the dealer in town. Thursday morning we called the dealer and they were able to put it on diagnostics that morning. We find out that afternoon that the fuel pump injectors had died. They could order parts that would come in Friday and get it worked on then. We agreed, paid up on the rv park, and waited for Friday afternoon. The dealer called just before 1600, they had to order the parts and would fix the truck when they came in on Monday. We stayed in Ashland over the weekend, and got the truck back Monday afternoon. We left Tuesday.
Got in to Redding Tuesday evening and spent an uneventful night – only to wake up and discover that someone had stolen the two spare propane cylinders and the gas can out of the back of the truck. Consoled ourselves that it could have been worse. We left Redding Wednesday morning (now a full week behind our schedule) and drove to Eureka. It took us 6 hours to drive 158 miles. SIX HOURS. The cats, riding in their carriers in the back seat, were silent the entire time. That was amazing. We finally got into Eureka and parked in the rv park, and everyone was exhausted.
The next morning – Thursday – we wanted to unhitch and go into town. The leveling jacks would not descend. We couldn’t unhitch. Called around and found a mobile tech who came out on Friday and found it was a burned out cap on the mother board. He replaced the board Saturday- $560.
Also Saturday I talked to my repairman in CO – the kingpin shroud had arrived shoddily packaged and smashed, and the countertop had a corner broken off and wasn’t the right one for this model. There was no use for us to drive to CO. Getting everything replaced would take weeks.
By now if you’re like us you’re probably cringing, wondering what could possibly go wrong next. We had gotten the message loud and clear that we shouldn’t go any further. There was a job assignment in this town and Nic had been accepted although we were still waiting for a contract. We settled down to recover our nerves and wait for the start date. The next week was quiet. Nothing broke. We bought another propane cylinder to replace the one stolen. Friday Nic got an interview in Gallup NM and we discussed the two jobs merits. I sought out advise from Nettle and Coyvere. Nic asked for a sign. Monday approaches.
Our savings has been severely depleted by all the expenses, and our travel money is drained. I don’t know how we can afford to go to Gallup, even if it is a better assignment in the long run. We may be forced to stay here at least for one assignment, just to get our finances into better shape.
This is an example of Something not wanting us to go somewhere. We’ve encountered it before, in 1997 when we decided to go to Alaska after Nic’s retirement from the military. Amongst other things that time, the rv caught fire! We stubbornly pushed through but events didn’t work out as we had hoped and we scurried back to the Lower 48, tails tucked twixt our legs. So we know the sound a Celestial 2×4 makes as it contacts our aching skulls.
Nic is having pain management problems; his hip and back are causing him to seriously consider taking disability. I began giving him reiki at night before we fall asleep, and putting an emerald green cocoon of healing around him until the next session. It seems to be helping. I hope it’s helping. Morgan Damlier also posted a bit on elfshot and what to use to counteract it. Nic might have gotten elfshot – I have a convoluted and fraught relationship with the fae and they aren’t above attacking my husband – so I have bought elecampane and will be applying it to his hip, which is where the pain began. If it works – wonderful! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to heal him.
As an aside, after some consideration I’ve decided that I was happier just working magick, without the complication of deities and Powers, and that’s what I’m going to go back to.
