The Turbo Resonator Eliminator Saga

YAY me! I got the old Turbo Resonator (a Q3) out of there! And… I got the new TR Eliminator IN there! What I'm talking about is a part on the Navion (RV) which is prone to failure. Enough people on the View/Navion newsgroup at Yahoo Groups had had failures and horror stories, that I thought that a pre-emptive strike was a good idea. And yes, Bob, I AM brave! Didn't you know that about me already?

Byron in that group gave me good advice about taking the old TR out of its hose clamp end before unbolting. And it did help to have a ratcheting wrench in a ¼” size to do that bolt loosening underneath. I think that the hardest part was getting the new Eliminator to “seat” itself on the O-ring side, so that the bolts would go in, but.. hey, I did it!

I still don’t think that the instructions are quite right when they say that this is a fix that anyone can do on the side of the road in 15 minutes. I am really glad that I did it in the comfort of my own driveway with my "creeper" and all my tools handy, and that I wasn’t worried about trucks or whatever whooshing past me.

Here are some pics of me with our li'l Nav. The first one I'm actually getting set to go under and take out the Turbo Resonator. In the other 2, I'm washing her:

We've been keeping very busy. We went up to Indy ydy to visit the zoo, but we couldn't find a place to park. They were parking folks there for the baseball game and so zoo visitors were out of luck. Dumb idea, if you ask me. They should charge triple to park if you're not a zoo member on game days. Or something. LOL.

So we couldn't go to the zoo so instead we went shopping for ladies' clothing! :) We went to Keystone at the Crossing and dropped nearly $500 at J. Jill, one of my favorite clothing shops. Fun! I told Michael that was his Father's Day gift.

Now today we're going to be going to Indy again, and this time we are going to the game! Michael's friend Geoff has tickets and asked us to go along so there we are!

In case you're wondering, we are still keeping up with our daily exercise. I park the car at the gym and then Michael goes and does his thing for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I get Maddy out of the back of the car and we go for a 40 minute walk about town. We have enjoyed some really fun jaunts! Today we walked south on Washington St till we got to 1st St. Then we cut up to Lincoln and took that back to the Post Office. We got our mail from our PO Box, and then returned to the gym. It was getting hot already by 9:30, but not too bad, since it was pretty windy.

Time for some success!

Success is a heady thing. Once we've had a taste of it, it's hard to live without a bit of it now and then.

I tend to be a lucky person. I find pennies on the sidewalk, I pick 4-leaf clovers, and I usually see the cat's yack before I step in it. But today, I'm having trouble getting my Adobe CS3 to install on my new computer! This time I'd de-activated the software in Tucson before leaving there and so that's not the problem. I'll have just the 2 active licenses and so that should be cool. I wrote to the Adobe folks and we'll see what they say.

Then there's the Turbo Resonator situation. This is a part in the Sprinter chassis of our li'l Navion which is prone to failure. When it fails, the RV goes into Limp Home Mode, where you can't go over 20 mph and cars behind you honk and stuff. I didn't want to have to go through this hell, so I bought a part that was highly recommended by the online group I belong to at Yahoo Groups. It's called a Turbo Resonator Eliminator.

Well, I wasn't able to get the Eliminator installed on the Navion, but I think I was going about it backwards. Plus I was trying to do it with this tiny wrench and that made loosening the bolts unnecessarily hard. I'm going to get a li'l girl model ratchet set and see if I can't get that thing fixed. I'm not giving up yet.

So.. what's been good? We went to Mooresville ydy and enjoyed a nice dinner with Annette, Steve, Robert & Molly (who came down from MN), and Lisa and Aaron and both of their families. Our ears were ringing when we got out of there, but a good time was enjoyed by all! I'd post a pic but.. uh... I don't have Photoshop, and I'll need PS to get us all into the pic. ;)

We had lunch today at Michael's office, and it was great to see all the folks and to enjoy a great O'Charley's lunch.

We've had a rainy few days with the weather being really pretty unpredictable -- sunny one minute and pouring down rain the next. No big storms yet, though.

A normal day

We enjoyed today. We started out with breakfast and then a workout. I parked by the gym, and while Michael biked, I took Maddy for a walk. Today we went up Washington to 3rd Street, then cut back to 4th and up to the IU campus Old Crescent before heading back to Cardinal Fitness. Michael had just finished his 40-minute workout and met me at the car. This is what we do most days, but I do vary my route.

After our workout, we went to Michael's neurologist, Dr. Way. Michael continues to do well in a clinical sense. That is, everything still works, and his aphasia has not progressed. He does get frustrated when he can't think of things right away, but I tell him that, since he started out really smart, he can afford to lose a bit and he's still really smart. And that's true!

After the appointment, we went to his blood-letting, something that he does every Tuesday. We'll go and get the results of this bloodwork tomorrow.

We stopped at Marsh so I could get some milk. I came out with milk for me and cookies and a caramel chocolate bar for Michael. :)

Back home again, we had lunch and then, as Michael napped, I worked with my new computer, installing ICQ, setting up Quicken for my business, and doing some email.

This evening, we went to O'Charley's so Michael could have their BLT. I had the spinach/artichoke dip with chips. Dinner was delish! Then we hit Office Depot for an upgrade to my MS Office Suite for my new computer. I'll probably install that tomorrow. I know; just do it. I just have to do this stuff gradually!

a New Computer

I did finally get my new computer out of the box today and have been working on getting used to the new hardware and the VISTA OS. So amazing all the new and exciting bells and whistles. Even the Freecell game is prettier than the old. Everything is a surprise!

I basically hate getting new things, but have inundated myself with newness of late (new phone, new computer, new car, new RV, new DVD players and TV's for the cottage... on and on) and it's kind of daunting to me to have all this new stuff to learn about!

For those of you technophiles, the computer is an HP Pavilion 9000. It has 2GB of RAM, 240GB of HD, and a 17" screen. Oh... and it's a laptop!

Now I'm working on putting my software in. MS Office has been a problem, because it's all installed and wanting a serial number, but none of their directions for getting a serial number are working.

Our Race Day party went well yesterday with Brenda winning the pot for the 2nd year in a row. I think we need some new rules! LOL! The rain held off during the arrivals and departures, and for the food preparations, so that was good. There was a 2-hour or so rain delay, too, so we didn't know till everyone had left who won the pot. But it was still fun with plentiful and delicious food and nice people to share with.

We did miss Matthew, who didn't feel up to making the drive from Florida (and we don't blame him!) and Glenn, Julie, Matt & Julien who didn't want to make the drive from ... HAWAII! We'll hope to see all of you next year though!

Coronation!

That's right! I'm getting two new crowns! :D I had 3 hours in the dentist's chair on Friday, readying my final two uncrowned teeth. I'm gonna have the purtiest mouth on the planet by the time I die! LOL!

Today we spent finalizing plans for tomorrow's Race Day party. I made a Hawaii Pie, an invention of mine which has macadamia nuts, coconut, and pineapple. Meat's ready for the grill, and I will be making rice pilaf and my special vegetables to go along with the bought potato salad, Neptune salad, Romaine salad, French bread, and .. fixin's. :) Now we need for the race to be run, and if you're wondering, we're talking about the Indy 500!

Real Life

Hey there!
Life's been very hectic for us ever since we got home. It seems like we run errands all day now.

We just got back on Monday from Chicago, where we went for cousin Tom's wedding to his longtime partner, Frank. It was a lovely event, and it was cool to be able to see all their friends and to visit that side of the family for the first time in over 20 years.

I shot a few pics while we were up there, but didn't shoot any of the wedding. I have this rarely-held (it seems) belief that if there is a wedding photographer shooting pics, it's not proper for guests to also be shooting pics.

Michael and I went up there on Thursday, driving the new white CRV up mostly on little roads. The hardest part was in the city of Chicago itself. The expressways were jammed up with traffic, so we stayed on the surface streets, taking over 2 hours to get from the Illinois border near Whiting up to our hotel, the Wyndham Glenview Suites. The day was beautiful, though, and the drive proved interesting.

Friday we went shopping at the Old Orchard Mall, an open-air mall much like Oakbrook. We liked it! We had a pasta lupper (lunch-supper) at Cheesecake Factory, and took 2 pieces of their cheesecake to go. These were our evening snack back in the room.

Saturday was the wedding and reception. There were several "high points" to this day. Of course we both loved talking to my Aunt Carola and my cousins Ed and Tom. I loved meeting Diana, Ed's wife of 29 years. (How wrong is it to fall that far out of touch with one's own family?? We could have been FRIENDS all this time!) Anyway.. we enjoyed that.

One high point was after the wedding, when the right-hand wall of the church opened up, revealing a bright and beautiful yellow-walled room, with a huge wedding cake and champagne-toting servers waiting for us.

Tom and Frank's house was piled high with lavish and delicious food, too. Thankfully, there were sufficient guests to eat it!

On Sunday, we drove around a bit, driving past the beautiful Baha'i Temple, and then making our way south to the Chicago Art Institute, one of our favorite Chi-town haunts.

Monday we drove back home, coming out of northern Chicago on Hwy US 45 to US 30 -- a great way to come!

Monday and Tuesday we got Michael's MRI and did the drive to Indy to the neuro-oncologist. Things are pretty much unchanged, and, with this illness, that's a good thing. There is scarring from the radiation, and that can look like tumor, but, since it has not changed, they lean toward thinking that it's just the scarring.

We were talking about our travels and plans and I actually made the doc laugh out loud when I said, "We're putting the glee in glioma!"

We're getting settled back in at home, and it seems like I'm getting new technology at an alarming rate! LOL! (I don't do very well with getting new tech toys!) I have a new laptop computer which I just got ydy. I have not even turned it on yet but I did just now plug it in! Progress! It's an HP with lots of HD, 2GB of RAM and a big screen.

I also got a new cellphone, because the Treo's touchscreen stopped responding to my touch. It, too, is a little computer, with Pocket PC Windows in it and I like that. I made my first phone call today, to Michael! Hey.. gotta find the fun where we can!

Here are some photos from when we were in Forest City, Iowa. We were waiting for the service people with other Winnebago/Itasca owners. We made friends and had a really fine time!





While we were in Forest City, I did my daily walks with Maddy, of course. I love this photo that I shot along the way.


We drove on up to Waseca, Minnesota, claiming the award for being the first of Robert or Molly's family to visit them. Robert's my brother! We had a really fun day, touring Molly's Walmart, seeing their fine home, and walking around the town. We camped at Kiesler's Campground, a nice place:



Back on the road, Michael and I stopped in Morton, Illinois. This is the town where Michael grew up and where his parents lived till 1990, so there are plenty of memories for both of us.



We walked down to the street where Michael's parents lived, and the new people were outside. They invited us in for a tour of the beautifully updated house. What a thrill! Maddy waited for us outside, tied to a tree. :)

New Car!

It's a beautiful spring day here in Indiana. Yesterday we went out and spent just about the whole day shopping for and buying a car! We actually shopped at the Toyota dealership, drove one, and then headed off to Stephens Honda.

The CRV once again swept us off our feet. They have made many nice improvements, including tilt wheel and a smarter look. So this is #3 Honda CRV for us, unless you count George's! This time we got a white one, since this is going to be our summer car. And here it is, parked in the garage with the Navion:


How cute is that?

And then today we got our cable reconnected and some improvements made to the internet connection. Next thing you know, I'll have no more excuse to get back to work! ;)

Piece of Janee-art

I'm testing posting a pic to Blogger directly from Picasa. It works!

Back home again!

We just drove into our driveway in Bloomington Indiana.. today! The trip was great and we did lots of cool things. The coolest is that we stayed on the 2-lane roads all we could, venturing onto 4-laners for only about 100 miles altogether.

The RV worked fine, though we did develop a leak in the water system after a couple of weeks on the road. So, after Texas, we drove on up to the factory in Forest City, IA and they eventually tracked it down and fixed it for us. We met fun people who were also having work done there, and our evenings consisted of pleasant banter and lots of laughs in lawn chairs behind the rigs.

We stayed the night in Terre Haute, IN -- 50 miles from here -- last night, so we’d get here early in the day. That’s my favorite way to do it, keeping us from being overwhelmed in the evening.

It is a beautiful day and we spent all of it getting ourselves sorted out, pulling things out of the RV, putting things away, and doing laundry. We also had to do some stuff to just get the house ready to live in again, like putting sheets on the bed, turning on the hot water...

Pets are doing great. Maddy's first move was to go goony -- running in circles madly around the living room. Eddie very carefully walked from room to room, went under the guestbed for a few minutes, and then came out and was normal again.

I'll be posting pics over the coming days. One will (I hope) be of us and our new car, which we have to go and get tomorrow!