In my last post, I said I expected a change from the routine here at Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona. I’ve been hitting the pickleball courts every morning then relaxing and reading in the afternoons before finding friends at the pub. Well, the parcels that I mentioned in my last post were delivered late, so Tuesday was a repeat of the previous days.
Donna bought a seven-pound whole chicken and we roasted it on the Traeger grill/smoker Tuesday evening. It took a little longer than the typical five-pound chicken but it came out great. We went with the usual rub of Sweet Rub O’Mine to spice the chicken. As always, the roasted chicken was great. I checked the internal temperature at 90 minutes since it was such a large bird and found it needed a little more time. When I checked it again 10 minutes later, I feared I’d overcooked it, but it was fine – juicy and tasty.
Another Traeger chicken – it’s not burnt, the rub turns black with no burnt taste at all
Donna served the grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and roasted sweet potato
On Wednesday morning, we hit the pickleball courts early as the weather is heating up with a high pressure system stalled over the southwest. We expected temperatures to reach 90 degrees in the afternoon.
After several games, we came home around 10:30am and I set to work on my project for the day. I’d ordered cabinets to mount in our new 8.5 x 20′ car carrier trailer. My thinking is to reorganize the way we use the trailer. In our old 6 x 12′ cargo trailer, I had things stored in crates stacked on top of each other and hung bicycles from the ceiling. I’d like to organize it in a way that allows me to access and find things without unstacking crates and stepping over stuff on the trailer floor.
After pickleball Wednesday morning, I went to work in the trailer. The cabinets I received required some assembly.
Okay – cabinet in a box
Some assembly required
The Suncast Wall Storage cabinets I ordered weren’t too difficult to assemble. I think they’ll make it easier for me to organize and access things I frequently use in the trailer.
Cabinet mounted
Job done
I mounted two cabinets – one on each side at the forward end of the wheel wells. I think this is a well-balanced placement and I can add additional cabinets to the rear if I decide to do so. Of course the installation didn’t go without a hitch. I had 1-1/2 inch #10 self-drilling screws on hand. Wouldn’t you know it, they were a hair short of what I needed to tap into the steel upright wall studs to mount the cabinet to the trailer walls. So, as usual, the project meant a trip to the hardware store for 2″ self-tapping screws. I measured carefully to ensure the screws wouldn’t hit the outer trailer skin.
By the time I’d finished this, it was nearly 2pm. Donna, who had been busy working on her own projects, suddenly realized we had an appointment with our CPA George Montgomery to prepare our taxes at 2pm. She called George and we set our appointment back to 3pm. George is a former full-timer and understands the nomadic lifestyle as well as the tax implications.
Donna pan fried a wild Alaskan salmon filet for dinner and served it over an orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese – so good.
Pan fried Alaskan salmon filet with orzo salad
I had another delivery on Tuesday – new front tires for the Spyder – and two deliveries late Wednesday. At 8:15pm, UPS showed up with an order I placed with Amsoil for the Spyder and an order I placed online with Sears for a hydraulic floor jack. My old jack was stolen by those Dirty, Rotten Thieves and I need one to service the Spyder. It’ll also come in handy if we ever suffer a flat on the trailer down the road. I have a spare trailer tire, but without a jack, I would need roadside assistance.
It was a warm day yesterday with the temperature in the mid-80s. Today is supposed to be hot with the temperature reaching an unseasonably high of 90 degrees. I’m off to the pickleball courts before it gets too hot to play.
*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!