And the uniform of the day is.....

SHORTS and a TEE SHIRT!!!!! Hooray!! I can't remember when I last wore shorts, but it was probably long before Christmas. This was an unusual winter and I'm probably happier than most that it's over.

Now it's the season when an old man's thoughts are leaning toward vacation, but there is a lot to be done here before we get to that point.

I was working my Wednesday schedule of TaxAide at the Inverness Library when one of the librarians came in with a message to call Helen, saying that it was URGENT. I called and Helen advised me that there was water everywhere in the cabana and I should come home immediately. After I finished with the client I had, I sped home to find that Helen had everything under control. The major leak was coming from the pool plumbing and she had opened the breaker, shutting down the pump. We set up our wet-or-dry vac and picked up much of the water. Then I turned the pump on to see just where it was leaking. It was the seal on the pump. I left Helen to pick up the rest of the water and went back to my duties at TaxAide.

First thing Thursday morning I headed east to a truck service place in Wildwood to have the front end of the motorhome aligned. The ride home was SOOOOOO nice and the coach drives like new again. At the same time, Helen took Coco to Midway Animal Hospital to have her teeth cleaned. This was just a drop-off and we'd pick her up later. We picked her up at 1:00 and she was not her old self, still feeling some of the effects of the anesthesia. She did better as the day went on, but she wasn't her old self until the next day.

Then I took the pool pump apart and thought I'd run the motor off the pump. It sounded like there was gravel inside and I realized that the motor itself was very sick. In the afternoon I brought it down to Helton Electric Motors in Crystal River to have it fixed. They called me back on Friday and told me that it would cost $319 and change to get the motor rebuilt. I told then to forget it! On the Internet I found an exact replacement for $284 for the whole package, pump and motor. It will be here in a few days.

Friday was "Recovery Day". With a hectic week so far, we decided to have a relaxing day chilling out with a book. It worked for me.

Today I'm raring to go. I dismantled the rest of the pool pump and put it in the trash. I'm taking a short break to write this, then it's outside for more work. Probably clean the gutters.

Life is so much better when the temperature is warm.

Confirmed.....it was a cold winter!

I think living here through the winter was enough proof that we had a very cold winter, but now it has been confirmed by meteorologists. Depending on where one lives in the area, it has been either the coldest winter on record or the coldest winter since 1940. Speaking of records, we have had the highest winter electric bills since we move into this house in 1983. This seems to suggest that next winter can't be as bad as this one. This winter the AVERAGE temperature was 16 degrees below normal.

We are not alone with record cold weather. Every day I monitor the RV.NET website where there is a wealth of information for people who travel in all kinds of recreational vehicles. Campers in Yuma, Arizona complained about the cold. People spending the winter in the Rio Grande Valley complained about the cold winter. All this while Vancouver was having difficulty coming up with enough snow for the Olympics.

We are still planning a trip to Alaska, but you can bet that I will be getting warm woolen shirts and thermal underwear to see me through the cold weather there. Actually, now that I think of it, the cold Florida winter will make the Alaska temperatures seem more comfortable.

More about the weather.

For many weeks I have been complaining about the weather. This year many records have been broken for length and depth of the cold weather. A few days ago we had torrential rains, heavy thunder storms, and tornado warnings. Yes, tornado warnings here in Citrus County. I guess one actually touched down in the southwest corner of the county, but not much was made of it. There was a lot more damage from tornadoes in other counties. HOWEVER...........it has been pretty warm. I have reached the point where I'll take awful weather if it's warm. The temperatures are still a few degrees below normal for mid March, but it's comfortable and that's all that matters. We are running with the thermostats set to "off", so we are saving a lot of electricity.

I've been back at TaxAide for a while now and all is going well there. The longer I do this the easier it gets. Most of the clients are repeats from last year so doing the return is a snap and I rarely have to consult with the manuals.

My chest is still bothering me and I have decided to see my own doctor. If I sit still and do nothing I feel fine, but a cough will cause great discomfort and a sneeze is hell. Even driving the car causes discomfort. I'm concerned because I have so much to do before the trip to Alaska. I have work to do under the motorhome and that is impossible at this time. There are also a few tasks for friends that need to be done and I'm not up to that either. Helen has been a dynamo, working around the house and yard. I feel bad that I'm of no help, but on the other hand I'm not too concerned because we leave it all behind when we travel anyway.

That's about all for now. I'm off to my easy chair to do some reading. That's easy and doesn't hurt.