rvsue and her canine crew

The percolator is prepared.

I strike the wooden match and place the flame next to the burner on the stove.  Pffft, and then nothing.  I turn around and look at the refrigerator lights.  The “gas” light is off and the “check” light is on.  Okay.  Not to worry.  The propane tank must be empty.

I step outside to the hitch and open up the tank cover.

After turning the empty tank’s knob closed and the full tank’s knob open, I remember also to turn the black lever (which isn’t a lever really).  All this does is point to which tank is in use.  I go back inside, strike a match, and presto, I’ve got a flaming burner.  Great!

 I turn the refrigerator off and on.  In about two seconds I hear the click of the starter, and presto, the “gas” light is on.  Yay, everything’s back to normal!  Don’t you love it when things work the way they’re supposed to . . . especially when boondocked in the desert by yourself and it’s only 7:45 in the morning.

While the coffee perks, I take the crew out to do their business.

Once settled with my cup o’ Joe, I decide to figure out my daily propane cost.  I bought 4 gallons of propane for $13.56 on Feb. 25^th and today is Mar. 12, which I won’t count.  Feb. 25^th was a half-day of propane usage, as we were on the road and I don’t tow the BLT with the refrigerator on (personal preference). 

I take $13.56 and divide it by 15.5 days . . . 87 cents per day for propane.  I realize this is only an estimate, as there may have been some propane in the tank when I bought more, although it couldn’t have been very much.

I’m going to go with $1 per day as my cost for propane.

Of course, the cost of propane varies.  Also propane use varies depending upon our location, the weather, my cooking habits, and how wimpy I’m feeling. 

For instance, one night in this time period I felt the need to get really warm.  A cold wind had blown all day and the crew and I were chilled on our morning and afternoon walks.

Hello!

The television weatherman predicted an overnight low in the thirties.  I put the Wave3 on high and left it on all night!  

Then there were several days and nights I didn’t turn on the heater at all.  Most of the time it was on for about 3 hours to ward off the morning chill.

You may be wondering why I write about propane with such detail.

I may be boring your socks off.  Sorry about that.  Hmmm, which begs the question:  why are you still reading?  Anyway.   I think there are people – newbies and wannabes – who can learn from the details of my experiences and expenses. 

Usually writing my blog comes easily.

However, writing about lazy, stay-at-home, introspective days is difficult, as there’s little activity or travel to report.  (Compare with www.thebayfieldbunch.com . . . sheesh) 

For that reason I took a few days off from writing.  Simply performing daily chores, walking the desert with my crew, observing the natural world, reading, reflecting, and relaxing in perfect temperatures (high seventies . . . low eighties all this week) has been enough for me right now.

Everything I need is here, even humor.  If you ever saw Spike sprinting across the desert in pursuit of a jackrabbit taller than he is, you’d laugh, too!

rvsue