I was up and out pretty early this morning to make my way out to Pea Island to open the VC. It had rained during the night, and as it turned out it was pretty rainy all day. That made for about half the visitors as normal, but several of them were interested in spending a nice amount of money in the nature store. That sure made things worthwhile. It also gave me more time to have a little bit more in depth conversations with the folks that had questions.
After nine and a half hours, I returned to the rig to let Emma out. That little stinker hadn’t done her ‘business’ this morning before I left, but as usual, she had been a good girl with no accidents.
After spending some time outside with her, I came back in to notice that there had been a slight disaster while I was gone today. The day/night shade above my kitchen table booth had crashed. I thought the problem was just that it had come loose from the top right side. I’d been charging up the batteries for my portable drill, so I got it out and after a slight struggle reattached the top of the shade under the valence. I was pretty proud of myself for getting it back up without any help, until I went to push the day/night shade back up into place. It just crashed down again. I had secured it well enough that the top didn’t come loose, but the shade wouldn’t stay up.
Dang it! I think these day/night shades are a pain in the neck. I couldn’t find where one of the strings had broken, but apparently one did. The dang thing just wouldn’t stay up. So I decided to take the whole kit and caboodle down. Well, I had reattached it so well that I couldn’t get it loose. Grrr.
I went next door to see if I could borrow George for a couple of minutes, and sure enough he had the whole shade down in no time at all. I’ve had enough trouble with these kind of shades over the years, that I will just be replacing it with an MCD shade next spring. Maybe somebody likes these kind of shades, but I sure don’t.
On the positive side today, George and Peggy let me know that they will be picking up 50 more pounds of fresh shrimp again this Friday. I’ve put in an order for ten pounds for myself, and will be shopping around for one of those machines that sucks the air out of a bag for freezing it so you don’t get freezer burn so fast. I used to have a freeze-a-meal machine when I had a big garden back in the day, but it didn’t suck the air out. I’m not sure what those things are called now, but I’m going to quickly investigate that before Friday. I’m sure I could also use such a thing to freeze up individual meal portions if I make something like a meatloaf. I’m hoping that possibility will rekindle my joy in cooking exciting meals. I’ve gotten pretty complacent with meals only cooking for one on the road.
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
Posts
We have mini blinds in the Alfa. So far they have behaved . What makes yours da night?
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had but one problem with our day/night shades. We have talked for two years about replacing them all wit MCD shades. We have seen the MCD shades in action and boy are they nice! If you can swing it, put them in. You won't regret it.
ReplyDeleteWe've restrung our day/night shades and the first one was a bear but then you learn how to do it.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see what the alternatives are but I like them since you can use the day shade in the summer to let in light but not the hot sun. I like the night shade since I want it really dark inside when I sleep.
Sometimes we are in campgrounds where they have streetlights which I hate or we have to take a site by the bathroom since there is nothing else and those always have big lights.
I'll be interested to see what you get as a replacement and how you lilke it.
We're making a date with MCD in December. Life is too short to mess with these things. Enjoy your shrimp!!
ReplyDeleteYour shade dilemma got me thinking... remember those old pull down shades in the classrooms. If you pulled to hard, they almost went down to the floor, and if they went up too fast, round and round they would go. Those were the days. Perhaps, one of those race driver blankets hanging in your window would do!!! Less problems!!
ReplyDeletetoo I meant too!
ReplyDeleteMCD is he way to go,Judy. We added them in our motorhome and there is nothing better. But they are not cheap. However, I think they now have 3 levels of pricing --instead of just one or two.
ReplyDeleteFood sealing machine will do. Or food vacuum sealer is also a good description. They ARE wonderful.
Looks like several places are getting lots of rain.
ReplyDeleteMy brother in law and his wife have those shades in their 5th wheel and she hates them. We have mini blinds which I dislike just as much...they bend too darn easy. Now our first RV had curtains which tore and hung horribly....think I'll check out these MCD shades.
ReplyDeleteWe had the day/night shades in our old 5're and I hated those things. Our new one has wide Venetian Blinds and they are much better. I'll bet 10lbs of shrimp will last you quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any trouble with my day/night shades in my 5ver, but I don't like shades or any kind of blinds, or even curtains for that matter. I want the outdoors to come into my dwelling and barriers on the window are a pain to put up with to keep the hot sun out, but that's the only reason I ever drew them - doubt if I ever used the night shade part of it.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, shrimp. Better order 15# so you'll have enough for when I come to visit!
I just have plain old pleated shades and I like them just fine.
ReplyDeleteI read the other day about putting food into freezer bags, seal almost to the end and stick in a straw and suck out as much air as you can. I tried it, and it works pretty well.
Hang up a "Rebel" flag to show you're friendly.
ReplyDeleteWe changed to MCD shades in the motorhome. So worth it. Haven't had any problems with the day/night shades in the fiver yet. Thanks goodness.
ReplyDeleteTo freeze shrimp without getting freezer burn, I remove the head and black vein. Then I'll put about 25 medium-sized shrimp in a quart-size freezer bag, cover them with cool water, and freeze. When thawed, they taste as fresh as when you put them up. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteCat Lady
We had to restring one of our day/night shades. It was a major hassle, but now it works better (looser) than it did originally. MCD shades would probably be better. I don't like how the day/night shades don't make it very dark. For an quick and easy 1-2 person meal, I stir-fry shrimp and vegetables. Yum! Even when using frozen vegetables, it still tastes good. Just add seasoning of your choice--lemon juice or soy sauce, etc.
ReplyDeleteI had 2 food sealing machines before and took both of them back. They just did not work right. At a friend's place I used a "FoodSaver" vacuum sealer and it really works well. Sucks all the air out. Different models available but they are not cheap. Mine was on special at Cdn $ 99.00. I think that is the cheapest but it is great. Care has to be taken that the inside of the bag is not moist otherwise it will not seal. That happened to me the first time but after I took care of that I love it. Sealed a lot of plums and tomatoes from the garden.
ReplyDeleteI have one of those shades in my sewing room, and so far no problems, however, I'd rather have the plastic mini blinds. I have one of those vaccum sealers and it has worked very well. Got it from Kohl's and paid less than $100.
ReplyDeleteI really disliked those shades. The main problem was the poor quality of workmanship. I think we had to restring at least five times in six years. The new rig has the MCD shades. So far they work really well:)
ReplyDeleteHate those shades too! We have to find an alternative also.
ReplyDeleteI have a Foodsaver vacuum sealer and love it! It will do just what you're looking for.
Regarding shrimp preservation: A blogger from Florida catches them and then puts them in water and freezes them. A lot of fishermen put up fish the same way to keep them freshest. And you only need a ziplock bag and free water.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your shade ... I went to all MCD last year. Love them!! Don't buy a machine. ZipLoc makes vacuum bags that you can suck the air out of with a little manual gizmo that are just wonderful. Find them at Walmart or in the grocery store. Two sizes. I use inner bags to keep them cleaner so I can reuse them. Great for keeping half an onion (odor free!) , good parmesan chefs that you can grate as you need it, portioning meat or fish for the freezer (here's where the inner bag really helps) and all sorts of other things that are better when they are vacuum sealed. AND it is a LOT cheaper than a machine!!
ReplyDeleteI have never had those shades in any of my rigs. I have heard to many bad storys about them. I put mini blinds in this rig. But I think regular shades would work better.
ReplyDeleteI like to cook meals that I can portion so I don't have to cook so often. I use store brand sandwich bags and then put them the portions into a good freezer bag. Takes up less room and you can pretty much squeeze the air by hand. I think it sound like the above comment.
Just this week I am having an issue with one of the day/night shades. The fabric cord has "pilled" so the shade won't go up past the fuzzy part. Perhaps I can take a razor to it and shave off the "pilled" part? Dunno and have not had a chance to try that yet. Irritating.
ReplyDeleteWe are much happier with the MCD shades in our newer coach. Covering the shrimp with cool water and freezing works well.
ReplyDeleteOur first TT had day/night shades, and no I did not like them. We order our new Nomad with plain old vanitian blinds and they are so much easier to open and close easy to clean. Nine and a half hours!!! Don't think our Mr. Pibbs could go that long.
ReplyDeleteMaureen
alwayssomewhere2@blogspot.com
We quickly went through two vacuum sealers. Loved it when it worked but both of ours burned out fast. Like others have reported, freeze the shrimp in water in heavy plastic zip lock bags. I had never seen it done like this but my Louisiana sister-in-law did this for some shrimp that she picked up for us.
ReplyDeleteAbout those shades - we have one now with a broken string. Been that way for a year. Haven't bothered with it because it is on a small window in a slide. Ugliest window covering I ever had was on our 2002 Cedar Creek. Back then the color fad was mauve. This rig's back window had a Mauve vertical blind. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
We've had our night/day shades for a few months now and we love them, but they can be a pain since we hadn't attached them correctly, but we can live with the way they are for now!
ReplyDeleteHate those day/night shades. Been in our 5er fulltime for 18 months. So far 3 broken strings, 1 repaired by ourselves, the other 2 waiting until we get back to FL for the winter. In previous motorhome actually replaced a day/night with some levelor miniblinds bought at Lowes. Loved them.
ReplyDeleteWe had 1" aluminum mini-blinds in our last trailer and liked them. We have day/night shades in our new trailer and we are still getting used to them. Having the "night" option is nice when we really want to darken things up, but the mini-blinds allowed us to adjust from closed to any degree of open, which was nice. I guess when our day/night shades start giving us problems we'll decide if we fix them or change them out!!
ReplyDeleteMark
Hate those blinds but don't know if or when we will replace them.
ReplyDeleteFood savers work fine but for watery food like shrimp or chicken the liquid is drawn into the vacuum chamber eventually damaging it. What helps is to lightly freeze it before sealing it.
I'm still scrambling to catch up on blog posts after being out RVing without Internet. So far (2.5 years), I haven't had any problems with the day/night shades but I don't full-time either. I do love the fact that the night part of my shades is "block out" rather than just darker. Same reason as above because I like it dark to sleep and sometimes lights are too bright or in inconvient places. MDC shades are great but cost wouldn't be worth it for me like it would for you.
ReplyDeleteWe put an MCD long shade across our windshield and just love it! our side windows are all thin miniblinds that look nice when down but also great to snug up tight under the valance and have all open windows... (my favorite) Used to have the day/night in our Coachmen and it was BIG bucks to pay someone to restring them as all the strings were wearing out and shredding.
ReplyDelete~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com