Still on the Edge in Sumas

Very enjoyable weekend in Seattle with the Fremont Solstice Parade, with the artcar of course. Renewed some old acquaintences and made some new friends as well. Artcar people are the best...

Got back here and Avril, an artcar queen, met me with my cellphone which I'd forgotten in all the chaos of leaving. Her children, Irie and Serenity, were absolutely charming, as was Avril. She's Canadian, living in California, very independent and fun, on her way to Langley, British Columbia.

A minor mechanical difficulty on the bus right now...I've been starting it about once a week and it has started fine, but I think that last time I used that orbital sander off the inverter I drained the battery to much...I need to monitor voltage I guess. I run the bus to recharge the batteries but my fabricator guy was saying you might want to leave the bus running 30 minutes or more to do so. I've been running it maybe 10 minutes so it seems that the starting batteries have been gradually draining...now they're dead.

So today I talked to the manager of the storage lot and got permission to plug in a charger for a few days. Fingers crossed.

Also the battery in the artcar died all the sudden, and worse the replacement battery died a week later. The alternator is relatively new so I'm not sure what's goin on. Mike the NAPA mechanic here in Sumas says it had a "current drain/load/short" in the "antitheft/radio/bullshit" circuit, which he "fixed" by removing fuses. He's been pretty honest we me up till recently, and normally he's a little less clueless, so I'm being patient. The car is back at the mechanic today for a third visit, free of charge.

Also I used AAA to get a tire change on the pickup truck after the front tire "delaminated" while we were up at the cabin a few weeks ago. All the mileage I put on our vehicles is starting to show. Got new tires in Bellingham later that week ($450).

The fabricator is having family emergencies, so evidently the roof rack won't be finished for a few weeks yet, which isn't a big worry considering I can't even start the bus right now. Still I'm more anxious than ever to get it done and moved up to Boston Bar for painting before the weather goes to wet. Of course that means first loading it up with everything destined to go up there, and listing all that stuff in order to get the one-time duty waiver at the border crossing for seasonal residents. Which I've confirmed but still don't quite believe, nor entirely understand.

The motor club (AAA) tells me they won't let me cover the bus with "AAA Plus RV" until the conversion is basically complete, and I can give them an inventory of the appliances, sleeping, etc. So for a year at least I won't have the bus on AAA...then again I won't be driving it that much either.

Finally I've got to find new renters for the house in W Seattle, after fixing it up once the present tenants are moved out (as of last weekend they promised). Need to refinish the floors, paint, fix the burglar alarm and lawn mower, etc. Like I didn't have enough going on.

Oh, and the court allowed me to pay off the drug charge for a $100 fine. I guess that means I copped a plea, in return for not retaining my attorney for another $500+. A total kangaroo scam; Sumas court is in the business of making money off of traffic fines, so why should my charges be handled any different. In return for the $100 I got a receipt reading "suspended with prejudice" which I take to mean they can't use it against me later.

Gawd, maybe one of these days I'll have the time to actually create some ART.