Oregon Sunshine and Getting Settled

We have been settling in to our new home here in Molalla, and dealing with some pretty basic stuff.  Things like keeping warm and making sure that our sewer system is working--like we said, pretty basic stuff.

We have been going through quite a bit of propane to keep the Fiver warm, for cooking and to heat water for the shower and sinks.  That, coupled with a failed switch over propane valve meant that Neil was having to unhook and fill the seven gallon propane tanks and switch them with the other bottle since it would not switch over automatically.  We found a great propane dealer on highway 213 in Mulino, Oregon and they were able to replace the switch over valve and lease us a 100 gallon  tank that will last us a long while.

Our New 100 Gallon Propane Tank Looks Like This

And It Will Filled by a Truck Like This

The other thing we did was solve our sewer problem.  Seth Finney was able to install a grey water drain field at his trailer pad, so we can drain all of the showers and sinks without any storage or problems, but the sewer (black water) was another  "kettle of fish".  We found that we could last a bit more than a week before we had to drain the black water tank, and that is a real hassle, since we do not want to move the Fiver every week.  So ....

Our Above Ground 250 Gallon Septic Tank

... we were able to rent an above ground septic tank that will fit mostly under the RV and will only have to be pumped every month or six weeks by a pumper truck.

OK--that is enough of that messy stuff.  We are getting ready for Christmas with some gift wrapping and other things.  We also braved the shopping mall yesterday to get a few final gifts and to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

We enjoyed the movie, in spite of the fact that it is very different from the other genres of Sherlock Holmes.  Today (Wednesday) was sunny, so Neil took Seth's pickup in to return some 4' x 8' sheets of foam insulation that we had hoped we could use for a hot tub cover, but it turned out we could not use them.

We have also been enjoying some of our favorite restaurants in this area.  Yesterday, we ate at Gustav's in Clackamas and had a wonderful lunch.  Neil says they have the best French Dip sandwich that he has found anywhere.

A Restaurant Worth Visiting Just Off I-205

Neil has some dental surgery during the week after Christmas, and we plan to drive up to Silverdale to visit his folks just after New Years.  All is well with us, and we are still enjoying the "relative warmth" of Oregon, compared to Alaska.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela