Learning is Fun! How we Watch TV. Plus, the Goods on our Antennae

This type of post is a little different for me due to more specifics than creative writing but I guess some of you out there would really like to know about how we do some things. So, I'm expanding my writing repertoire for those curious folks out there.

And of course I have to make it mine, so I am calling this the...

Learning is Fun! Series

The first topic on our list...

T.V., television, the boob tube, the tele

Here, I try to answer some of your questions and satisfy the curiosity that some might have...

Can YOU have t.v. in your home on wheels? 

If you want t.v. bad enough, you'll have it! When we first started out we bought a Phillips portable 9 inch digital HD TV with FM tuner that we paid $111.00. We actually bought it on the road in January 2012, due to football season! It came with a cute little antennae that looked like a metal stick but in no time at all...it got broken so, we bought a rabbit ears antennae for $30.00 at a  Flying J.

Even though the screen was small, we were still entertained, in the van, when the sun went down. The antennae tried to bring in channels but at the most we would only get 2-4 and 3 of them would be Spanish channels...no habla espanol, no bueno! 

Time went on and in July we bought ourselves an Anniversary/Birthday present...a new T.V.!!

We gifted ourselves a Sansui 19 inch super slim LED-LCD HDTV. What a difference the extra inches make!!

[caption id="attachment_4844" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Hellllooooo....[/caption]

At that point (July 2012) we were still using our rabbit ears to bring in the channels. Right around the Winter R.T.R. (January 2013), in Quartzsite, is when the biggest change in our T.V. reception changed drastically. We bought a new antennae, that we now call The Black Ops Antennae...it looks like we're honing in the Mother Ship! haha

"The Black Ops" is a ClearStream4 HDTV Antennae. We receive over the air digital and HD programming with no fees. We bought our antennae off of Amazon for about $75.00 in January, they are on sale now at Amazon for around $90.00. The dimensions are: 9.1 x 28.2 x 20.1 inches and weighs roughly 7.4 pounds. The antennae has a range of about 65 miles...the main reason for getting it!!

In Quartzsite this Winter...and again football season at its peak, we had no reception...one channel if we tried really really really hard. We actually drove into Ehrenberg for the weekends, roughly 20 miles away, to catch the games! Plus, I missed the whole entire season of MY favorite show, The Biggest Loser... it just wasn't cuttin' it for us.

[caption id="attachment_4850" align="alignleft" width="150"] Install[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4849" align="alignright" width="150"] Hi-5[/caption]

We bought this new antennae, while at the R.T.R., and became the talk of the camp! It was a definite conversation starter for t.v. goers and all of the men, whether they like t.v. or not!!

Here is how we've hooked ourselves up with some tele:

A quick peek at our set-up before getting into the details.

[caption id="attachment_4853" align="aligncenter" width="224"] The Black Ops[/caption]

(Image Ant. 2) The antennae comes in a box with all of the pieces that you need to put it together, it took about 15 minutes for my handy man. Out of the box the antennae (the black circles) are black but the "grill" and the metal pieces that connect together are silver, we have spray painted all of the silver pieces a flat black. The antenna is placed on a regular one inch piece of PVC pipe that we have also spray painted flat black...(.97 cents at Walmart). We purchased a cute little solar light at the Dollar Store and placed it at the very top of the PVC, ya know...for low flying planes!

[caption id="attachment_4855" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Ant. 2[/caption]

(Image Ant. 3) In this picture you can see where J' has fit the PVC pipe into the 90* elbow. There are 2 rebar rods, about a foot long, inside of the PVC to reinforce it during hard winds. The PVC is held onto our cargo basket with 2 U-bolts that we picked up at Radio Shack for about $3.00 a piece. In this picture you can aslo see the RG6 rated coax cable running down the length of the PVC into the roof of the van...the next picture is better for the cable.

[caption id="attachment_4854" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Ant. 3[/caption]

(Image Ant. 4) J' drilled a hole through the roof with his 18 volt Dewalt drill and a Titanium bit to feed the RG6 rated coax cable through to the inside of the van. The hole was filled with silicone caulk...and seems to be holding up pretty good!

[caption id="attachment_4857" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Ant. 4[/caption]

(Image Cab.5) The coax cable being run through the ceiling of the van, down along our interior trim to the T.V.

[caption id="attachment_4856" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Cab. 5[/caption]

(Image TV 6) Our glorious 19 inch nightly entertainment!

[caption id="attachment_4860" align="aligncenter" width="350"] TV 6[/caption]

(Image Back 7) J' drilled a couple of holes in the back of the t.v., at the top and fed a small piece of rope through the holes of the t.v. We use the rope to hold the t.v. in place instead of a mounting bracket...too many crashes onto our heads while getting water! We also installed a pigtail (the black cord taped to the back of the t.v.), so as not to pull on the fitting on the t.v. Believe us, you do not want a bad fitting when you're trying to watch the rose ceremony of The Bacherlorette and the cord accidentally gets moved!

[caption id="attachment_4859" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Back 7[/caption]

(Image Stg.8) Showing how the rope acts as a mounting bracket.

[caption id="attachment_4861" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Stg. 8[/caption]

 Hopefully those images will help clear up any questions about how our antennae is set-up, when we put it up outside...which is most of the time. However, there are times when we don't want to put it up, can't put it up or are just not sure if we can or if we should. For those times, we will take The Black Ops off of the PVC pipe and place it on the front dash. I do not have pictures of this, because we've only had to really do this a time or two in a casino parking lot, but I'll run down how we do it.

We have pretty big sun shades up in our windows at all times, when we are parked. We also have two separate black pieces of fabric we put on the sun visors and push them to the side windows so the side windows are blacked out too. The antennae fits right on the dash board and is balanced by the steering wheel. I am accident prone so I make sure to wrap the corners in a towel before doing this so 1- the antennae doesn't rip the sun shade (yes, I learned the hard way) and 2- so the other edges don't poke ME in the eye ball...or Savannah (yes, I learned the hard way!). Even with the antennae up there, Savannah can usually still sleep on her bed that sits in the drivers chair. Doing it this way, the antennae is out of the way, it can't get broken and isn't outside bringing peeping eyes onto the scene.

All in all, we love our Black Ops and our t.v., we don't wish for satellite although it would be nice to get the History channel and TLC and some others, we love the ongoing cost....FREE!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and if I don't know them J' will!

I hope everyone had fun learning today. You can catch us back here...some day...some time!

PEACE

 

 

Using our Skills Today (I wish I had nunchuck skills!)

Our very good friend, Bernie left today...b☹☹☹☹☹ There are connections that you make with certain people, Bernie was one of those people...he and J' hit it off right away and he treats me like a pretty pretty princess! haha He gives me cookies and food, he's a good friend! haha He is off to see ★Olivia Newton John★...lucky! (Napoleon Dynamite) I hope he has the greatest time!!

I would be sewing the rest of the comforter, piecing it back together. Today has to go better than yesterday...it was just thee longest day. I would have a few more helpers this morning though, which always makes for a better day right off the bat!!

[caption id="attachment_3588" align="alignleft" width="150"] Hello![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3590" align="alignright" width="150"] Squid's Turkey![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3587" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Bruce & Squid[/caption]

Bruce is a 10 month old, 60 lbs. Bulldog. His baby, Squid, is a 10 week old Chihuahua that's spring loaded as her mama would say! haha They do very well together with Savannah, so it's great to have great neighbors (Steven & Brie) with great pups!

[caption id="attachment_3591" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Rad Peeps[/caption]

J' said he wasn't going to let me go all day without eating today...like yesterday, I had cafe and whoosh, there went the day! He insisted on making brunch and wouldn't let me use the table, for sewing, until I ate my entire plate! He's so good to me.

[caption id="attachment_3593" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mah Schweetie![/caption]

After we ate, I started the last of the sewing and J' started messing with the antennae. It was kind of funny, he started messing with that thing and people were coming from all around to get a good look at it. It looks like we're honing in the Mother Ship....shhhh! Although big, it does bring in about 13 channels here in Quartzsite, with our rabbit ear antennae that we have been using we weren't getting anything, so 13 was amazing!

He must have tweaked that antennae many different ways over a couple of hours to get those channels, but he also had many different conversations during that time. Amazing!

I finished the comforter and it actually doesn't look totally terrible and I think it is going to last for a while...let's hope! It's just too much to do by hand so I'm hoping it lasts for a very long time! I was also able to finally give Trisha that haircut, it was another beautiful day, so it was perfect...crossing off that list one thing at a time. Trisha really wanted a haircut, so it was make-over time! I find a lot of women in this lifestyle have short hair (or end up cutting it like I did). It's just easier this way...for me at least. Anyway, some other gals saw that I was cutting her hair and asked for a trim here and a reshape there...totally fine. It was actually kind of fun (don't tell anyone)!

[caption id="attachment_3596" align="alignleft" width="150"] Before[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3597" align="alignleft" width="150"] After[/caption]

It's different when you're doing it because you have to and doing it because you want to. She loved it, said it was exactly what she wanted, so that made me happy!

[caption id="attachment_3598" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Busy day!!
haha[/caption]

After I 'closed the shop', J' and I went on a walk over to Jenn's camper to return her machine, it was nice to have an extra pair of arms for this! Usually it's Savannah and I, but lately she's on a leash...so ya got that, then I'm carrying the machine, the sewing kit and the cord. It gets a little heavy, due to the walk and Savannah pulling and all of that, so his extra arm was much appreciated!

[caption id="attachment_3599" align="alignleft" width="150"] Cool[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3600" align="alignright" width="150"] Babes![/caption]

We dropped the machine at her rig (she was work) and took the 'main road' back to the road that we're camping on, putting us right in front of Cyndi's rig. We had to visit with everyone and Cyndi was sweet enough to spoil all the babies!! You know Fenway and Stumpy have thee best mama!!

[caption id="attachment_3601" align="aligncenter" width="225"] The only one that has to eat her treat alone![/caption]

The last thing on our list today was to give Savannah a bath. Since she was tied up yesterday, due to a not so nice morning of her running after strangers, barking and scaring the hell out of them... she took it upon herself to do her somersaults all day in the dust and dirt. Thank goodness the weather has gotten better because she slept in her crate last night. It was too late to wash her yesterday so it had to be done tonight...it was an awful night for us all last night, no one slept! Don't tell me this dog isn't spoiled!

We messed with the antennae for a little while longer, I guess trying to pull more channels in. Had a few more conversations with a few more spectators, haha and finally got in the van to watch the tele tonight! How exciting!!

[caption id="attachment_3604" align="alignleft" width="150"] He's Hot![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3605" align="alignright" width="150"] Success![/caption]

We are getting quite a few channels and it's just fun to have tele back. We have come across a lot of people, out here, that really have something against T.V. It's just not us! We like the tele, we like to be able to have a couple of shows that we can 'unwind' to at the end of the day. I have to say it's nice to have something else other than books and the radio...for us at least, everyone of us is different. I'm totally stoked about getting to watch The Biggest Loser. It's my numero uno favorite show and I've missed almost every single episode, only catching up on them because they rerun them on Sunday nights...when we're in Ehrenberg for football...score!

[caption id="attachment_3603" align="aligncenter" width="300"] ✿✿✿✿[/caption]

Time to be a 'fort potato'!

PEACE

Sew Long!

Some people are leaving today, off to new adventures or back to work. Not us...not me. I have a few things I have not checked off my list, that have been lingering in the background ever since we got to the R.T.R. There were things I needed to cross off of my list at camp before we could move on. I needed pics of our friends,

[caption id="attachment_3563" align="alignleft" width="150"] Bernie & Birdie[/caption]

I needed to fix our comforter, yep it's totally massacred again, and I needed a nice day to be able to cut Trisha's hair. I think today might be the day...so I thought! This morning was absolutely beautiful, a good morning for a little walk over to Jenn's camper. Last night at Happy Hour, she told me to come over in the a.m., to borrow her sewing machine.

We chattied as she got ready for work, then I walked back to Joon where I set up my Sewing Studio for the day, along with Savannah's help of course!

I think today must have been thee longest day of my life...okay, that's what it seemed like. I'm happy the sun was shining and it wasn't windy and I'm almost done with the comforter. Yep, all day and it's not done...like I said, it was a hella long day! I guess the haircut is going to have to wait until tomorrow. Just as I was getting relaxed and comfortable, J' said, "The antennae came in...let's go get it!" I was like...Now!? I wanted to cry...okay I think I may have. I was just so freakin' tired and with Joon Van, we have to pack and repack the van when we move...that was the part that threw me into burnt out mode and tears. We drove to get the antennae and whoa babay, if we don't pull any stations in with this thing, then it's just not possible. (At the moment I'm trying to enjoy the thought of veggin' out to some tele and not the fact that this will have to travel inside the van...haha)

[gallery ids="3567,3568,3569"]

I'll let you know how it goes with this Clear Stream 4 antennae.

to be continued...

PEACE

Darn those Bucking Broncos!

We left the R.T.R. for a couple of days to run our errands in Blythe but to also watch the foosball games today and Sunday...we don't get TV in Quartzsite. We also like the fact that it's a good 10-15 degrees warmer...still cold, but warmer than Quartzsite right now. 

Today was a nice day to catch up on some posts, J' worked his mind and fingers to the bone and Savannah caught up on all her weirdo sleep.

[caption id="attachment_3294" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Silly[/caption]

The big game for us was the Broncos vs. Ravens. What a game...both teams played very well, the game went into overtime and the Ravens came out with the win...Booooooooooo. This will definitely be a topic of conversation (due to our Denverite Bronco Fan Friends) for at least a week. Oh well, it would have been fun to see the Broncos go a little further but they had a great season. Our day was filled mostly with watching this game. I (paper) wrapped my little prezzies for my nieces. I can't show you what they look like now because I don't want to spoil it, but after I gift them I will post pics....but here are some other pieces that I have wrapped:

[caption id="attachment_3295" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My pieces[/caption]

It was nice to catch up on all the 'little things' and J' was able to churn out some good work today. We will stay out here again all day tomorrow, sleep here tomorrow night and then head back to Quartzsite some time on Monday. It seems to be getting quite cold here right now so we are planning for a chilly night...again, so glad we have that heater!

PEACE

Visiting the Boogie Monster

This morning was a little unsettling. Savannah and Daddy went out this morning (off leash) while I dressed myself and the bed. They hopped back in to help me make the bed; I was laying in the bed fixing the blankets, Savannah was in the passenger seat and Daddy was in between the bed and the chair and all of a sudden I hear J' say, "Whoa...look!" About 15-20 yards from our back window was a loner coyote. We searched for my camera while keeping an eye on him...where the heck is that thing!? I can never find it when I really want to use it! He hung around the back of the van for a good 7-8 minutes, little by little walking further away. The wheels started turning in J's head like they did mine the other day when I didn't have Savannah on a leash...all of the oh my god's and what if's. Phew, we're not even letting her out of the van without being leashed up first and without either of us at her side. My little pot belly pig is a meal waiting to be had out here!

Actual rain clouds rolled in as well this morning. We haven't seen rain or dark clouds like this in months, it's kind of cool to see something different.

[caption id="attachment_2951" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Moisture![/caption]

We figured if it was going to rain, we might as well run into town and get some things to refresh our stock and we also needed to pick up a multi-meter...always good to have one of those on hand. After picking up a few things at Albertsons and K-mart (no Wal-mart in this town) we did a little discovering on the other side of town. We saw more towers, so we thought we would give them a try...you never know until you try!

We found a spot back on more BLM land but it seemed a little "shady" to us. Oh, we're still camping here but it's pretty close to I-10, the ground is pretty soft (may turn into a big mud pit?) and there are a lot more trees and bushes around here. The one thing I like best about being in the desert is I can see what's ahead of us for miles when I'm walking Savannah. Here I feel like the Boogie Monster and his wild animal friends are going to jump out and attack me at any moment, it's a little creepy and the huge black clouds in the sky are not helping.

[caption id="attachment_2953" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Déjà vu of the Mangroves[/caption]

Almost as soon as we got parked and settled, it started pouring down rain. It was nice to smell the rain again, something we both miss terribly. With the rain came the wind and the cold...the not yet freezing but pretty darn cold! The rain stopped long enough for me to do one last potty walk with Savannah...even creepier at dusk!

[caption id="attachment_2954" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Like a scary movie[/caption]

I think tonight we will all just be cuddling together, not cold enough to get the heater down...yes, Savannah is back in the bed. The whole crate thing lasted like 3 or 4 days total because as soon as we got the grand idea, it started getting "too cold" for her to be down there by herself. I woke up one morning about 2 a.m. and could hear her teeth chattering...she's just a baby! haha Cute lil pig! So far, our internet is pretty good here and we don't know yet if it's our antennae signal or the rain as to why we're having problems getting channels, but there's nothing like snuggling in our fort with the boob tube getting heat from all the dutch-ovens! haha Savannah...that lil' dickens!

Cuddle tight homies!

PEACE

 

 

When did TV begin to mean so much?

All of my days seem to run together then I figure out that it's been days since I even last logged into my blog...bad blog mommy! Let's see I really haven't been doing much due to this heat. It's been so miserably hot here, it's hard to even move an inch to go to the bathroom yet try to do anything else. Fresno has been hitting around 108 during the day, so it's been about 97-98 here...you might not think that's hot because of where you're from or where you live but it sure it hot to us.

[caption id="attachment_466" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Think she's gonna make it?[/caption]

The only thing keeping us semi cool is this tarp. There's no AC to run into and we have no ice from our last trip into town so everything we have is warm or hot. To make anything during the day for a snack or meal is just plain silly. We weren't thinking of that factor when we were shopping, high temperatures along with cooking over an even hotter grill...silly kids!

[caption id="attachment_467" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hot steamy food on a hot summers day[/caption]

The only time I even think about budging from under the tarp is to take my lil Nana for a walk. She still has to get in her hunting time, she loves her evening walks.

[caption id="attachment_470" align="aligncenter" width="225"] The Huntress[/caption]

She gets to smell all the good stuff, listen in the woods for stuff rustling around and spread her scent all over the place! I just take lots of pictures! The other day while I was melting into my chair I turned my head to the side and saw this bug frantically carrying another bug back to its "den" (or whatever you call it). It was probably dinner for the Queen, King or just his little family, but it was pretty crazy to watch...glad I was able to focus enough to get a pic! He was pretty far away... I didn't want to get up and scare him, maybe he would drop his bug. I didn't want to be responsible for that dilemma!

[caption id="attachment_468" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A bugs life[/caption]

At the end of the night, we all come inside usually around 7:30 or so...that's when the skeeters come out for yer blood. The sun goes all the way down around 8:15 or 8:30. If J' isn't finished working yet, Savannah and I just cuddle on the chair and catch a little bit of the boob tube before "the shows of the night" come on. I will be so glad when these damn reruns are over, it's all due to the Olympics that we never got to see one single event of. Oh well, at least we get Fox. Some new shows start next week along with the regular running of the shows that we have already been watching. This is usually how our line up goes for the week (all starting at 8:00pm): Monday~ Hell's Kitchen followed by Master Chef. Tuesday~ Hell's Kitchen followed by Master Chef. Wednesday~ So you think you can dance. Thursday~ Something I can't even remember then Glee (J' is just loving that, haha I actually don't really like it either but it's starting to catch on). Then Friday~ It was House followed by Bones... we really don't like Friday nights. I mean you could put something way better on than those two shows on Friday night!! But maybe we're the only one's actually watching TV that night. Believe me we are going to be happy when they actually start showing all of the shows they've been showing previews for for the past month, day in and day out like: The X Factor...oh wait that's the only freakin preview they show! haha They have been showing them since the beginning of July and it doesn't even start until the 25th of September. We have a running joke now when we see something that looks interesting (or more interesting than what we have now) we say, "You're gonna love this show... starts November 2013! It's funny these "good" shows are going to start and we are probably going to be heading out of here. Isn't that how it works!? Oh well, maybe we'll get better channels where we go next. I think we will at least get some football for the hubs, he hasn't been able to watch football in two years so I'm sure he'll be happy with whatever he gets. It's funny because we are truly happy with whatever we get because we haven't had TV in two years, so it's nice to be able to just chill, relax and watch the tube when it gets dark and it's close to beddy bi time. I'm very sure there are many more things in this world to complain about, I won't let TV be one of them!

[caption id="attachment_469" align="aligncenter" width="300"] At peace in Daddy's arms[/caption]

PEACE