Chili and a few PBR's at the Oasis

I am not much for NFL Football, but one of my neighbors asked if I was going to watch the game, so I fired up the Crockpot with some cold weather Chili, fired up the heater and opened the Oasis for the game...beautiful evening out with calm winds and a little warmer than it has been.

Chili cooked for about 18 hours..

Heater works great!

Inviting atmosphere for sure..

Game on - Seattle wins...

Love how it looks at night...

As the winter weather warms up will have to have a few more gatherings...

Stay tuned for details on my next adventure!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Oasis Ready for Snowbird Friends

Other than some additional paint and clean-up and plants the Oasis is pretty much ready for my winter friends. It has been quite a bit of work, but I am extremely happy with the results - evenings out watching the World Series has been quite pleasant, other than the fact that Boston won - but hockey season has started so will be watching some more games outside.

New Furniture!

New Heater for Ed and Shirley! Have to shorten by about 14 inches to fit under the trellis!

Very pleasant in the evening hours...

The solar shield provides nice shade and should hold in the heat from the new heater!

I Have some great plans for new appetizers and snacks!

I Plan on some wonderful Happy Hours and relaxing on my new patio, hurry up winter friends!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Oasis - Paint, Music & Trellis

Since returning from Ohio I have been busy working on the trellis and new items for the Oasis. I have added interior and exterior speakers and new amp for stereo, wire shelves, another set of metal shelves and finished the wood part of the trellis. Hardware store trip today for a few more painting accessories then will get it finished over the weekend - flat area of the shed will get a coat of beige paint in the coming weeks.

Once I get the trellis painted I will be installing the sun shield fabric and the ceiling fan...also have more outdoor furniture ordered so when my winter friends get here there will be some nice seating.

The rest of the trellis is up!

Dark brown trim is started the entire trellis will be dark brown!

New wire shelves

4 stereo speakers - two inside and two outside

New stereo amplifier - still needs a little wire cleanup! It sounds great!

Another set of standing shelves for tools etc...

Two more 6 foot lengths of LED Light tubes for the trellis - on a dimmer!

Paint supplies!

Hope to have everything completed by the end of the month, ready to enjoy some nice music and friends at Cap's Oasis!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Blog Update - Oasis Trellis

The long 16 foot 2 X 6's finally arrived over the weekend and were delivered so today I started to get the trellis up at the Oasis. The plan is to create a 12 foot X 12 foot square of shade with the combination of the trellis and an outdoor shade cloth which is designed to cut 95% of the light and heat, we shall see how it works out. I also have an outdoor ceiling fan for the middle...

First a pretty picture...

The beginning of the trellis - still need to add 5 more cross members...but the hard part is up!

Sun Shade fabric

Ceiling Fan Light kit..

A little dessert from yesterday - they won't last long...

Hopefully the additional 2 X 4 12 foot cross members will be delivered this week before I leave for Ohio next Tuesday and I can finish the wood part of the trellis then paint when I get back and put up the solar shade and fan.

More later - still having fun!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

A little Prank and some cooking!

Sometimes you just have to have a little fun around here...

Part of my summer job around here is handle the after hours phone and a little security patrol at night and then lock the pool and hot-tub and fitness room at 10:00 pm. Every Morning Ric our maint guy unlocks the pool and hot tub, checks the bathrooms and facilities then starts his day, it seems Mondays after the weekend the pool is usually in need to some cleaning. Well this Monday he was in for a surprise! Amazon and I were about to have a little fun...

It was a hit - he laughed and laughed after a little shock at first...

I spent most of Sunday trying out my new Convection Oven in the Oasis - nice to be able to bake things again.

First Up was meatloaf - microwave Stouffers just does not cut it, time for my old recipe and a good meatloaf.

Oven pre-heated to 375...

Back in the trailer mixed up some brownies for dessert.

Meatloaf done and out of the oven...

Brownies in the Oven!

Brownies Done

Dinner Served had some mashed potatoes with the meatloaf!

10 PM The floater went in the pool!

The park is in pretty good shape - Ric is a great guy and really making a difference on the property - with young Bryon off to greener pastures it has taken a little toll on keeping the place pristine, but from a Maintenance perspective things are running smooth. We have had a couple storms with some wind and that always generates some palm fonds down around the park and leaves and windblown trash so that is time consuming to pic up and dispose of.

Can't wait to get out of here for vacation on the 11th!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Update - Summer Fun & Oasis Update

Nice to have my appetite back and adding some new items for cooking and eating. Finally have an oven I can bake in, so time for some goodies...

Also time to get some bigger pans - now that I have a bigger oven to use...

4 cookies just a little too much...

Ordered this the other day should help solve the problem...

The New oven is fantastic and a great addition to the Oasis!

Also ordered a new egg poacher for the microwave! It works great!

It's too hot to work on the Trellis for the Oasis - so decided to get a larger TV for inside the trailer, same as the one outside in the Oasis - 32 inch ROKU TV...it barely fits on the counter.

Already have the ceiling fan and misters and solar shield for the trellis, so once the weather breaks a little will get the wood and put is all together! Found this the other day and think it will go well with the trellis and make my outdoor space perfect for relaxing. Gonna order it soon while it is on sale.

Had to order some big boy pants for my trip to Ohio - in case shorts and T-shirts are not warm enough, my last pair of new jeans ended up full of holes from battery acid working on the Golf Cart, so needed a new pair. I fly out of Palm Springs on the 11th of September non-stop to Denver then Non-stop to Cleveland. Arrive in early evening will be a long day.

Look out Ohio, will be there soon!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Another Summer Update - New items

I am amazed at how much money I have saved by quitting smoking, you can't believe the difference. And luckily I have been able to gain some hours to work here at the park which adds a little income - perfect timing.

Repairs and replacements

I have been frustrated since I got this trailer with the microwave - the turntable has been broken and would not go round and so nothing heated evenly, had to stop and turn manually and even that does not solve the problem, so you end up with burnt one side and cold on the other side...anyway it was built in with a trim piece so searched high and low for an exact replacement - it is a Magic Chef and has a trim piece. I finally found one for a reasonable price so ordered and it came - measured same model number - size is different but smaller so besides a little more gap the trim piece works but I could not use the mounting straps, but since the trailer is no longer moving not a big deal...If I tow the trailer when I win the lottery and buy a new truck, I will remove and put on the floor....

So Saturday when it arrived I removed the old one and put in the new one - not a huge job but a little frustrating because I could have bought a ton of less expensive microwaves that would be about the same size and really did not need the exact model - although this one has a few more features which is nice and it works great and the turntable helps a bunch.

So after that I got ambitious and tried to fix the oven on the stove which the pilot light will not stay lit - and to get at it you have to be on your hands and knees, took apart and cleaned and still will not work - so looked up parts to order and decided that a huge toaster/convection oven may be a better way to go and put it in the Oasis and keep the heat out of the trailer...so I ordered one and it came today - now to unpack and see how it does and get rid of my small toaster oven.

I brought it inside for a couple pics when it cools down this evening will spend some time in the Oasis and clear a spot for it and get rid of the small one, only 111 degrees today so turned the A/C in the Oasis and will clean up a spot and maybe test it out...this thing is big enough to do a small turkey or full sized chicken, may never order the parts for the propane oven in the trailer! I am looking forward to being able to bake again, fresh bread, meatloafs, corn bread, turkey legs, gonna be fun! Between this and my Camp Chef Grill and hot dog cooker the Oasis could open as a gourmet restaurant...also found a nice outdoor furniture set on sale, may have to see about that as well...trellis is next!

Hopefully the wood will be in for the trellis soon, got the sun shade and ceiling fan already...

More later, see my Ohio friends in 36 days...

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest