Thursday 14th September – A Little Bit of Something

Determined to actually achieve something today, we got up a little earlier than yesterday and I had a crack at making smoothies while Dan combined pulled pork and eggs to make a sweet omelette. When Debbie went out to run some errands, we did the same. We started at AutoZone where Dan bought a refrigerant filler for his airconditioning system. This is something I was sceptical of, but all the signs pointed to the system just needing a boost of R134, so he put the $30 to try it. Next, we went to Walmart to get him some thongs and new bedding for the van. The last bits of bedding I’d seen had been retired since they were past dirty and their white colour weren’t ideal for the van lifestyle. After much deliberation, we walked out with what we needed.

Back home, we were itching to try out the refrigerant stuff. Without too much trouble, we found the charge port and attached the can to it with the car running and the AC on full blast. I sat in the car with my hands over the vents while Dan did the refill. I could feel the air getting cooler as he did it, we just hoped it was last. Happy with that success, we went into the backyard for a swim. Debbie had put an umbrella in the corner of the pool which was a great addition and we floated around a good while until we got too hungry.

We didn’t make it to the kitchen in a hurry though, instead we sat in a couple of lounge chairs by the pool sunning ourselves, only getting up to meet Debbie who was playing with their miniature pizza oven outside. When our tummies really rumbled, we made some hotdogs for lunch, combined with mac n cheese and some coleslaw, we were set. We tried sitting out under the misters again, but it was just too hot so we retreated to the indoors.

One more episode of Mars and we heard Emmi, Ava and Alex arrive. Completely aware that Emmi would most likely want to play with me the rest of the day, we emerged from the bedroom and sure enough, when Emmi saw me, she shouted my name and ran across the room to give me a big hug. I think she was happier to see me than Dan was?! She gave Uncle Daniel a hug eventually and I said hi to Alex. The rest of the afternoon we spent playing and talking around the kitchen as Debbie made pizza after pizza. We ended the day with a game of memory on the floor of the living room. Emmi was super happy with the gift I’d brought her, a Valentine’s Day dog that I’d embroidered her name onto. I gave Emmi a piggy back outside and waved goodbye as the door of their minivan closed. See you again some time Emmi.

After a quick shower, it was drive-in movie time. With some left over pizza in hand, we drove to our usual spot, stopping to get beer and wash the windscreen on the way. I took my place hiding under the bed as we drove in and were directed to screen number nine for the 7:15pm viewing of “Kidnap”. All about Halle Berry and her child that was suddenly abducted, the movie had us on the edge of our seats the whole time and I was thoroughly entertained. By the time it was over, we did our usual reconning of the screens around us to find the 9:15pm feature called “Logan Lucky”. Once we were sure, we drove slowly around the complex to get to screen number 1, but it didn’t work out. We ended up going the wrong way down a one-way road and saw a cop parked right in front of us so we decided to be honest patrons and drive home. We’d already gotten our money’s worth anyway with me hiding under the bed.

At home, we crept in and went straight into Dan’s room. I called Jon and caught up with him while Dan watched some TV in bed. When I joined him, I only lasted a few minutes before I fell asleep.