Saturday, January 05, 2013

Day Trip

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida (high 74, low 60)

It was fairly warm yesterday, but it was cloudy and dreary all day.  I’m  trying not to complain though because at least we didn’t have any severe weather or thunderstorms.  We’re in an extended pattern of cloudy, rainy weather for the foreseeable future.  Hey, this is supposed to be the sunshine state!  Years ago, the St. Pete Times Newspaper gave free papers anytime the sun didn’t shine at all during the day.  They didn’t have to do that very often because we normally have at least some sunshine during the day.

Yesterday, we went over to Mom’s and Al installed a new medicine cabinet for her. I helped her get her USAA auto insurance set up for automatic payments and checked a few other things for her.  I also vacuumed her bedroom and managed to get a load of stuff for the goodwill/dump. 

She’s been feeling pretty well, but her memory is really getting bad.  I’m wondering if she’s feeling better because she can’t remember all her ailments?   :)  We have a follow up appointment with the neurologist next week.  I’m anxious/nervous to see the results of the EEG test she had done last month.

 

A couple years ago we discovered, Beasley Manufacturing, in nearby Center Hill, Florida. We made a day trip there on Thursday.

A lot of our neighbors were buying rv sunshades and grass mats from them.

Our first trip there sent us home with fabric for grass patio rugs.   We like these much better than the thicker mats you buy at Camping World.  They lay down flat on the grass, concrete, or sand and rarely blow up.

This fabric is what we chose 2 years ago and it still looks as good as new.   Water runs through it, it doesn’t blow when it’s windy and it doesn’t kill the grass underneath.  It’s cheap enough that we could afford a large rug.  The only thing is it’s narrow enough that we needed two separate fabrics.  We just lay one over the top of the other.  You can see the “seam” if you look carefully.

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You can see in the following picture what a big supply they have of this wonderful fabric.   It’s basically the same fabric as in the MCD daytime shades.  It comes in a wide variety of colors.

beasley manufacturing

A lot of people also buy pre-made sunshade’s here.  The prices are very inexpensive for pre-made sunscreen’s, or you can buy your own fabric and make your own.  They have all the hardware for making sunscreens, tire covers, or whatever you want to make.

If you’re in the central Florida area, it might be worth the trip.

beasley manuf hours

 

Last year, we went back and got some black fabric to make some tire covers.

Unfortunately, due to some strong winds over the past year, we lost a few pieces of our mounting system and needed to head back to Beasley for some extras.  We needed a few $.20 pieces to attach them to the suction cups.  We could have ordered them, but decided to get a couple of the heavy duty beach bags they sell for $3.95 and a piece of black fabric for a sunshade on the left side window. Al often gets sun/heat there when he’s driving and we figured we could suction cup a small piece there when we’re driving.  We have the automatic sunshades in the front, but nothing on the side.

See the blog post here, if you’re interested in seeing how to make some inexpensive tire covers.

The following picture is what they look like. All you do is use the suction cup to hold them on.  They are easy to set up and easy to remove.

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Well it looks like the SUN  is out!  I see blue skies for the first time in a few days.  Boy that sure helps your mood to see the sun. 

We have some errands to run and may even be able to get in a hike.

I haven’t ordered the automatic fire extinguisher yet.  We weren’t sure which one to order.  There is one with a 90 degree angled head and a straight one.

I think we’ll go with this one.  It’s all about which will fit behind your refrigerator.

SS30 90 hi def

I emailed back and forth a few questions and got prompt and helpful responses from David Force at the Rv Cooling Unit Warehouse.   I think what we’ll probably do is buy the fire extinguisher for now and mount it behind the refrigerator.  When and if we have problems with the cooling unit of our new refrigerator, we’ll replace it either with the Amish cooling unit, or a residential refrigerator.  He feels we should be safe as long as we have the fire suppression system.  I know it will help make me feel safer.

14 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing all about Beasley. Those tire covers look great and I think Eldy is eventually going to make some with your helpful blog post. I like the rug, too!

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  2. Great header photo.

    We would take our high to be 60 here in TX. Terribly cold and damp here in the RGV.

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  3. We went to Beasley's a few weeks ago and got pieces for our patio also. Can't beat the stuff.
    Syl

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  4. I agree with your choice on the fire extingusher. I think the 90 degree would better direct the fire retardent towards the vent stack where most of the fires happen. You can't be too safe.

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    1. Thanks Paul. We really weren't sure which one to order.

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  5. Thank you so much for the link to Beasleys. We will be there next week, methinks. I often wondered where to get this type of material. We want to make a sun shade for the patio awning. I have some ideas for other uses as well.

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    1. I would be very interested in your other ideas. When we go there I always want to buy more fabric...but I don't know what to do with it.

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    2. Thinking of making a couple of shopping bags with left overs. Also a wide piece of fabric on 2 rods and somehow positioned between the car and the MoHo to prevent stones being kicked up onto the car.

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  6. Really timely post Karen. Just when I need to think about a new patio mat. I'll look up Beasley's location and see when we can get there to check out all the possibiolities. Thanks for being on my wave length.

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    1. Ah, :) Sherry, I see you already found Karen's post.

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  7. Looks like a great place to get your material. Thanks for the tip

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  8. Where behind the fridge will you mount the extinguisher?

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  9. Thanks for the tip about Beasley's, I am going to stop in and see them when I am in the area.

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