The Start – Turning Juice into Wine

— Posted inFood — 1 min read

The 6 gallon fermenting buckets, having been washed and sanitized, await the addition of the bentonite clay, juice and water.

The new juice kit with yeast added on top. These Island Mist kits include a flavor pac and while the instructions say to add the pac after the fermentation is completed, I always add about half of the pac to the primary fermentation. She who drinks these wines likes them much better that way. The great thing about making your own wines is they can be made to suit the taste of the person who is going to drink that wine.

The juice of the older kit (bought in the spring of 2021) is much darker than the new kit. The yeast packet included with this old kit was past it’s use by date, so I used a new yeast packet along with a dose of yeast energizer. In four weeks we will have the answer as to how the two kits compare.

Back to Making Wine and Back to Posting

— Posted inFood, Other — 1 min read

Back posting after a 9 month hiatus that included a 128 day cruise around the world. My wife, running low on her favorite wine I make for her, smiled when she mentioned that to me. After all these decades of being married to her I know a hint when she gives me one. Until tomorrow….

Summer Travel Statistics and Final Post

— Posted inOther — 2 min read
Nights out143
Number of RV Parks or Campgrounds45
Number of nights Moochdocking (Driveway stays)2
Shortest length of stay (nights)1
Longest length of stay (nights)8
Lowest nightly fee$0
Highest nightly fee$100
Number of states visited15
Number of counties (US and Canada)2
Miles driven in the RV8052
Gallons of diesel fuel599.3
Lowest price per gallon for diesel2.96
Highest price per gallon for diesel4.99
Miles driven in the Jeep Cherokee2553
Gallons of gasoline100.8
Lowest price per gallon for gasoline2.94
Highest price per gallon for gasoline4.31

I had promised to post these statistics a long time ago. At least better late than never. And just in case you have wondered just how expensive it is to drive an RV, Sophie averaged 14.4 miles to the gallon for the trip and the total cost of diesel was $2373.16. It just goes to prove the saying: If you have to ask how much it costs to drive an RV, you probably can’t afford to own one.

Obviously this is my last post of 2023, but not so obvious is this is the last post as a Vivaldi blog. I’ve been blogging much of the time since 2005, writing my own html for many years, and also using Blogger several times. Due to the problems with the images posting darker on this site than my originals, I’m going back to Blogger once again because of all the photos that will be posted during our around the world cruise. If you would like to follow along on our cruise the link to the new blog is here. You can click on the blue word “here” at the end of the previous sentence or copy and paste this url https://because-we-can-bob.blogspot.com

Replacing the Vacuum Breaker Valve Handles

— Posted inOther — 1 min read

Replaced the valve handles with stainless steel handles. Had to use the Dremel tool to cut off the old nuts. No more problems with failing the annual inspection due to the valve handle’s condition. Just to let any readers of this blog know (if there are any) that this will be the next to the last blog post on this website, as all future posts beginning the first of the year will be on Blogger. Information and explanation about that to be posted on tomorrow’s last post on this site.

C-Day -8

— Posted inOther — 1 min read

Since the path of our around the world voyage will take us through the Panama Canal, I have been reading David McCullough’s opus about the building of the canal. While certainly not a quick read, it is definitely a most interesting read. Today I finished reading the 617th and final page and can recommend it to anyone planning a passage through the canal.