Posted By Rae on March 10, 2010

GAH!

It’s been pouring all day and there is no relief in sight!

As if my leak worry wasn’t enough, I need to be able to work outside this weekend! The counter project will require me to cut a huge sheet of plywood (the remnant from the wardrobe doors) and there is simply not enough place in the workshop to do so. I need to do like the carpenter did and secure the sheet to my sawhorses with clamps, then use a circular saw to do the cuts. Hopefully, I’ll get a few hours respite to do that; the rest of the work can be done inside.

I’m getting pretty excited at the thought of getting that counter in once and for all and I’ve made two decisions in regards to it. The first is that the dishwasher is going onto the counter. I don’t want to cut into the plumbing and then have to worry about leaks for the next ten years. The second decision is that I’ll be taking the dinette bench apart after all. I’ll leave the seatbelt frame in place, however, and build my cabinet around it, repurposing as many bench pieces as I can. The current footprint of the bench is a bit too wide to look good with the counter and I’ll need to shave off about two inches.

So, those are my goals for the rest of this week; deal with the leak and get the counter in. I’m debating whether or not I should share my ‘to do by April 1st’ list to show just how crazily ambitious I am.

Category: homemaking, weather | No Comments »
Tags: renovating

Posted By Rae on March 8, 2010

I just read an interesting article at msn.ca about what’s new in RVing for 2010.

Two of the trends involve RVs being made greener, from improved fuel consumption to wind and solar powered RVs. ‘Greening’ vehicles has been happening for years now, so it makes sense that the trend would move on to RVs. I like the greener options because they mean more self-sufficiency; you rely less on fuel and electricity and become more self-contained.

One trend that made me laugh is that of the full outdoor kitchen. Check out the fourth picture down! Miranda has an outdoor kitchen that’s plenty good enough for me. It’s called a two-burner Coleman stove, a hibachi, and an outdoor shower for cleaning up. Add in a supplied picnic table.

There are now more units that come with two bathrooms, one full and the other a half-bath. Even though I don’t need two bathrooms, I like the idea of having a powder room for guests and have even had my eye on such a unit.

RV size is also on the table in this article. Luxury 45′ plus units are still being built, but more powerful smaller units are also. Diesel on a smaller unit is an exciting idea; offering the chance of a decent amount of carrying capacity for a full-timer who doesn’t want to go big.

Finally, the section about the “crossover” units made me laugh when I got to the RV that is also an ice fishing shack. I love it! But you wouldn’t catch me riding my motorhome over a frozen body of water.

It’s good to see that even though many manufacturers have shut down, the RV industry is still moving forward, innovating, and adapting to meet the needs of new market niches.

Category: RVers, friends, and other nice people, announcements | 4 Comments »
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Posted By Rae on March 7, 2010

I have finally jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon. You can find me at travelswmiranda.  I’m not tweeting yet, but I am following some people and making some use of the account I created several months ago to reserve the name.

I plan to use Twitter to update the blog via my cellphone when I head north this spring, the way Sean and Louise of Our Odyssey do. More details about that will be forthcoming.

Thank you to my best friend who got me up and running with the basics tonight. Twitter’s not intuitive!

Category: announcements, communications | No Comments »
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Posted By Rae on March 7, 2010

I just need to fiddle with some scraps in the corner where the dinette was and do the entrance stairwell.

I wasn’t as happy with my job on this part of the rig. I was working backwards, having to tuck boards in under boards rather than fitting them over top so some of my joints are visible. It looks okay; truly seamless floors look unnatural, but it isn’t ‘perfect.’

It wasn’t a moment too soon for me to be done; the last strip in the dressing room would was also the last strip in the fifth box! I have enough scraps left to finish, so I’ll be returning the sixth box of Allure. This means that not counting the toilet room, the loft, the basement compartments, and the cab, my home is 5 x 24 square feet. That’s… 120 square feet! WOW! I was sure that I had least 200 square feet! And I used to think that 750 square feet was the absolute bare minimum I could be comfortable in.

I’m not sure I have enough scraps to do the entrance so I think that I will instead go get a nice rubber mat and do the entire thing in rubber. A truly impervious material really would be ideal; I had water damage right through the oak and into the subfloor in that area. I bought some sealant and will be applying several coats to the subfloor before I put anything over it.

The next job, trim, is going to be a big one because of all the little pieces that need to be cut and my own inexperience, not to mention the cost. I also finally understand why there were so many different sizes and types of trim in here. I really do wish I could have just reused the original trim, but it wouldn’t have held up over the rest of Miranda’s life. Wood is definitely the way to go here.

I’m calling it a day!

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Tags: renovating

Posted By Rae on March 7, 2010

The floors aren’t done, but the end is in site. I have to finish the other half of the front room and the stairwell, then fill in a few gaps with scraps. I’m not done for today, far from it, but I wanted to show off my new functional entrance. Functional being defined by a place to hang a coat and purse as well as stow away shoes. I was rather sick of draping a coat over an armchair, putting the purse on the seat of the chair, and then putting my shoes away under it!

I have always wanted to incorporate a bit of the sea into my decor and have finally done so. The pan of stones comes from the beach across the road here. Of course if I ever run out of carrying capacity that pan will be the first thing to go, but for now I’m going to enjoy it. I’ve had that solution in my ideas folders for a long, long time. It’s pretty, cheap, and efficient. Well, at least I think so. Since this is my home, my opinion is the only one that matters.

One of the things I’ve been looking for and am glad I won’t need is a coat rack. I didn’t think I had a secure place into which to screw the hook, but the doorjamb is made from solid wood and more than wide enough for me to be able to screw into it.

The only thing left to do is to find a long, narrow basket to affix to the top of the pantry to hold keys and other small items, but this is low priority. I am considering the entrance DONE. YAY!

Category: homemaking | 4 Comments »
Tags: organizing, renovating