Homemaking

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Behind Schedule, as Usual

I was asked to do some transcription this weekend. I’m currently working for my beginning of May pay cheque, so I’m trying to get in as much work as possible as it will be lovely to have some real income in the middle of my travels. But I took my client to his word that he’d sent 131 minutes of audio (9 hours of work) when it was actually 161 minutes (11 hours of work)! I didn’t clue in to this till late today and what was supposed to be one hour at the apartment complex stretched into three. So I’ve been in income mode for most of the day. I’m not complaining. 🙂

This has actually been a blessing in disguise since it’ll give the brown paint an extra day to cure before I start shifting things in the rig. I did put on the three coats of sealant to the bookcase and desk tops. I hope that will suffice to protect the paint job.

Each time I’ve gone down to the rig, I’ve brought a small load of things. Croft asked in a comment how much extra stuff I’ll need to lug down and the answer is nothing. I’m actually going to be giving away a lot of clothing, which will actually mean I’ll be bringing less into Miranda than I brought into The Apartment. This should serve as sufficient proof to the continued doubters that I continue to have a full-timer’s mentality. That said, I brought everything up over the course of six months and plan to bring it down in about two days, so it’s going to feel like a big job! I need to get into the habit of not going down the stairs without something for the rig.

I plan to bookend tomorrow with transcription and move forward with squaring away the rig in the middle of the day. Once everything is away, it’ll be easier to start bringing in loads of things on Monday.

Departure day is really going to depend on what day I can get help from Jody and/or Gary to get things back into the rig, but it could be as early as a week from tomorrow, but hopefully no further away than eight days!

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Removing Rustoleum Frosted Glass Spray

Back in Osoyoos in the fall of 2010, I used frosted glass spray to get some privacy in the office while I got curtains in.

It worked for a time, but I grew increasingly weary of it as it blocked more light then I would have liked. I tried to remove it with acetone, but failed, and then the removal project moved to the back of my mind as a low priority project.

While searching for something at the office this week, I found a razor blade in a holder and decided to try using it to remove the frost spray. It worked effortlessly; the spray came off in snowy flakes that I was able to then vacuum up. But there is still spray residue on the frames and one of my side windows is still glued shut.

All in all, while I understand why I used the spray in the first place, I think it was bad decision, at least in the way in which it was done. I would not use frost spray again on an openable window and I would tape off the frame of a large picture window before spraying it.

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A Drop of Golden Brown

Miranda’s interior makeover is definitely an amateur and barely skilled effort. But that doesn’t mean that the rig can’t still look pulled together. One of the unifying elements is the oak cabinetry throughout. The problem is that there is also mismatched wood throughout. So starting in the kitchen and then in the dressing room with the wardrobe doors, I used a golden brown colour that matches the honey oak of the cabinetry to make my additions blend in a little better. I decided to buy a ton more of this paint colour and use it in the study, which had no fewer than four different wood finishes.

Now, I suck at taking decent before shots, but here’s an idea of what the bed base looked like this morning:

As you can see, the trim was unpainted. I was going to paint it golden brown like I did with the trim around the sink in the kitchen, but the bed base had a bunch of holes and scratches. Now, it’s all golden brown:

My desk, while sporting a few chips, does match the rest of the cabinetry, so it’s fine, except for the top:

I decided to paint the top as well as my little bookcase and the new top I made for it this morning (it’s been a productive day). Both the bookcase and desk top swill be golden brown and sealed with Verathane to protect the finish. Here’s a sneak peak of that:

Finally, the white door into the toilet room from the dressing room was getting on my nerves. I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. Once I was committed to buying more of the golden brown paint, the answer was obvious: match the toilet room door to the wardrobe doors. Ta-dah:

I’ve got two coats of the golden brown on now and will do a third after dinner.

Tomorrow will be a mostly lost day as I need to put in a half day at the apartment complex. I’ll be glad for the extra income and the new manager is glad to not have to come in yet on a weekend. So I hope that three coats of brown will be enough and that I will be able to apply the Verathane tomorrow. Sunday, I’ll be able to get the rig completely squared away, and Monday I will be moving back in 95% of what’s in the apartment, leaving only a functional office and kitchen!

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Feeling Sheepish

I spent more time in the rig this evening, cleaning the study and getting ready for the next round of paint. I had a lot of vacuuming to do. So I plugged my shop vac into my new 120V outlet pleased that I could plug it directly into the wall and not have to run an extension cord from the bottom of the upper cabinet. Well, so much for my triumph over electricity. The shop vac wouldn’t start.

That was pretty much the proverbial straw for me regarding the work I’m trying to get done in the study. I’m just fed up with simple projects that take much longer than they should. I just about stormed out of the room when I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

It was the lid for the electrical panel. It was open. And one of my breakers was off. Then I remembered. After I did my final tests yesterday, I turned the breaker off to get everything secured and the face plates on. I’d forgotten to turn it back on. I flipped it up and went back to the shop vac.

Vroom! I vacuumed for a good 10 minutes and there were no sparks. I think my outlet is working just fine. 😀

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New 120V and 12V Outlet Reveals (Plus Progress in the Study)

Here’s the new undercabinet 120V outlet that I installed the replace the original one.

I had to put in a new one since the RV-type outlet would not allow me to directly power an outlet from it. Croft said that my options were to pigtail or to install a house-type outlet that would let me add on. He recommended going with the second option since it involved fewer connections, so I did as he said. No, I would not jump off a bridge if Croft told me to, but in electrical matters I am happy to defer to him. 🙂

Here’s the new outlet that I installed behind my desk (paint looks blotchy because it’s still wet!):

Yes, the box is meant to be painted. It’s not invisible, but having the wiring hidden in a raceway painted to match the wall makes the whole thing look much better.

Next up is what looks like a terrible painting job. In my defense, this is an area that you can’t see unless you crouch directly underneath the window, so I didn’t feel that it was worth the effort to get in there with a small brush. Here’s the new 12V outlet:

As you can sort of see, I brought both the 12V and the 120 wiring through a hole in the cabinet behind the valance. The 12V outlet is wired to a nearby light. I selected this location because a) I already had a hole there, b) I had 12V wiring I could tie into, and c) this location allows me to plug in my 12V blanket it and use it both while sitting at the desk or lying on the bunk.

This afternoon, I also moved the former bar, now cabinet, for the third and last time!!! I have finally found its rightful place and I am sure I will be using it a lot more now:

It’s now on the wall to the right of the entrance, opposite the vanity in the dressing room and fits perfectly. Locating it there was a real DOH moment for me!

Moving the cabinet freed up the wall space at the foot of the bed and so I finally put up the final piece of artwork that I have been lugging around for almost four years wrapped in a towel and unwilling to give up even though I seemingly had no space for it:

It is a picture of the Egyptian goddesses Isis (winged) and Hathor (head dress) on payprus. I bought this print at the Luxor in Las Vegas and somehow got it back undamaged to Gatineau, where I had it framed.

Finally, I don’t have any good paint comparison shots, but this should give you an idea of how superior the new paint is over the old paint:

The new paint is a bit lighter and has an eggshell finish rather than the super glossy finish of the old paint. I like both colours equally, but the lighter green is wonderfully fresh, and this paint job isn’t full of mistakes since I bought a gallon and was able to do four coats (with half a gallon left!) instead of squeezing in a single coat out of a quart!

Tomorrow, I will get started on a bit of carpentry and priming and may even do some more painting.