RVing

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Good Timing

I am so glad I put my bed back together last night because I have to go back to Penticton this afternoon: I finally found a buyer for my old computers. It’ll be so nice to regain all that extra space!!!

So, that means I probably won’t be able to finish up the loft today. It just has the curtains left, so I don’t feel a rush, other than to do a big reveal, of course! I could not believe the difference up there last night, it was very tangible. It was still ‘humid’, but it smelled crisp and fresh. I fell asleep around 2AM and next thing I knew it was 1:30PM! I think I was tired. 😀

When I woke up, the windows had a lot of condensation. I started the dehumidifier immediately and the water disappeared quickly. It was also very, very cold in the loft last night. Those windows need to go! I’ve been given some suggestions on how I could effectively block them off without worrying about leaks, and I’m starting to consider it. For tonight, I’ll be adding the sheet of bubble wrap insulation to the front window.

I was able to set up the dehumidifier in a very convenient fashion. I’m actually shocked that it’s set up out of the way by both a plug and a convenient outlet for the water. My routine when I am plugged into 30A shore power will have to be to start it in the morning when I climb out of bed, and empty it when I climb up.

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So Tired…

And so weak.

I’m well past the drying time for a coat of paint and there is no smell left in the loft. Moreover, the pallets came apart super well, so I’ve put my bed back together, am going to use the dinette cushions as a curtain one last time, and getting a much needed good night’s sleep in my bed TONIGHT. Tomorrow, I’ll finish up with the curtains (got one done, plus the carpentry!) and then it’ll be time for the big reveal!

I cannot believe how long this has dragged on… The days have run together, so I had to pull out the calendar: I took it apart on December 9th, so it’s been a solid month! It’s going to have been worth it, though. The loft is now dry, mould and mildew free, and the humidity has gone down considerably. I’m still going to need desiccant crystals and the dehumidifier, but it is a much, much healthier place and I will probably sleep better now.

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Loft Preview

I was up incredibly early this morning, eight, so I decided to take the longer and more scenic route to Penticton through the Similkameen valley. Like the last time I went through there, the weather was very grey and morose:

I went by a town with a name that made me laugh:

passing Olalla

One of my stops in Penticton took me to Rona where I decided I might as well pick up what I need to finish off the entrance stairwell, too. They didn’t have what I had in mind, but something that could make do. The clerk protested “But’s that floor moulding! You know, the kind that goes up a wall!” I replied, “Sometimes things can have many uses. You need to be creative!” He gave me this look, as though I’d told him the moon was made of cheese. He wouldn’t survive thirty seconds renovating an RV!

I got in around one and spent about a half hour doing a second coat of paint in the loft, then about twenty minutes putting in the flooring.

So, here’s the loft preview:

Just try to think about having to prime and paint a floor when you have cats and no sensible way to lock them into another room with food and a litter box. $45 and 20 minutes of work that required absolutely no brain power to get something that looks this great. Money very, very well spent. I have a bit of flooring left and will be able to two other projects with it.

I just adore that yellow; it’s the perfect yellow for me, with just enough red in it to keep it from being too ‘canary.’ It’s just such a happy colour and I’m amused that its commercial name is ‘Happiness’! The only thing I’m kicking myself over is getting a small can. I had originally planned to do the library and loft a different colour from the kitchen, but then I switched to the green/yellow/rose colour scheme and decided to do the whole front in yellow. I’ll need three cans to do that, so I would have been better off getting a gallon. Not a biggie when I consider how much I saved on the rest of my paint!

Now, I need to work on the window coverings. I will definitely be back in my bed tomorrow! I could be there tonight if I really push, but I know better than to go into such a small space with the paint fumes so fresh!

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How Small Can You Go?

For my current lifestyle, Miranda is perfect; she’s a real apartment on wheels with a functional kitchen and bathroom, much more ‘home’ than ‘RV.’ But I do think about downsizing even more at some point when I might be ready to focus more on the travel part of RVing. I found one guy in the US, Tynan, who really demonstrates the advantage of having a smaller, more van-like, RV–you can stealth boondock in cities.

Tynan has a Winnebago Rialta. I’d consider it a B+ or an A-, classwise, that is. One of the coolest things about it is the bathroom. Check out his RV in its early days, with a demonstration of the bathroom:

I’m not a huge fan of convertible furniture, but I have to say that this bathroom would almost be an acceptable step down from my current digs and make it possible to squeeze myself into a smaller rig.

Like me, he realised that having a small RV means cheaper renovation costs, so he made some upgrades to the flooring, then to his kitchen, including putting in granite countertops!

His rig is quite luxurious and small enough that he can sneak into some parking garages. He’s been dry camping in San Francisco for a while, and that’s a city where overnighting in an RV is very difficult to do unless you have a tiny rig like his.

I’m not yet ready to subscribe to the extreme minimalist lifestyle the way Tynan is, but I can tell that that’s where I’m heading. I took some huge steps in that direction by getting into the RV, and I think that further downsizing will happen on its own thanks to the new habits I’ve picked up. But I don’t intend to give up Miranda any time soon!

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Priming the Loft

In my bed again
Just can’t wait to get in my bed again
The nights I love are snoring with my cats
And I can’t wait to get in my bed again

Oh, the weather today! SUNNY and DRY! I was able to crank open the windows while I was working and the primer practically dried on contact. I will definitely be able to do a coat of paint tonight! YAY!

Having a coat of paint on tonight means that I’ve gained a day in my schedule to get me back in my bed Tuesday night. That gives me time to do a much needed, and much postponed, Walmart supply run tomorrow. I’ll be going to Penticton instead of Omak because I need cat food, something I can’t bring back from the States.

While there, I’ll scope out flooring options since the logistics of painting the floor involve locking the kids in the back part of the rig… where there is absolutely no place for the litter box. I’m also going to get the window covering material for the loft. I figured out what I need, it’s just a matter of finding the right colour.

So, Monday night I can put on a second coat of paint if needed, Tuesday I can do the last of the carpentry to add storage and a bit of an ironing blitz to get the curtains made up, and then I can collapse happy and exhausted in a bed that wasn’t made for a very, very small child. 🙂