Campbell River

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Windy!

The last two days have been absolutely nasty. I can’t believe the drops in temperature when I was hiking in shorts and a tee-shirt in January! Some people have reported seeing snow, but I haven’t. It’s just been very blustery with a bit of rain.

The walk home tonight was brutal. I had needle-like slivers of rain slicing at my face while I walked into a wall of wind. It took me twice as long to claw my way home, and I arrived out of breath with tears streaming down my face from the exertion and burning lungs. And this after an absurdly busy shift. I am wiped!

*this post was interrupted by the sound of something crashing outside*

Well, I’m back from checking out what made the noise. I found one of the empty garbage cans rolling around near the back of my car. That might not sound impressive to the average reader. But Croft and Norma will know that this means the can jumped from its enclosed perch and then rolled something like 20ft.

*this post was once again interrupted by the sound of dishes crashing in the cupboard after Miranda was rocked by another violent gust of wind*

Whew, nothing’s broken. It’s scary out there!

Norma, your daffodils are coming up and were doing okay this afternoon, bent by the wind but not broken. I’ll assess the damage in the morning.

Yeah, daffodils in early March, then this. Crazy!

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Rain is Not Conducive to Fixing Leaks!

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. 😀

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Floors Just About Done!

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

Most of what’s visible will be covered by the ‘tunnel’, so I’ll just use scraps to fill in the gap.

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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A Functional Entrance

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!

doesn't that half of the room seem huge now?!

doesn’t that half of the room seem huge now?!

I have two of these hooks. They have followed me all of my adult life and I'm pleased to have found a place for at least one in Miranda.

I have two of these hooks. They have followed me all of my adult life and I’m pleased to have found a place for at least one in Miranda.

This self-indulgent idea comes from either Real Simple magazine or Martha Stewart. Imagine that I have enough carrying capacity to haul around a tub filled with rocks!

This self-indulgent idea comes from either Real Simple magazine or Martha Stewart. Imagine that I have enough carrying capacity to haul around a tub filled with rocks!

Starting to look like a home! (Click on the picture to see my footwear on the pan. :) )

Starting to look like a home! (Click on the picture to see my footwear on the pan. 🙂 )

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!

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Never Thought Rain Would Be a Blessing

Yesterday was amazing; clear skies, highs of fifteen or sixteen, and HOT in the sun, perfect for working on the RV. Today, however, I awoke to a downpour. There was a flash of panic at the thought of my leak. Then I realised that this was the perfect opportunity to isolate where the water was coming in from. Behold the culprit:

That grungy greenish corner is leaking like the proverbial sieve.

I obviously can’t fix the leak in this weather, so I protected the area and got instructions from Croft on how to deal with it on the next nice day.

Inside, the flooring and wall are dry and mould-free so guess what I’m going to do today?

I AM GOING TO FINISH MY FLOORS.

Ahem. 😀

Once the floors are done, I will also be able to completely finish another ‘room’, not counting painting. I have big plans for today and five more hours of daylight. Check back in later to see how far I got. 😉