Swoop Overload

Our new trailer, a Nash 24M, is decorated with swoopy decals.  For some reason, some of them swooped over three of the windows.  They weren't transparent and just blocked the view.  We expect to see birds, mountains, sunsets & cactus one of these days but the swoops would definitely get in the way.  So, I removed them!

I started taking them off with a double-edged razor.  It was quite a slog using just the razor so I went to the hardware store & got a scraper.  Much better!  But it was so cold the decals were breaking off rather than peeling off.  I finally quit, took a day off to do the grocery shopping, laundry & to make a pot of soup (French lentil--yummy).

The forecast for the next day was for sun & warmer temps.  I finished the last two decals within 30 minutes using a hair dryer & the scraper, scraped the excess glue off & went inside to admire the fruits of my labor.  It's so nice to be have unlimited views of the yard and Jim's truck!  Unlimited views of the desert won't be long in coming.

The dinette window before

and after

and the kitchen window before

and after.

Yes, this is only two windows.  There was a lot of reflection in the photo of the slide-out window.  

We made reservations for our first camping trip with the new trailer to Steamboat Rock State Park near Grand Coulee Dam in June.  Jim doesn't want to take a shake-down trip on this side of the mountains first.  I'm nervous about that but I'll defer to him since he's driving.  It'll be a relaxing time for us--things have been busy with projects on the home front & I'm really busy at work.

Thanks for stopping by.  Take good care.

Dawn

We're Done In!

Some projects take a lot longer than you think they should.  Painting the hallway and main living area of our home was one of those projects.

Our plan was to paint the entire house after the hardwood floors were installed in August 2012.  We got one room painted.  We under-estimated how long it would take to paint & install new trim.  We over-estimated our physical endurance.  There was some urgency in getting this done--I had very rashly painted blocks of color on several of the walls to see which color I liked!  Can you believe it--I chose none of them!  I know...the men out there are saying how much this is like a woman.  And the women out there are saying how much they get that.  Let's just say that when I saw Revere Pewter on Pinterest, I knew it would be perfect.  It's a neutral gray that goes with everything.  We also choose Silver Gray for the fireplace wall.  Jim says it's not silver & it's not gray.  It looks fine though so we're good with it.

Fast forward 19 months.  My youngest son Ty & his wife Nicole had volunteered to help us paint.  Jim had spent days--no, weeks--painting about 60% of the living area.  What remained were all the high walls that come with having a home with clerestory windows.  The highest walls were 16' tall!

Ty & Nicole let us know they had a free weekend.  We bought paint.  I made sure we had ample beer & food.  The ladders were in place, the kids arrived & we spent the next 8 hours painting!  We had a blast & we finished all but the final coat on 2 walls.  Jim finished those over the next 2 days.

Here's Jim finishing up one of the shorter walls

Here's Ty working on the wall with the clerestory windows

Here's Nicole taping

And here she is working on one of the walls--that's Jim to her left painting a high wall over the fireplace

This gives you an idea of just how tall the highest wall is

And here are some photos of the results:

We're so grateful the kids helped us--we couldn't have accomplished this without their help!  This is definitely the last time we're going to paint the interior of this house!

This is a photo of our next project--stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!  Take good care.  I hope spring has sprung where you are!

Dawn

Dang It!

Some days I wonder if I have what it takes to be a blogger.  Either I can't think of a thing to say or I think "This would be interesting for the blog" and then don't get my thoughts out on blogger.  I apologize if my posts occur sporadically--know that I read your blogs every day & enjoy them very much.

The family completely & totally surprised my sister last Saturday for her birthday!  Lots of photos were taken but I forgot to ask permission from my family to publish their photos.  So here is a photo of some of the decorations and the cakes.  And yes, that is the birthday girl's photo on the cake...no name.

Jim made reservations for us to go camping at Banks Lake State Park in June.  This will be Mood Stabilizer's maiden voyage! We love this area!

Spring is coming--daffodils are blooming up in the Skagit Valley & some of the trees are beginning to bud out.  Our painting project is moving right along.  Jim has finished the hallway, entryway, kitchen & part of the living room.  Our youngest son & his wife will be here from Bellingham on Saturday to get the high parts up by the clerestory windows--about 14' high!  We old timers just can't get up there on ladders any longer!

So that's about it from the end of the road.  Take good care & enjoy your day!

Family: Viperidae; Subfamily: Crotalinae; Genus: Crotlatus/Sistrurus

Lately, I've thinking a lot about rattlesnakes.  Blogworld is lit up with mention of rattlesnakes out on the trail & even hiding under rigs and toads thanks to a warmer than usual spring. I asked myself how we would protect our dear girl Ari against snake bite when we're out in the desert next year.  Please note--I have been accused of being an extreme planner & I plead guilty.  Although there is a vaccine that can be given annually and antivenin that can be given after a bite, might there be a more effective way of protecting our dogs?  Treating dogs after they're bitten can be expensive.  A web site I read said that, because it takes about 30 minutes for the dog to experience pain from a bite, they don't associate a snake with the pain so they don't associate rattlesnakes with the bite.

A little digression.  My friend Sharon has an adorable Vizsla pup named Stella.  Sharon (and Stella) spend time in eastern Washington (snake country) and they will be spending winters in Arizona beginning next winter (snake country).  Sharon asked herself how she could protect Stella from snake bite.  She found many businesses in the Phoenix and Tucson area that train dogs & their owners how to avoid snake bite.  It's called "Rattlesnake Avoidance" training.  Some companies train dogs using a shock collar & others don't.  Sharon asked her dog trainer (a man who used to train dogs for the military & who knows dogs better than anyone I know--he's the dog whisperer of Camano Island) about this training & he gave it a hearty "YES!"  Here's what Cesar Millan has to say about rattlesnake avoidance training "Many people feel that this is the most effective method out there right now to teach your dog to stay away from rattlesnakes."

Our goal is to keep Ari safe while we're out in the desert.  She likes to roam around while she's outside & isn't accustomed to being on a leash.  I can see rattlesnakes being a big potential problem for her.  How do you protect your dog against rattlesnake bite?  Have you done rattlesnake avoidance training with your dog or vaccinated them?  I appreciate your input.  Thanks for dropping by.  Take good care.

Let's Move to the Interior

...of Mood Stabilizer, that is!  We finally had some sunny days so I was able to take photos of the inside of our new Nash 24M.  Here's a shot from the bathroom looking toward the bedroom.  With the slide out there's a good amount of floor space.

And here's the kitchen.  There's not a lot of counter space but I manage with little counter space at home so no worries...


The bathroom has a large storage closet.  All of the storage closets seem cavernous so we'll have to figure out how to stack things so they're accessible.

The bedroom area has a lot of storage & seems very functional.  After sleeping in the corner bed of our 19' Layton, this queen walk-around bed is a dream-come-true!

Jim has begun taking the decals of some of the windows--what a huge improvement!  Our first trip will be this July when we travel to a family reunion on the Oregon Coast.  Thanks to all of your recommendations, we'll be well-prepared for a fun, uneventful trip!

That's it from us here at the end of the road.  I hope you're beginning to see signs of spring in your neighborhood, wherever that may be.  Thanks for checking in with us today.
Dawn & Jim