Flooring!

I ordered the vinyl flooring from Carpet Express on line.  It is a commercial grade vinyl and kind of retro looking.  It is much nicer than a photo will allow to show.

Derald prepped the floor while I was in the plein air event.  Fortunately most of the floor was in good shape.  Only one small corner with some water damage.

Derald, applying the glue.  It dried for about 30 minutes while we had lunch.  

Derald rolled out the flooring to cut to length and width.

The glue eventually was clear and oh my gosh, talk about STICKY.    Together we laid it.  But, lining up the door edge and the back edge (my area) was a booger.  When you let it touch it STUCK like crazy.  The roll was really heavy for me to try to raise it up to relocate the edge.  Finally we got it.  Trim will cover where I just could get it to move over.  :)  

Brand new floor!  Yeah!  Most of it will be all covered up with furniture!  So look at it now, before the shelves and cabinets and bed/couch goes in.

The floor has off white, grays and blue in it.  You can't really see any blue in this picture.

In Between….

In between working on Gracie and simple everyday stuff, a few events sneak in.  Parkville Plein Air was last week, with a wonderful workshop with Debra Joy Groesser.  She is one of the top female plein air painters, and I was fortunate to afford a workshop with her.  To make it just about perfect as you can get, the weather was great AND the workshop was small.  She is a very good teacher, and I had some AH HA moments, which I cherish.  Referring to Kevin Macpherson and his techniques, she drove some of the points home and a light came on for me.  Kevin is a very good teacher, but with a humongous crowd of students demanding his attention, it was limited the time you were allotted with his eye on your work and efforts. Debra had also done a workshop with him, so she was very in tuned to his methodology.

Parkville Plein Air show is currently at the Train Depot in Parkville MO.  It hangs through Nov. 12.

I did this sunset painting the first day/ evening of the plein air event.

Friday and Sat. was the workshop.  It was very convenient for Debra to have us all in one area to save time between critiques.  

In the throws of last week I decided to bit the bullet and get this puppy.  I had been searching the web and shelters for a rescue dog with no luck.  I visited a shelter, and it was so depressing I couldn't take another visit.  A friend suggested a poodle, and another friend suggested a Havanese.  I wanted a small dog, easy personality, no shedding and smart.  He fit the bill.  He will be nearly 10 weeks old when we pick him up next week.  I am reading up on Ceasars training techniques.  I sure did a poor job in the past being a 'pack leader'.  So this time I am going to try my best to do a better job.  He  will be home with us next week!  His current name is Maxxie.  It may stick, but I may have another name for him.  

The Airstream needed a little attention too!

Somewhere between home and NM this summer a bird pooped all over the front of the trailer.  It was really hot, and we were parked under the shade of a tree.  We didn't wash it off, which was a mistake.  That poo etched into the aluminum to the point it had to be polished.  So before we take her out for a fall outing, Derald wanted to clean her up.

New shelves were added last week too.  Before we had a hanging soft shelving unit.  It worked ok, but we were missing a lot of storage space.  Now with these shelves, I feel like I have more than I need!  I am SURE we will find things to fill it up.

I am painting in the Parkville Plein Air Event this week.  Also taking a workshop with Debra Joy Groesser, which I am thrilled about.  The workshop will be small, and that will be great.  Probably harder for Debra, but better for us.
This was last nights first event, the sunset quick paint.  9 x 12, oil.  I bumped up the color today and softened the back line of trees which pushed them back in space.  I'm happy with it now.  

Paint possibilities and wings

For such a little thing, there seems to be sooo many possible paint choices.  I found this photo below on the web.  Thank you to whoever it belongs to, but I really favor this paint job.  My original paint is the gold and white also.  This trailer below is an older model Shasta I think, and probably 12 ft.  Thus the window right of the door.  

The paint job I like.

Visualize that paint on Gracie!

I think you would have to see the difference before and after polishing on the wings to really appreciate Derald's work.  

But this photo of the edge is probably the best one to see how great they will look.

Close up after polish.

close up before polish

Renovation work is not for the faint of heart.

Derald 

Windows, ahhhh

I really like the raw aluminum.  I am having a heck of a time deciding on how to paint it because of that.  

Sunset reflections are not quite as spectacular on the Shasta as it is the Airstream.  But I still thought it was nice.  The windows are just temped in, thus the yellow tape for keeping water out.  (Temped in with screws!)

I know this isn't a very attractive picture of the back.  But oh how I love this new window.   You would never guess it was from another trailer.  Derald did such an excellent job cutting it down to match the other original windows.

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Again, just a few screws holding it in place until the new metal is ready.  But look at the fantastic light that I will have.  

Don't be deceived by how big it appears to be inside.  That is the water tank on the floor.

And the mosquitos start to let us know it is time to pack it up until tomorrow.  

Additive or Subtractive

We have been in the Subtractive mode so far working on Gracie.  She is gutted and bare.  I think we are nearly to the additive stage!  The flooring should arrive in the next week.  The rotten wood areas are almost 100% removed.  I say almost because we would have to take all the skin off to check the entire structure, and that wasn't happening!

All the paneling off this street side.

The floor clear of tile residue.

Brand spanking new step!

Kitchen wall repaired and rotten wood removed and replaced (and beefed up).  

Back of trailer still in repair mode.  Derald is going to replace that bottom section of exterior.  We no longer will have the huge access door.  But, the floor has to be installed and the refrigerator needs to be INSIDE the trailer.  It won't fit through the door or a window opening.  So this back end has some work to be done before the trailer can be closed up.

A little Salida Prayer Flag action.

This is the last hunk of paneling to be removed.  I tugged and pulled on that sucker and it just won't budge.  It has to be pulled off in layers, but I have picked and pulled and can't get that top layer to start to peel.  I think Derald will have to tackle it.

This is the front corner where the water tank was.  New wood framing now, and the wall is connecting to the floor frame again.  That small corner area is going to be covered, and it is secure.  Not pretty….but okay.  

This front area was a challenge.  The trailer was out of line and the skin had sagged down.  To be expected with a 1969 trailer,  a 45 year old gal.  But Derald had to study other posts from blogs to see what is was originally supposed to look like.  Thank goodness for blogs and computer access for sharing information.  And this is why I am creating this blog, to share what we have done for others to use….or avoid!  

My new step!  Loving this little trailer already.  Another huge THANK YOU to my wonderful husband.  

Gracie's big MOVE!

I came home from church this morning and Gracie was missing!  Derald and Travis were sitting in the driveway smiling.  Derald said someone drove by and offered him $3,000 and he sold her!  That stinker.  

Gracie is safely nestled in the back yard.  It will drive our neighbors crazy.  They all stop by sometimes twice a day to see what is going on with the trailer!  Now the ladies across the street want a trailer.

The sun is setting on another beautiful fall day in MO.

Woody has been so darn lonely without Jill, we wanted to be in the backyard so he has company while we are working.  He loves the idea.