The sun is out and there are plenty of blue patches in the sky — now. It’s nice summer weather. That wasn’t the case for most of the day. It’s nearly 4:30p, however, and we’re much too relaxed to be thinking of doing anything but sitting inside our screened shelter, reading and blogging, and just plain lazing about. We don’t do this often enough, so we figure we deserve to do it for at least one day.
That we woke up to skies thick with grey clouds didn’t stop us from going for a walk around the campground before breakfast, or eating our meal al fresco when we returned. While Mui took care of a few chores on his to-do list, I read through a portion of my blog list, and then went for another campground walk.
One chore Mui took care of was to secure the step ladder we keep inside — useful when I need to reach into the overhead cabinets and Mui isn’t around to lend me his superior height. We found the ideal space for the ladder between the shower and the vanity, but there was a small problem — a 3” high wood block in the rear half of the narrow slot. So, Mui cut a matching piece, painted it, and placed it next to the existing block to make a level surface. Then, using a couple of screw eyes he created a means to secure the ladder in place with a bungee cord. Don’t need that thing flying about when we’re in motion!
While I’m at it, let me show you something Mui took care of earlier this year. When looking for places to store things around the motorhome, one needs to think outside the box. Mui’s good at that — too good sometimes. Anyway, we needed a place to store our Swiffer wet mop. What better place than in the shower, a place that gets used just for a short bit of time each day. One of those command strip removable hooks did the trick for this simple project. Not once has the Swiffer popped off the hook when we’re tooling down the road.
You might recall that earlier this year we bought a rug for the living area. Once we determined that we liked the way it looked in the Phaeton, we ordered a twin for the dining/kitchen area. We’ve been rolling them up individually and storing them under the dining room chairs when we’re in motion. We no longer have to worry about two separate rolls. Using single-sided carpet seam tape, Mui turned the two rugs into one. And while we were at it — yes, I helped — we added some Rhino Grip non-slip rug strips to keep the rug in place on the ceramic tile it sits on. Now we have our own “yellow brick road” — OK, multi-colored rug path — leading us through the coach.
With the chores on Mui’s list checked off, we decided to go for another walk. This time we headed in the direction of the park’s entrance to repeat the walk I did yesterday. We should have heeded the near-continuous thunder booming in the distance and delayed for a while. The rain held off until we returned to the coach, so we didn’t get wet — but only because we heeded the ever-darkening skies and gathering storm clouds and cut our walk short. Oh well, it was time for lunch anyway.
Since we didn’t do anything remotely newsworthy today, how about I regale you with one of Mui’s projects from earlier this year instead. This was something we knew we would be doing at some point, but the timing was moved up when we sold the house in April. Living in a condo with no workshop or garage, Mui had no choice but to get this one done sooner rather than later.
Some of you might have noticed in the picture above that we no longer have two sleeper sofas in the living room. That’s because we removed the driver-side sofa to make room for a proper desk for me.
This reno idea was not in anticipation of any consulting work that might come my way once we become fulltimers — although it would come in handy if that were to happen. I do all the accounting and other paperwork-driven stuff now, and anticipate continuing to do so when we’re on the road. As well, I much prefer my desktop iMac for photo processing, and intend to take it on the road. Besides, I like working at a desk with everything at my fingertips.
At first, we were going to have a custom desk installed in Red Bay, Alabama — the birthplace of our coach. Then, I had the bright idea of using the desk in my home office. With the bookcase that sits atop it removed, it was the perfect size to fit into the spot occupied by the sofa. Sure it was a creamy white color, but that could easily be remedied with a coat or two of paint. My only real concern was the weight — it weighed a ton (or so it seemed). Well, no sooner did I pick up my end of the sofa we were taking out of the coach that those concerns were put to rest. The sleeper weighed two tons (or so it seemed).
It took some strong arming to get the sofa out the door, but we managed to do so after we removed the arms and the back.
Getting the sofa home was a piece of cake. The bits and pieces fit into the trunk of the Highlander nicely. (Yes, Mui — I’m glad you convinced me to get the Highlander instead of the Prius!)
Next came the process of dismantling the desk to take it down to the garage to be painted. Like I said, it weighed a ton (or seemed like it did), and there was no way we could manhandle it down three floors. Luckily, it was all held together with lots of screws, and there was no need to bring out the saw. Soon, amid the donations and sale items that were piled up in the garage as we packed and downsized for our move to the condo, Mui was busy sanding and painting the desk parts.
And from these bits and pieces, the desk got put back together in a matter of a couple of hours (in situ at the coach). Of course, before Mui could do that he had to wait a week or so for the paint to cure.
A little shorter and a little narrower than the sofa it replaced, the desk makes our already spacious living area seem even more so. Secured to the floor of the slide with L-brackets, the desk ain’t going anywhere when we’re on the move. Mui also came up with the means to secure the chair in place with a couple of screw eyes on the sides of the desk and bungee cords running across. (Forgot to take a picture of that; sorry.)
I got to use the desk for the first time a few weeks ago, and again this weekend. I’m thrilled to have a place from which to write many-a long blog posts. (Oh no, they say, as a collective groan issues from the readers.)
As to what happened to the sleeper sofa — it’s in my home office, and it matches the rug perfectly! We’ll probably put it in storage when we go on the road. You never know; we may change our minds at some point and want to put it back in. As for the bookcase that used to sit on top of the desk … Mui cut off the backboard, added a custom top and a couple of stubby legs, and voilà — a credenza was born. Waste not, want not!
I’ll try to have a more interesting blog post tomorrow. We have plans to do something fun — provided the weather doesn’t turn soggy too early in the day.
Miss Thing will be gone all week to a church camp in the North Carolina mountains. I'm going to work like a fiend to get her room painted, her school books ordered, and her school year planned. 