goodbye tiny camper...

by the Artist

Last night I watched our tiny 5th wheel drive away. I felt sad. Even though we made the decision to sell it in order to buy a bit larger and bit newer rv… I still felt sad. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted my very own "playhouse".. well this was my playhouse. It certainly fit the criteria. It was 19' long with no slide! Cozy. We bought it back in 2006 quite used and not very loved. I gave it new life. 

I covered the window valances with an updated fabric, sewed curtains and the loft privacy curtain, from striped canvas curtain panels from Target. (I asked the Carpenter if we could replace the countertops, flooring and carpet- they were all a lovely shade of mauve. I wanted to update the cabinet hardware too. This didn't happen.) I decided to embrace the mauve and pale pink countertops by introducing navy blues, reds, burgundy's and hints of gold.

Every time we camped I would bring decor items from our house, even towels to match my color palette. I loved to create our home away from home on a budget. It was challenging and it was fun! 

We enjoyed our camping vacations for 10 summers and falls in that tiny house on wheels. We made do and then some. I burned scented candles (to get rid of the winter dryer sheet odor-which keeps mice out) and brought in little table lights. (I have overdone it with outside canopy lights… this past summer I had so many lights going it was a beacon for about 10 miles out for all bugs in the area… was a long night swatting the lovelies who decided to spend the night in our camper. Nothing like waking up with squashed bugs on the pillow!)

But this summer the Carpenter and I realized that we needed an easier set-up and a larger space. (our snack manager can not jump up on the bed or sofa anymore and we had no floorspace for her to sleep).

So a couple of weekends back I removed all our stuff, deep cleaned and staged for sale photos. We had that tiny used camper sold within 24 hours with a bid war to boot! We were simply amazed. The Carpenter said it was because of the size- easy to tow a boat and the price. I knew better.. it was the staging. I just know it. I've never seen a camper staged like a model home. And of all things.. stage an old tiny camper?? Crazy. Call me crazy. It worked.

Tomorrow we head to look at a potential camper to buy. I look forward to making it home. It's a bit bigger and a bit newer. The snack manager will have room to spread out, we will not have to use the table area for a bed… it will be a very good thing. 

I look forward to the challenge ahead. It won't be quite the same challenge and I will sort of miss that… but it will be fun to make it ours. 

Don't ever think staging doesn't help sell. Or that there is no value in that. It does.

PS We sold our fishing boat too. I told the Carpenter that if it hadn't sold I would have been happy to "stage" it for him. A pack of beer, some fishing poles placed just so. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't get a chance to do this!

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Thirsty anyone?

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by the Artist

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Starting!

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by the Artist

Today we start a large kitchen remodel. It's been months in the planning. Initial meetings, design decisions, kitchen cabinets ordered, floor and backsplash tile chosen. Lots of details had to be ironed out before demo can begin.

We start demo by removing all base trim, pry off the countertops, remove the cabinet bases and uppers and pull up the vinyl floor. In this situation we are only removing one small wall. And I should say.. before we start any project we block off the area being remodeled from the rest of the house with plastic. We take every precaution to keep the home as dust free as possible during the process. But some dust does still sneak out.. especially if a furnace or ac is running.

So here's to demo day! It's been a long time coming but is finally here. I know the homeowners are looking forward to eating their first meal in their brand new lovely kitchen! Here's to dreams that do come true!



Building a vacation

by the Artist

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Going, going, gone. Back.

We were gone last week "building a vacation." And that about says it all. I commented that camping is the equivalent of recreating your home environment outside. You bring your bed, table, clothes, food, furniture (to sit on under the blue sky and by firelight), and if you are so lucky… your toilet, sink, and "HVAC".. (for you Mr Carpenter.) 

You work like a dog to pack it all away, kick the camper tires, check to make sure when you turn the lights on in the truck, that like dominoes... they are on all the way back to the boat. We then pray that we will arrive in a timely manner with the wagon train in tack. Fingers crossed that all 10 tires stay nicely inflated, and that the boat doesn't decide to turn left when we take a right. 

And added to the fun for this year.. a severe summer storm on the eve of departure. No electricity, roof, tree and sunflower damage which had the Carpenter pounding some nails that morning. And bless his heart… he helped me prop up all my sunflowers that decided to fall flat on their faces during the storm.

Upon arrival we circled the wagon train and spent yet another three hours (we have a "vintage" camper which is quite fussy) setting up our "outdoor for a week home". It's hot, and we're already maxed out tired from the pack-up and drive. Are we relaxing yet? 

This year has made me really think about what we have to "build" to enjoy some time away. I do believe some changes need to be made. Because as much as we love to "build"… we really don't want to work so hard for vacation. And I'm sure for those of you who do not like to camp… you would whole heartedly agree!

So here's to building… anything but vacations!




Camping.

by the Artist

Full on summer is here. We are through the 4th and soon to head on our annual family camping trip. As I review yet one more list… my mind spins with all that still needs to be done. Why do we camp? That's a very good question. 

Camping is massive prep on the front end and massive set up upon arrival. Then we crash and relax to recover. We work so hard during the year.. perhaps we need to take a cruise or stay in a beautiful resort with spas and gourmet meals.. with a staff ready to take care of all our needs. 

That's not really our style. The Carpenter and I love lakes. We love sitting by a lake, fishing on the lake, swimming in the lake, listening to the lake creatures… loons calling as they fly over. The smell of campfires, water lapping against our boat. And it's really appealing to us to do nothing unless we want to do something. To just chill. Get off the hamster wheel for a few days and contemplate. Or maybe not.

We don't like to think about the business when we are gone. And that's a good thing. We've been very busy this summer with many projects. We are starting a screened porch project the end of the month which will be fun to do. The last screened porch we built in the dead of winter. 

So we look forward to the relaxing part and returning hopefully relaxed and rested… that is the plan!



Littles.

by the Artist

It's been a busy week of "littles". A little bit of this. A little bit of that. And it's only Tuesday.

Our lead carpenter is out in the cabinet shop right now finishing up staining and varnishing for a window replacement project we are doing tomorrow. We've also been completing a couple of smaller projects, had plumbing and final inspections yesterday, and repaired two of our vehicles. One vehicle we've had only two weeks. Ouch!

I've been finishing up drawings for an exterior renovation bid. I'm pretty much done, just need to do some refinements. As I was working yesterday I thought about how as a child I would sit in front of our chalk board in the kitchen drawing apartment buildings (because they have many windows)… so I could draw all different types of window treatments! I spent hours sitting on the red metal stool drawing shades with those strings– that had a ring on the end– at different levels of open. I drew tiebacks and straight drapery panels. Surely I was a budding interior designer!

That little girl grew up and now does sketches of ideas to improve a home's exterior- curb appeal. I still get to "draw" and do what I love and help the Carpenter at the same time. 

Just a little bit of "little" to share with you today!

 

Some squirrels, a monkey and a whole bunch of wood!

by the Carpenter

It has been a 3-month process.

Back in April, I was in our town of White Bear Lake and I scored! I found a 40’ tall, 46” diameter at the base and a 30” diameter at the top, red oak tree. I arrived at the right time just when the tree cutter was going to fell it. He was actually more then happy to deliver it to me in chunks because I was within two miles as compared to forty miles where his shop was.

Well deliver he did. Two hours later I had several 5’ chunks, a couple 4’ chunks and a 3‘ chunk. The 5’ chunks ranged in diameter from 46” to about 42”. The weight of the 46” logs worked out to be approximately 3500 lbs. 

I cut these logs into 10” thick wheels, and then used a wedge and sledge to create 6 pie shape sections from each wheel. Each of these pie pieces at almost 100 lbs. were then set in a log splitter which when split produced about 20 logs.

I think I spent about 25 to 30 hours on the chain saw and the same on the splitter.

After that was complete, we had a mountain of oak logs ready to stack. Was I going to do that????? Nooooooooo!

This is where my "squirrelly girls" and my "monkey boys" come in. Who are they you ask? Well I have been blessed with six spirited nephews and four sweet nieces here in MN, and one nephew and one niece in PA. The kids here in MN for obvious reasons have been more a part of my life over the years then the PA kids, somewhat sad but that’s another story.

Anyway, my MN kids became "my kids" over the years. As our niece/uncle/nephew relationships grew, somehow the girls became known to me as my "squirrelly girls".

Well as I continued to call them that, one of them insisted that the boys also be given a moniker. Because boys are boys– always jumping and swinging on things– they became the "monkey boys", and to this day the names have stuck!

Now they range in age from a junior in high school to 10 years older then that, and they are still my "squirrelly" and "monkeys". Always will be.

Okay back to the project. I had the four girls and one of the boys over today to stack. And boy did they stack! They put up over five full cords of wood (1 cord= 4’x4’x8’) in five hours.

Every time I am able to spend time with them, I really value it. They get along well, enjoy each other and really seem to actually like each other. They are slipping out of my grasp. Two monkeys and a squirrelly just graduated from college, One monkey works for me, another squirrelly is going to be a junior in college, one monkey just graduated from high school and is off to college in the fall, the two other monkeys are pursuing careers, and the last two squirrellys are in high school. One is a junior, one a senior. It’s a bittersweet time seeing them grow and go, but they will always be my "squirrelly girls" and "monkey boys!"

Today was a fun day with them and it was worth giving up work time to do it.

 

Happy.

by the Artist

I sat eating my lunch on the back deck today here at Applewood. It's beautiful out. Almost unbearably beautiful. I was taking a break from working on design concepts for an exterior renovation project we are bidding on. 

Music was wafting out of the cabinet shop where our Lead carpenter is building a custom bath vanity for one of our current bath remodels. Farther out I caught bits of conversation and laughter amidst the steady thump of wood being stacked. A group of our nieces and nephews came over today to help the Carpenter stack wood he had split for this coming winter. Yes I said that word!

It was a nice to be surrounded by activity. It's usually just me and the Snack Manager. Alone. I spend hours sitting in my "dormer" office working away in solitude. I'm okay with solitude. It was just fun today having more energy around here. 

And well.. it inspired this post. Life is good.