Monday, March 29, 2010

Sunday With Mom

Mom’s birthday was actually on Wednesday but everyone was busy. We decided we would just get together for lunch on Saturday. We had lunch at P.F. Chang. The food was great, as usual. We over ate!


Mom is looking and feeling so much better. She is back to her old self again. After our lunch we decided to walk around the mall and do some window shopping. The three of us always have fun together.

We walked to around the mall for about an hour. I found a great idea for a swag lamp for our canopy. It was a chandelier that has spoon hanging on it. It sounds strange but was a really neat idea. I think I can make us one.

On the way back to Mom’s we stopped by a couple of other stores. Dawn found the cow skin rug she had been looking for at World Market. She has been looking for a new rug for the 5er for a while now.

The three of us had a nice day.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Another Garage Sale

Another Garage Sale, We had a pretty successful garage sale today. The weather was great and we sold a lot of STUFF that has been in our garage sale from the beginning. On occasion, after a garage sale I will box up STUFF that has been setting out from prior sales and take it to the local charity store. I didn’t have to this go round!

We sold enough STUFF that I will have plenty of room to restock our tables for the next sale.

Dawn and some really close friends spent most of the day dragging old farm implements from behind the building up to the driveway and loading a trailer with old scrap metal to sell. Dawn will be taking the trailer to the scrap yard on Tuesday. We have already sold a few of the farm implements to friends to use as yard art!

Scrap metal isn’t bringing a lot of money but we have to get rid of this STUFF.

We have three mattress and four box springs that have to go too. We have some old wood and some other odd and inns that are just trash. Our town has a spring clean event each year and we have plenty to add to their dumpster.

It takes time and we are slowly getting there!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pulling A Fifth Wheel

I can drive just about anything. My grandfather taught me at an early age to drive. I was driving his dodge van conversion and a tractor at the ripe age of ten. I have always loved driving! As an adult I drove a school bus. I have driven dump trucks when needed at one job. Our first RV was a thirty-two foot motorhome and I towed a car behind it. I have pulled utility trailers, horse trailers and goose neck hay trailers. But I had never pulled a travel trailer.


We purchased the fifth wheel before we bought a truck, as recommended. We decide to purchase a used truck. We were having difficulty finding a good used, clean truck that was capable of towing that kind of weight. After a week of serious searching, we decide to have the dealership deliver our new fifth wheel to our house.

Anyway, I thought it can’t be any more different than pulling any other trailer. Boy, was I wrong. Pulling a large fifth wheel is different. First of all, you have to get used to the fact that you are now connected to the trailer from the bed of the truck verses the bumper! I do like the fact that you seem to have more control with a fifth wheel hitch. I really like the fact that there is no fish tailing effect when large trucks pass. I do have to make adjustments in my turns. That is easy enough. The backing part, well that has taken some getting used to.

The fifth wheel is a beast. Backing can be somewhat intimidating. The motorhome was like backing a school bus, plus I had a nice little backup monitor with sound. I feel like I’m blind when backing the fifth wheel. Dawn does a great job giving directions. I trust her directions and judgment but I guess I have a control problem. I want to see the big picture! The truck mirrors are large and do a great job. I just can’t see what is directly behind me and that causes a problem.

The first time I had to back that beast straight down our long driveway into our storage building I was a bundle of nerves. First of all, the driveway grade drops a few feet before reaching the building. Second of all, the building is a large forty by twenty foot building but the door is only sixteen feet tall by twelve feet wide. The trailer is thirty six feet long by thirteen feet tall. That doesn’t leave much room for error! In the past few years I have pulled it out and backed it in many times and now it isn’t that big a deal. The problem I do have is when we have to back into a camping spot that is short and narrow. I have little patients with myself and get frustrated when I can’t get it right the first time. I keep telling myself with time I will get better at backing the beast.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Making More Changes

We have made some more interior changes to the 5er. We have added a few more decorative touches and have been trying to come up with some organizational ideas. This is the new look of the valances. We have added white tin stars and cow skull.


Window Valances
We have decided we will be replacing the kitchen sink. The sink that came in the trailer is not practical. It has one full size bowl and one small veggie bowl. It isn’t very practical for washing dishes. We will be replacing it with a larger double bowl sink. We may also be replacing the faucet as well. Dawn wants a veggie spray. We will see what we can come up with.

Desk Area
We have removed one of the upper desk cabinets in order to make room for our larger T.V. We bought our T.V a little more than a year ago and thought we might as well just make room for it in the trailer instead of selling it. The T.V will sit on the desk. It is too large to mount on the wall. The smaller T.V that is mounted on the wall will be removed.

We have also decided to make curtains for the windows. It would make sense that having curtains on the windows would help keep it warmer or cooler inside. We plan to make the curtains out of denim to match the rest of our décor.

Pantry
The pantry is great with lots of space. The only problem is it deep. It is hard to find things that might be in the back area of the pantry. We decided to place plastic bins in the pantry and use them like drawers so  that we can pull them out and see what is in the back in the bin. We will try it and see how well that works.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Making Progress

The weather was great this weekend and we took full advantage of it. On Saturday we pulled the fifth wheel out of storage and begin going through every drawer and cupboard. We removed things we don’t use and added things we think we might need. We have been emptied a lot of clear plastic storage bins that were full of garage sale STUFF. We have cleaned the bins and will be using them in the fifth wheel.

We have placed some of them on the upper shelf of the closet for clothes storage and a few in the bottom of the closet for shoes. We have placed some of them under the bed to hold seasonal clothes.

We also removed one of the storage cabinets that sat on the desk. We need to make room for a larger TV.

Friends took us out for dinner for Dawn's Bithday Saturday evening so that was a great excuse to stop and rest.

On Sunday we were at it again, we went thru more boxes in the RV storage garage. We  restocked the shelves for our next garage sale. We filled the bed of the truck with junk to be thrown away.

We worked all weekend. Needless, to say we are very tired today. But we have a real sense of satisfaction for a job well done. Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Dawn's Birthday

Special occasions call for real fun. To celebrate Dawn's 52nd birthday we spent the evening with our best friends. We had dinner at a local restaurant that was offering a wine dinner. This is a fairly new restaurant in our area and none of us have had the opportunity visit yet. It was a special occasion so we made reservations.


The wines were good, the food was a bit different and the company was wonderful. There is never a dull moment when the four of us get together. We laugh and laugh and then laugh some more.




Erik & Dawn
Over the years the four of us have traveled together to different places. We have gone to Mexico, Las Vegas and New Orleans. We went on a cruise together. We have enjoyed expensive dinner at fine restaurants and we have eaten at some real hole-in-the-walls. We have always had a great time together regardless of where we are.

Phil & Denise

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Loss of Faithful Friend

Today with heavy hearts we bid farewell to a faithful and loving friend. Jesse Taylor Payne. We have been so blessed to have been adopted by this beautiful soul. Jesse wondered thru our front gate into our hearts in 1999. Jessie came in and made herself right at home. It was as if this is where she was meant to be.



She loved camping. Jesse would bark with excitement every time we pulled the fifth wheel out of storage. She loved being with her family. Her favorite part of camping was exploring in the woods, she would walk for hours with her nose to the ground taking in all of the different smells.

Jesse loved people and gave everyone she met the opportunity to pet her. She enjoyed company but didn’t hesitate to let them know when nine P.M. rolled around it time for them to go. She was a great alarm clock and made sure to wake you up at 5:30 every morning.

We will certainly miss our Jesse Taylor Payne.