Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Trailer Talk Tuesday: Second Edition (1967 PlayMor 140)


Here is Jolene in all of her pre-renovation beauty.  We got her bonded title and registration done and she has legal Texas tags now.  Yea!  Another thing that Jolene didn't come with was a key to the door.  It's just a regular house door knob and you would think one of the TONS of keys we have would have fit it.  That would have been a simple fix, but nothing's simple, is it?

We had her parked on the side of the house and someone (I have my suspicions, but no one is 'fessing up) turned the knob from the inside and locked it.  We tried the windows and even crawling through the area where the spare tire is stored, but no dice.  Pop-A-Lock came to the rescue and even installed a new door knob for free because he said the old one was "jickey".  Side note:  Is "jickey" a west Texas word or has anyone else ever heard of it?

We now have two keys and we decided to pull her into the garage to start the reno.  We measured and eyeballed and Jolene is about 2 inches too tall to fit.  My husband came up with the ingenious idea to let some air out of the tires and my son had the equally ingenious idea to stand on her bumper and pull her down just a bit more.  My job was to stand on the ladder and yell if I thought he was going to run her into the top of the garage.   (We all have our talents.)

Here are some photos and  I apologize for the blurriness.  I used my nice camera, but didn't notice how blurry they were until I downloaded them this morning (may be time for another visit to the optometrist...)

We let a little air out of the tires...

...and now there's a little daylight between the camper and door...


So, with the flat tires and 140 lb. weight on the back, we were able to squeeze her in our garage and get to work.
Still a tight squeeze!


See those super fancy black racing stripes?  Electrical tape.  Little sister's job was to pull that off.  Mr. Blue Jeans and Turquoise and I started pulling off the painted tape over the seams so we could see what was under there.  The metal seems to be in good shape, so, we're going to clean up the seams, buff the metal  and re-caulk, instead of taking it apart.  I think the paint used was just latex, so, I'm going to try my favorite paint stripper to remove that lovely paint job:
purchase here

My husband is not convinced it will be that easy.  My plan B is an electric wheel and wire wheel attachment.
whippycake.com

I found this great tutorial on painting a vintage camper at whippycake.com.  You HAVE to go see the vintage camper she's redone!
whippycake.com

She's supposed to post again about the interior renovation and I can't wait to read it!

After we assessed the exterior and pulled off the black tape, we got to work on the inside.  Big brother was in charge of removing the shag carpeting stapled to the walls.  Fortunately, the carpet on the floor was just laid in there.

Again--sorry for the fuzzy images!  I blame the shag carpet.  It hurt my eyes.



Once we got the carpet out, the walls seem to be in good shape.  A little wood filler and paint and we should be fine there.  

Under the carpet we found this:


This vinyl sheet was glued down really well, but it wasn't anything my trusty heat gun and scraper couldn't take care of.  I got most of it removed and the plywood floor is very sound.  We have some leftover flooring that the previous homeowner had installed in our kitchen and laundry room and we plan to install it over the plywood.  It's vinyl plank wood flooring and is light weight.  In our house it has held up well to water, dirt and traffic.  Here's a similar flooring being installed on the Bob Vila website:

bobvila.com

My design plan (my, didn't that sound fancy!) is warm white cabinets and backsplash and a wood floor.  Here's my inspiration pic:

source

Here's another flooring option I considered.  If we didn't have the flooring already, I would be very torn between wood and this vinyl floor cloth:
she looks pretty happy about it

I also jumped ahead a little and purchased a little 8x10 piece of art for Jolene.  Every home needs art--even the tiny ones!

Dolly!

Can't wait to make some more progress on the interior and share it with you.  Happy Tuesday, friends!


PS-
For more camper inspiration, check out my Pinterest board!


*Some affiliate links are used in this post at no extra cost to you. 











Saturday, August 27, 2016

Be Brave Saturday: Jump Scared (from Edie Wadsworth's All The Pretty Things)


Edie Wadsworth's blog, Life in Grace, is one I have read for years. I started reading it first for the beautiful photos of Edie's house and her great recipes. I continue to read it, though, because of her heart and her beautiful writing. I am beyond privileged to get to be a part of her book launch team for her memoir, "All The Pretty Things". The stories of her poor Appalachian family, her relationship with her alcoholic father and the redemption found in the midst of it is heartbreaking and glory-filled. Edie is a beautiful soul and has shared her story so that others can find healing and so that still others will feel the freedom to share their own story.
It is available now for pre-order at Amazon.  If you order it now, go to http://alltheprettythingsbook.com/ and sign up for the pre-order bonuses available.
This is not an easy read, but I think it's an important read. My heart ached for her while I read her story, but her life glows with forgiveness and grace and that's the most important part of her story.

Whatever has been holding you back from sharing your story or living the life you've always wanted to live, let go of it.  Let's all take a page from Edie's new book and  Jump Scared.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Trailer Talk Tuesday: 1st edition


Say hello to Jolene!  I bought this little 1967 Playmor 140 a couple of weeks ago and asked for some name ideas on Instagram and Facebook.  Jolene was the winner and I can't wait to get going on tearing into this little gem and giving her a total makeover!

But, you have to get through the boring stuff first.  Paperwork.  When you buy an older camper like this one, it's not unusual for it to not have a title.  In some states, a camper over a certain age doesn't require one.  In other states, a camper under a certain weight doesn't require one, either.  My camper is both old and small, but in the great state of Texas, a title is required for registration.  I thought I'd walk you through the steps of getting a bonded title.  It sounds scary, but it's really pretty easy.  Just a disclaimer here--these steps are what works in Texas.  Your mileage may vary.

So, your first stop is the DMV.   Cue all the jokes, but I just want to say that the people at our DMV were super helpful.  They explained the process repeatedly and answered all of my stupid questions.

Your first step after leaving the DMV is to make an appointment with the county auto theft division.  They will inspect your vehicle/trailer and verify your VIN.  Our county only does this on Mondays and you have to make an appointment.  This took a couple of weeks, so be aware of this since you only have a month after your bill of sale to get the registration completed without a penalty.

Most older campers or trailers have the VIN stamped on the tongue of the curbside (door-side) of the camper.  I had to sand off some paint and rust to see our number:


Playmor's VINs are the model (140), the production number and then the year (67).  The officers' verified that the VIN was what I thought it was and ran it to make sure it wasn't stolen.  I probably did this backward--if you're not sure about the seller, you might want to make the appointment with this office and have them run the VIN before you purchase the camper.  I was lucky and there weren't any records on the camper at all.  A couple of years back, Texas started purging records after they're ten years old, so, if the camper you want to purchase has been sitting out in someone's pasture or in someone's backyard (like mine was), there probably won't be any records.

You will leave the county office with a statement of inspection and a verified VIN number.  You will take this back to the DMV and pay $15 and turn it in with your bonded title application.  This is a 1-2 day process and you'll go back and pick up your paperwork.  They will give you the approved application (hopefully) along with the value of your camper.  The state will determine this value--it doesn't have anything to do with the Bill of Sale you should have that shows what you paid.

After you have these three things--inspection, bonded title application and value, you will go to your insurance dealer and have them issue a surety bond.  My agent said it would probably run around $150.  Once you have that, you are ready to register your camper and get your tags!

I'm ready to get going on the demo/reno of this little camper, but I wanted to make sure I had the title just in case I ever want to sell her.  My sweet husband is on board with taking her apart and we're reading up on all the how-tos.  There are lots of opinions out there, as you can imagine.


Here's the original floor plan.  I think this may be a slightly later model, but it's almost exactly like Jolene.  We missed out on the psychedelic flowers on the cushions.  Ours are the original ones and are a gorgeous avocado green, harvest gold and woodtone brown plaid and I believe the icebox and stove were originally harvest gold.  (Don't be jealous.)  The previous owner painted the whitewashed birch paneling white and all the metal pieces and appliances a bright blue.  I see a lot of paint stripping in my immediate future.

Check out my Pinterest board for some of the ideas I'm collecting for the redo!  I'm thinking a Pendleton/Southwest/National Parks kind of theme, but that changes every time I see a new pic on Instagram or Pinterest.  Next week, I hope to have some actual demo photos to share.

I'm so glad you stopped by!  I'd love for you to follow me at Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.  Also, if you'd like to have these blogposts delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to this blog (link in upper right hand corner of page.)  It's super easy and I do not sell your name to anyone or spam you in any way.

Here's a little traveling music for you...have a great day!


Saturday, August 20, 2016

Be Brave: Creativity and Courage


Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainty--Erich Fromm

What brave thing will you do TODAY?

Friday, August 19, 2016

Giddy Up, Eunice: A Call for Women to Stand Up With and For Each Other ( A Review)


"Don't you dare discount your importance, your influence or your calling."  This quote by Sophie Hudson in her latest book, "Giddy Up, Eunice" is a wake-up call to Christian women of all ages.  The tag line of the title says it best:  because women need each other.  This gentle and funny book will draw you in but also challenge you to rethink your influence and need for mentorship.   So, like Sophie said, "Saddle up, sister. This is going to be fun."

Reading Sophie Hudson's writing or listening to her on her podcast with Melanie Shankle is always a delight for me.  Her Mississippi drawl, pop culture references and love of SEC football are what drew me to her in the first place, but her love of Jesus and His church are what keep me coming back.  I don't know if you keep up with all the gloomy news about the American church, but it isn't good. Rather than getting lost in the the finger-pointing and blaming going on, I think we just need to get back to what the church does best--building a community of believers and nurturing one another in the growth of that faith and belief.  That's not a one hour a week thing;  it takes relationship.  It takes people of different ages working together, learning together, breaking bread together and living life together.

The stories of three pairs of women:  Elizabeth and Mary, Naomi and Ruth, and Lois and Eunice, show just how the Holy Spirit can use intergenerational relationships for His glory.  Mary needed someone who understood her, Naomi and Ruth needed each other for survival and redemption and Lois and Eunice worked together to build up faith in the next generation.  The title character, Eunice, doesn't get a lot of space in the Bible, but that's sort of the point.  Lots of us mamas feel like we've become somewhat invisible.  We've taught Sunday School and VBS and been choir mother at church.  We've served on the PTA boards and been room moms and been chaperones on field trips.  As our children grow older, we feel less needed and get to the point where we think we've finished our race.  A friend of mine and I joke sometimes about the Barna church research and the "nones" (no church affiliation).  We call ourselves the "dones".  We're burned out and tired out and don't really see a place for us in church.  That's not really true, but it sure feels that way sometimes.

This place--this worn out place-- is where mentorship is so important.  We most certainly aren't the first women to feel this way.  And I bet if we look around us, we can see ladies who have walked this path and are willing to walk alongside of us and show us how to move on to the next stage of kingdom work.  We're blessed with strong Christian women at our church of all ages and when I've had "enough", I see them.  I see them serving and working year after year.  I see them showing up for their friends and for people they don't even know.  That's what I want and that's what I need them to teach me and remind me.

Looking behind at the upcoming generation, I know they need to see relationships with us old-timers, too.  So many people think working with teens is hard.  And, I'm here to tell you that they're right.  I've taught youth Sunday School off and on and it is absolutely terrifying.  A class full of three year olds, glue bottles and a tub full of glitter is a cakewalk compared to trying to get a conversation going some mornings.  But it's worth it--so worth it.  I am so thankful to the adults who have poured their time into my kids' lives.  There is this quote in the book,"...wherever you have influence with the generation behind you, start investing.  Pray that the Lord will help you find the folks He'd like for you to encourage."  If you don't want to teach Sunday School or work with large groups of teens, fine.  Look for that one that the Lord has put in your life and reach out to them.

I loved this book and am in the process of reading it again.  This would be an excellent starter book to read for an multi-generational ladies small group.  Look forward and look back---find those people God has put in your life to learn from and encourage.  Giddy up.



Full disclosure:
*I received a copy of this book for being a part of the book launch team.  My opinions are my own.
*Some affiliate links are included.