From the time that John began falling trees in preparation for the Harstine house construction (two years ago!), we’ve been contemplating having to get rid of the camping trailer. At first, it just wasn’t evident that we’d be able to keep the trailer here due to access for the building materials, and all along the way we kept thinking “Soon. It’ll have to go soon.” But it all worked out that “soon” didn’t happen throughout those two (!) years, and we have been extremely fortunate to hang on, to continue coming out here during the weekends, and most importantly for John to spend weeks at a time out here to work his ass off and have a place to nap in the afternoons, sleep at night, work on his evening puzzles, and have coffee in the mornings.
This past year especially, we’ve also been crossing our fingers and holding out hope that the trailer would physically hold up until its necessary demise was truly imminent (it’s in the path of where the driveway will be). It’s 28 years old, and it’s tired. Leaks, spongy floors, carpenter ant issues, and did I mention leaks?
After nine whole years serving as our “cabin,” it’s now, finally time. And oh, the crap we’ve accumulated in this thing throughout those nine years! Holy crap!
As I’m writing this, the bathroom is completely empty. The kitchen is on its way, maybe half done. The cubby hatches all along the outside of the trailer tucked with tools and various “man stuff” are relieved of their contents. Even the deck furniture is gone and the café table and chairs are now on the Wiener Deck! Joy! There is still much to do, but it’s kind of a strategic endeavor. John has already hauled two truckloads down to the house. We have a finite number of boxes, and after filling them all, I finally went down to the house to unload them. I was nervous about where in the world I would put stuff, but John set up a couple of temporary, roomy shelves in the pantry and I actually had a good ol’ time stocking them. There is also the cabinets and drawers in there, as well as in the studio (which will serve as our bedroom for now). The pantry will be our “kitchen” and I think it’s going to be spiffy, in a comfortable camping kind of way.
John was down here this past week, and when he called me last night and I asked what all he’d done, he said, “We now have a shower.” I was utterly speechless! Huh? So, he’d installed all the cement board surrounding the already-installed jetted tub in the guest bathroom (that will be the foundation for eventual tile), which is waterproof. Then he hooked up the faucets and tub spout, gave everything a good test, and it’s ready to go. What also blew me away was that he picked up a shower curtain, rod, and a rug! (It’ll eventually have a shower door…I think!) I was blown away with his selection—they are beautiful! I shouldn’t be surprised about that because we have such similar taste. (Sometimes it’s even spooky).
Here we go with starting to fill up boxes:
Loading up the truck! (Yep, hauling down that uncomfortable swivel/rocking chair that came with the trailer. But, it’ll come in handy for a while).
The dogs have been…upset? Nervous? Aware of changes? Curious? (The cats, too).
Completely, totally empty trailer bathroom. Well, except for the current TP roll.
The shower ain’t purdy, but it’s a working shower! Or tub for a jetted bath! I really love the curtain and the rug!
Da pantry! AKA, da kitchen!
John has removed the microwave from the trailer, and he’s also going to remove the stove/oven and bring it down. I’m a little nervous about that (the stove/oven) but he seems to think it’ll work out great. Uhm, OK… It would definitely be nice to have a stove top, that’s for sure. And I know he can MacGyver it to make it sturdy and safe. That’s how he rolls.
Pretty cool, huh? Better get busy filling some more boxes.
The next priorities will be 1) setting up our bed in the studio, and 2) CONNECTING THE HOUSE WIFI! (Actually that should be #1, right?)