Alrighty. Now to bring you all up to speed on our current status. 

The kitchen is coming along nicely. The cabinets are painted and the sink is in! The countertop is still the original green but, not for long. I was seriously tempted to leave it but, it simply isn't an option with the cabinet color. We bought the countertop paint from Rustoleum and will be working on that next week (since we now have more time before we move). If you ask Rob about putting the sink in, he may make a face. It wasn't easy. You'll see in the photo below that he had to slide his upper body into the small opening under the sink to hook up everything and put the clamps on. He was very glad to be done with that part of things. The new faucet was a Craigslist score for $40. It was a floor model and was in great shape. I may have to move it into the new house when it comes time. It's so nice! Check it out: 

I painted the cabinet, as I've said, and picking a color was really hard. In the end, I wasn't able to get the color I had in my mind but, we like what we got. Beachy, coastal, fun. Definitely a welcome bit of color in an otherwise neutral area. What do you think about leaving that one strip white vs painting it, too? I can't decide if it's too retro from me.

And then there's the big news: the floors are in and they look fantastic! When we got the floorboards from Lumber Liquidators we were a) surprised they were single boards (not in boxes), b) slightly disappointed that there was a fair amount with defects that had to be cut off, and c) realizing how soft pine really is! We had to make 2 trips to Salem (about an hour roundtrip) to get it all because we stupidly though we could just put 250 sqft of pine boards in my van. My van is a beast... but not a truck. Oh well. And yes, my son slept through it all. Driving. Loading. Everything. We got home and he asked me when we were going to go get the wood. I said, look around kid. You slept through the whole thing! Haha. 

 Once the guys get to work putting it in it really started looking good. I'm totally in love now. It really looks great. It's got that cool beachy feel to it since we left it natural (only used clear poly) and it's nice and clean looking. It was definitely several days of work for Rob and we were SO thankful for James, who came to help get Rob going since he knew what he was doing and Rob had never done it before. I really think the floors make the Airstream look "legit"! 

                                      

Before poly.

After!

Before poly.

After!

Rob's parents come down again to help us out and while they were here Rob and his dad installed all new gas lines. I guess they just decided to play it safe and replace right off the bat. It was an all-day job but, by the end of the day we had a working heat furnace and stovetop! The oven doesn't work yet and we're not sure if it's just the burner or what. We still haven't gotten around to checking that and I can definitely live without it for a while. The water heater doesn't work either and that's more of a problem. No hot water for showers is a deal-breaker. We're going to have to take it apart and clean it and see if we (Rob) can tell what's going on and if we can't fix it we're going to buy a new, tankless water heater. We found this one and it's pretty cheap! I was sketched out at first but, it looks like this company has been making these for a long time with decent reviews so, we might go for it. Here are some shots of the new lines going in. 

I also want to mention that Rob built shelves into the closets so we would have more efficient storage. Yay! Storage space is crucial! I'm really hoping I'll be able to store everything I need in there... not that I have a choice or anything. I think we'll be good, though. See that shelf liner below? That roll is a whopping 4ft of liner. FOUR feet! What a rip-off! It was nice because it was wide enough to cover the shelves but, it cost the same as the other rolls of liner I bought and they had 24ft! You better believe I won't be buying anymore of that white one. Seriously. AND I have to tape/glue it down since it's not self-adhesive. Bah. I will be glad to have nice clean shelves to put my things on though. I'm probably going to get out there and finish putting it in tomorrow. I was going to do it tonight but, I think I'm going to sew the hallway curtain and clean-up in the house some instead. I'll post about the hall curtain when it's done. 

Well, that's pretty much it folks. For now. This week we'll be doing more to get ready to move in so, hopefully there will be some good progress there. If you live local, feel free to contact me to come see it. It's really shaping up! See ya next time!

A story and a trip to Charlotte.

So, last night Rob was out working on the Stream and I was inside packing up books. I get a phone call from him, "I need you to come help me." Ok. Sure.

I go out there and he's in the bathroom, crouched down, and he says to me, "I'm gonna move and you need to put your finger right here." Hang on there, buddy... right where? What's going on? And then I see it... the water all over the floor. He explained to me that he had turned the water on to test some things and then turned it back off and that in the process of doing that the water heater filled up. Now, said water heater was draining out gallons of water right into the bathroom. Fantastic. So we switched places and I plugged the pipe with my finger.

Rob says, "I have a plan!" He comes in with a length of Pex pipe with a shark bite connector and we try to do a quick switch and put it on the open pipe. No go. It didn't fit and now there was more water on the ground. I re-inserted my finger and asked for a bucket. It's an extremely small space so we had to use a trim paint pail (about 5"dia x 10"deep). I filled and dumped that thing about 20 times before the water finally slowed down and Rob was able to get in there and clean up and get it fixed. >phew<

Filling the bucket... again.

At least this drain is functional.

I tell ya what, this whole thing is a wild ride.

To top if off, both of our cars were in the shop this week which set us back in precious funds. Surprise! Oh well. It's all good.

We also went to Charlotte, NC on Tuesday to get a few things. We scored a toilet for the A-stream and saved about $80 on it. We also got a futon from Craigslist. I had searched long and hard for this particular Ikea futon with a particular mattress. Before we went down, I asked the woman selling it to confirm that it was the mattress I wanted and she said it was. We go, we buy, we drive away. I later check the tags and BOOM! Wrong mattress! I'm pretty sure I shed a tear. I was really upset. There are 4 grades of Ikea futon mattresses and I wanted the "Havet" one. It's more like a regular mattress. What we got was the cheaper "Lovas" one. NOT AT ALL what I wanted. >deep breath< We will survive. We'll probably just grab a foam topper and be fine. It was just so disappointing to drive that far for a let-down. Oh well.

We also went to the Ikea store while down there and exchanged the futon cover that came with the futon for a different one. Blackish/grey for white. At least I can have the cover I want. We got a new sink as well. And a towel rack. And curtain liners for me to sew into the new curtains I have yet to make.

A very long, very expensive day. It was stuff we needed though and I'm glad we have it.

Once Rob is done with the plumbing, all we really need to do (major stuff) is test the gas lines and related appliances (water heater, stove/oven and furnace). The new wood floors should come in tomorrow and get installed on Tuesday (by Rob and James, my brother-in-law). Can't wait to see the floors once they're in! It's gonna make it seem so much closer to being ready! I need to finish painting the cabinets this weekend so I don't risk getting paint on the new floor. My little toddler has given-up his naps as of this week so, I don't have time during the day to work on stuff anymore. Nighttime work, here we come!

Oh yeah... and I probably should really start packing. ;-)

19 days until launch!!

Stay tuned for another plumbing post from Rob with details, for those of you interested in hearing about this monstrosity:

A little plumbing, a little paint...

Hi friends. I haven't really posted our progress on here in a little bit since I've been pretty busy. With our house under contract, the pressure is on to get some things done.

On my plate right now:

~Dealing with the home inspection and waiting for results (and wondering how many things the buyer is going to ask us to fix).
~Picking paint for the A-stream (I think we did!).
~Creating and prioritizing a materials list for the Stream of things we still need to buy.
~Buying the things on that list as we can afford to.
~Working on the Airstream as much as we can.
~Starting to pack this week.
~Getting together the things we will need for the bank for the construction loan (this means we have under two weeks to finalize a floor plan and create a full materials list with job quotes from all of the appropriate people. Eek! Lots of meetings and phone calls.).
~Going through our stuff for a yard sale.
Oh, and did I mention raising a toddler and feeding the 3 of us? Or doing the dishes? Or cleaning the bathroom? Or... going for a walk? (If monsoon season will ever end...)

So yeah, busy and mentally taxed is an understatement. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I have friends who are doing all of these same things... with 5 kids! (Five wonderful, fun, helpful kids, but five is still more than one, every time.) I'm actually starting to get excited for what is ahead of us. I'm enjoying seeing my husband feel excited and happy even though he's working so hard, at work and at home, because he sees an adventure ahead. He motivates me... and I keep us on track. Good balance.

So... the Airstream. Where are we? Rob has started the plumbing work and was able to lay the first line yesterday. We are using 1/2" pex pipe, for those of you who are wondering. He had some frustrations getting the new pipe to slink under the subfloor and come out right where he needed it, under the kitchen sink, but he got it. Thank the Maker. It's a tight work space under the sick, to say the least(!), and it's going to take some real patience and creativity to unhook and re-hook things under there. Hopefully, there won't be any other big plumbing issues... but, I won't get my hopes up. The next big plumbing adventure will be in the bathroom but, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess.

I may have mentioned before that we finished priming the Airstream... but that's not entirely the case. We haven't touched the hallway or the bathroom yet. We aren't going to worry about it though. The plan is to get the main living areas done first because we need those done before we can move in. The hall and bath are secondary because we will have a bathroom available to us at my sister's house for the first month after we start living in the camper. That way, if it doesn't get done, we won't be stuck squatting in the woods somewhere... which, wouldn't be horrible but I'd rather not HAVE to. Anyway, back to paint. Yesterday I rode over to my local Benjamin Moore paint store and got 5 (yes, five.) paint samples to try out. (BTW The people at B.Moore are the BEST. They are so nice and helpful and they always take great care of me. I am a customer for life!) We put up the samples in the front room and picked one. It's called "white wisp" and I've always thought we would choose that one. I've had my eye on it for months. I'll pick up a gallon of it later today or tomorrow so I can get to work putting it on the walls. Can't wait!

Rob's parents are coming in this weekend and we all know what that means! (Well, I do...) It means Rob will get even more work done! Rob's dad is a HUGE help. I'm pretty sure we would not have done half of the things we've done to our house without him. He assisted us with installing our kitchen and bathroom, refinishing our deck and a million other things. They're even coming down a day early so they can get more done. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that. It's hard to keep Will away from his PapPap while he's working but, I'll do my best. Rob's mom and I will just have to entertain him. I need to think ahead and buy some of the materials for them so they can be more efficient with their time. I think the plan is to check the gas lines and finish the plumbing and do some more exterior caulking. Maybe they'll even get the new kitchen cabinet in! >fingers crossed<

(Thank you, also, to my parents who play with Will once-a-week so we can get some solid work done!)

Well, here a some photos of our current state. The big news of the week is that we got a refrigerator! Finding one the right size was not easy but we were able to score one for $75 on Craigslist. Very happy about that! Last week our Craigslist score was the table I wanted, also $75. I would have tried to get it for less but, I wasn't about to haggle a single mom of a 3 month old baby who was selling all of her stuff so she could move to AZ to be with her mom. She was so sweet and her baby was the cutest little girl! Enjoyed meeting them. Oh my gosh, Sarah, stop rambling and show these people some pictures! Sheesh!

Welcome to your new home, little fridge!

The chaos.

Little man checking out the new subfloor and prime-job in his room.

Painting an Airstream is ridiculously time consuming. There are no straight lines!

Back room looking forward. Unpainted hallway.

It's a nice little fridge. Plenty of space!

Hmm... doesn't quite fit. 

We'll just cut it off! The vent was for a propane fridge but, we don't need it.  See ya lata gata!

Ahh... that's better.
We will put up a wall there so you won't see that gap.

Oooo.... pretty. Can you guess what this is for?

Five little foam paint brushes sittin' on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head...
What just happened there?

Can you spot the 5th sample? Neither can I. It was way too close to white.
We chose the top left one.

Different angle. Which one do you like?

   

Slinking around the closet wheel well.

He moved the line near to the wall so it's out of the way.

Doing some... plumbing.

What the seals looked like before... (some still do)

What they look like with new sealant! Yay!

This was a huge dent the Rob banged out and caulked.
Definitely better than it was and at least it won't pour water inside anymore. 

New seal

And just for kicks...

Out. of. control. (for pole beans)

My wild yard gets more wild by the day.