Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Our Floor Mod

Finally!! I gathered all the photos and now have the time and quiet to put it all down.  Our friend Bob volunteered to help us redo the flooring. So grateful since we found out it was a bear of a job to do if it were just Roger and I.




Well, here was the disgusting rug we wanted to get out of our rig. My job? Keeping the dogs in the back which is why the baby gate is up. For me to get in and out I had to get on a chair and put a leg over. Coming back in was a little trickier having to pull my leg up and back. I am thankful that I have been doing stretches every day.


Roger and Bob cut and pulled the old rug and actually got it out quicker than I thought. Needless to say, after 11 years of walking on it, spilling stuff, sand and dirt from people and dogs, it was a mess. Now we had clean plywood and the job started.


Our choice for flooring was Allure Ultra Vinyl. It floats on the existing sub floor which is perfect for a moving RV. After purchase we let it get acclimated to our temperature in the RV so it wouldn't warp. The Allure Ultra is a heavier vinyl and is waterproof and scratch proof, at least so far. The kids have done a few "zoomies" through the coach and the flooring still looks brand new. We did put pads on the bottom of our chairs though just to be on the safe side.


So Sheila, did you have any particular job to do? Oh yes. While the guys took a lunch break I went around and removed any nails that were poking up. When they came back they did tell me that they could have just hammered them done. Ugh.  I could have been spared the cramping, oh well. :-)


And so it began. The guys started under the couch and moved across towards the slide. The flooring snapped in easy as they put lengths together placing them side by side. I was called out for a consult to figure what to do about curved areas in the tile.


In one of the photos above you can see that the tile curves. Do we take out some of the tiles or try to find curved transition pieces to make it work. After doing some research I decided to trim the tile.  OK, this was tricky since we have a heated floor and our tiles in the winter are always comfy.  Did I tell you I love slippers now?  It's all good really. The constant heating gave us a really crazy electric bill each month.  Bob started to cut and Roger called me to show me the net mat with cement on it. I said that it may be the heating mat but they were sure it wasn't so I gave the ok. It took a few days for the tile floor to go completely cold but the vinyl flooring is actually warm and looks so good I stopped talking about it. Haha.  I really like the indentation of the tile and the transition pieces look perfect.


Now to the slide area.  You can see the white strip. That is the end where the slide meets the floor. What to do?  The men took the weekend off to really think about the solution for this one. Some people just leave the rug on the slide, or a piece of rug on that strip, but we wanted the whole deal. 



Bringing the flooring out and over still left part of the slide transition piece showing. We brought in the slide a small amount. Our slide raises up and comes over the main flooring, so now how would we transition to the floor so that there would be no noticeable level.


Bob and Roger brought home a long piece of moulding that matched the color of the floor. This was another nights "thinking". It's amazing how many great ideas come to people after "sleeping on it".  They turned the moulding over and screwed it into the now laid flooring. Roger caulked along the top and used a colored putty and it looked perfect. There is a small gap which catches dirt and my baby toe at times and you have to be careful not to step on it so we are thinking of yet one more piece of moulding right side up which will come right to the floor.






Ozzie found a stache of tennis balls and bones under the couch!! Bonanza!!! 

Needless to say, we love our floor!! Dog Approved!!!

Have a great day.
Warmly,
Sheila

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Birthdays And Anniversarys..Full Week


Yup, turned 69 this week. March 16. How did I feel turning 69? I'm actually embracing it. (think of the alternative) I'm healthy except for a wacky back and hip and I'm living the life we chose and loving it.  Made a solid decision to paint everyday no matter what and use buckets of moisturizer!! Roger got a cake and friends in the park came to the rec hall to celebrate. Talked with my son Jamie and had a video call from my daughter Erin and youngest granddaughter ,Kelsey. And happy Birthdays from my grandson,Logan and granddaughter Morgan. What more could I ask for. 


Yes, I did eat the flowers!!!!

Our 21st Anniversary came two days later. We went to a great little Italian restaurant then came home and had drinks with our neighbors. Another nice day.



Two paintings I did this week. Of course a sweet Lab but other than painting my Lola, this is the first Newfie I have done. I am excited since I was asked to donate a Gift Certificate to "Droolapalooza" event coming up in April.  Perfectly named by the way. This is Maverick. Soon after we got Lola, Kim, a breeder friend told me she would show me how to groom her. We drove over across the state to her home and there was Maverick. An older, much larger Newfoundland than Lola and Lola was so afraid of him. We sat on the porch, Maverick laying down, and Lola would not come by him. At one point she was trying to climb up the side of the porch. Maverick was sweet and calm, lots of drool, and found Lola to be quite a cutie and wanted to get to know her. She was having no part of it and at one point even climbed back into our car and sat in the drivers seat. haha..glad I had the keys on me. 

So, that's it for today. I have the Bees Gees singing away today while I paint and poor Roger's eyes are crossing, so I'll end for today and let him switch the music. See you tomorrow!!!

Warmly,
Sheila

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Had The Whole Floor Mod Written And Forgot To Hit The Save Button


So, I'll tell you what we did yesterday! Not too far from us in Titusville, Florida , is the Tico War Museum. They had their yearly air show, so Betty and Bob, Roger and I went down to attend. The wind was too strong for the small WWI planes to go so they started off with WWII.  The demonstration was amazing. This is FiFi. An actual B 29 bomber from WWII. The same kind that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. FiFi is the only flying B 29 that still flys in the world.  (Rides start at 500.00. I crossed that off my to do list for this year).


This was taken with my iphone, but Roger took some fantastic pictures. (I'll have to steal them..:-) )

We have been busy and having fun with our friends. Happy hour and cook outs, planning for future trips maybe.  People here in the campground have been busying themselves and getting their rigs ready to head home for the summer and RT 95 has an ongoing stream of rigs heading North or where ever they plan on going. Yes, I'm feeling the urge once more.  Once the snowbirds have left we will be able to take CiCi Blue over to the Cummins dealer here in Orlando for a complete check up.  We, (ok Roger) has started to polish her and clean her up.  

Me?, I've been doing a lot of soul searching.  To work camp or not work camp.  Creative ideas have been coming back to me and it's what I love. So, can I still make a living doing what I love and supplement our income for what we need for repairs or basic living necessities?, or do the work camping route? Do both you say? Hmm, maybe that's what my sore back is screaming at me, it's need a decision. 


My latest commission! 11" x 14" oil on canvas . (Notice I never show you photos of clean bathrooms..lol ) Sigh. 

So there you have it.  My lack of posts have been my journey into my head trying to figure where to go. 


I'll say goodnight now and leave you with this photo. Great floor and the line up of our kids!!

Chat tomorrow..!!

Warmly,
Sheila