Fall Cleaning

I've been looking at the front of the travel trailer and thinking how shabby it looks. I convinced Darling Husband to try out an outdoor cleaner. 

So much better! Although, now it is the end of the season and it is unlikely we'll be hitting the road anytime soon. At least it looks nice in the drive.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Mr. Clean Outdoor Cleaner
Lynx Levelers 10-pack

It's a Cinch Bag

I've been meaning to make the It's a Cinch Bag from Patterns for Pirates since it was released. It is a free pattern and there is even a video tutorial if you're more of a visual learner. I pulled three fabrics from my stash and got cutting.

I made the strap using a bias binding tool instead of sewing then turning that much tubing. I did use my favorite bodkin to get it threaded into the channel.

I added some lightweight fusible interfacing to the outer bag panels to give the bag a little more structure. The pattern doesn't call for it, but I am glad I decided to try it.

Seeing it finished, gives me so many ideas for ways to personalize this fun little bag.

What will fit inside this fun little bag? Well, five skeins of yarn fit quite nicely. I took it with me to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. More about that trip, and the yarn, in my next post.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
Clover Bodkin
Bias Tape Maker
Heat'n Bond Non-Woven Lightweight Fusible Interfacing

Camper Remodel

The forward compartment has these silly little flap doors. The compartment isn't silly, it's really awesome. The problem is that that this space used to be part of the bed base for the queen-size bed. That means any sufficient breeze could sneak in through those doors an under the bed. Not a great design to keep the humans warm. When we boxed in this section, we thought it would be a great time to insulate the sides that face the inside of the camper to try to keep the inside temperature controlled.

We used one 25 foot roll of 24" wide Refletix to insulate the pass-through. I'm hoping it will be sturdy enough to hold up through several seasons. This is where we store such wonders as chock blocks and camp chairs.

We finished off the plywood of the bed deck with vinyl, peel and stick planks. They are a little dark but not terrible. We had a piece of quarter-round oak in the garage that was perfect to finish the edge at the wall. We have plenty more little things to do but it was good enough for the first trip of the season: Maryland Sheep & Wool.

Camper Remodel

Here is another installment of our ongoing project to remodel our travel trailer.

My last post showed the built out bed boxes we created to replace the queen-size bed. Last week, we took an hour after dinner to install the hinges, and covers for each mattress. We opened up one of the mattresses (this is the cheapest foam mattress available from IKEA) to make sure my calculations were close enough. Overall, I'm really pleased with this part of the project. 

Last weekend we moved on to fixing this section of ceiling. The ceiling had been patched in response to water damage prior to us purchasing the camper. My other half pulled out all the damaged ceiling bits to find almost no insulation remaining after that repair. 

We picked up some foam board panels from the home improvement warehouse and cut and pieced them to fit. 

This part wasn't difficult, but it did take almost all the duct tape in the house (both Duck and Scotch brands) piecing and sealing the gaps. I don't know how this compares with the original insulation, but compared to the non-existent insulation after that previous repair job it is a definite improvement.

After that, we attempted to wrestle the 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of ceiling into place. That caused some cursing and tired people but not a finished ceiling. We pulled it back down and took it out. We cut that piece into two pieces and then installation was a breeze, at least when compared to our first attempt. We'll need another piece of trim to cover that join, but it will be worth the extra $5 or so it is going to cost.

Tools for this project:

• Hitachi staple gun and air compressor
• Black & Decker Jigsaw, and cordless drill
• Simple hand tools one might need (such as needle-nose pliers to pull out old staples or nails, a hammer to pound in staples that can't be pulled out, a Sharpie for marking, a carpenter's square for marking and cutting straight).

Camper Remodel

We've had our travel trailer for a few years. One of the many things we've learned is that we don't particularly care to share a bed while camping. The queen size mattress is short (this is a trailer thing that makes little sense to me), and we seem to roll into the middle of the darn thing and it isn't a very good mattress. We decided to pull out the cabinets, the bed, and make remake the space for two twin mattresses. To call the plan a plan is to use language a little too strong. But, we did have a plan.

Here is what the bedroom looked like on one of our trips. What these manufacturers think is attractive in a window treatment doesn't really sit with our tastes. After Darling Husband did all the demolition, it was time to get down to building a replacement for that bed.

Here is my rough plan, taped onto the floor. It doesn't make much sense, but I did warn you that 'plan' was a strong word. This section was covered in questionable carpet. The manufacturer didn't see fit to cover the entire floor with vinyl. I do think they save about two trailer's worth of vinyl in ten by not filling in this space with vinyl. That meant I had to fill in that gap.

We built a box around the forward section where there is outside access. This is where we store the camp chairs, chock blocks, leveling bricks and the like.

I trimmed the vinyl floor and pulled up the truckload of staples the manufacturer used to hold it down. A good sweep and a vacuum and we were ready for tiles. 

I laid down the tile and realized I was short by five tiles. General work stoppage so we could head back to the home improvement warehouse. We live about 3 miles from one, so it wasn't a terrible thing. We always come up with about three things we forgot, or learned we needed. 

A metal threshold to cover up that seam, the heater vent reinstalled, and the first layer of paneling to enclose the forward pass-through. For the record, we found the pneumatic staple gun (we went with the Hitachi) to be well worth the investment. 

The next step was to build out the boxes for each bed. We used small lumber to keep the weight down. We almost manged to finish both of them before we ran out of lumber. 

On the second day, we picked up a couple more pieces of lumber to finish building out the starboard side box. Then we finished the sides with more paneling.

The last step this weekend was to put in the section along the wall for the hinges. I think our floor space will be comparable and the storage space as well, even though it is now split into three distinct sections instead of one big T-shaped space.

Next week we'll pick up the last piece of plywood and the hinges for the beds. We still have finishing details, but the bulk of the work is done. Of course, then I will have to make new quilts since the last quilt I made for the travel trailer was a queen size.

Tools we invested in for this project:
Hitachi pneumatic staple gun
Skil circular saw (with a freaking laser)

We already own a Black & Decker Jigsaw, a staple gun, cordless drill, and all the simple hand tools one might need.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Jonestown, PA

Our last stop of the trip was at the Jonestown Hershey KOA. Someone in the RV Quilters group on Facebook asked how you pick a campground. This is where the reviews really paid off. This one is where people either love it or hate it. We really liked it. Easy off and on to the highway. The site we were assigned was right on the creek and easy walking distance to get some Broaster Chicken and ice cream.  

If you aren't afraid to try some delicious fried chicken, you should give it a try. If you're coming in later in the evening it could be a great way to feed the family without too much effort. You can follow with some equally delicious soft serve or hand-dipped ice cream.

This cabin was next to our back-in site. I took a photo to let friends know there was room for them too.

This was supposed to be a photo of a fawn. The fawn did not wait for me to get the camera open on my phone before it turned and headed into the woods. We did go on a nice walk after that chicken.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Dalton, PA

On the return leg we stopped in Dalton, PA, at Highland Campground.

Very quiet park but we were only there for the night. We didn't even unhook the trailer. We connected water and electric and put down the stabilizers. We were not level at all. But we got our night of sleep and pumped waste in the morning. The night was cool and I had to break out the emergency quilt. The rate was very reasonable even if there was some breath holding driving up the mile or so of steep, gravel road to the campground.

I did manage to get some knitting done along the way.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Rhode Island

We made our way from Pennsylvania to New York where we stayed at the U.S. Army West Point campground run by MWR. I took very few pictures so you'll just have to believe me that we spent the night there.

The site was very quiet with a nice pond. A pond that seems to be frequented by turtles.

Then we made our way to Rhode Island to visit with friends and family.

We stayed at Whispering Pines Campground in Hope Valley, RI. This is the second time we've stayed at this park. It is great if you have kids. There are loads of things to do with the kids.

There is even a train that goes around the park in the morning. There is a pond, with fishing, a pool, shuffleboard, and likely a dozen other things we didn't even ask about.

We did have family over for some toasted marshmallows. Because, nothing says fun like catching your dessert on fire.

What I did on my Summer Vacation - PA Renaissance Faire

We set out for a week-long adventure. The first stop was Pennsylvania. Yes, I know, when you live in Maryland how is Pennsylvania your first stop.

We wanted to go to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I took about three photographs the entire day we were at the Faire. It was great! This was our first year attending and I'm glad we went. We ate badly, likely didn't drink enough water, and tasted a bunch of wine and mead. We saw a few shows and basically had a good time spending time with each other and watching people.

We saw magicians, jugglers, and the royal falconer with his amazing friends. This owl didn't want any part of the show. It was an excellent demonstration. Check out Knightwings on Facebook to learn more about the birds of prey.

Someone had asked about painted rocks. You can Google that one to see some of what people are doing. I think I want to put together a small painting kit to take with me to leave painted rocks at the camp sites we visit. I didn't really need another reason to go to the craft store.

Across the street from the Faire is this amazing place - Divine Swine. I'm sure I will have to walk 20 extra miles to get rid of the pulled pork we had for dinner but it was worth it.

We spent the night at Thousand Trails in Lebanon, PA. The park was almost full when we got there. The only downside for us was the club membership offer was a little strong. We got a call about a week later to ask us, again, if we wanted to save on camping by joining the club. Overall, not a bad place to spend the night.

Baking Tiny Cake

Sometimes you only need a little cake. Okay, few people need cake, but they make some people happy. Therefore, I make them. This is the Duncan Hines Perfect Size. It says it serves 2-4. I try to convince Darling Husband that means he has to eat part of it at four different times. He is a fan of cake.

We have heard that the little ovens in RVs are not very good at maintaining even heating  We also heard that adding a pizza stone to the oven below the rack can help distribute the heat.

We picked up the Nordic Wear Pizza Stone set and slid the stone into the oven.  Since I've never made anything more complicated than cookies in this oven I can't tell you how much of an improvement it may have made when it comes to distributing the heat. I'm going to file this as another Tool Tip!

I can tell you that I ended up with a tasty little cake. When I mentioned he should not eat the entire cake in a single sitting, he said "don't challenge me." In the end, he took his time but he did eat all four of those servings.

Next on our list is a thermometer for the oven so we can see how close it gets to the temperature we set it at. We have one for the tiny fridge, but not one for the oven, or the travel trailer. Meaning you know it is cold when you can see your breath. Thank goodness I brought all those quilts.

Camping and Breakfast Casserole

This week has been super busy.

Last weekend we loaded up the travel trailer and headed to western Maryland for the Sheep and Wool Festival. I think this is the fourth year I've attended. The first step was to make the bed with this amazing quilt.

The next morning I pulled together the ingredients of some breakfast casserole. What is in breakfast casserole you ask? Well, loads of tasty and bad for you things.

• 1 cup of Thrive sausage crumbles
• 2 cups shredded potato (I used frozen hash browns, and a single layer of tator tots will do the job just as well)
• 1/2 cup of pico de gallo
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Don't forget to grease the baking dish. Trust me on this one. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Follow the directions to rehydrate the sausage. Mix the potato, rehydrated sausage, and pico de gallo in small bowl, pour into the baking dish (I used a round cake pan lined with foil) and spread evenly. Whisk eggs and pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 35-40 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

This is what happens when you forget to grease the pan. It wasn't tragic but it wasn't easy to serve. This recipe makes 2-4 servings depending on the size of your appetite.

I've heard that the heat of some RV ovens can be uneven. We picked up an inexpensive pizza stone to put in the bottom of the oven to help even out the temps inside. We bought the Nordic Wear Pizza Stone. It seemed to do the job, but there isn't much finesse with breakfast casserole. It did work out for the little cake I baked. That will have to wait for another post.