RV Poetry

Maple cabinets are nice, but we both prefer white. That said, I can’t talk you know who into paying someone to sand, seal, and paint all the cabinets and doors and closet in Panoply. I probably could have pushed it, but I know when I have pushed enough for one year. And I have definitely pushed.

So, the RV came with: maple cabinets and doors, a gray countertop, white walls, bone and gold handles, a white sink, and black stove. Add to that the medium gray of the dashboard and door panels. The one thing I did actually like was the blue pattern on the upholstery, but the upholstery had to go.

We thought about coordinating the passenger and driver seats with the dashboard – and not worry about the maple. But, the front of our RV will not be curtained off as often as some people’s are.

So, we are ordering tomorrow, Ermine Flexsteel Captains seats. (Not sure what color the one in this pic is, but it is close.) So, far, I have been quite pleased with Glastop, so we will have them install the seats as alterations must be done to the seat base.

Yes, we could have perhaps found them cheaper online or a different make, but we were able to sit in them at their store and they were helpful, did not try to push products on us, so they get the sale.

We chose this model because it does not seem that it will cut my circulation off the way many models do. And it is also comfortable for Leon – though we are about 8 inches apart in height.

I dared him to drink coffee while driving with that color seats. His response was, “We will just have washable slipcovers made.”

This is the same man who freaked when he realized just how many changes I required – and nearly fainted when he realized how much going more chemical free will cost. And now he is willing to pay for slipcovers – and they have to be organic cotton or Ultraleather to make me happy? I think refraining from coffee may be the cheaper option.

We are waiting impatiently on requested information from two flooring manufacturers, an insulation company (for the cab), and the radiant heating manufacturer. We are still on the hunt for what to cover the insulation with. Right now 100% pesticide/chemical free wool carpet is leading, but it is not really what I want.

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Mini rant, Bah:

We visited a recommended and long established auto upholsterer. I could tell the minute he saw Panoply, he didn’t really want to mess with it, but he kept us engaged in conversation for at least thirty minutes. Bottom line, he doesn’t want to put the upper carpet in with the screws and staples used by manufacturer, he insists the wool carpet I want to use (chemical and pesticide free) is too flexible not to glue and he only uses lacquer based glues. Now, he only looked at it from the door, that was my second clue. No matter how experienced, he should have at least looked at it closer.

He is convinced if we use a water-based non-toxic glue it won’t hold up to the summer heat. I told him I would rather have it fail years down the road and have to redo it than to have more toxins in the RV. He didn’t understand that, but then he has been breathing those glues for well over forty years. I don’t mind paying someone for their time, but his estimate of number of hours seemed insane. I could be wrong. Time will tell.

Mini rave, Yay:

• Found a company that can accelerate off gassing of formaldehyde (in theory?), waiting for a call back, no one local
• Spoke with the manufacturer of a radiant heating element, which in theory, cannot overheat. Can’t proceed until we decide if we are running it from solar or only with hookups
• Picked out a Flexsteel replacement driver and passenger seat, color undecided. We may color key them to the dark gray cab dash rather than with the maple cabinets since they will be curtained off most of the time we are stopped to conserve ac or heat.
• Found a company willing to build my weird chair should I go with a wild idea I had, though Leon stood behind me saying no no no no, but I caught him, lol.
• We are making time this week to tear out what carpeting we can get at, the shades, and passenger seat! Goodbye more odor.

May your day be free of toxic smells and disgusting odors… the wind blow smiles… your plans move forward

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My mind bounces from place to place. No, make that it bounces and zig zags and backtracks and races. There. That is more accurate. I’ve been waiting so many months to start my series on remodeling our RV that I got ahead of myself. I should have named the series before I wrote even my farfetched dreams for it. So, rather than throw a fit over it, I’m going to…

continue, I think. To make it worse, grin, I had to use Leon as a sounding board to come up with a title, and though he will take credit for the series title, I thought of it at the same time. Guess it is because we have been married so very long. ; )

You do get it don’t you? ReVitalizing RV Panoply ties in with my blog’s tag line. Now I can get on with telling our journey to making someone else’s RV into ours. Yes, it is remodeling,

but more importantly it is ReVising and ReVitalizing what will become our part time full time home. If it ReVitalizes Leon or I along the journey, we won’t be complaining. Speaking of ReVitalizing. I sure hope our Mother-in-Law Tongue helps eat some of the off gassing in the RV.

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Plans for RV remodel are forthcoming with a separate page to list changes to be checked off when completed with an included link to posts with pics or special materials used for the projects – and to the pics of the remodels by others that we copied.

Today, merely hints of three ideas deemed by some as crazy, that, will probably not become realities – because Leon has second thoughts about all the work involved on idea one. I can see that happening with ideas two and three, too.

I wanted to remove the booth and replace it with something I have not seen done in anyone else’s RV. We even marked the “future” dinette and existing kitchen out with painters tape on our concrete floors at the rental condo to see if it would work. It would be convertible for different trips: just the two of us or with a ‘future?’ grandchild in tow. It is brilliant. ; ) Leon said it wouldn’t work, but when we laid it out on the floor, he realized it might. But, we may not do it ’cause of the work involved – and Leon and our son like the booth. Yuck!

We have to make a decision soon ’cause of the new flooring and radiant heating we want to put in, though I don’t know if we can do that with just 30 amp service. That said, once the decision is made one way or the other, I will either do a post on my idea that never came to fruition or post pics of the final results.

I have an idea for a desk in a most unusual place – and if we pull it off, I may have to give in and let Leon have at least most of his booth. ‘Cause that is another idea he told me flat out was insane (or was that inane?). Then days later he said, let’s see if we can make it work. So, some concessions may be necessary. Once we decide, I will share my idea, so you can either marvel, shake your head, or just nod in agreement that I have insanity issues.

My third idea is to not copy the pantry that someone else did, but use an idea that leaped from my brain into Leon’s ear. It would work IF there is enough room, though again, I got that look from Leon since he is the one who would get stuck making my idea a reality. We forgot to measure last time we were at the storage facility. Stay tuned for that idea, too, whether we can use it or not.

May your days be bright, your evenings all you want them to be, and your mind, uncluttered.

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Sundays on my blog are supposed to be about calm – or – chaos. Migraine for me (though short lived one), major eye strain ’cause I don’t want to buy a hot lamp so I can see, and a crummy cold for Leon, though it’s hit him less hard than those from whom he obtained it. Relatively calm here between naps and playing couch potatoes.

That is not true; my brain is in complete chaos about Panoply’s design, but on to the pic of the gift that will help future picnics, and therefore, future calm.

Isn’t it cute? About 47″ long, with two little benches that when folded click in for storage beneath the folded picnic table. Our son and daughter-in-law gave it to us for Christmas, their way of “approving” our RV dreams. OK, that’s not it at all, but it was our first gift for Panoply – and a thoughtful one at that! Don’t know where we can keep it, but Leon will make it work, ’cause he knows better than to let ME find a place for it – that will involve construction – or a new car.

Of course, with a green table and benches, one blue folding chair and one bright orange folding chair, and a beige mat left by previous owners, we will be known as the Mismatch Duo, but all money is going into safety related items and into changing out some items for less ‘toxic’ items, not decorating. That is just the way I want it!

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