Shining Up The Pearl

This weekend was the final push for getting the butyl taping done before we once again need The Pearl to be seaworthy.  Fortunately it was a gorgeous day, and with many hands on deck we managed to get a lot accomplished.  

 First thing Erik did was set to work removing the other drip edge.  Thankfully this one was easy.  No black goo, or major work to be done on that side.  

 this is what it looks like under that drip edge.  The 60 year old butyl tape was not looking so good.  It had to all come off.

 so we scraped.....














                      and scraped...


                                                                         

 and scraped some more...  this was the drip edge itself being carefully scraped to remove it all. 


That all went smoothly and relatively quickly so I talked Erik into giving me a few window frames to start polishing up.

With her rear window removed I attempted to keep the junk out, but all the butyl tape scraping around the edges was messy.  Guess I should have taped off the window first...  I would say you live and learn, but I just jump into things no matter how many times I've learned the lessons...  Impatience wins every time...

this one's favorite job is swabbing the decks, and just about anything else she can reach.  Here she is polishing up Backstage.  We're not even started on Backstage yet...   

 Meanwhile Erik was replacing the tape on the side.  Here it is looking all fresh and new.

this is her front window.  I had hoped to get to it last weekend, but we ran out of time.   So we removed the eyebrow,  unscrewed about a thousand screws, and removed it.  More scraping and taping ensued. 

 I have no idea what this stuff was on the back window.  I attempted to scrape as much as I could off, but it was like asphalt or something, and some parts of it wouldn't budge.  

 One of the crew scrapes the actual window edges.

and at last the drip edge is done and replaced.  

 I neglected to take pictures of the difficult messy part of our day.  Partly because my fingers went numb and I thought my arms were going to fall off.  But here is the result of a heck of a lot of scrubbing those window parts with steel wool.  They had been previously painted silver instead of cleaned, so it took at least twice as long to get them to this state as it would have without the paint removal.  It wasn't til the end of the day when Erik came to help polish and commented that there must have been an easier way to deal with the paint....   

So we finished that up as best we could.  I was exhausted and he had no patience for sitting there scrubbing, so the front window did not get as shiny as these.

and the rear window, all shined up and with the screen fixed is put back in place with new tape around here as well.

he also managed to get to making some temporary replacement jalousies for one of the side windows which was missing a couple of them.  For now it'll do.

And finally, as evening approached, and most of the crew had mutinied and jumped ship the new front window went back in.  

On Sunday we tidied up a bit, and put all the gear from our last trip in their storage places. And it's amazing what a clear window can do for one's outlook.  At least a few of the crew rested in the sun in that window, one even took a nap.  

She's coming together nicely!  Next time I'll have to post pics of her cabin.  We've really got her in good shape and are looking forward to a beautiful, campy summer getting together with new Vintage Trailer friends.  Join us if you can.

Updates aplenty.

These are all duck eggs.  The very large one had two yolks.
Those are my 9 year olds hands holding them for scale.

Seems like a long time since I've updated you all on a few things.  I'll give it a shot here and try to keep this not too long.  So the ducks and the chickens are all laying now.  We have fresh eggs everyday.  More than we can use, so we've been giving some away.  They are delicious and different from store bought because their shells are much thicker and they don't easily crack.  We even had a double yoked duck egg once.

The ducks hate the dog.  I took this video for you to show you how they act when she's around.  It's loud and annoying.  They yell at her the whole time she's out there. Of course they wouldn't cooperate so this video does not accurately depict their relationship.  You can however see the way she stares menacingly at the dog in the beginning.

he installed new tail lights

The Pearl is coming along nicely.   My dear husband has fixed the lights, put a new power cord connector thing in, ripped out some of the paneling and bought new insulation.  We also removed all of the drawers and cabinet doors for some good cleaning and re-structuring in some cases.  If you know me I like clean.  So they were cleaned with bleach first (I know, it's a no-no but I'm a germophobe), then cleaned again with a green cleaner I make with tea tree oil, lemon and some other good stuff.  Then finally de-greaser.  Now they are nice and clean and probably need some more oiling or shellac or something.  We'll eventually get to that.

new shelf paper in the cleaned and reconstructed drawers

removing all cabinet doors and
drawers for cleaning

disgustingly dirty before

Then there is the Princess Stove.  We took it out and have been cleaning it ever since.  This past weekend I talked him into taking the whole thing apart so I could soak all the parts in degreaser.  It worked like a charm and she's nice and clean now.  The only thing left there is new insulation for under her, he already put new wood to hold her up, and a thorough cleaning of the oven.  We had a 70 year birthday party to attend that day, so I didn't get to the oven yet.

completely taken apart

parts of the Princess

 I'm sure there's more we've done.  Oh he re did the bed frame.  I forgot to take a pic.  Check out his posts on repairing yesterdays trailers today.  There is even more exciting news to tell, but it'll have to wait til next time.

The bitties art

On the Art Journal front.  I have been keeping up with my art journal daily, but have not taken any pics yet.  I'll get to it.  I know at least two of you are Art Journaling along with me and I think that's great I am proud to be a part of that!  Remember when you were a kid and art was just fun?  You just drew and colored and painted for the love of it.  Here's a few pics to remind  you of that...

working in her art journal

Art journaling

the other bittie art journaling

And remember.....

The Pink Pearl

Image of the Black Pearl from
Wikipedia

I forgot to mention in the last post that we have named her.  Our Oasis vintage trailer, that is...  she is The Pink Pearl.   Let me tell you what I'm envisioning for her...   A mast and sail, with a pink Jolly Roger.  I'm hoping my husband can fashion the front end of a ship to put over the trailer pull things that are on the front with the propane tanks on it.  And a pirates chest shell for the cooler.  Twinkle lights, some lanterns, and whatever else I can find to make her a vintage, piratey, happy place.

check out this cute one I found
on Wikipedia

I have many ideas, hopefully to be fulfilled one day with other vintage trailers.  I think I'm hooked.  There are at least two more I have got to have.... eventually....  but for now this project is on the top of the list.

Would you like to see some art I've been working on??

Well, ok, since you asked.....  

It's been busy here getting ready for school.  With so many kids there's a lot of getting ready to be done.  Still I am trying to get some art in every day, when I can.  

I am trying to create a new life for myself and my family.  An artistic life.  An authentic life.  I think I've had authenticity in some areas, but not with art.  It's been a long time that I have been dabbling in art and never thought myself an artist.   I've had love affairs with poetry, music, ceramics, watercolor, knitting and crochet, sewing, painting.  It's an interesting thing to feel that creative pull, and never feel somehow qualified to actually work at it.  Unfortunately I've spent my life feeling unqualified for just about everything.  It took a serious 'hit bottom' to shake me into finding the answers and healing I needed.  I think I've got it figured out now with the help of some friends and my recovery groups.  I am an adult child, and attend ACA meetings regularly.  It has helped me learn so much about myself, and take a look at so many things I had not faced before.

So I am beginning to see my life more like an unfinished painting.  I can create whatever I want and so can you.  All we need is vision and hope.  I think I've got that now.

oasis

 [oh-ey-sis] 

o·a·sis

   [oh-ey-sis]

noun
something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant changefrom what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc.: The library was an oasis of calm in the hectic city.

definition from Dictionary.com









I absolutely love that word, don't you?  And the definition is perfect.  As you know I need an Oasis.  And life has brought me one.  

The bed and nightstand.   This is facing rear from the door.

She needs some TLC, but we can manage that.  We are longtime DIYers.  And I love the fact that we are revamping something old, rather than buying something new.  Here are some photos of her lovely 50's or 60's (?? we are pretty sure narrowed it down to '59 - '61).  

The kitchen, and some of her details.  So I really wanted a "Canned Ham" model trailer,

The cabinets and hardware remind me of my
Gramsys kitchen.  

and as  you can see from the picture above I got one.  

check out this old paper towel holder

I also really wanted the inside to be 50's style with the rounded corners and real wood interior.  Oh and a princess stove.  I really, really wanted a Princess stove...

Check out the rounded corners,
and the scalloped shelf

 And of course I wanted her to be pink.... Love the old pink formica backsplash.

Light fixture

A propane lamp

In this picture you can see
the lav.  

 We got lucky and she still had a lot of her original parts. The valances are scalloped like the shelf in the picture above.   I'm tellin' ya, it was l  love at first sight.

magazine rack

 These light fixtures and magazine rack remind me of the old Elvis movies I used to watch as a kid.

So, here she is.  A work in progress (aren't we all?!)...  But I have such a vision for her when she's finished. She is going to be a beautiful, peaceful place to relax and get away.   And the Geenies Lamp Studio will be on the road.

Inside the bathroom

An Oasis in the desert

We have found it!   Our Oasis in the desert;  And our new adventure begins.  Lil Gee and Lil E are thrilled!

So here she is....    

                                                       ....... in all her Vintage glory!

 still need a name for her.  Oh and you should see her hooked up to our car.  We felt so Mickey and Minnie, or Ricky and Lucy driving her home last night...













Now to decide on the redo inside.  No interior photos yet.  Will get to that when hubby gets home.  But you should see the inside!  So many 50's details, most of the original items are there.  Including a sweet magazine rack, the old metal kind.  Propane lamps, rounded corners.  And the kitchen reminds me of my Gramsy's kitchen.  Fond memories of growing up. This Oasis is going to be The Geenies Lamp Studio on the road so in keeping with that, I am thinking about doing the interior Geenie bottle style.  Or in keeping with the Vintage age diner.  Whatever I end up going with there will be lots of pink!  And yes, I will keep  you all posted with pics and all.

Thanks for sharing my dream with me!  I didn't think it would come to pass so quickly, but the kiddos aren't getting any younger, so I am glad.