She needed a name

and now she has it!

This is outside the door,

a memory of the last owner.

It is only paper,

so in the cleaning,

it is going to go away.

I think it only fitting

that her name is

Ellie J

for Ellen and June!

We have water!

But first,

I found these cups in my MIL's garage!

They are perfect for in the camper!

Love the colors

and

so

retro!

And

tada!

We have water!

JWS attached the hose and started

the water running,

handed me a flashlight

and

said to go look for leaks. 

Really? 

I would have rather been on the

"OH MY GOSH,

SHUT OFF THE HOSE

end.

I found leaks,

but only two

and that is not bad

for something that has sat outside

in

Pennsylvania

for

at least 40 years. 

And

more progress on the painting.

No one told me that you have to be a contortionist to work on one of these things.

This poor body of mine has been in positions

that it has not been in in years...

or ever!

I think that once I put the bunk down,

I will be channeling

Michelangelo.

That is

laying on my back painting.

I see so many people taking out the upper bunk,

I am not thinking that is an option for me

with six grandchildren,

four of which

are

awaiting the first camping trip.

Kitchen Remodel and a Painting Tip

First of all,

I am attacking this interior

one "room' at a time. 

Kitchen remodel first,

it is almost completed.

It is a small area to work in

and I am here to tell you,

this is a lot of painting and trimming!

Behind the stove was paper,

not in perfect shape,

a little wrinkled at the edges.

The question of removing it, briefly flitted through my mind.

I am way more into camouflaging issues

than making a worse mess sometimes.

So I painted it.

Then to "define" the kitchen area

I decided to stripe it.

Taped off,

and here is your tip...

If you paint back over the tape

with the base color,

it seals the edges of the tape

and

keeps the top color from bleeding through,

allowing for more crisp stripes.

And all the thoughts of

red

green

orange

cupboard doors?

Resulted in Honey Brown.

So far,

I am liking it...

I cleaned all the cupboards,

painted and lined the drawers,

scrubbed the floor

and before I left last night,

could not resist

placing a few decorative items out.

Wish I would have taken the curtains with me.

I am even loving the floor!

Now on to the dining room....

Then the living room!

Grapes and Painting

I finally found the grapes! 

They were in the back of  a store in an alley in

 Melbourne, Florida.

The TSA folks studied my carry on for quite awhile trying to figure those out!

Carpeting up,

the linoleum is actually in good shape,

 not sure whether to keep it or not,

so I carefully taped it off. 

The black is the backing of the carpet,

but it is coming off also. 

What to do? 

It certainly is retro,

but maybe a bit too retro.

One coat of primer

and

two coats

of buttery, creamy paint

is really brightening

the old girl up.

A decision needs to made about the doors.

Orange?

Green?

Brick?

After all this,

I now think I want to try Gold.

What do you think?

Not sure I am a big fan

of the propane light,

but

JWS

thinks that it needs to stay.

He has high hopes of camping in it

within a month.

Not sure about that!

Another thrift shop day

Still no actual

WORK

on the camper.

It is going to have to wait until the

first of November.

But for now,

I found these

great treasures

on a stop

at the

local mall.

St. Vincent de Paul

in

Kittanning, Pa

yesterday.

Loving that harvest color scheme!

Trying Again

Ok, long silence...

a small amount of mourning.

A trip to the scrapyard,

the last camper did not make it.

As much as I had high hopes,

JWS

finally convinced me that it was not salvageable.

It has hung in the air between us for the past few months.

I still wanted a camper.

Not a new one,

not a big one.

Something old,

vintage,

character.

Something I could decorate.

Another project.

Then Tuesday,

JWS comes home from the fair meeting,

telling me that he might have a surprise for me.

I needled,

whined

and

annoyingly begged

until he caved and told me.

There was another camper in the works.

If we didn't take it,

it also was going to be scrapped.

How bad could it be?

So we went and looked...

and decided to try again!

This one is not newer, but in really good shape inside and out.

As close as I can figure

1967.

So off to my favorite thrift store again

and

the picture at the top is the haul for today.

Melamac.

A vintage tablecloth

and we are up and running again.

It will be a great winter project.

For now,

it is in the garage.

I have to get

my craft open house i

behind me

and

a

trip to Florida

and then

I will be covering cushions

and painting

and

making curtains

and

of course,

scrubbing and cleaning.

I can't wait!

Before pics

"Cause you know you just have to have them!

I think JWS is scared!

He is saying words like

battery,

axle,

inverter,

propane tanks,

leaking roofs,

missing taillights.

rust.

I am saying words like

scrub,

paint,

sew,

decorate,

upholster.

Don't my words sound way more fun?

And way less work,

than his?

Gracelyn was mainly impressed with

"that tiny little oven"

And so it begins

For several years, I have been wanting an old camper.

One to restore,

a fixer-upper,

a project.

This one was dropped in my lap.

A little bigger than what I had planned,

but really,

with six grandkids all under the age of six,

my friend and former camper owner pointed out,

"You are going to need the room!"

So,

JWS jumped at the idea.

Not sure about what drugs he might be taking...

but we'll address that later.

Today,

it came home.

I hope to blog the process,

the successes,

the laughs,

and even

when

JWS and start throwing things at one another.

(which is bound to happen)

I have decorating ideas.

But first we'll clean.

It has been setting for three years.

It needs a good cleaning.

Want to follow along? 

C'mon, you know you do!