Due to Covid 19, I’ve changed the way I pay for this blog and for $5/month you can get an extra post each week. You can go to patreon.com for more details. When commissions and sponsorships dried up, I didn’t want to have advertisements all over the website so I have this subscription model instead. I’m sure you understand!
So, hey Patrons! How are you doing today? Remember when President Biden said we are going to have a dark winter and said it would be about 10-12 weeks long? Well, I have been counting and we are at about 15 weeks from that, so I’d say we’re getting pretty close to ending this dark winter! We’ve almost made it!
I have a friend who is getting her second vaccination next week and she’s a 29 year old teacher. Which means, here in Michigan, they have already vaccinated the health care workers, first responders, nursing homes and now are working on other essential workers and older residents. She talked about how efficiently it was done at Michigan State University and how she was in and out in about 45 minutes, including the time they ask patients to stay to watch for side effects. And you know they’ve got to be getting more efficient and expanding every day, right? I’m excited! Pretty soon we’re all going to be vaccinated! Or at least all of us who want to get vaccinated!
It is going to be so nice to get back to normal! For one, I’ll be able to hug this kid who was home for a visit!
Did I tell you I found a whole new park to visit? I think I showed pictures earlier but maybe didn’t mention it. Honestly, I was just driving around one afternoon, without using a map, just to get a change of scenery and I bumped into a nature preserve. It was seriously just at the end of a dirt road with no sign or anything.
So, I’ve now been there three times and it is such a nice change from the places we’ve been walking. It’s got some pretty pine forests and a lake and some ravines with beautiful views of a river running through. This has been one good thing about quarantine — finding parks in our area to explore and having the time to explore.
But, what I wouldn’t give to go out with a friend for a cocktail! Soon, soon, soon.
I’m plugging away at the van as you can imagine:
In fact, I’m kinda proud how it’s coming together. You can see the wall behind the seats separating the cab from the living part of the van. Last week I only had the driver’s side done, but now I have the passenger side done. The cedar planks don’t go all the way to the floor because on the driver’s side, there is going to be a bench seating and on the passenger side, there is going to be a place to put shoes under the seat.
After I finished that wall, I spent some time cleaning out the van because doing all the work in there means it gets chaotic quick, but then you get to see it cleaned up with only 2×4’s laying around as I try to figure out how I’ll be using them.
You can see the shower pan that I will be working on next. The plywood it sits on will be the lounge area floor with the balcony underneath. I even have a light switch, though not completely wired, in it’s place! It’s starting to come together!
Lots of vans don’t put a wall in between the cab and cargo area but I wanted a permanent wall because I think it would feel safer and be better insulated, but also I think having to look at the driving dashboard all the time and be constantly reminded that you are in a vehicle would wear me down over time and lead to burn-out quicker. I might be completely wrong, but I think keeping the driving part separate from the living part will make me feel like I can live in it longer. We’ll see!
I started working on the shower framing last weekend but that is such a humongous project that I actually had to spend a lot of time researching and looking and buying supplies before I even start on it. Once that is in progress, the van is going to become a big mess again. Also, it won’t be that exciting to show the progress. Well, maybe it will be. Ok, again, we’ll see!
Alright everyone, that’s it for me today. We have a fairly warm and sunny day today (high of 33) so I want to get some work done outside because the next week is going to be scary cold with nights going into the negative numbers. I’m using my left over insulation from the van for the chickens and need to set up the heat lamp for them today. And now that I have all these new building skills I’m pretty confident in how to do that. Go me!
Take care out there! We’re going to make it though!