Picking out carpet; so many choices.

Not much is going on here.  We took the RV in a week ago to get an estimate for new flooring.  We are going to have the treads on the steps to the bedroom made deeper, have the new toilet put in since they have to take the old one out anyway (no extra charge), and have a receiver welded onto the rear for a bike rack. 

We went to a local wholesale carpet dealer and picked out LVT (luxury vinyl tiles) and carpet.  This is really good carpet, and since it will get heavy use between us and the two dogs, we went with the higher end carpet and an 8# pad. 

I have to decide how I want the tile layed.  They charge extra to do any fancy layouts, but can stagger the squares rather than line them up.  Because this looks more like porcelain tile I want them all going the same direction, and they are going to grout between the squares. 

Here are our choices:

                                            Mannington Adura Vibe LVT
                                                   in Linen 18" squares

 

Shaw Tuftex carpet:

 Coronado Bay in Taupe Charm

 

 

 

I still haven't put up the backsplash tiles.  It has been too hot to do it so I'm going to have to wait until we have a weekend when the temp is in the 80s  instead of the high 90s.  Like I do every Sept.   I am getting sick of the heat and I'm  ready for some cooler days. 

I'm going to get some "before " pictures taken this week before the RV goes in for the flooring.  We are scheduled for Oct.6th. 

On a totally non RV related topic, I have been watching the HBO series OZ on my new iPad Mini (an early birthday gift from John).  There are 6 seasons and 8 episodes per season so it's going to take me a while to get through the whole series.  It is extremely violent but the acting is terrific and I'm totally hooked.  It's interesting in that this was the first series HBO did (1997-2003) and Edie Falco and Christopher Meloni are just two of the then unknowns who have roles, as well as Rick Fox and the guy who plays the professor on the Farmer's Insurance ads (as a really creepy Arian Brotherhood inmate) and the guy who plays Mayhem on the State Farm ads. 

The cooktop is in.

I forgot to mention that John finished taking out the old stove and replacing it with a new cooktop.  Our old one was white, and the oven wouldn't light.  Instead of taking it to the dump, or taking it apart and putting it in the garbage can, we posted a FREE ad on Craigslist and it was gone in less than an hour.  We have been able to get rid of quite a few things that had little value but were a pain to get rid of by putting a "free" ad on Craigslist.

John built a box to fit under the cooktop, and covered it with walnut colored contact paper to match our cabinets.  He found a shop that will make a door to match our existing cabinets so that is on order.  Here is a picture of the cooktop and the cupboard below without a door.  I'll get a picture once the new door is on. 

Big score on E-Bay

I have been looking for a recliner for the RV for a while, and found several that I liked but nothing was exactly what I wanted.  I had been to the LaZBoy store before but then decided to wait, and after looking at several furniture stores, Costco & Sam's Club, I returned to LaZBoy and narrowed it down to several leather recliners that would fit in the space I have in the 5th wheel.   I really like the power recline feature but that added $300 to the price of the chair. 

I decided to check Craigslist and E-Bay since I've found some good buys there before.  I couldn't find anything I liked on Craigslist, but on E-Bay I found the very chair I was interested in from LaZBoy.  It was advertised as being like new with tags still attached.  It looked great from the photos so I decided to take a chance and make an offer on it, conditional on approving of the condition when I saw it.  The seller accepted my offer and John and I drove over to Fremont (75 miles south-west of Sacramento) and WOW, the chair was perfect. 

I asked why they were selling it and the seller told me he had bought it for his wife just before she had their new baby boy.  She didn't like the leather on the chair because she said it made her perspire.  So, they put the chair in a spare bedroom and waited a month or so to see if she changed her mind, but she still didn't like it, so they decided to sell it.  I got it for  $400, and of course no tax or delivery fee (well, it did take a 1/4 tank of diesel in the truck to get there and back). 

On the way home, we stopped in Elk Grove at Pizza Bell, our favorite pizza place.  It's called Pizza BELL because the owner's last name is Bell.  They have fantastic pizza, and although its 22 miles down the freeway from where we live, we get down there about once a month, usually with our friends Roy and Rhonda.   We actually have a tradition that we started two years ago; we go there every July to talk about our retirement plans and all things RV related.   They are going to retire the same date we are. 

We took my other recliner that I (like the lady above) never sat in because I couldn't get comfortable, to a consignment shop after we got home. 

I'm a very happy camper and look forward to many years of relaxing in that chair.
Here's a pic:  It looks very red in this picture but in regular light it is a very dark brown with a little burgundy undertone but nothing like the red in the picture.

August already?

Wow, I can't believe it's August already.  Summer is flying by and only six more months until John turns 65 and stops working.  It is so hot here that we can only work in the RV early in the morning on weekends, so it's a good thing we have lots of time to get everything done. 

This morning I made a Starbucks run and then met John at the RV, which is parked in the storage area in our mobile home park.  We were going to finish putting up the last of the hinges and drawer pulls but discovered the new screws were too short and the old ones were too long for the dresser drawer fronts.  So, off to Emigh Hardware to get the right size.  In the meantime, our new Moen Indi faucet was delivered by Fed Ex so we went back to the RV to finish up the hardware and start on the faucet. 

To make a long story short, 3 hours and two more trips to the hardware store for the correct fittings for the water lines, the new faucet is in.  I was at home so John took pictures for me on his phone and I almost had a stroke...it looked like the faucet was not going to reach the sink....we have a crazy angled sink as you can see in the pictures below.  John rushed back over and phoned me and said it was fine.  He took some more pictures with my camera and you can see it's just fine.  Whew!!! 

                                               

The next project is to build a box for a cabinet to go under the new range top.  We took out our old range/oven because the oven doesn't work and I wanted to have the space that it took up, since I use my convection oven exclusively anyway for baking.  John found a place online that will make a door that will match our walnut cabinets so he's going to take the measurements and order that.  When he's done I'll have a nice cabinet for more storage.  We have a ton of storage in this RV; one of the reasons we like it so much, but you know you can never have too much!! 

It's only supposed to be 95 tomorrow, down from 106 on Thurs. so John may start on the stove project in the morning. 

We have gone back and forth on whether to replace the day/night shades with roller shades or wood blinds and after pricing them both out, we've decided to go for broke and do the roller shades.  They are pricey, even with 40% off through Blind Chalet, so we'll order a few at a time so we can spread out the cost over several months.  All these fixes are adding up and we aren't even to the expensive things yet....new flooring and a new electric awning. 

We were saying today that we hope to be able to get the RV painted sometime in the not too distant future.  After reading Howard's post on RV Dreams about having his painted, I know it will make a world of difference in the appearance of the RV.  It costs in the neighbornhood of 6K dollars so that will be the last thing we do.  In the meantime, we're having it detailed by a mobile detailer to help preserve the finish.  John has been diligent in washing and waxing it every year, and calking all the roof vents and seams, but with his torn shoulder, he deserves a break this year so we'll hire it out. 

That's it for this week.   The boys (grandsons Dylan, 6 and Massi 4) have camps in the morning so I'll be picking them up at noon and then playing Gramma in the afternoons. I have been so blessed to have cared for them since they were newborns.  Both their parents have busy careers that include long hours and out of town travel, and it's wonderful that I've had the time to be a part of their day to day lives.  It has been a priceless experience.

Dylan will start Kindergarten in two weeks.  He did a pre-K year and it really gave him time to get ready for school.  He is a ball of energy and is so athletic the sky's the limit.

 Massi will be going to preschool three mornings a week.  He is the sweetest boy imaginable. 

The New Blind

Here's a picture of the new blind. We also got two new LED fixtures to replace those brass ones you can see in front of the blinds. Also a picture of the bar pulls installed. Thanks honey for all your hard work!!

Interior Updating

We have been doing a lot of updating to the inside of the 5th wheel over the past few weeks. Lots of Amazon shopping!! We ordered a new roller blind for the back bay window from www.blindchalet.com It came last week and John installed it on Saturday. I love it. It's got a day sunscreen and a blackout shade for total privacy. It's not remote controlled but you just give a little tug on the blind and it goes up or down. A huge improvement over the fabric vertical blinds we had before. The shower enclosure, hardware and mirror frames are all brass and it really dates the interior. So, we are replacing it all with satin nickel. I ordered cabinet pulls and hinges from Amazon and John has been installing them over the last two weekends. It is so hot here right now that he can only work in the early morning for several hours before it becomes unbearably warm inside. The bar pulls are for the kitchen cabinets and drawers, the pantry and the bathroom cabinets. The rest are for the overhead cabinets in the living area and the dresser drawers. Also got new wall sconces and a ceiling fixture from Camping World this morning. I think it will make a huge difference when the last of the brass is gone.

I also ordered a new faucet for the kitchen sink. It's Indi by Moen. I found it on E-Bay and it was $50 less than Home Depot.

The next projects are all big ones; replacing the flooring and a new electric awning. Those will have to wait until fall.

Nobody said this would be easy

For those who have read my previous post, after receiving good advice from my daughter I have decided to delete it. Discussing personal financial information on a public website is not a good idea; one I should have been aware of, but having grown up in the pre social media era I'm not used to thinking about the ramifications such information can bring. So, we will be looking at selling our home in the Spring so that we can spend our time traveling and seeing the country.

Happy 4th

It's the 4th of July and we decided to stay home this year and hang out. John worked really hard this week and needed some down time. That's fine with me. We are both reading the Mitch Rapp series of books by Vince Flynn and I'm happy to have a day to just read on the couch. It is hot and smoky outside so it's a good day to stay in and stay cool. Thank God for air conditioning. John finished the table that he made to go over one of the dog crates in the RV. I think he did a great job. The color is greyish brown and not something you'll find in a store. I decided I wanted a crate/table combo, but since we already had the crate John suggested making a table to go over ours. I'm very happy with it. There will be plenty of room for a lamp, coffee cup, my Kindle and even a plant. It's going to go next to the chair I have yet to purchase. I've about decided on a power recliner in the same color leather as the loveseat. I found one at Macy's that is a wall hugger, is only 32" wide and is really comfortable. Here's a picture of the table in the RV.

After taking the table over to the RV, we brought the two dining room chairs home to sand and paint. John started standing them and then I heard him call me out to the porch. Well, some dog, probably Spike, had chewed the legs on one chair and the cross frame support on the other. They were really bad so we decided to just get new chairs. These were unfinished ones we bought in Phoenix in 2004 so we got plenty of use out of them. I put them in front of the house with a FREE sign on them and they were gone in an hour. We did some looking on Amazon and found these chairs. We ordered two and I hope they look as good as they do in the picture. I noticed they have a table that matches...well...I might just have to get that to replace the current drop leaf table we have.

We have no special plans for tonight. Neither one of us is into fireworks. John is making fried rice and I'm going to go get a couple of entrees from Panda Express. I don't like their fried rice because it's got peas and carrots in it and the rice John makes is 100% better. Hope you have a safe and sane holiday.

Gotta love Craigslist

Today I sold the two recliners that were in the RV after posting them on Craigslist two weeks ago. A very nice couple about our age bought them. They are moving back to Arkansas in the fall but had been looking for a pair of recliners. I had originally planned to only sell one, but decided to see if I could sell both of them. Now I am on a quest to find the perfect chair for me. We already have the power theater seating and I want just one chair in the rear of the living area. I'm not going to buy one until after the floors are done this fall. Also sold the tailgate from the GMC truck. I've listed it multiple times and never had any interest, and wouldn't you know, I got a call right after the people for the recliners called to say they were on their way. So, it was a good day all around. I sure miss the boys and it will be great to see them again next week. I know they're having a great time with their other grandparents but I still miss them. Ten months and counting until we begin our next adventure, God willing everything goes as we hope it will.

Frustrating day

Not much happening today. I continue to work on cleaning closets but seem to get sidetracked very easily. I have somehow misplaced the dogs' heartworm and flea medications and I spent the better part of the day looking for them. I've given up, and will call the Vet tomorrow and explain why I need to pick up another 6 month supply. I'm sure I'll find it eventually. I'm taking my Mom to lunch tomorrow; it's a bit of a struggle getting her and her walker into my Mini Cooper but it's doable. She just had her 95th birthday. Her quality of life is pretty poor due to being almost deaf and blind, but she remains healthy and gets such wonderful care at her assisted living residence. Old age is certainly a mixed blessing.

Deju vu all over again

I've got two and a half weeks off from babysitting the boys, so what am I doing? Cleaning closets. It's time to start slowly purging ourselves of stuff we don't use so that when the time comes to sell the house, it won't be so overwhelming. The crazy thing is that we did this once before. In 2003 we sold our house and moved into the RV. We got rid of everything but a few boxes of things we stored at my daughter's house. Flash forward 11 years and we are in a house full of stuff again, and getting ready to do it all over. You'd think we'd learn, wouldn't you? I really have no regrets about getting the house; it has been a great home and considering all the health issues we've had, it's been wonderful to have the space. I was not attached to our old house, but this one has been different and it will be with mixed feelings that I move on.

Projects and a sale

We are starting to get serious about getting the RV ready for next year and back to fulltime living. John made us two tables last fall to fit next to the loveseat recliner. I've decided to sell one of the recliners so I have room for a table that I can put a dog crate under. John is making me one in the same style as the other two...simple but functional. Here's a picture of it put together and sanded as well as the finshed table next to the loveseat. We went to Home Depot and got a bunch of paint folders and I've decided on Behr's Evening Symphony. It's a dark blue. We've decided to add another accent color to our color palette which is heavy on earth tones. I plan to recover the valances as well and repaint the dining room chairs, which are now dark red and clash with the end tables.

I also put an ad on Craigslist and sold our Splendide washer dryer combo. It is 10 years old and I wanted to get a newer one with a larger capacity and also is significantly lighter. So happy I sold it since I thought it was a longshot that I would get anything for it, and actually got $5 less than my asking price. Now to sell the recliners.

An Introduction

I'm starting this blog to document our countdown to retirement and so that our friends and family can keep track of us as we travel the country in our RV once our retirement date arrives.

This will be our second venture into fulltime RVing.  We sold our house in 2003 and purchased a new Holiday Rambler 36ft 5th wheel.  I won't bore you with all the details between then and now, but in a nutshell, we spend on winter in the Phoenix, AZ area, then 6 months in Visalia, CA, a few months on the coast in Fort Bragg, CA and then back to Sacramento.  We lived in the RV for another 2 years and then purchased a manufactured home and kept the RV for vacations and weekend travel. 

So, why did we not continue traveling....well...poor financial planning and health issues forced us to rethink our plans.  I had thought I could work as a travel nurse but found the work grueling and too much for my 50+ year old body.  We needed steady income beyond John's military retirement, and so one or both of us needed to find jobs...not that easy when you're traveling.  Once we both had jobs we (well, really, just me) found living in the 5th wheel too confining.  It's a lot different when you are able to be outside and in a campground verses living in a crowded park and living through extremes in weather. 

As fate would have it, shortly after moving into our house, I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and had to undergo 4 months of chemotherapy, followed by surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid and radioactive iodine treatment for that.  That was followed by a heart attack (me), a broken foot (me) and two total knee replacements (John).   All in all, we felt blessed to have a larger place to live while navigating our health issues.

The good news is that we are both healthy now; I was unable to continue working at my fulltime job due to back and neck problems and the fatigue of chemotherapy treatment. 

Now, we are ready to retire FOR REAL!!  John has a retirement date of May 31, 2014.  He picked that date because it is also the date he retired from the Navy after 20 years of service, in 1991. 

The next year will be busy as we get ready to once again live in the 5th wheel, this time with a sound financial plan and hopes that we will spend many years traveling and seeing this beautiful country.  We will be traveling with our two French Bulldogs, Lola & Ava, who like nothing better than being with us no matter where we are living.