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.