Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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Oh dear! I am guilty of not measuring correctly for the trailer paneling. Went out to check the glue on the cap moldings I put together and clamped. Decided to leave them till tomorrow am to dry and do the next set in the morning since those will dry fast in the heat. Then I went into the trailer to turn off the AC. Noticed that the 2 windows were different heights so decided to measure the wall under the window again. One side fine, the other side not.
:thThat long wall window is taller than the side window and the distance from the floor to the sill is only 26". Oops. I cut all the paneling for a height of 30". I have some smaller pieces of paneling that can be pieced together to make the end panel and save the larger pieces. No problem there - I just have to cut them down. The other 2 panels are 30" tall and I have to cut them to 24" tall instead of the 30" I originally cut them. 24" allows 2" for the cap moldings. I hope the wainscoting will look okay that short. I could leave the side paneling taller to the 30" height but then I would not be able to match up the cap moldings in the corner. Grrrr! Just as I thought I was ready to start nailing up the paneling tomorrow. At least the table saw is still set up. And I have to cut off more wood not try to glue more on! ;)

I am anxious to get this done and hope it will turn out ok. There are brad holes and nail holes in the paneling from where I removed them from the banquette, but I can fill the holes with oak filler after the paneling and moldings are up. I have some other small repairs to do to other moldings in the trailer that are working loose too. The trailer is 15 years old and has held up well for all the use we have put on it. I like to keep the interior repaired and DH makes sure the exterior and the equipment is kept up. Hopefully this will last us the rest of our travel trailering life.

DS1 moved the older eweling out to the field, and we still need to remove the ram from the breeding pen. I called Rafael to pick up his 5 sheep last week and he said he would get back to me for a date. I will call again in a few days and offer to deliver them. I want out from the feed cost. 5 mature sheep are consuming 2 flakes of alfalfa per day which equals 1 bale every 5 days. One bale of alfalfa costs between $25-30/bale. They have been here in the breeding pen for a month so that is about $150 in hay. I should have figured out an amount to charge him when I offered to breed them for him but forgot. Either he picks them up this week or I will have to charge board for them. Keeping them here is not the problem, the cost of the hay is. Rafael is my hay guy and he plans to feed them on the wastage (broken bales, etc.) which will not cost him anything. I have to feed my expensive alfalfa.

DH said I have to get camp reservations for September for DDIL2 (in a KOA cabin) but can't let me know when DDIL2 will be flying to TX. Or which airport they are using. DS2 has not made reservations yet so . . . . ??? I can make reservations in Rusk if they are flying into Houston. I can make reservations in Pleasant Valley if they are flying into Dallas. Just let me know since those 2 KOAs are several hours apart!

The PT is very pleased with my knee. He says I have full range of motion already. I see the surgeon again on the 23rd. Maybe he will release me from PT. I do all the exercises at home that they have given me, but maybe I need to keep going until we leave for TX to get more advanced ones. I could get 3 or 4 more visits in before we leave on September 4. I don't think they will ok any more visits when we return the beginning of October.
 

Ridgetop

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Well, first cap rail came out perfect so glued my second long piece of cap rail together this am. Just took it apart and put it in trailer.

Then came in and took care of some business correspondence, filing, etc. in the office.

Next out to the trailer again to recut the paneling to the right sizes. Considered just cutting around the window frame but that would entail multiple angle cuts in the cap rail. DS1 insisted on cutting the panel pieces for me. Apparently he has forgotten I taught him everything about cabinet work. However, if he wants to do it for lil ol' me, go for it! :hugsThen put the cut pieces in the trailer and turned on the AC so I can work in comfort in another hour. Put the leftover paneling in the shed since I can use it to make Barbie furniture for my granddaughters.

This is the year for Elizabeth's Barbie Dream House. Two 6' Ikea bookcases 30" wide x 15"-18" deep. These two shelf units will hold the living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, MBR, nursery and kid's rooms, an outdoor terrace, and a stable for the Barbie horses. The Barbie family also has a sports car although I cannot remember if it is a VW or not. Namby Pamby Ken is NOT Barbie's husband. She has her choice of 2 muscular GI Joes, complete with weapons to protect the mansion and family. They live in Texas of course. :lol: They have a lot of children (someone has to clean the stable). Maybe I should fix up a space for GI Joe's man cave, complete with gun rack. I will also have to start looking for a stuffed deer so I can make a trophy for the wall. ;) Most of the furniture we already have from DD1's Barbie house. I made most of the furniture including a Swedish fireplace. Now I will have to do another house and make more furniture for DD2's daughters. I really enjoy decorating these houses. I use scrapbooking paper for wall paper, floor tiles, and carpet samples and upholstery samples for carpets. I never really liked playing with dolls as much as I liked rearranging their furniture and decorating the house. LOL Forerunner of things to come? I even remodeled one doll house decorating it with paint and popsicle sticks to look like an old English Tudor when I was young. Not a roaring success but I was only 12 and not allowed access to power tools! :gig

I need to remember to take pix before and after redoing the trailer.
 

WyoLiving

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Making a doll house just to rearrange the furniture is what I would do. Barbie would never even move into her house. My sister had barbies and played with them a lot, but my Barbies were only used for manikins to create clothing and modeling said clothes before my cousin had to have it for her barbie. Her parents were usually fighting, if not drunk and fighting, so she spent a lot of time in her closet playing with her barbies. I was always more of an outdoor activity girl, like falling out of trees...
 

Ridgetop

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Doll house pix will be forthcoming once I get to work on it. Probably after the September trip to TX. Can't waste summer weather working inside. Also have to get the bookcases. DD1 was supposed to get them last year but it looks like I will have to go with DH to get them. Ikea was out of everything a year or so with Covid and you had to get in line at 8am to enter the store when it opened. They only let in so many people. Luckily, they had "senior" days but standing in line for up to 2 hours to be let in and be told the item was out of stock with no restock date was not happening.
 

Margali

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Also have to get the bookcases. DD1 was supposed to get them last year but it looks like I will have to go with DH to get them. Ikea was out of everything a year or so with Covid and you had to get in line at 8am to enter the store when it opened. They only let in so many people. Luckily, they had "senior" days but standing in line for up to 2 hours to be let in and be told the item was out of stock with no restock date was not happening.
Ouch, many IKEA items you can buy online as "Pickup at Store" even if they won't ship to you. Worth a shot? I LOVE, LOVE their IVAR system. Looks nice with a basic coat of stain and infinitely adjustable. The peg and solid wood shelf can take being stacked full of hardbacks. They also flat pack for moving. ;)
IMG_20181112_205149.jpgIMG_20200726_173953.jpg
 

Ridgetop

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Love that they will come apart and flat pack for moving or storage. And can be added on to for more. I will have to go online and order the bookcases for pick up.
 

Ridgetop

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Another update on trailer reno. And another glitch.

I got the paneling up on the walls. DS1 cane out to hep me. Neither of us can kneel down. I can sorta-sorta for a few minutes but not long enough to do more than 3 brad punches. DS1 went to find me a camp chair but it was too high for me to lean over and brad nail at the floor level. Maybe because my back is out and I am wearing a back brace? So Ds1 went and hunted up a stool for me to crouch on. He wanted to take away the camp chair but I need it to lever myself back into a standing position. :hide

Once all the paneling was u on the wall I checked the cap strips for fit. Here is where the glitch comes in. Capping fits perfectly EXCEPT the strip is too short by about 6". :he I know I measured width of the paneling pieces and the length of the strip and it was fine so what happened? Oh gosh! The strips are not the same length! :thI measured the long one and it fit but made the cap strips out of the 6" shorter pieces! :barnie

Found the long piece of molding and measured again and it is ok with a couple inches to 45 at each end. I had one short piece of molding (it broke in transit) which I had ripped two 1/2" pieces off either side. (The molding is 1 3/8" wide.) The short pieces had uneven ends so I 45ed them to overlap and glue them on the long piece. This necessitated putting the portable miter box together. No problem since I will have to use it later to 45 all the corners when assembling the capping on the paneling. I hope that I will have enough molding to finish the project. If I don't have enough for the base of the paneling, I have some light-colored base shoe in the shed I can use. I need to use molding to cover the horizontal seam and the vertical seam. If I don't have enough molding for horizontal molding, I guess I will have to pull the 2 panels on the end with the horizontal seam off and substitute the single complete piece that cracked. We can cut that end off, I think. Of course, then the shorter pieces of cap molding would have fit just fine. Doing projects while piecing together scraps is economical but can be frustrating. Baymule said she still has extra strips. i might have to bring my miter box and bradnailer and finish my repairs in TX. :lol:

Anyway, took photos of work in progress and will upload later. Now I have to go shower and wash my hair for PT at 1:00.
 

Ridgetop

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:)
I will! Since I messed up the measurements on the upright ppece that had to 45 into the horizontal piece. That was not the goof since I could just recut ot - the goof was installing first! Then when I installed the horizontal piece butting up to it, the horizontal piece rested 1/2" higher than it was supposed to! :mad: At first, I thought I had cut the 45 wrong since the piece did not cover properly, exposing some of the wall above the paneling
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No problem, pry off the installed cap molding and cut it 1/2' shorter. Except when prying it off the wall, the glued-on strip separated and popped off. :somad This meant cutting an entirely new piece of cap molding. :he

Both pieces fit properly now BUT in the Ridgetop way when cutting the new piece the edge of the glued-on piece came loose there too. Only a couple of inches so I am inside for breakfast and coffee while the new glue dries under the clamp. Next piece to go up is the 88" horizontal cap piece. Got to 45 one end first. :fl

DGSs 1 and 2 (15 and 12) are here to shovel a load of dirt out of the truck and wheelbarrow it to DH's "wall project". DGD1 (9) is also here and was helping hold molding while I cut it. However, she has asked to be able to help shovel dirt with her brothers. Apparently, molding is boring but shoveling dirt is good stuff. Whatever floats your boat.

This 8' retaining wall has taken about 4 years to build and is supposedly going to supply me with a prime garden spot of good dirt. The flat area he is making is 20' x 20'. The ground squirrels will love it. It is the thought that counts. :hugs He says if the ground squirrels get this plot we can use it for the sheep since it already has fencing around 3 sides. ??? It keeps him happy. I just don't understand why he bought new dirt for it instead of tractoring over the mounds of dirt that have already been dumped in various places on the field. However, he says that dirt is not good and this purchased dirt is better. :love Gotta love 'em.

Breakfast is up courtesy of DS1. Gotta get mine before the ravening horde fall on it and I get nothing.
 

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