What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been

The vintage Airstream. The significant guy and I have been pining for one for over a year now. We finally found a 1965 Airstream Tradewind, 24' long and in great shape. It was 236 miles from our home and we enlisted a friend to help us get it.

Our trip went a little something like this...

SAT-

1:00 pm - Friend off of work. Get clothing, tools and dog loaded into the car.

2:00 pm - Met friend at his house and all items, including dog have been transferred to friend's truck. Sudden feeling of bringing dog a bad idea.

2:30 pm - Drop off dog back at the house. Meet back at friend's house.

3:30 pm - Leave town. Hit traffic and multiple lights at outskirts.

5:00 pm - Eat lunch (finally)

8:45 pm - Arrive at destination. Too dark to look at the Airstream. Will try tomorrow morning. Park truck. Battery is running very low. Difficult to restart.

10:00 pm - Eat dinner and have some brews at friend #2's house.

SUN-

2:00 am - Sleeping soudly. Friend #2's cat jumps on face. 30 minutes later, cat runs over body. 30 minutes later, jumps on face. 1 hour later, parakeets begin to chirp and play with bell-like toys. Dog licks shoulder. Repeat often, alternating critters. All night.

9:30 am - Tired. Want to strangle all of friend #2's animals.

11:30 am - Finally make it out to where the Airstream is located. Love it, and buy it. Discover that a wire adapter is needed for the electrical portion of the hitch.

12:00 pm - Arrive at parts store and find parts needed. Decide to get friend #1's truck battery tested. Alternator is shoddy. Buy new alternator.

1:00 pm - Back at Airstream. Begin to replace alternator. Discover the wrong alternator part was sold to us. Cannot get the old alternator back into engine. Call friend #2 to meet us and give us a ride back to the parts store.

2:30 pm - Friend #2 arrives and takes us to the parts store. Receive the correct alternator.

3:00 pm - Back at truck and Airstream. Significant guy and friend #1 perform amazing tactics in changing out alternator and figuring out wiring issues with Airstream hookup. Stomachs growling. Strong sun, 102 degrees outside.

5:00 pm - Finally ready to hit the road. En route on the interstate, the skylight cover flies off the Airstream. Oh well.

6:30 pm - Stop in po-dunksville to eat. Food takes 45 minutes to "cook". (Do they kill the cow on the spot around here?)

8:00 pm - Back on the road. Stop 30 minutes later, some parts on Airstream are flying around loosely. Stop to affix loose parts back to Airstream. Stop again. Strange knocking noise coming from the wheel shaft. Oh well.

9:15 pm - Smell burning oil. Stop again to check friend #1's truck engine. Nothing unusual spotted. Hit the road.

11:00 pm - Stop by parent's house to drop off Airstream. Have a beer and converse. Wish we were home.

12:00 am - Depart and trudge on toward home. About 15 minutes into the drive, rear tail lights on truck go out. Then dash lights go out. Stop on side of road to fix the fuses. Off again.

2:30 am - Arrive home. Dirty, must shower. Pass out...

It's true...Good things don't come easy. Glad we didn't bring the dog.

Hats Off to You

Hats were once wearable art forms here today, gone tomorrow. They came in many shapes, sizes, styles and colors back in the day. But before they were merely wearable art, hats were indications of status and protected one from the elements. Women were required to wear them as a means of looking "appropriately dressed." When I don my vintage hats nowadays, I receive very strange looks.

What happened to these beautiful creatures? They are rarely if not ever seen adorned atop of a person's head. I have found myself collecting these lost art forms--secretly wishing that we have a resurgence in hat fashion, where it is an acceptable fashion accessory. Check out the latest unique revivals with Bonnie's Knitting, Katarina Couture, Creations by Gail, and Hey Sailor! Hats.

A Comparative Study on Boxes

We as a society are inclined to boxes. We live in a stationary box. We transport ourselves to work in a box on wheels, in order to pay for the stationary box. We spend most of our days at work in a mini box amongst other similar looking mini boxes--all encompassed inside of a large box. We get stuck in a routine, and as a result, we tend to think inside the box.

Unfortunately, we identify ourselves entirely too much on these boxes. The boxes become who we are. It's our nature. And I can't stop myself from sharing how two of our most commonly used boxes pair up. To be continued...

Dusty 1970s Buick hiding in the neighboring woods.

Yellow Zebra 1970s Volkswagen Thing resting at its 1930s bungalow.

Taking the Off-Fence

We all need space--creating our distance and privacy from others in this small urban world. What better to divide but with a fence. But not just your ordinary fence. (If I see another white picket fence, I'm going to ram my car into it.) It's time to grow past the standard epitome of the "American Dream" and think up some new ways of dividing and conquering. These two designs that I passed by recently are two great examples of using materials that are re-used. One is natural and the other manmade.

This is one of my favorite designs. Simply stack rocks in between parallel-mounted hogwire fencing. Instant privacy.

With the amount of consuming and producing that we create, what happens to the shells or skeletons of sheet metal that pieces and parts are torch-cut from? This is a terrific method of re-use while keeping a line drawn on what's yours.

The Twofer One Deal

Ideas are one of those unexplainable and invisible fields that come to us from nowhere. We love the thought of new and creative methods in going about our lives. Not to say that bad ideas don't exist, but about 98 % of ideas appear to be terrific thoughts, right off the bat.

When combining my ideas with my instinctive ability to save money, I consider myself thrifty. Some may say I could be a cheapskate. Though a term with negative connotation, I believe a cheapskate is a good quality, especially when times are tough. (Ah-hem.)

This post starts off the first of my series of Cheapskate Tips. These are tried and true tips that cost very little--or free--and are as good as the real deal.

Cheapskate Tip #1: Hit up your local thrift store at least once per week. Many corporate retail outlets donate items that don't sell on their "Sale" racks. These donations of brand new clothing is a tax write-off deluxe. Take advantage of this inventory.

I found this Express skirt that apparently was on sale for $64.99 according to the tag that was on it at the retail store. Cheap right? The Goodwill tag had a price of $2.99. The upper portion of the skirt had a terrific smocked structure and design. It dawned on me that it would make a terrific strapless summer dress. Just added a belt to cinch in the waist. All in all, a great-looking summer outfit all for the price of $2.99 plus tax! When you feel great, spend this little, and your money spent goes toward a cause, there is not a better feeling out there.

The Little Garden That Couldn't

After much research and thought, I have decided to make the first giant step toward self-sufficiency. Maintaining a garden of our own is not only rewarding, but we would be free of pesticides, ethylene gas, radiation and wax. My significant guy built the 8'X4' raised bed of reclaimed and new lumber, metal posts and corrugated sheet metal. Shortly after everything sprouted and well on their way, Central Texas started reaching triple-digit temps, and has been for approximately 15 days straight, combined with a deficit of 4" in rainfall. Everything is getting fried. These puppies don't even want to think about blooming. Forget experiencing the fruits (er, vegetables) of our labor.
Outside of the raised garden bed, lies the Viva Italia tomato variety, however, I have experienced all of the end products turning out like this--termed as "blossom end rot." The soil is the tall tale sign: salt and/or calcium imbalance, or not the right amount of moisture or temperature range. These tomatoes aren't any larger than 1" in diameter! For shame...
Combine rookie gardening with mother nature and voila!...you get the new and improved "Viva Italia Tittymato" variety. Tell me about your gardening mishaps.

Simulation of Flora and Architecture

There is something undeniable in choosing plants that are compatible with your home. It's a type of reinforcement. Maybe even an unconscious choice with some. Like peanut butter 'n jelly, nonetheless...