We're Floored.

 (No, Really!)

See?

Barbara came, along with Comet the Chihuahua, and with much cursing and banging, installed the floor. It's bamboo locking floor from Lowe's, about $2.50 or so a square foot. I must say she did a very good job. In addition, she did a little more work on the benches and counter, and stained the ceiling beams which will remain exposed when the faux tin ceiling is put up.

Norm and I concentrated on the exterior paint job, which is proceeding apace. It doesn't look much different than the last photo, but we've been able to apply additional coats and the color is nice and even now. I'm really pleased with it.

One of our major successes this week was finding just the right kind of beadboard wainscot paneling for the walls. You'd think it would have been easy to obtain this, but the stuff at Lowe's and HD was just...not good. They had stuff that was thin and cut with two repeating grooves, and looked cheesy to my eye. What I wanted was the real deal, the thicker stuff with the bead actually rounded. And I wanted it in either a light stain, or plain wood. This proved surprisingly difficult to find. Norm the ever-resourceful, called just about every lumberyard in the area and finally found a place that said they had it. But did they? Norm wanted to be sure it was the right stuff, so early Saturday morning we took a trip.

The stuff is PERFECT. Unstained, just thick enough, with a nice rounded bead. We'll slap a coat of Minwax PolyShades Honey Pine on it, and it will be just right.

This week should see a bump in progress, as Lars the Renaissance Man is due to commit a blitz-build. I can't wait to see what's waiting for me when I get home from work.

Norm got into the habit of calling the vardo 'Brigitte Vardo'. One of his co-workers at the park decided to make a sign for her. I don't have the heart to tell him he misspelled it, so she's 'Bridgette' from now until forever.

I'll leave you with a photo of my newest decorative acquisition. Sun faces! $25 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Not sure where' they'll go yet, but I'll find a place for them.

It's Been Awhile..

But, we're back!

After a few years of no progress, we've finally picked up the hammer and brush and are determined to finally finish this project. We had a fairly rough few years, which included the passing away of Norm's dad, and three (count 'em three) deaths in my family/friend circle. Add to that a change of jobs and the result was stagnation on the vardo-building front.


On the plus side, the new job is much better compensated than the old one. This gives Jen more money to spend on vardo-related stuff. So, round about February we met with Lars, our wonderful renaissance man to discuss PLANS. And now PLANS are becoming ACTION!

A Colorful Harlot She Is...

So we had originally planned to stain and seal the vardo and keep the natural wood color. This was a good idea in theory, but did not pan out well in practice. We had several years of excessive rain and the mildew got a foothold. A REALLY GOOD FOOTHOLD. So I made the decision to strip her down and paint her with this stuff: Valspar Reserve Exterior Paint. It costs quite a bit (about $50/gallon) but should keep us from having quite the same problems as before. (I hope). In any case, if over the years she gets grimy again, we can just re-paint her. I chose 'Brown Berry' and 'Indigo' colors, and the decorative trimwork will be in a metallic copper. (The copper paint isn't an exterior, so I'll have to clear-coat that.)

We're about half done with the paintjob, here's a peek:

Interior: Moar Progress!!!

So Lars has returned with help from the way-cool Barbara. Together, these two can build just about anything, I'm convinced. Lars is a renaissance man in every sense of the word, (he built large chunks of the NY Renaissance Fair, plus, he's also a metalsmith, photographer AND works in film (I really believe he does just about everything, from lighting to camerawork to stage combat to camerawork to voiceover.)

In any case, here's what they accomplished in an afternoon:

Woo! 

In addition to all this, Jen went shopping. I bought all kinds of things, including bamboo flooring, faux tin ceiling tiles, lanterns that we're going to wire with led's that will run off of a 12v system, a solar panel to charge the battery, a housing and exhaust vent for the battery, marine 12v outlets, plugs, and baskets for the shelving. Whew!

I'll post more pics as we use these items. We're on our way!

There and Back Again.

'Don't you steal my baby, you gypsies!'

This is the first thing that our campmate, Mouse, said to us when we rolled up to Silver Channel camp at Pennsic at about 10:30 PM. It was the start of a really wonderful vacation, and a welcome relief from the stress of the past month.

Everyone was incredibly enthusiastic about the vardo, despite the fact that we had to do a little finagling to fit it into camp. (Next year will be easier.) By the end of Pennsic, our camp Mom & Dad were hatching schemes to build a shower on a trailer with a holding tank, so that we could dispense with digging the shower pit every year, which is a royal P.I.A. Another enthusiast was our friend Debra, who with her husband run both a clothing merchant and leatherworking business. (Good stuff, too - Sultry Treasures by Debra.) She's looking for a shop/wagon where she can keep her stock and pack and unpack easily.

Perched.

Ala-Kazaam!

Messy, but VERY comfortable!

My attempt at artsy photography - the Sun finial on our awning against the rising moon.

As unfinished as the vardo is - it still lacks all of its decorative trim, stain on the bays and front door, a finished interior and any kind of caulking - we got a lot of compliments. I can't wait to show them the end product!

During the last month, I'd kind of lost my vision of how cool this thing was going to be. This was due to the frustrations of some of the roadblocks we came up against and getting a little burned out on the work and worry. Well, one day at War cured all that. The first night, after we rolled in at 10 PM, instead of having to then set up a pavilion, and our bed in the dark, we simply parked the vardo and went to bed until we could set up formally the next morning. And then it rained! Torrentially! We slept on, dry and warm. Let me also add, that rain on the aluminum roof was very soothing.

Most of what I did this war was....nothing. Well, mostly sleep. Yes, we went shopping and to a couple of parties, but the majority of my time was spent either reading under my shade awning or snoozing in the vardo. Even in the direct sun, the vardo was relatively cool, as long as I left the windows open. The addition of a battery operated fan made it positively blissful.

Packing up was diabolically easy. In fact, Norm and I ended up sitting around like Statler and Waldorf in a couple of camp chairs, watching everyone else pack up in a panic ahead of a predicted downpour on Saturday. Frankly, the only reason we were still there at that point is that we were land-locked in by other people's cars, tents, etc. until about 2PM. Honestly, we could have been packed in an hour and gone. I think our camp mates might have hated us just a smidge right then. Norm helped fill in the shower pit in atonement.  Next time, maybe I should bring pie or something...

The vardo towed to and from War very well. We didn't have any problems, and according to Norm it tracks really well. The only issue we encountered is that about 100 yards from home, we hit one of our pet potholes and busted a shackle link. This is easy to fix.

I learned a few things during this shakedown:
1.  I think maybe I might reduce the amount of space that was going to be closet, because I really didn't use that much space on my clothing rod - maybe like a foot. So I don't need a 3-foot closet. I think I'll have Lars shorten the closet and turn the extra space into corner-shelving.  Shelving ROCKS. I had stuff stuck in the eaves, on the bay windowsills, and on the four shelves that Lars had put in between the studs. I want MORE!

2. I think also that I will paint or stain the wheels a brighter color so that they pop out in front of the black fabric wheel camouflage, so that the camouflaged modern wheels are less obvious.

3. I made the right call in buying such huge scissor leveling jacks. Lars thought 7500 lb jacks was overkill, and maybe it was, but I felt very secure perched on the side of the hill with one side jacked up almost a whole foot. The vardo hardly had any rock or shake at all. This helped Jenna sleep at night.

4. We need a big hook to hold the hatch open while fishing within the cargo hold.

5. We ended up buying some cement blocks to use to foot the jacks - they were cheap and they made a big difference in the vardo's stability.

We will be on a short hiatus until maybe October, when Lars is predicting he'll have some more time to work on the project, and I'll have some bucks to spend. See you then!

Here Comes the Rain AGAIN.

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you? -Eurythmics


OMG, the rain. As I type this, a day late getting going to Pennsic, the whole forest is absolutely dripping with the remains of the torrential downpour that hit us last evening just as we were getting ready to load up the vardo.
I hadn't much dwelled on it previously, but the amount of rain we've had this spring/summer has seriously fucked with our vardo-building schedule.

It rained almost non stop in April/May, which was when this project was originally slated to begin. Because of that, it got bumped forward, and in fact, bumped into Lar's other projects involving Tuxedo Renaissance Faire. Additionally, there were many days over the last few weeks where Lars had a smidge of free time, but inevitably, it would friggin' rain.

As a result, the vardo is not finished on the inside. Additionally, in order to get it roadworthy enough to take to Pennsic, Lars had to pull a 24 hour shift finishing the damn thing up.
The last straw was last night, when it was finally done, and just as Norm and I are getting ready to load it, it starts pouring torrential buckets of water all over everything.

So we threw up our hands and went to bed. What else can you do? In any case, here are some pictures of the vardo. It does look beautiful, I think - and there's more finishing detail to be done.

As you can see in the pictures, it needs some more staining and the trimwork needs to be done. Also, we didn't have time to cut the dutch door, but it's all marked and ready to be cut.
I think I need to just get our butts to Pennsic now and have some fun, and when we come back, there won't be any deadlines or immediate goals to accomplish. Creativity is much more fun that way. Hopefully, this time next year, all of the detail work and the decorating and the fun little mini-projects that I know I'll be thinking up over the winter will be done. I'm planning on keeping all of the SCA gear and garb in the vardo permanently. So all we'll have to do next year is hook up and go.

Rain or no friggin' rain! (Shakes fist at sky, Scarlett O'Hara-like.)

She's Not There.

Well let me tell you 'bout the way she looked
The way she'd act and the colour of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool
Her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there -The Zombies.

Countdown to Jenn losing her mind:


10...9...8..7....

We are in high gear now. Norm and I now have the vardo in our driveway, after a weekend fraught with peril. (Well, not really peril, but at least annoyances.)

To begin with, the truck we were going to use to take the vardo home on Thursday night blew its brakes. So we couldn't take it home until Saturday. That pretty much nixed any plans to get it weighed and go to DMV on Saturday morning. As a result, we'll have to do it Friday, thus pushing our departure for Pennsic back 1 day.

C'est la vie, I suppose.

Here are some pics of the last building session, which went on deep into the night:

Norm gives the light brackets what for with the sawzall. The lights were moved to the back of the vardo.

Lars of Midknight construction actually working at midnight. Gack!

Once we had the thing home on Saturday, we spent the remainder of the weekend staining and sealing it. Fortunately, this was not quite as labor-intensive as it sounds; we actually had some time on Sunday afternoon and evening to rest a bit while the sun was too direct. Once we got our shade back, we resumed and finished up a little before 7PM Sunday night.

The main boards are all done.

As you can see, it currently lacks both windows and doors. This will be remedied on Wednesday, when Lars is going to come chez nous with some qualified help and finish up. As I will be working in Springfield on Wednesday, I am anticipating coming home to a miraculous transformation of what looks like a woodshed on a landscaping trailer into a beautiful, livable work of art.

Building's a Mystery

Who needs sleep?

Wowzers. As I write this, on Monday evening, I am barely functioning. What an incredibly productive weekend.
Not to mention super fun! It's just that I think I could have used a little more sleep....Oh, well. I can sleep at Pennsic.

Saturday.
Saturday started out only moderately busy, but it seemed to pick up speed as the evening approached. It reached its apex when Norm and I loaded the old pavilion into his truck, and headed to P-Burg to deliver it to its new home.

The best thing about the pavilion's new home is that it is being adopted by some good friends of ours. So, what better excuse to get together for dinner than a pavilion delivery? Norm and I had a blast hanging out with our friends, who live in an old linen mill on what I believe is the Musconetcong River near where it joins up with the Delaware. Their house is gorgeous, all stone and wood beams, and chock full of interesting objects - everything from antiques to props that they made for the last Halloween party.

There was chips, salsa and Margaritas, as well as very good conversation. So good, that by the time I thought to check the time, it was 11:30 at night.  ACK!

We live about 1 1/2 hours from them, so getting home took us until 1AM. By the time the dogs were walked (They were very good, they waited for us!), the bunnies were fed, and the ablutions performed, it was pushing 2. Just before I lay me down to sleep, I see that there's a message on my phone.

It's Lars, our builder. He has had problems with the roof. Can we come over tomorrow and lend a hand?

Of course we will! (Mind you, I didn't call him back to tell this at 2 AM. I waited until sunup.)

Sunday.
6:30 AM and both Norm and I are up with the boids. Norm because he promised to help somebody move some furniture and me because I always get up to walk the puppies at that time. But, since we had stuff to do and I'd had about 4 hours sleep, I decided to not go back to bed but to simply drink a ton of coffee and hope for the best.
At 10 AM Norm and I are on the road to the builder's house. A beautiful day and a beautiful drive. Lars lives in New York State, up on a mountain. We drove through Warwick and SugarLoaf, both artsy fun towns that Norm and I love to go to. Warwick has nice little outdoor cafes and music on the green. SugarLoaf has artsy jewelry places.

But I digress.
Somewhere about 12:30-ish, we get to Lars' house. We find Lars already hard at work. With Weird Al Yankovic singing us a serenade on the boom box, Norm and I jump in.
Or rather, Norm jumps in and I try to make myself at least slightly useful.

This is what the vardo looked like when we got there.

Norm measuring the porch in order to plan a set of steps.

Norm and Lars slay another board. Take THAT!

Looking through the front door at the bed platform, window (above) and exterior cargo hatch door.

After much pounding and wrestling, all of the rafters are set in their notches.

Wrestling plywood into a curve. Goopy glue and screws followed. "Now STAY DOWN!"

The back bay window. Isn't the tongue and groove board nice? When we stain it it will be 'Sweeeeet' (according to Lars.)

Norm's better half. And a pumpkin.

Norm, being a maintenance guy, grabbed a jigsaw and started notching out rafters and suchlike to prep them for Lars' installation. I have no such skills. Not that I can't learn them, but yesterday wasn't a good opportunity to hand Jenn a saw and let her screw up a piece of wood. We simply don't have the budget.

So, I ended up doing other stuff like picking out the right size screws from a plastic Jack O'  Lantern full of random hardware, running errands, and handing up screwguns. Which made me feel a little less useless. The rest of the time I spent trying not to get in the way. I think I excelled in that area.

We worked until the sun went down (ALL the way down) at 9PM-abouts. Then, the long haul home. We made it before midnight (Yay!), walked the puppies, showered, and crashed.

I should note that the puppies, while beautifully behaved while we were gone, went out of their way to make me feel guilty last night and also this morning when I had to go to work. "You mean you're leaving us all alone AGAIN?????"

Cute puppies will conquer you with their guilt-rays! Bad hoomin!

It's looking like it's going to take another week at least to complete the vardo enough for use at Pennsic. It won't be done-done in any case; we're picking our battles at this point. But it will be done enough to use at War.
I was hoping to have more of the fine details completed, but I'm not going to get myself in a twist over it. As long as we have a roof over our heads and a comfy bed, the rest is icing. The big job that Norm and I will have to complete once we get the vardo in our driveway is staining and sealing. Everything else is details.

Lars is also going to do some more tweaking once it gets to our house, so we'll see how far we can get.

Celestial Musings

Happy Fourth, Everybody!

So I dunno about you guys, but my favorite thing to do on a holiday weekend is a project. I am happy as a clam with Star Trek NG on the TV to listen to (and occasionally look up at and watch during the good parts.) My puppy dogs are also keeping me company, as is Norm in between his own putzing about the house.
So here's what I've got done so far. This is the awning/fly that goes to our pavilion. The pavilion is being sold (we already have a buyer lined up) but I'm keeping the awning. It'll attach to the side of the vardo and provide shade and an outdoor dining/kitchen area for us.

In keeping with my love of celestial themes I've painted the dagging blue and am stenciling suns and moons on the dags:

To continue the Celestial theme, I've resurrected a couple of candle holders that I bought back in the early 90's. I never did like the color (sort of patina green) so I've taken the candle parts off and painted them:

Each of these will be affixed to the top of one of the awning's support poles.

That's all for today, enjoy your holiday!