Ogre's Relish. Yes. Finally.

We finally got our 1971 Aristocrat Lo-Liner trailer whipped into some semblence of shape...enough to take it out for a test run over Memorial Day Weekend.  We're not done - there is still a ton left to do, but if I wait until we're totally done to post pictures, it might not happen. So, without further ado, I give you:

Ogre's Relish

This was where we were with it back in January...I think.  This might have been before that.  Notice the refrigerator (non-working), with a furnace below. Also note the dinette up at the front.  Now, say goodbye.

I hope you said goodbye, because they are all gone. Now, say goodbye to the stove (also non-working).

Farewell to most of the damaged paneling, and hello to new insulation...

...and hello to new paneling.  You might notice the intricate shape - some people might have pieced their paneling, but that's not how my husband rolls.  He's an engineer - and he rolls in a very engineery manner.

Fits like a glove. A well engineered glove. This is part of the reason it took so long to finish.  When your main worker is an engineer there tends to be a humongous amount a bit more attention to detail than is strictly necessary.

More new paneling. There came a time when we just had to stop ripping stuff out.  I think this was the point. The remaining panels weren't perfect, but they were good enough.  I believe that became our motto. "Good Enough".

Hello new paint. Goodbye old floor. You can see one piece of the new stuff over to the right. Much nicer than the ratty old lino.

 New cabinet from Home Depot. It had a big hole in the left side - Steve talked them into discounting it (half price!). We got the countertops and faucet from Home Depot also.

Look how pretty the new floor is!  We managed to get exactly enough width left from the adding the new kitchen cabinet so that we could build in a full size bed! No need to fold it up every day.  I reallyreallyreallyreally wanted a bed that was just a bed, and we got it! Really.

And now for the (semi) finished product:

 The kitchen counter doubles as a nightstand.

 Lots and lots of counter space.

 The curtains are actually dish towels I found at Walmart. I love that they aren't too busy, but yet go really well with the vintage vibe I was trying for.

 Look at all the counter space!

All the pictures were hung using Command Strips.

 Instead of the non working oven, we used a toaster oven and a hot plate.  It's amazing what you can accomplish with those two appliances.

Art by Danny...I'd like to point out that I have never (yet) had blue hair.

I do love me some shelves.

We still have a TON to do:

• new light fixtures
• knobs and drawer pulls
• trim on ceiling and walls
• the (shudder) bathroom
• the (shudder) closet
• paint the outside
• finish the bench cushion (the fabric is currently pinned in place because I'm waiting to find something better/sturdier)

Curtains for My Sitting Room

One of the nice things about Ogre's Relish is the amount of window acreage.  There are 7 windows in it. Seven.  They let in lots of light. Yay! You can enjoy the scenery of the great outdoors from pretty much anywhere in it. Yay!

But...

They also are all pretty much at eye level for anyone walking past, so privacy could be a bit of an issue.  Especially at night.

Remember when I said that there are 7 windows.  Yeah.  That's seven windows in need of window coverings.

Yesterday I went to all three fabric stores in town, in search of curtain fabric.  I came home without any.  I had a couple of samples, but I wasn't in love with either of them - especially when it looked like it was going to run me at least $50.  That's more money than I really want to spend on curtains. So today I headed out again.

My plan was simple, check out Walmart...our little town (as of today) has 3 Walmarts.  Three.  Okay, technically at least one of them isn't in "town", but it's less than 5 miles from my house.

Score!

I ended up buying 2 60x102 tablecloths.  That makes nearly 6 yards of wide fabric - for a grand total of...drumroll...$28.  I'll even have some left over to make a tablecloth.

The only curtain rod that was still up was the long one in front - so I put two sets of curtains there for show.  I plan on making a different set for the front wherein the plaid matches in the middle.  These two sets will go on a couple of the side windows.

Nothing Ventured...

I have to say, I wouldn't make a great photo journalist.  Being on hand to take pictures of EVERY step in a project - hoping for some great ones.

Frankly, sitting around taking pictures every few minutes isn't very appealing to me.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday working only a few feet away from Steve.  He was in Ogre's Relish, I was just outside...weeding.  Much was accomplished by both of us.

Steve's new favorite tool.

One ceiling panel was removed (water damage).

This is the corner that had the most water damage/dry rot. We've been lucky to have had a couple of days with a lot of rain - it really helped us see where water was coming in. The next job will be to remove the damaged boards and replace them.
We've already purchased the new boards, insulation and paneling.

The Cart Before the Horse

Sure, we brought home our baby last week (and by baby, I mean Ogre's Relish). I found a smokin' deal on craigslist and we managed to snag it.  Problem? We did not have a vehicle to tow it yet.

Luckily, Steve knows a guy...a guy with a big stinky Bronco (possibly from the late 70's), that he was willing to loan us.

We knew we needed to hurry up and get our own towing vehicle...so we have spent more hours than I care to count in researching, calling, emailing, visiting dealerships (new and used), test driving (lather rinse repeat), to try and find something that would meet our needs without costing an arm and a leg.

Drum roll please...

2006 GMC Sierra

And now Steve becomes "The Guy With a Truck".

Carpe Carpet

The decor of Ogre's Relish is very 70's at the moment.  And I don't mean that in a good way.  We have no plans of doing a restoration...Our plan is to make this baby awesome. In a good way.

Let the games begin.

These little beauties are not destined to be returned to the walls. Not on my watch.

Steve and Danny (with a bit of help from your truly) began Phase I of our trailer renovation.  As with any remodeling project, first you have to start with a clean(ish) slate.

Trailer? What trailer? 

Here's a "before" of the lovely curtains (and some butterflies).

All curtains are gone!

Before picture showing the not-so-lovely pink carpet.  And more butterflies.

The stinky pink carpet is now a thing of the past.  Sadly, the awesome lino is not in awesome shape. New flooring is definitely in order.

How ghetto are we?

It is a fact, universally acknowledged that:

• "rush hour(s)" traffic through Seattle is always bad.
• "rush hour(s)" traffic through Tacoma is always bad.
• there is inevitably an accident between Tacoma and Olympia when you least want to be slowed down by one.  Or two.
• pre-Labor Day traffic on I-5 is always horrendous.  Without exception.

That said, I'm pretty excited about how our trip yesterday went.  A special thank you to Steve who actually did all the driving and then went out after midnight to take pictures. 

Special. Thanks.

According to the title, we now are the proud owners of a 1971 Aristocrat Lo-Liner. That's according to the title.  It looks a lot like some 1970 Lo-Liners that I have found on the internet. The ad for it on craigslist was brief:

"1971 Aristocrat. 

Decent shape."

Before you get all judge-y...it is in "decent shape"...for a 1971 trailer that is selling for $750.

I'm sure our neighbors will be excited to wake up to this!

Let's start a "Need to Do" list, shall we?
1. Wiring
2. Replace broken window (that's the one with duct tape over it)

See #1. (wiring)

That orange "light" on top is actually a house window across the street.  Weird.
The wire gracefully draped across the side is obviously for the tail lights. Obviously.
What you can't see is that it has the original hubcaps with the word "Aristocrat" embossed on it.  It actually has two of them.

What's behind Door #2?  The door on the right (with the mirror) lead to the bathroom...which has a working toilet and shower.  
3. Rip up nasty pink(!) carpeting.
4. Remove old curtains.
5. Toss out foam cushions.

Are you as excited as I am about the avocado appliances?  I sort of don't hate them.  We'll see if I can talk Steve around.  If not...
6. Paint appliances.

This is the dinette area.  I plan on making this a fixed bed...
...after removing curtains and cushions (see #4 and #5)

There's actually quite a bit more that we may or may not take on - depending on whether we decide to keep this trailer:

1. New flooring.
2. Tear out vanity (that's the little sink under the back window.
3. Take out furnace (it's below the refrigerator), and move fridge down to floor level...which would mean also putting in a new counter top.
4. New back splash.
5. Do something about/to the ugly paneling.
6. New exterior paint.
7. etc, etc, etc...