March 17

Well, it has been a VERY busy WEEK for us here! Blizzards, rain, melting snow,  50º, and more snow and  freezing all in the same WEEK!  But, despite all of that, we STILL managed to accomplish quite a bit!  

This is the bedroom when we first took delivery of our new rig: polyester curtains, no cabinets above the dresser..

Here is what we have done to it!!  We purchased 2 cabinets to flank the TV in the bedroom, which involved using a different support system and different TV bracket... Now the TV can be swiveled, and tilted... we installed a strap to hold it secure while traveling... Hubby also installed 'puck lights '(12v) on the shelf under the TV... They are operated by a push button under the right side cabinet...   Not sure what I will be doing with the right side area of the dresser/cabinet... Might add a dressing table thing.. so have not done any decorating there yet.  I also made new curtain valences and lace curtains.. Much less masculine than the polyester ones were.

This is the kitchen/island area a week ago - we removed the small hanging pendants already at this point...

This is what we came up with:  Den built the 'light box' which has adjustable LED strip lighting  on a dimmer switch lining the upper part of the light box... We then hung 2 new pendants at a lower position... They have longer shades in a warm amber color - much easier on my old EYES!  They had black metal parts, and I sprayed them brushed nickel, to be more like the other metal touches in the whole rig...

This is a picture of the light box with the pendants turned off.. Both pendants (which are now 12v) and the "LED strip lights" (12v), are now on independent dimmers.  Ambient as 

well as task lighting!

This area is the hall closet - which has 3 doors and previously had NO light inside... There was (is) hanging space all the way across spanning the area - with 3 access doors..  The small ceiling hall light was just too dim to see anything in there, so Hubby installed strip lighting on the inside of the door posts! HOLY COW, you could land a JET LINER it is so nice and bright in there!  The switch is operated by opening the door, close the door and the light is off..  We made the center and left door to be hanging space, floor storage for bulk things and storing the vac... as well as hanging items.. the right bay is for items in bins, linens, laundry supplies, etc.

Now, here in the bedroom closet - which ALSO had a 12v light,  he added 15' of lighting as well... I can NOW see everything in there... inside the right and left sides of this closet are deep shelves for folded clothing and shoes, etc.. The 'book case' area straight ahead inside the closet is great for storage as well!  Hubby added a LOT of insulation behind there when he pulled it out to explore - and found out just WHY it was so cold in the bedroom... the left side has shelves as well and hubby's breathing machine is behind one of the doors there.

Finally, we moved the Stained glass door panel from the '29, where it has lived for 5 or 6 years, to the new rig - VERY cold job, but we got it done and now I TRULY feel like we have MOVED IN! LOL!  This pic also shows the 'light box' that hubby built to enhance the 2 water color pictures that a friend of mine painted for us when we purchased the '29. 

I just LOVE them! Male and Female Cardinals in the winter..  The LED strip lights up 

The LED strip lights up here are also on a dimmer...  

Last, but not least on our list inside, was the soap dispenser for the kitchen sink.!!  LOVE it!  Had on in the '29 and really was glad to get one for this rig!

After Honey finishes going through the '29 with a fine tooth comb, making any small repairs that are  needed, adding new tires, etc, we will get IT listed, and THEN he will begin the transformation of the UNDERBELLY!  He will move the wall to make more room down there, add the generator, storage, etc. inside and then will be adding stainless storage bins underneath, different steps (4 steps instead of 3), a flagpole to the ladder, new solar panels.. and probably lots more!  He has already added a motion sensor entry light, and told me he has purchased a keyless entry setup (THANKS GEORGE!)...  I am sure there will be LOTS More tricks up his sleeve! LOL!  

SO STAY TUNED!!!!!! LOL!  

This is the "BEYOND" part that is just beginning!

WELL!  Bet those of you who have followed our posts have thought we dropped off the EARTH!  

The last post I made in October kind of left folks hanging in mid-air!  We had a VERY busy couple of weeks after we left Amarillo, Texas...  Spent a night in Oklahoma, then on up into Kansas where we got to see one of our new Great Grandsons!  He was just 2 this past December and ADORABLE!  We spent a few days parked in the grand daughter's yard and got to know our sweet Keaton!  He discover the carbon monoxide detector in the kitchen of our rig and LOVED pushing it! 

And After we left central Kansas, and the grandkids and Great Grand, we went on to visit friends and Family in Topeka area and had a GREAT week or so with THEM!  Sure do miss them!

Then on to Jefferson City, MO. to visit with Grand daughter and her hubby and ANOTHER Great Grandson!  First time meeting him, too!  He was SUCH a joy and I had a lot of fun playing Peek-A-Boo with him!!!  Smart little cookie, too! He just turned a year old in August of 2013!

SO, after a wonderful 5 month trip to Alaska and Beyond, we finally got home on November 3, and unloaded our Cardinal 29 RKLE and on November 14, we went up to Appleton, Wisconsin to see a NEW rig!  It is a BEAUTY!  We had them install Thermopane windows as part of our deal....   So, on Dec 14, we made the trip up to Appleton again, to pick up our NEW beauty!   It is a 3675 Cardinal!!! About 8' longer than our first Cardinal, but this one has 3 slides... Our dealer at Appleton REALLY worked with us!!  We are THRILLED!  

Here we are just before we pulled out of the Dealership!  

The following morning, after returning from the Dealership, we had the FIRST of MANY blizzards that we have experienced here in North Central Illinois this winter!!  We are VERY close to breaking the record for the most snow we have had in almost a Century....  sigh... Not easy to try to unload our '29 into the new rig, but we DID it!  Also have been VERY busy doing a LOT of new lighting, shelving, insulating, moving plumbing, new Jensen Sound System, strip lighting, changing the swing of the door to bathroom from 'out into the hallway to swinging into the bath' so that we can get into the bathroom without having to run the slides out when we pull into a rest area....  Here are some of the views of what we have accomplished in just these last 2 1/2 months..  

LOVE our fireplace! and the book cases flanking the TV/Fireplace!  There is storage under the Fireplace as well as above and below the 2 bookcases!  

We added a swing arm lamp next to the sofa, so I can read in the evening.

Also love the 4 door Refrigerator and Freezer!  I really enjoy cooking and NEED my supplies!!!! LOL!

We have a GREAT island kitchen, with drawers and cabinets under.  Hubby moved the plumbing under the sink from inside the middle to close to the wall of the cabinet, so I now have more storage for cleaning supplies and all of the other things that live under a sink cabinet!!

The pantry had an expanded metal panel in the door when we picked up the rig, which just did not GO with the rest of the decor, so hubby removed it and we now have a more 'seamless' look to the area! 

Here is a picture of the pantry door slid open.. we added twice as many shelves, providing MUCH more storage!  Bins for chips and crackers, canned goods, dishes, glassware, spices and seasonings now have plenty of room.

LOVE the stovetop covers, which make this area work wonderfully as a buffet counter! Great storage above in the cabinets - added more shelving in those, and also to the cabinets below the counter.. I also have a big drawer under the stove and another under the fridge!

I had taken a photo of a pool in Yellowstone a couple of years ago, and we had that photo printed on an aluminum panel through Wallgreens and it came out pretty well!  There was an ''80's'' looking swirly mirror thing back there as a backsplash - NOT my style!  So this will make a great, and personalized backdrop!  Really hard to get a good picture of this on a day that is SUNNY and Bright outside - with the SNOW making things brighter!
The 2 wood pieces flanking the panel are slabs that we picked up in Oregon on our way back down from Alaska - left side one is a Redwood slab, (will be a cutting board) and the right one is a Myrtlewood slab, which is to set a hot pot on....   All I had to do is sand them a bit and rub Mineral oil into them!

This is the back side of the sink/island.  I saw this idea in an RV club friend of ours on HER island and LOVED it!  So, I hung pictures of Honey and I that were taken from Key West to Alaska, and down to the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, NM.  Also, the sink covers make this ANOTHER 'buffet' for serving or prep..

Just a few of my Cardinal collector plates - I have been collecting Cardinal plates and figurines for about 25 or 30 years - The Cardinal  IS our State Bird after all!  I have about 25 or so between the house and the camper..

I LOVE our new table and chairs! We have 2 folding chairs that will expand the use of the table - which slides out and another leaf comes up!   Storage UNDER the table top as well a under the chair seats!

4 more of the Cardinal plates - these are "Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter."

I painted this sign as a reminder that you can pretty much accomplish ANYTHING if you BELIEVE and Work for it!!!!
This is above the 'jacket cabinet' which you see as you enter the rig.  We also now have shoe storage in there (thanks to Hubby and his "McGyver'' skills) and also a bank 12v outlets to charge phones, iPod, iPad, etc.

This is the 'unfinished entry area - we removed the cork board door covering the switches and Hubby (AKA: McGyver) is putting the light switches below, the picture to the right, which NOW will have only the "slide switches, tank level switches" and such... I was concerned that someone (maybe ME????) might hit  a slide switch instead of a light switch...... He also has to add the Controller for the Solar panels (if the S.N.O.W. ever STOPS!) He can't even get up there and put them up till he gets all of the 8" of snow off!

We built a 'shelf' above the entry door, and Honey added LED light strips to that 'trough/shelf' and I hung the 2 Water Colors that a dear friend had painted for me!  Male and Female Cardinals and among my DEAREST possessions!  These lights are on a dimmer on the wall..

Close picture of the pantry door, and on the OTHER side of this is the HALL cabinet (next picture!)

This Hall Cabinet, which had no door at all, is now on a slider to conceal my tools, and picnic bag/cooler....

Door open to easily get into my tool storage area.  The Bottom of this cabinet, was originally designed to be a 'laundry hamper' and seemed to us that it wasted space - so Honey 'repurposed' this area, making it accessible from the entry/jacket storage area, and put shelving in there for our shoes as we come in the door...  just made more sense!

I made new curtain/cornices for the bedroom... MUCH less masculine!

We changed out the HEAVY wooden headboard for this very lightweight scrolly aluminum one - half price at Hobby Lobby!  I painted it with a creamy spray paint and LOVE it!  A dear friend crocheted the bedspread for me!  She is a FAB crochet queen and has made MANY pieces for our RV club Rallies!  I get LOTS of compliments on this!
Love ya, Sharon!!!!

This area will be a bit different in the next few weeks - We have purchased new cabinets which will flank the TV here above the dresser - so no pictures or anything have been hung as of yet on this wall!  Behind the closet doors there is also a 'shoe/book case' type of thing and storage behind the doors flanking the closet..

And Back in the Living Room!

I found the coffee table/trunk on our Alaskan trip (actually on Vancouver Island at a thrift store) and painted it and used a lace curtain as a stencil..  It stores our flags outdoor/awning lighting and extra throws for cozying up with the fireplace and a good movie!

And the 2 leather recliners came with the rig as well!  Honey/McGyver built the cabinet between the recliners, using maple from a tree we had to take down a couple of years ago from our woods.. I designed one like this for our 29RKLE Cardinal... It has a slide out drawer with hanging racks inside for Atlas and camping books... My daughter made the quilt for me a few years ago.

WE LOVE OUR NEW RIG!!! and as soon as the RECORD snowfall finally stops and we have SPRING weather, Honey can get the Solar panels added, and all of the other wiring and 'basement storage' arranged and the new heavier suspension system and tires added, we will be ready to ROLL!  

We will be listing our 29RKLE for sale as soon as we go through it with a fine tooth comb - hopefully in a couple of months - he will be putting new tires on it and seeing whatever else it needs!!  It has LOTS of storage, new carpet, great kitchen, larger refrigerator, we have LOVED it...   but hope a NEW owner will as well!! 

Will try to post  more when we get to go out in this new rig!  With this TERRIBLE winter weather and honey's setback with surgery, it has been QUITE a winter!!!!! LOL!  

Till LATER, Donna