Day 514, Friday!

The interior of the Traveleze coming all back together.

Today I visited the Traveleze and there has been a lot of work done since my last visit.  All of the cabinet doors and drawers are in.  The counter top and table top have been covered with new red swirled marmoleum and all the insulation is in place.  They have been lightly hand sanding with a fine sand paper and are getting ready to stain/shellack the interior.  Justin was hoping to a coat on before the weekend, so it could dry and be ready for more coats and varnish next week.  By the end of next week the plumbing should in, as well as, the electrical.

Justin drilling the finger hole in the sink cover.

I am so pleased with what I'm seeing it has been well worth the wait.  I believe this is some of their finest craftsmanship and I think the end result is going to far beyond my wildest expectations.  We have still not been able to find to replacement windows to match and I'm hoping someone out there might know were I could find them.  It has been very difficult to find 19" x 25" windows and we have had zero success finding the exact match.

The weather started to turn a bit more seasonally appropriate and the sky was spitting snow.

On the chicken front at around 10 am I heard the chickens all up in a ruckus and I went out to investigate and to feed them some rolls.  I was surprised to see a large red tail hawk sitting on the fence next to the coop.  As I approached, he flew off and his wing span had to be nearly 5' across.  The chickens were very happy to see me scare off the hawk and even more excited to get the rolls.  

A hungry hawk wanting a nice big chicken.

Day 513, Thursday and rain

I woke up several times throughout the night to the sound of rain.  It has been a very dry December, so the rain is greatly needed.  I'm not sure what it was but I was very tired even after a good night sleep.  I think the grey skies and the continuous rain, just made me more sleepy.

I did several small projects around the house, but the big project was fixing the stereo speakers.  I knew when I hooked them 3 years ago, I didn't do them correctly.  Now with nothing else to do, or anything I wanted to do, I figure today would a good day to fix the problem.  Moving the TV cabinet and the stereo out is a heavy task.  The first thing to do was phone a friend and ask for help.  With a little help the speakers were all hooked up correctly and the sound was amazing.

Insulation being cut to fit.

On the Traveleze front, Justin was getting the cold that was going around but was still hard at work. I told him to go home, but I have no pull.  He sent a great picture of the insulation go in on the trailer and he doing the electrical.

At 4:20 pm I picked Tracy up for a Son's of Norway board meeting.  Neither of us knew exactly what the meeting was about or where it was at.  Again, I phoned a friend and we were able to find the location with no problem.

After an hour long meeting we skipped out on the food portion of the event and ran a few errands, including going to Fred Meyer, so I could buy a stereo cord adapter, so I could finish hooking up my stereo correctly and then I could push the cabinet back in place.

It was a long dreary day and I was ready for bed.

Day 512, More eating

I was back up at my folks by 9 am, for another large breakfast.  I usually have granola bar for breakfast, so all this holiday over eating is making me feel a little pudgy around the middle.

My brother and his family were leaving to head to back home, but first my niece and nephew want to come over to feed the horses.  My sister-in-law had bought them some apples and carrots to feed them and the kids were very excited for the opportunity.  The horses were all to willing to eat the delicious fruit and veggies.

Later in the afternoon my father and I went to look at a piece of property that is in a Short Sale.  The house was over 4,000 sq ft on nearly 20 acres.  There were great mountain views, but he house was unfinished, with lots of finish work and construction work as well as major repairs to  lots of the house.  The biggest turn off me however was the neighboring property and the long gravel drive.  I can't imagine living on gravel and trying to keep a car clean.

The day was pretty uneventful and I stayed up pretty late watching the movie Love Actually.

Day 511, Progress on the Traveleze

Kitchen coming togher

At 9 am we have a big breakfast at my folks house.  It was a nice way to start the day and of course to over eat once again.  After breakfast we headed over to my house to let the kids see the horses and the chicken and then downtown to see the new ice rink.

I wanted to head into Bend to see the Traveleze and to check on have the headliner in the Rolls repair.  Flye Camp and Red Hot Interiors are on the same block, so I thought this was a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

I was very happy to see that progress was being made on the Traveleze.  Most of the cabinets and draws are all in and Justin was going to start on the wiring and insulation.  He had a few questions for me and we talked about several issues and next steps.

After visiting the trailer we (my brother and I) headed over the Red Hot Interiors to have them look at the headliner of the Rolls.  The insulation backing to the roof had dropped loose and was hitting the headliner in places.  It's not really noticeable, but I see and more importantly it cuts down on the scarce headroom.  They were confident on what needed to be done and I scheduled an appointment for January 30, 2012 to have it done.

The newly upholstered dinette, being tried out. 

From here it was back to the folks house for more food and family time.  I received a text while visiting from Justin at Flyte Camp, who had just picked up the dinette seats for the Traveleze.  He sent several picture of the seats in place and they looked great.

I Googled 1950 Traveleze and I was shocked to see one on Craigslist in Washington.  They had restored the exterior but not the interior (backwards).  The windows were different from mine but you could see the potential.  I had to send the link to Justin and the text of OMG!

By 8 pm I was exhausted and ready for back home for some quality time with sofa, a good movie and the cats.

Day 510, Christmas round two.

Enamelware dish set for the Traveleze

Today my brother and his family from Portland are coming over.  There estimated time of arrival is around 3pm.  I slept in until 8:15 am and enjoyed the quiet house and a gradual awakening.

Once I got going it was full steam ahead.  I wanted to be at WalMart by 9am to see if I could buy Christmas lights for the office to use downtown next year.  I was surprised to see that they had nothing.  My next thought was Lowe's and they had 16 cases at 50% off.  I bought a case for myself and had the office buy the remaining 15.

From there I hit several stores checking out the sales and I even headed into Bend to see what deals I could find there.  I stopped off at the Sportsman Warehouse and I spent my gift card on a set of enamelware dishes, a cutting board and cast iron skillet for the trailer.  From there I ran to Costco, and Barnes and Noble.  It was now pushing 2 pm, so I needed to think about heading home and going over to my folks to meet my brother and his family for Christmas round two. 

A very cool retro radio by Crosley for the Traveleze.

My timing was perfect and I had no more pulled into my driveway when my mom had called to say that they had arrived.  I unloaded my truck and headed over to my brother and his family.  As always we had a great time and the kids, ages 6 and 8, were ready to open packages.  I was very happy to receive from Sister-in-law and brother a very retro radio for the Traveleze.  I opened immediately and plugged my iPhone into it, tuned to Pandora, and played Christmas music for the evening.

Today is also my nephews birthday so we had a great time watching him celebrate his birthday.

It was great to have everyone home for the holidays.

Day 509, Merry Christmas

One lazy cat on Christmas morning.

I woke up with a cat standing on me, and I was ready for Christmas.  I turned on the radio and listen to music and enjoyed the moment.

Breakfast was at 9am at my folks and headed over around 8:45 am.  We take our time with Christmas morning, opening our stocks from Santa, then breakfast and then we open gifts.  We had a large breakfast and by the time we were done it was close to 10 am.

We take turns with each person opening a gift.  It was a great morning and we were all very happy with our gifts and the response to the ones we gave.  I really don't need anything more, so the simple things are appreciated the most.

The rest of the day was spent puttering in the yard, cleaning out the chicken coup and enjoying a relaxing Christmas.  We had a big dinner at 6 pm and then I was back home to enjoy the evening by 8:30 pm.  It was a wonderful Christmas.  I'm always sad to see the season come to a close, but I have the week off and I'm looking forward to getting caught up on a few things.

I settled into the sofa and watched another great Christmas classic and the two cats enjoyed their catnip mouses; it was a great day.

Merry Christmas to all, and Happy New Year

Day 508, Christmas Eve

For some crazy reason I was wide awake at 5 am.  I got up and fed the cats and went back to bed and surfed the internet with my phone, looking for cars.  I would really like to find something fitting to pull the Traveleze.  After about 30 minutes of surfing I went back to bed.

I spent the morning cleaning up my office and putting away the empty boxes, gift wrap and bows.  Next was the kitchen and then my closet.  It was nice to get everything cleaned up.  At around noon I fired up the Packard and went over to Tracy's house to exchange gifts.  She gave strict instructions not to open my gifts until Christmas morning, so said she couldn't either.

After Tracy it was over to my neighbor's and good friend's Jon and Beccy to drop off a little something for them.  It was a beautiful day and the driving the Packard was so much fun.  I was really born in the era.  I love wearing my old coat, driving cap and listing to 40's music.

Christmas Eve dinner is at my folks house at around 6 pm.  I headed over with the Packard around 4:40 pm, fully loaded with all the gifts that I had purchased for my family.  On the way over the headlights in the Packard started acting up, so I unloaded the gifts and went back home to exchange cars.

The starting of the candle lighting.

Dinner was awesome, with the full traditional turkey dinner.  My mother makes a killer stuffing and my eyes glazed over with delight and I heaped my plate full. 

Shortly after dinner I jumped in the car and headed off to church.  The music was amazing, the message of the true meaning of Christmas filled my spirit.  The singing of Silent Night by candle light was so powerful I felt truly blessed.

I have nearly memorized this passage from

watching Charlie Brown

After Church I headed back to my folks, ate a cookie and then headed home.  Tomorrow is Christmas!

Day 507, Friday off

It was fantastic not to have to get up with an alarm, but I forgot to tell my cat Harris that I could sleep in.  Like an alarm clock at 6:30am he was standing on me and running around the room trying to get my attention.  I got up and fed him on the deck, not sure why he wont eat from the huge bowl in the kitchen, but I fed him and went back to bed.  First however, I tossed a load of laundry from the washer into the dryer and a new load in the washer.  I figured I might as well get a jump on the chores for the day.

I was around 8am and tossed the sheets into the laundry and went to check the computer.  I was happily surprised to see a lead on some windows for the Traveleze that are located in Georgia.  I made a phone call to the number that was given and had to leave a message.  I'm hoping these are the windows that I've been looking for.  I would be very happy to have tracked them down.

I spent the day running errands and doing some shopping.  I really didn't need anything but it was fun to look at the sales and all the crazy shoppers.

I was invited to my parents for dinner and the meal was awesome.  There is nothing better than a home cooked meal and spending time with your parents.  I enjoyed every bite and moment.

Day 506, Looking for 1950 Traveleze windows, continued

I figured the best thing for me to do to help in the search for windows is start posting for "HELP" and I sent a call to the people on the Tin Can Tourists Yahoo page.  There a lot of members on the site from all parts of the country and surely one of them might have a lead for me. I don't have a very good picture, but I posted the same one I put here and hopefully someone will recognize the picture.

Today is also the last day of work, as we are closed Friday the 23 thru January 3, 2012.  It was nice to spend some time with the office and just unwinding from the crazy last few weeks.  At 5 pm it was time to lock up and say good bye until next year.

Tim's new purchase a 1936-37 Pierce Arrow

Late in the evening I received several emails from a guy who got me hooked on vintage trailers.  Tim restores trailers in Florida and I ran into him and his Spartanette at a show in Louisville, KY, in July of 2010. I had asked Tim several questions earlier in the week and he said he would reply after he got back from picking up 1936-37 Pierce Arrow trailer that was 250 miles from his home in Florida.  He had a few recommendations on where to look for windows, as well as, just posting for help like I did.  He also gave me the number of the stain I should use on the Traveleze, #245 Golden Pecan from Home Depot.  I'll have to get some and try it out on a sample board.

It was another great day and I am so looking forward to have the next week off to enjoy the holidays.

Day 505, Need to find windows for the Traveleze

One of the challenges in restoring the Traveleze is turning out to be finding two original style window.  Sometime during the 60's the windows on the left side of the trailer were replaced and one was enlarged.  I want to return to the original size and style but that is turning out to be a huge challenge. 

I'm needing two more side windows like these!

During my visit today Justin expressed his frustration in not being able to find the missing windows or the missing parts to the front window.  All of the window mechanisms had been removed at some point and the glass siliconed in place.  I'm paying by the hour and every minute Justin spends researching or looking on line is costing me $$.  Justin wanted wanted to know what I wanted him to do.  I can't have a trailer with no windows, so I was kind of at a loss.  My thought was to keep looking and to research the possibility of having something fabricated.  Justin knows of another trailer in WA that could be used for parts but its a 6 hour drive up to get it and another 6 back.  I some how felt I screwed either way and this trailer is rapidly approaching that of the astronomical range.

I will try to do some research and post "HELP" to the trailer world and see if I can come up with the missing windows.

The windows are 19" x 25" and the glass panes are inset into the frame as apposed to the window capping or covering the frame.

Day 504, Ice Skating

It was another great day.  The temperatures have been climbing into the 50's, but it's still cold at night with temperatures dipping into the teens.

Work was busy with a site visit, lunch and meeting with the city.  I was surprised how fast the day seemed to go and I was very ready to go home when the 5 o'clock hour rolled around.

As I walked out the back door I had to take a look at the new ice rink that is next door to our building.  The city installed the rink and has just opened it this past Saturday.  We helped decorate around the rind and loaned them four of our kiosks.  The Clock tower and Church kiosks my brother and I built (with funding from my father) 5 years ago for the very first Holiday Village Market.  These two kiosk are being used for renting the ice skates.  Two other kiosks are being used for equipment storage and skate sharpening, including the new kiosk we just built for the Son's of Norway Lodge.

The ice rink is a huge success and is drawing a lot of attention to downtown and to the community.  I'm hoping to get out there soon and see if I can remember how to skate.

Day 503, The Traveleze is getting closer.

Refrigerator in the cabinet.

I stopped by to check on the Traveleze after my workout.  The cabinetry is in, as well as, the refrigerator.  I am really happy with what I'm seeing and I know it will be spectacular when it is all done.  Justin is going to start working on wiring next and then they can re-skin the outside.  I think they are ready to start varnishing it shortly and I think it will really be amazing once that is done.  All of the new skin is done and Justin is eager to put it back on.

Kitchen cabinets and range

Day 502, Son's of Norway round two.

I woke up with  my two cats looking out the window, the quail were in the yard and I think they were thinking if I didn't get up and feed they would have to go out get their own.

It was a beautiful day and the first thing on my list of things to do today was wash my truck.  I has been at least a month since I washed it last and despite the fact that we haven't really had rain in weeks it was still covered in dirt and road grime.  It looked so much better having it cleaned and I was glad to get the job done and I don't feel like I need to hide when I drive my truck.

Tables all set for night three.

This is the fourth Sunday of Advent and the 4th candle was light on the Advent wreath.  The choir was in top form and many of the traditional Christmas songs were song.  It was so great to be there and to share in the sights and sounds of the true meaning of the season.

At 3 o'clock, I picked up my parents and we all headed back to the Son's of Norway lodge for the last of the three nights of the Christmas Dinners.  This is our night cook and serve the food.  Three years ago, they were looking at limiting the number of people who could come because they only did two nights and I suggested a third night.  This met with great opposition from people saying they were tired and not going to do a third night so I said my family would do it.  This is our second year and they have filled all three nights.  My brother and his family, my folks and I all worked great together and the meal was served perfectly on schedule.  We had awesome help from Edna, who is the expert at pulling this dinner all together.

It had been a long weekend of parties and great Christmas cheer.  I was so content with how everything went and I felt like I had really experienced the the joy of the season.

Day 501, Sons of Norway Christmas dinner

I had a great night sleep after the party and woke up feeling great.  I finished cleaning up and sorting through the host gifts that I received and finished cleaning by vacuuming the entire house.

Lucia is in the center with a crown of candles

Tonight is night two of the Sons of Norway's Christmas dinner and my brothers family, my parents, their friends and my friend Doug and I are going. This is an awesome event filled with Scandinavian traditions, food and music.  The highlight of the evening is the Santa Lucia precession with the children.  This is the tradition where a young girl brings the gift of light to the people of Norway when the days are short and light is scarce.  While the Lucia started in Italy it was adopted by Norwegians long ago.

There was a shortage of help in the kitchen and Edna was all by herself to serve food to 90+ people.  My brother Scott and I jumped in to help serve the meal and we all helped stay and clean up and set the tables for tomorrow.

Day 500, The big party

Well, the day of my annual Christmas party is here.  I've been hosting this party for nearly 18 years and there are usually around 80 to 100 people in attendance.  Luckily they do not all come at the same time and it is standing room only.

My office is hosting the Coffee Clatter event and this the clatter where we do a white elephant gift exchange.  It is always a lot of fun and comical to see what people wind up getting.  I went through my re-gifting box and found three items I would happy to bring to the event.

I had hoped to leave the office immediately following the clatter but ended up staying until noon.  On my way home I stopped and picked up a huge meat and cheese tray and a veggie tray from the store. I still needed to do some cleaning and to run the vacuum and cook the pork loin and heat up the two large spiral cut hams.  Luckily my parents came over at 2pm and 5pm we were ready for guest.

By 5:30pm the house was packed and parking in the field was started to fill up.  I had laid down Christmas lights along the path through the yard out into the pasture to guide people in from the dark.  I had a great time meeting everyone and seeing everyone have a great time.  My parents were amazing as always, manning the kitchen and serving wine and drinks, and keeping the kitchen in order.  I gave several tours of the house and grounds including the potting shed and a visit to the chickens.

By 9:30pm the party was winding down and the clean up process started.  I'm always amazed at the huge amount of trash and debris that follows a big party.  I was really happy that nothing was broken and nothing landed in the carpet that would require professional cleaners.

I finally had the  house cleaned up and everything back in its place by 11:50pm.  I crawled into bed a little after midnight and just listened to the radio for bit to decompress.   It was a great party and I had a great time.

Day 499, Leadership

A broken ornament.

I was up and out the door early to pick up a few things for our Leadership class and to run by the office and sign our payroll checks.  It's hard to believe that December is half over.  Christmas and then New Years will be here before you know it.

This is Day 4 of our Leadership program out of 9.  The day was packed with a full agenda and I knew the day would go fast.  In all there were 10 speakers throughout the day and I scheduled breaks and a walking tour after lunch to keep everyone awake.  Despite a full day, we were able to get out at 4:30pm which gave me enough to to run to the office, the bank and then off to the airport for meeting.

A special Airport Commission meeting was called at 5:30pm and they typically run about an hour and a half.  I really didn't feel I had the time, but I head the meeting at hoped it could be done in hour.  To my surprise the meeting lasted about 40 minutes.  I had a lot of last minute shopping for tomorrows Christmas party and I needed to bake two more pies.

A little glue can do wonders.

I got home about 7:30pm after shopping and I had two packages come in the mail.  One was from my friend Robin in Oklahoma and she had given me instructions to open it when it got here.  There were three items in the box and had the distinct sound of broken glass.  Sure enough a very cool Rolls Royce glass ornament had some how exploded, even thought the box was in great shape and it had been well packed.  There were so many pieces it really was a total loss.  I really couldn't tell what it looked like but there were several large pieces, so I got the glue out just to see what it had looked like.  To my surprise I was able to put most of the ornament back together.

My Sister in Law Jen, from Portland sent me a picture of a very cool ginger bread trailer.  While there are a few layout issues the end result is still awesome.  I sent the picture to a number of my friends, including Amy Jo, who I knew would enjoy it.  If she were here, I know she would be rolling out the ginger bread and make one.

A ginger bread trailer, now there is cool idea.

Day 498, Mid week

1960 Corvette

The highlight of my day and week started at 2pm.  I went to get my good friend and neighbors 1960 Corvette to take it to Bend for a photo shoot.  The car is absolutely spectacular and appears to be a stock 60 Vette, when it is actually has a 1996 Corvette motor and running gear.  It combines the best of both worlds, classic styling and the comfort, power and conveniences of a new car.  The photo shoot is for Central Oregon magazine and was taken at the Pilot Butte Drive In.

The interior going back in

The Pilot Butte Drive In just happens to be a few blocks from where my Traveleze is, so I headed that direction when we were all done taking pictures.  They were working on the interior cabinetry and the restoration is coming along.  We are still having an issue finding the correct windows, but will find something to put in if we can not find the correct match and keep looking.  Finding the exact windows used in a 1950 Traveleze is turning out not to be an easy thing.

After visiting Flyte Camp for 20 minutes it was off to my workout.  I was enjoying driving the Corvette, but I was a little nervous that it might start to snow and I did not want the car out in bad weather.  I did my workout, headed to the Sons of Norway Lodge to pick up the mail for Tracy. 

Two pecan pies for the party on Friday.

Back home I need to bake two pecan pies for the party on Friday and to start cleaning the house.  I had Christmas gifts all over the office and the best way to get hid them for the party was to wrap them and put them under the tree.

Day 497, Tuesday

It was another busy day, with a board meeting at noon and Business After Hours from 4:30pm to 5:30pm.  My mom had invited me for dinner and she was serving pot roast, yum, my favorite.

I got home around 9pm and realized that tomorrow I'm supposed to take the 69 Malibu to a photo shoot in Bend.  I haven't started the car in months, so I figured I better clear the path and get it moved to the front of the garage.  The battery is on a trickle charger, so it was fully charged, but when I went to turn the key there was nothing.  It seemed like the starter was stuck.  I tried the oldest trick in the book taking a hammer to it and gave it several good hits, but no luck.  I texted my good friend and neighbor Jon, and he said he would come over.  A few moment later he was in my driveway and he brought a voltage tester.  We checked connections and everything seemed fine a few more taps on the starter and we decided it was a frozen solenoid.

Plan B for the photo shoot was to take Jon's 1964 Malibu SS convertible, but he offered his 1960 Corvette instead.  I'm a little nervous about driving his pride and joy and a true flawless show car.  I'll keep my fingers crossed and drive extra carefully.

Day 496, Monday and a little more progress on the Traveleze.

Wheel wells, bed frame and kitchen cabinet.

After my workout I checked on the Traveleze and they were working on the back bed frame, interior cabinets and Justin was painting the refrigerator. Jeff was working on installing the wheel wells and progress was being made.  It's a long slow process, but all the parts are starting to come together.  Justin had also pulled in their 30' Anderson trailer and they have started the processing of restoring this giant trailer back to it's former glory.   It is going to be a real show piece when done.  It truly is an amazing trailer with all the original interior, appliances, flooring and fixtures.

Restoring the refrigerator for the Traveleze

Harris helping with the Christmas cards.

After my visit to Flyte Camp I headed off to Costco to start buying all the food for my party on Friday.  It was freezing outside with the temperature at 19 and me still in my gym clothes.  I got home around 7:30pm and was starving.  After dinner I sat down to start writing my Christmas cards.  This is a huge job and takes several hours.  I popped in a few movies and with Harris by my side laying in the cards I got to it.  In all I write about 90 cards and took about 5 hours.  I crawled into bed at 12:57 am and I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow.

It was a very long day and I enjoyed every minute of it.  December always flies by and before you know it, it's over.  I like to take in every moment.  It was a great day.

Day 495, Sunday

Today is the third day of Advent and the children's program at church.  The church parking lot was packed, so I knew all the kids, their parents and all the relatives would be in attendance.  The programs are usually very entertaining and well done.  There is something about young kids trying to sing that cracks me up.  The off pitch, shy voices and forgotten lyrics are hilarious.  The program was short and Church was out 15 minutes early, that never happens!

The view of the Packard from Tracy Roof.

After Church I went over to Tracy's  house to put up her Christmas lights on her house.  I got to Tracy's house early and she was out testing the lights.  It took us a few minutes to access the lights and the house and remember how we put them together.  I was up on the roof in no time leaning over the edge stapling the lights to the house.  I just know one of these years I'm going to fall off the roof, but the view is nice from there and as of  yet I haven't fallen.

I spent the rest of the day doing a little shopping and working on the Christmas gift list.  After dinner I made a Scandinavian Almond Cake in a cake pan that I bought at the Son's of Norway yesterday.  It turned out great and tasted even better.

Day 494, Sons of Norway Bake Sale

A great turnout at the Lodge for the Sale

Today the Son's of Norway is having their big back sale and Bazaar.  The lodge had asked if I was going to be there to help and I didn't commit.  I was up by 7:30 am and figured I should be a good incoming President and at least show up for part of the sale.  I was out the door and on my way by 8:15 am.

I got to the lodge at 8:45 am and the parking lot was already clear full.  The event was to start at 9 am, but people were already inside.  The ladies at the bake sale were still setting up, so everyone asked to please wait until they were 9 am.  The crowds just kept coming and they started 10 minutes early.

Enamelware camp set

The entire event was a huge success with the estimates on the sale being close to $5,000.  I stayed the entire sale from 9 am to 3 pm and helped clean up following the event, which took about an hour and half. 

On my way home I stopped off at the Sportsman Warehouse to look for stuff I can use in the Traveleze.  I have a gift certificate for $100 that I need to use and I found lots of things.  They had a great selection of Enamelware and I was torn between the blue or the red.  I think I want the red plates, bowls and cups, but blue coffee pot and pot.  They also had great cast iron pans in all sizes.  I also had to chuckle at the options in port-a-potties, everything from from a 5 gallon bucket to fully flushing.  I was very excited with all the things they had and I can't wait to go stock up the Traveleze.

I got home around 6:30 pm and it had been a long day.  The only thing I had on my agenda was putting up the Polar Express Lionel train around the tree.  The train is always a hit with little people and this year at the Christmas party will probably be lots of kids.

It was a very fun day and I really enjoyed being apart of the Son's of Norway Lodge.

Day 493, Friday and taking the day off.

I have 89 hours of vacation that need to be taken by the end of this year and it's just not going to happen, but I did decide to take today off and get caught up on some Christmas stuff.  One of the new members to the Lodge had asked me about cutting a tree for Christmas I told him all the basics.  He is from Denmark and has lived here for over 20 years but has yet to cut a tree.  He was hoping to take his two daughters and his 18 year old nephew on a Christmas adventure.  I had a few extra tree cutting permits from last year and I offered them if they wanted them.

One big Tree!

At 9 am I got a call saying that they would be by about 10 am to pick up the passes.  I could tell he was still a little unsure of where to go and I offered to go along if he would like and show them where the good trees are.  He jumped on my offer and said he would greatly appreciate it.  At 10 am we were on our way to cut a tree.  He wanted a very tall tree, one that his daughters would not forget.  As it turned out the girls did not come a long and it was just the tree of us.  There was no snow and the road was clear.  After about 30 minutes of walking through some great trees we found the perfect tree, it was about 16' tall.

Enjoying the Season

I helped get the lights on and then it was time for me to actually do some shopping for a few things that I needed. I also needed to stop off at Flyte Camp and go over the final estimates and cost of the Traveleze.  The price keeps climbing as I keep taking the trailer to the next level.  At this point there really can't be anymore surprises, as the entire trailer will be all new.  Can you still call this a restoration, or is a rebuild?

Tonight I have been invited to a Open House/Christmas party at my trainers house.  I had invited Tracy to go with me and said I would pick her up at 5:45 pm. The party was very fun, full of lots of people and the energy and conversation was cranked way up.  It truly felt like the holidays going to a party

It had been a great day and enjoyed every minute.

Day 492, Major work on the Traveleze

The front end being completed

Today I had an appointment to meet with Flyte Camp and pick out material for the seats and counter tops.  I figured I could just stop in and spend a few minutes and then head off to my workout.  When I got there I was so surprised to see that there busy working on the Traveleze.  Two employees were working on windows and three were working on cabinets.  Justin was glad to see me and wanted to show me the progress.  He said by tomorrow all the cabinets will be back in.  He took me to see the Dixie stove they found to replace my stove refrigerator combination and it looked great.  Justin also had me look at a vintage refrigerator that he had upstairs that with a little work would look great in my trailer and be correct.

The little Dixie gas range for the Traveleze

Anna, had picked out some vinyl that was period correct and I loved it.  It was a dark burgundy with a high shine.  She also had a more muted vinyl, but we were all drawn to the high shine for reason.  Anna also had several counter top chips to look at but non of us saw anything that jumped out at us.  She wanted to go look around and see what else she could find and then get back to me.  This was fine by me and I needed to scoot to my workout.

I got to my workout 20 minutes late, but I still had time for about 25 minutes.  My trainer worked me out like crazy for 25 minutes straight and then she had to leave.  I worked on a few more lifts and then did a little stretching and headed out.

I wanted to stop by and check on the Traveleze one more time and take a few more pictures.  Justin was glad to see me again and Anna had gone and found a few counter top samples.  This time we agreed on chip that would be perfect.  It was a marmolium  and was very 50's.  In combination with the maroon  vinyl seats it should all look great, especially with the golden birch paneling. I was so happy to see significant progress being done on the Traveleze I was grinning from eat to ear. 

The golden birch paneling, the marmolium and shiny vinyl

.

I headed out about 6 pm and headed to my folks for dinner at 6:30 pm.  This was a great day!

Day 491, Mid week

My work was moved to Thursday and this evening we had a Ribbon Cutting and a Business After Hours at a local business.  It was perfect timing that my workout was moved and this will let me go to these two events. 

The tree all decorated

I got home around 6 pm and it was dark and cold.  I did the usual parked the truck and went to check on the chickens.  This time there was just one small brown egg.  I was pleased there was at least something and I refilled the water and feed.

Back inside after dinner it was time to attack the tree one last time and get the ornaments on.  It took about 3 hours to get them all on and another 40 minutes to clean up and put away the empty boxes and to vacuum up around the tree.  I still need to put up the Polar Express, but that can wait for anther night.

I was so ready for bed and tonight I was in bed by 10:45 pm.

Day 490, Tuesday

My project for today after work was getting the lights on the tree and start decorating it.  For some reason my motivation and enthusiasm has been waning and I just haven't my normal burst of energy to get it done.  Tonight after dinner I will get started and at a minimum get the lights on.

Half the tree with lights

The lights actually went on pretty easy and quickly. It only took about 40 minutes to get the lights on and then came the ornaments.  Usually my tree is around 11' but this year it is significantly smaller.  There is no way all the ornaments would fit, which was fine with me it, meant less going on and less coming off after Christmas.  I put in my favorite movie, A Christmas Story, and started hanging ornaments.  Around 10:30 pm my movie was over and I was done for the night.  I only had a handful of ornaments on the tree but it was a good start.  I could finish the tree tomorrow.

The Chickens had laid 3 eggs and I'm glad to have the Americana's laying their blue/green eggs again.

I was in bed by 11 pm and ready to sleep.  Tomorrow I have an early meeting and I'll have to be out the door by 7:10 am.

Day 489, Monday and back to work

Where did my weekend go?  I can't believe it's another week and another Monday.  Work was steady and nothing out of the normal.  I skipped my lunch and busy the entire day.  I really needed to have something to eat, but when I'm busy I just forget about.

At 3:45 pm I headed to the gym.  Realizing that I hadn't eaten I grabbed to trail mix bars that I could eat on the way.  First off I hit the treadmill to warm up and I started off at a nice run at 7.5 and then worked my way up to 8.  Again I felt pretty good, but I had a tightness in my airway that wasn't there last time when I ran.  After I quit I started coughing and wheeze just a bit.  It was my first trace of asthma in months.  I still felt pretty good and my trainer put me through a great workout.

During the day I had received an email from Justin that I needed to meet with Anna and pick out material for the seats in the Traveleze sometime this week.  I scheduled the meeting on Wednesday and they want to get the seats in to the upholster as soon as possible.  I'm hoping this is the week that I see some significant progress.

A classic, Charlie Brown Christmas

Tonight on TV is Charlie Brown's Christmas and I'm sure I will be texting my brother,  no matter how old we get we still love the classics.

Day 488, The second Sunday of Advent

It was another beautiful frosty sunny morning and I just laid in bed and looked out over the back yard and the horses enjoying the morning.  I never get tiered at looking at the horses and enjoy them when the pastured in the front fields so I can see them from the house.

I got ready for church and headed out the door cutting close as usual.  I don't know what my problem is, but I am always one of the last ones arriving at church.  Today is the second Sunday of Advent and I am sure the choir will be singing lots of Christmas chorals today.  I really enjoy going to church and especially during the holidays.

Immediately after church I was picking up Tracy to go Christmas tree shopping.  My Dad also wanted to meet us at the lot and help pick out a tree for them that I could deliver in my truck.  Tracy this year wanted to try a Noble Fir, something she has never done, as she enjoys the bushy cultured Douglas Fir's.  This year she said she was ready for something different.  She walked into the tree lot and the guy had a tree in his hands and she that's it.  4.2 seconds and she was done.  My Dad and I took a while longer to find taller trees and we finally came up with two that would do.  They were not exactly as tall as we would have liked, but they were good looking trees and do just fine.

Dad headed home and I took Tracy back to her place and got her tree put into a stand and watered.  I let her get to decorating and I headed to my house to drop my tree off before heading to my folks.  I helped get my parents tree up and watered and put their lights on for them.  I figured Mom could spend the day hanging ornaments and Dad could help with higher up ornaments.

Reindeer at Operation Santa Clause

On my way back to my house I stopped off at the reindeer ranch and buy a tree for the potting shed and to of course checkout Santa's reindeer.  The reindeer ranch was once North America's largest reindeer heard but it has been reduced to a small heard after the Mad Cow scare prevented them from traveling out of state during the holidays.  It was still fun to see them even if they are just down the road from me and I see them almost everyday; there is just something special about seeing them during Christmas time.

I decided to get the lights up on the big spruce and it took the 12' ladder and the my 15' extension pole to put up the lights up on the tree.  It wasn't the best job but the tree has just gotten a bit too big, but I still enjoy the having the lights on it.  Once the tree was done I got the potting shed tree put up and then spend an hours vacuuming out the shed getting looking nice.  Once that was done I then got my big tree in the stand and the living room.  I spent the next hour cleaning up the garage and put all the Christmas light boxes put away.

It was a productive weekend and now I was feeling like I wasn't so far behind the decorating curve ball.

Day 487, A beautiful Saturday

I started with the front and then the lights

Wow, did I sleep like a rock I actually woke up at 8 am!  I rarely sleep that late and with two cats, one of them is usually standing on me well before than to get me up and feed them or give them some quality time.  I spent the morning puttering around the house and cleaning up from the week.  At about 11 am I started putting up the lights or at least tried to untangle the mess I had created last season when I just dumped everything into boxes.  It took me about an hour to untangle and check for bad bulbs before I was ready to start hanging the lights.

After about 5 hours almost all the lights were up except for the big Spruce tree in the back yard and thought maybe this year the tree is just too big and I will skip it.  I was also short an extension cord after I cut one in half with the electric trimmers this summer.  As the sun started to set and the timers came on I realized that the back yard just looked dark without the Spruce tree lite up.  Tomorrow I'll have to buy another cord.

Lights on the potting shed

At 6 pm I headed over to my folks for dinner.  They had invited me to go out after I was done with my lights and I was really hungry.  My mom wanted to go try the new Cafe' at the resort as she had heard they had good pizza's.  The resort was hosting Santa in the lobby of the hotel and they were giving away cookies and hot chocolate, so as we waited for the pizza I enjoy desert first.  The pizza was very good, freshly made and it hit the spot.

Day 486, Friday and going home early.

All week long I have been saying I am going to go home early and get my lights put up on the house.  I'm hoping today will be the day.  It has been a long productive week and I am so ready for the weekend.  I feel like I am falling behind in the Christmas rush, but I know I can get caught up this weekend.

Getting Rolls ready for Airport Duty

At 2 pm after everyone had finished there lunches I decided I was going home.  It was a full day off or even a half day but I was very happy to be going home.  I didn't have a lot of time before it was getting dark but I manage to dig out all my Christmas light and some of my decorations.  I figured I could get the inside decorated and start on the lights tomorrow.

At 9:40 pm my parents were flying in for the holidays.  I pulled the Rolls out of the garage and got it ready for airport duty.  The car needs to be driven at least monthly, or it will have some kind of issue from sitting.  I think it is a riot to pick them up in the car and give my mother the Queen treatment and she doesn't seem to complain.  At 9:30 pm I looked out at the sky and to the north and I could see their flight coming in right on schedule, so I got in the car and headed to the airport.  When I was about half way there my folks called saying they had just landed.  By the time I got to the airport curbside they had collected their luggage and walked right out.  The timing was perfect.

Getting out the Christmas decorations

I got my folks home and settled in and then headed home.  I spend the rest of the evening putting out Christmas decoration and enjoying some sounds of the seasons.  At about 11:30 I realized I had clean sheets on the bed and I was exhausted from the long week. 

Let the weekend begin.

Day 485, Sons of Norway Meeting tonight

Tonight is the Son's of Norway meeting at 7pm.  The lodge is kind of fun, but there is some lack of meeting guidelines, so they often get off track and it prolongs the meetings way too long.  My friend Tracy is the new in coming Treasurer for the Lodge so we planed to meet up for dinner in Bend.

Tracy had a meeting that got out at 5:30 in Bend and I was going to meet her at McGraths for dinner.  I got there a little after 6 pm and we quickly realized that we didn't have time to eat there. Instead  I grabbed a burger at Wendy's and she had a power bar.  I hadn't eaten a Wendy burger in years and it actually was really good.

At the lodge members were busy working outside on the float for the big Bend parade this weekend. Inside there was a good turnout for the meeting and as expected the meeting went long and lasted an hour and half.  It drives me crazy when meetings get side tracked and we end out talking about something that is not for the good of the order, but I survived.  The funny part was my brother in Portland was texting me the entire meeting sending me pictures from Santa Clause is Coming to Town.  My brother and I have never grown up and we still love all of the holiday classics.

Following the meeting they were decorating the tree for the lodge, but I had to get Tracy back to her car, which we left at McGrath's.  She had an early meeting in the morning and needed to get home.  I was starting to get tired, so I was looking forward to crashing.

Day 484, Mid week

The high light of my day was my workout.  I went to the gym at 4:30 and wasn't feeling like I had the energy for a hard workout.  I even joked with my trainer that she needed to take it easy on me.  I should know better to say that, because it just makes her work me harder.  She had me start of with  lunges to get warmed up and then she told me to go run on the treadmill for 5 minutes as fast as I could.  I usually run at about 6.5 with a 1 percent incline, so this time I cranked it up to 7.5.  I ran for 2 minutes and had no issues at all so I cranked it up to 8 and was running perfectly.  Usually my lung capacity comes into play and I have to slow it down.  It was really weird I was breathing smoothly and my legs didn't have any issues either.  My trainer came over and looked at me with a puzzled look.  I looked at her and said, "can you believe this"?  I think we were both shocked.  I had enough lung capacity to talk too.  Normally I'd be gasping for air there would be no way I could talk.  She had me quit at 5 minutes and do some core work and then back to the treadmill for another sprint.  I ran another minute at 8 and again I felt great.   Last year at this time I was gasping for air with asthma issues and now I can run full out, all this torture has paid off.

Joy from the Lodge selling sweaters at Costco.

I stopped off to see the trailer on my way home.  There was no progress on the Traveleze and from the sound of there wont be any this week.  It is looking hopeful that next week the Traveleze will become the center of attention.  It will be so nice to not be behind other trailers and being sidelined.  It has been 17.5 weeks since I bought the Traveleze and 6 months since they picked it up.  I believe good things come to those who wait and  and even more so I believe in the work of Flyte Camp.  If there has been one thing I have learned about restorations is that they take a lot longer than expected.  I have been waiting nearly 5 years to have my Packard overhauled and I think I am actually moving up on that list too (maybe this winter).

My next stop was at Costco and I ran into Joy from the Son's of Norway.  She was there selling Norwegian Sweaters. She has been there all week and has been having a great time selling sweaters.  We talked about the success of the Holiday Village Market on the weekend and she already has plans for next year.  It's always great to see her and tomorrow we have a meeting at the lodge so she will be there.

Day 483, A chicken returns

I came home for a late lunch and to get an electric screw driver for work.  It was a beautiful day and I went out in the back yard and I thought I should water the new trees.  To my surprise my Cornish hen cam running up to me.  I thought she was dead but she must have been hiding.  She ran right up to me and I walked her back to the coop and I open the door and she ran in.  The other hens were obviously happy to see her and she ran up the ramp and into the coop and sat in a nest.  I was shocked to see her and happy to have her back.

Starting to decorate at home.

After work I thought I could put the wreath up on the Barn and this year I had a new one.  Last year post Christmas Sale at Lowes I bought a 60" wreath for $7, so I thought I would try it out.  It wasn't do difficult to figure out and after a while I had it all put together.  The trick was hanging it up.  I dragged out my 12' ladder and with some screws and wire I had it in place.  I dropped in on the light above the garage door and caused a little damage, so I will have to replace the light at some point.  Oh well, that's a Spring project.

With the wreath in place I felt I had a start on my holiday decorating and the panic feeling that I wasn't going to get it all done went away a bit.

Day 482, Back to work

The new wallpaper on my iPhone

This week shouldn't be as hectic, so it should be a normal Monday.  The Holiday Village Market and parade were over and the office was a complete and total disaster.  My office spent the morning cleaning up and putting stuff away and we got out our decoration for the office and we decked the halls.  When all was said and done, it was a bit over the top.  I think the less is more concept would have been a better way to go, but we took the excess route instead.

My brother emailed a phone wallpaper app of a great picture of the Norwegian flag and it took a few seconds to figure it out but I downloaded it as my iPhone wallpaper.  I think looks great and a little more fitting of me that previous Ocean wave wallpaper I had.

My workout was at 4:15 pm and it was exactly what I needed.  I always feel better when I leave than when I got there.  The benefits of working out greatly out way the agony of going.

After the workout I stopped off to see the trailer and it was parked in the last stall of the shop.  This should be the last week of crew of Flight Camp working all on the 1947 Westwood and maybe next week the Traveleze will move to center stage and I will actually have something to report.  All of the Traveleze's inside contents have been moved back down to the floor, so they can start to determine what's useable and what will have to be rebuilt.  From the looks of it there will not be much left to use and all new cabinets will have to be installed.

"He took the Roast Beast"

On my way home I stopped off to get stationary for my Christmas Party invitations, the grocery store for cat food and then I was finally ready to go home.  Tonight on TV is the Christmas classic the How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and no matter how old I get I still enjoy watching the program.