Day 693, Our first concert of the season

Today is our first summer concert of the season that we put on for the community, so the day was pretty much dedicated to seeing to all the details of hosting an event for 1,000 people.  The weather was perfect and the high was expected to reach 79, which was welcomed temperature after a frosty morning.

The concert begins at 6 pm and runs until 7:30 pm and usually the diehard's show up around 5 pm to stake out their little piece of the park.  The venders were all set up on time and the concert started without a hitch.  I was very pleased to see a large crowd before the concert started and they kept coming.  At 7 pm we estimated between 1,500 to 1,800 people in the park.  It was an awesome sight and everyone was having  a great time.

Following the concert we have to take everything down and the includes packing a very large tent.  I arrived home at a little before 9 pm and I was ready to call it a day.

Day 692, Another Day

I was still receiving emails from friends and acquaintances, regarding the article in the Oregonian and I was still excited about the great weekend.  The Traveleze more than met my expectations and I'm looking forward to many more adventures and good times with friends.  I do however need to set some rules, one my friends can come with me, but I get to sleep in the bed!

On the home front, the chickens are doing well, but I need to buy about 10 more so I can at least get a dozen eggs every two days.   As for the garden it is doing well and the corn is on track for being "knee high by the 4th of the July".  Even the pumpkins are doing well and everything could use a good dose of fertilizer.

It was a great day, but slightly cooler and tonight the temperature is expected to drop to 36, which means frost with the wind chill.  I covered the marigolds and the tomatoes and called it good.  Everything else is going to have to endure and either survive or die, I'm just not going to cover everything up again.

Day 691, Back to work

It felt to good to sleep in my own bed, and I had crawled into bed at 9:30am.  Sleeping on the ground just isn't that comfortable.  I will have to work on finding something more comfortable if I do that again.  I thought the point of having a trailer was to be able to sleep in a bed!

Flowers planted at the front door.

Back at work it was a day of playing catch up and answering emails.  A lot of people had seen the Saturday Oregonian, Home and Garden section and I enjoyed to responding to their emails and funny comments.  It was fun to see who had seen the article, including old high school class mates, colleagues and friends.

After work, I stopped off at Lowes and bought a few flowers to plant in the pots by my front door.  This should be the last of the summer planting.  It was nice to get them planted and now I'm ready for summer.  I'm a little miffed that Tuesday morning is supposed to be 36 degrees, which means I need to cover the garden again!

Day 690, Sunday and time to head home.

Good friends and good times.

Everyone had slept a little better and the sun was shining after a night of off and on showers. We had a light breakfast with fruit and Christian brewed himself another pot of coffee. It was nice that was sunny and it gave everything a chance to dry out before having to pack up. 

After breakfast we went for a walk around the campground.  A lot of the trailers had already left but we were in no rush.  Back at the trailer we played a few hands of Farkle on the outside table and then slowly started to pack everything up.  By 11:15am, we had everything ready to go and we headed for home.

It was a great weekend and everyone was sad to have the weekend come to an end.  The Traveleze was great and did really well.  I created a small list of just a few things that needed to be fine tuned and then it's ready for the next trip. I would love to head to the coast and spend a weekend at the beach.

With the trailer unpacked, cleaned up and safely back in the shop, I had time to work in the yard.  It's amazing how fast the weeds grow and I needed to weed the garden around all the vegetables.   Christian stayed to help me out and within hour we had the garden all cleaned up.

It had been a long weekend and I made an early dinner, cleaning up the last of the meatloaf from Friday night and various leftovers.

I can't wait to take the Traveleze out again.

Day 689, Open house for the Rally

Front page of the Oregonian H&G

Even with flip-fold mattresses, sleeping on the ground just isn't that comfortable.  Christian's tent kept us dry, and I was warm in my new retro sleeping bag, but my body just didn't care much for the lack of padding.  Even Christian was a little stiff from sleeping on the ground, still it was just fun to be out camping.

Tracy didn't sleep much better in the trailer and had been up since 4:30am and she had gone for a walk and taken a shower already by 8am.  With everyone awake and the day starting, I fired up the oven and made cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs. Christian is the only coffee drinker and started perking a pot of coffee on the stove. It was a great morning.

Christian's daughter had an opportunity to go spend time with here Aunt and Uncle in Albany.  With the weekend looking like it might rain a lot, we understood why an 11 year old might enjoy getting out of a small trailer, so Christian took her to Albany. 

From 11 to 4pm there was an Open House, where everyone opened their trailers and let people take a peek.  I quickly started to hear that my trailer was in the newspaper.  I had made front page of the June 23, 2012, Oregonian's Home and Garden section (Oregonlive.com/hg).  I was supposed to have been a side note to a story on Flyte Camp, but I got a lot more coverage than a side note.

Christian texted me if I needed anything while he was in town and said, yes, get me a copy of the Oregonian!  He texted me back saying I'm famous and he bought several copies. He also picked up some camp fuel for the lanterns and more food.


When Christian returned we all went for a walk and looked at the many trailers on display.  There were some pretty amazing trailers and we all had a favorite.


Tonight's dinner was hotdogs cooked over a fire and smores.

Day 688, The first road trip

The Traveleze ready to go.

With the Traveleze fully loaded, four of us, Christian, his daughter Stella, Tracy and I set out for River Bend Campground and the Traveleze's first outing.  Remarkably there is a lot of storage in the trailer and I didn't even come close to filling it up.  The truck provided ample storage as well and I even packed firewood, flip fold mattresses and an obscene amount of food.  The weekend forecast was for rain, but at the moment the skis are clear and we all hoped it would stay that way.

Setting up the Traveleze

With four of us camping, Christian brought along his huge family tent, and he said it was water proof, or at least fairly resistant.  The plan was for Tracy and Stella to stay in the trailer and Christian and I would endure the weather in the tent. 

Our road trip would take us over the middle Santiam Pass, a road that has several areas that are literally sliding down the hill and have caused enormous bumps.  This would be a great test for the suspension of the Traveleze.  In several areas I slowed to a near stop to go over the bumps.  It was a pretty easy drive and we made it easily to the campground.

The weather was holding and we found our campsite with ease.  In no time, I back the Traveleze into place and we quickly set up camp.  Christian's tent was awesome and looked like it could handle rain.  I hooked up the power and got the refrigerator working and for the first time I hooked up the water and gray-water holding tank.   The trailer was in full operation.

By late afternoon the weather turned and it started to pour rain.  This was the first time the Traveleze has ever been in the rain and I was a bit nervous to see if it was water tight.  I was please to see that it was.  With the rain pouring down and not much to do, we played several rounds of Farkle/dice.

One of the big moments for me during the restoration process was Tracy and I talked about making a meatloaf in the oven and tonight is the night.  At 5 o'clock we fired up the oven and put in the meatloaf.  We quickly discovered that the side of the oven gets hot too and we had to stuffed a towel between the oven and the dinette seat.  A little over an hour later we all sat down at the table and had an amazing dinner.

Christian and birthday cake

Tonight we also celebrated Christian's 46th birthday, which is actually on Monday.  Tracy had baked a white cake and we put whipped cream and fresh strawberries and blue berries on it.  Christian was surprised and blew out the candle on his cake.  I also packed along a gift I had purchased for him at the Portland Swap Meet in April, it was a vintage Volvo hubcap clock.

We all had a great time and the little trailer was a perfect cozy retreat in the woods.

Day 687, Loading up the trailer

Loading the Traveleze for a wet weekend.

Planning for the first outing with the Traveleze is a little bit of an unknown.  I'm not really sure what I will need and despite all the planning I can't help but think I am forgetting something.  Tracy and I made a grocery list and I think I have everything we will need.  I hooked the power up to the trailer in the driveway and turned on the refrigerator.  I figured this way I could just load all the refrigerated items could go in and for the two hour trip I'll back a bag of ice in with everything and it should keep every cool enough until I can hook the power back up.

The weather was calling for rain all three days and the storms were already starting to blow in.  We had a short afternoon shower but the evening was warm with some thunder and lighting all around.  It took me several hours to load everything that I thought I needed and then just before the sun set I jumped on the John Deere and mowed the lawn.  My timing was off just a little and I had to finish mowing with the help of the head lights.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day and I'm looking forward to see how the little trailer performs going over the mountain roads.

Day 686, The Traveleze is finished

The Traveleze with stripes

With the last stripe put on the front of the Traveleze, it is now official complete.  It took 686 days to complete the project, but now it is ready to go camping.  I picked the trailer up after work and took it home before running into Bend for my workout.  It looks awesome and I am very pleased with the final results.  I had no vision of the the restoration turning out like this and I am very pleased.  I spent way more money than any sane individual would have, but I can't help but smile when I look at it.

The Anderson being readied for it's first outing.

After my workout I headed over to Flyte Camp to see how they were coming on the Anderson.  They have made lots of progress but still had a lot of work ahead of them to get it ready for the upcoming rally.  I knew they have been pushing hard to get it done, so I brought a box of donuts to help give them a sugar buzz.   They were running in all directions and I saw to simple projects that I knew I could help with, one was scouring the vintage toilet with a pumice stone and the other was scrubbing the white wall tires.  They were very generous in the amount of hours they put into my trailer and it was the least I could.  I've scrubbed many a toilet in my day and I was happy to help out.

Day 685, The Traveleze gets stripes

The three green stripes like the originals.

Today I towed the Traveleze into Impact Graphics to get the stripes put on.  I discovered the original stripe pattern and color when I removed the paint back in August of 2010.  The bid to paint the stripes on were over $1,200 and the vinyl stripes which look like paint are $400.  There is less prep work and they don't have to etch the aluminum like they would have to with paint.  Also, if want to change the color, they can easily be removed.

At the end of the day I called to see if the trailer was ready, but they were short on the last stripe and had to order more vinyl.  I was in no rush, so I planed to pick the trailer up tomorrow.  I was however very anxious to see how it looked so I headed over to see it after work.

I was very pleased with the way the stripes looked and I think it gave it the needed finished look.

Day 684, Monday

1954 Anderson

After work I headed to Bend to run some errands and I wanted to stop off at Flyte Camp and see if they got their Anderson back from the paint shop.  When I pulled into the parking lot the big blue Anderson was there and Justin and Anna were busy putting the windows in.  They are hoping to take the trailer to the rally this weekend and they have a lot of work to get done on the trailer before they are ready.  The Anderson is beautiful and they have done an amazing job on the restoration. 

It was a very cold day and when I left Flyte Camp it was already in the 50's.  The temperature for tomorrow morning was expected to be around 34, so I needed to run home and cover all the flowers and the garden.  It's hard to believe that it's June 18 and we are having frost!

Day 683, Working on the Traveleze

My Dad's 1945 fishing pole held in place over the front window

After church I spent the rest of the day tinkering with the Traveleze.  I filled nail holes in the screen door and cabinetry, and some of the plywood had pockets between the layers that were exposed in the drawers, so I filled those two.  None of these holes were noticeable except to a discerning eye.  I then got out the shellack and shellacked all the spots and everything gleamed.  It was awesome.

I also wanted to build something to attach above the window valance that would hold my Dad's steel fishing pole.  I was sure I could create something out of wood and then shellack it to match all the wood work.  It was a fun project and the end result was just what I was looking for.

The sunlight was streaming in the trailer and everything just glowed. For some reason however the wind started to blow and it got extremely windy towards late afternoon.  The temperature is supposed to drop on Monday and once again I will have to cover the garden to prevent frost damage.

It had been a fun weekend.

Day 682, Full day!

All cleaned up, made in Denmark dresser from the 70's

Christian and his daughter had a great time camping in the trailer and she is fully on board with next weekends big camp out.  We made cinnamon rolls in the trailer over and played a few more hands of Farkle.  We had to get moving pretty quickly and drop Christin's daughter off at the stables where she works on Saturdays and then Christian and I were going to go look at a dresser at a garage sale.  The dresser is Danish and since Christian is too, the modern lines were calling him.

1951 Cadillac, it's V8 would pull the Traveleze with ease.

The dresser was in desperate need of oil and some light sanding with steel wool, but it was a great piece.  Christian bought the dresser at a killer price and we loaded it up in my truck.  Back home at my house we were both dieing to clean it up and and oil the teak wood.  After about an hour it was looking amazing.  It was a great purchase.  With it loaded back in the truck we took it Christian's condo.

One of the hazards of iphone is being able to checkout Craigslist whenever you have a spare moment.  I happened to spot a 1951 Cadillac in Bend and I had to call on it.  After delivering the dresser I asked Christian if he wanted to go look at it and he said absolutely.  It was less than a mile from his home.  The car was recently purchased from California and was for sale.  It had been restored and repainted, it was a great car for the price, but the paint and restoration were not perfect.  The car was presentable, but I wanted to talk to my buddy Rick in Prineville and get his opinion.   Christian was up for a drive so we headed to Prineville.

Visiting Rick is like is like taking a kid to a candy store.  There are cars, memorabilia and toys everywhere.  Christian was in awe.  We talked about the Cadillac and decided it was a great car and should buy it.  Ughh, I had just bought the Packard and restored the Traveleze.  I just wasn't sure I was ready for another car.

Rick gave Christian a tour of the property and we looked the 1940 Graham Shark Nose, and the Ranger pop up trailer.  Rick offered to give me the Ranger if I would restore it and they could use it when they wanted.  I said SURE!  I also said he could use the Traveleze anytime he wanted too.

Christian and spent several hours there and finally with the sun starting to set we decided it was time head home.  On the drive back we decided we had time to look at a house that was for sale in Terrebonne and then grab a bite at Sonic.

Day 681, Pulling the Traveleze out of the garage.

With the weekend at hand, I pulled the trailer out of the shop and into the front driveway.  I had invited Christian and his 11 year old daughter to come see the trailer and perhaps camp out in it if she thought it was "cool".  They are both invited to the big vintage trailer rally next weekend, but she isn't sure, not knowing what to expect, so Christian and I thought this might be a good way to introduce her to the trailer and the idea of the camp out.  Next weekend, Tracy, myself and hopefully Christian and his daughter will come along.  That will be 4 people in a 14' trailer, so I have the tent for two of us to sleep in.

The Traveleze set up

With the trailer fully set up and plugged in, Christian and his daughter returned after having, spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the 53 Packard.  They trailer met approval, but even more exciting were the horses in the back pasture. Christian's daughter is a huge horse fan and she spent quite a bit time feeding them hand picked grass and giving them a little attention.

We manage to play a few hands of Farkle and then they were ready to camp out in the trailer.  We converted the dinette into a bed and rolled out the sleeping bag and they were set.  I went back into the house and was ready to crash.  Nothing like clean sheets on Friday night.

Day 680, Thursday.

Nothing too exciting on today's agenda.  The weather is spectacular and I plan on mowing the lawn to get that chore out of the way for the weekend.  I also need to help Tracy hook up her DVD player after work.  We had unhooked it when we played Wii several weeks ago and we didn't hook the DVD player back up. 

It was a beautiful evening after mowing the lawn I spent some quality time in the yard and just enjoyed the sunset.  Tomorrow is Friday and the start of the weekend.

Day 679, Traveleze and stripes

Today I went to a sign company and talked to them about putting stripes on the Traveleze.  I had some black and white prints of a photo I took after I stripped the old paint off and you could see the original painted on stripes.  They were originally dark green and that is what I want.  Flyte Camp had received a bid of $1,200 to paint on the stripes but that just seemed really high.  With today's modern graphics you have vinyl stripes put on for a lot less, and you don't have ruff up the aluminum to get it to stick like you would have to do with paint.  And, if sometime down the road I don't like the color I can pull them off.

It took me no time to match the original Hunter Green paint color with the vinyl samples and the Traveleze is scheduled to go in on Tuesday of next week.  It will take all day but they are sure they can get it done and make it look great.

It was a very fun day!

Day 678, Picked up the Traveleze

After work it was back to Bend to pick up the Traveleze.  Flyte Camp had fixed the dinette seats and everything was ready for me to take the trailer home.  We hooked the trailer up and I was ready to go home.   I had planned to meet Christian at my home at 6:45 pm to go look at a Danish contemporary dresser that he saw on Craigslist in Sisters.  Since I was driving right by his house I called and asked if he just wanted me to pick him up.  He said sure, so I pulled the little trailer through condo complex and then we headed for home.

We quickly unloaded the trailer and then headed to Sisters to meet the woman selling the dresser.  Christian had emailed, confirmed and reminded her about the appointment yesterday and we were all set.  We drove the 20 miles to Sisters and found the house and we waited until 7:30, but she wasn't home.  You could tell the house empty, but the garage had some furniture.  After 20 minutes of waiting we sent her an email and headed for home.  Christian was really disappointing, but we didn't have a phone number for her and we were out of luck.  It was real inconvenience and Christian needed to rush home and go spend time with his daughter.

I was ready to spend time with the trailer

Day 677, Monday

It had been a great weekend and now it's back to work.  First on the days agenda was a meeting with our US Representative at an informal meeting at City Hall.  It's always kind of neat to meet with our elected officials and share questions.  It was a very nice meeting and I enjoyed the opportunity to hear about the issues.

I had my workout scheduled at 4:30 pm, so I left at 4 pm to get there on time.  I missed my workout last week, so I was a little worried about being completely out of shape.  Luckily it wasn't that bad, for an out of shape mid 40's guy. 

After the workout I headed over to Flyte Camp to pick up my trailer.  They had a few things were going to do and it was ready to pick up.  They were putting on some of the finishing touches when I got there, but we discovered a problem that would take a little more time, so arranged to come back the next day to get it.  They had spend a lot of time fixing small items and the back window was leaking and needed some attention. I am so excited to have the trailer completely ready to go.

Day 676, Photo shoot with the Packard for a Calendar

The Packard at the gates to The Ranch at the Canyon.

The Central Oregon Old Car Club had asked if I would be interested in having my 53 Packard in their 2013 calendar and naturally I said sure.  The photo shoot was scheduled for around 9am at Smith Rock and then back at my house for a few more photo's.  They were shooting two cars a 1932 Chevrolet and my Packard.  The photo's took several hours but were a fun way to spend the morning.

I spent the rest of the day working in the yard and shopping in Bend. I have had to cover the garden the last three nights in a row, but tonight is supposed be in the 40's, so tonight shouldn't be a risk.  The weather was absolutely perfect and ideal for the Packard.

The corn in the garden enjoyed the warm weather and jumped out of the ground.  The corn is about 6 inches out of the ground and has a good chance to be knee high by the 4th of July.

Day 675, Prinveville Car Show and Barbeque and Rick and Colleen's

Prineville Car Show, June 9, 2012

I was laying in bed at 8am, when I got a text from Colleen saying not to forget the Barbeque from 3-10pm.  I had remember, but wasn't sure about going to the Car Show.  Most shows start early, but the Prineville show doesn't start until 10am.  Collen said I should come on over, so I got up and did a few chores before heading to Prineville with the Packard.  I texted Tracy, and she wanted to go too, but she would meet me there.

Rick's garage

The Prineville show had a great turnout and I was car number 112 at 10:15am.  It is always fun to see what new cars are going to be there and what old favorites return.  The orange Packard drew a lot of attention and there were lots of comments about the paint.  Tracy arrived around 11am and we spent a lot of time looking at the cars and at the vendor booths.  I even found a salt and peper/napkin holder that was made out of alder and it even had a toothpick holder.  It has a very vintage 50 feel and thought it would be perfect in the Traveleze.

The car show ended at 3pm and Tracy and I then headed over to Rick and Collen's for the barbeque.  The barbeque was for everyone at the car show and it was a big show.  Ricked opened up all his garages and let people view his extensive collections of old cars and toys.  It was a great turn out and the weather warmed up making it perfect for the event.

Part of Rick's collection

Tracy and I headed home around 5pm and planed to go to see the movie The Avengers in Bend at 7pm.  As it turned out, the movie was in 3D at 7pm, so $27 later and another $10 for a Sprite and Butterfinger we were in.  The movie was good and we enjoyed our $37 outing.

I was ready for a good night sleep!

Day 674, The weekend

Rain moving in

The weather forecast is for a cold and wet Friday, with the rain starting at 6pm.  I like to mow my lawn on Fridays after work and I'm going to have to run home fast hopefully get it mowed before the rain.

At 5pm it was windy and cold and the clouds were rolling in just as predicted.  I really didn't care, I was just glad it was the weekend.  I got home and changed into jeans and sweatshirt and jumped on the mower.  I got about half way before it started to sprinkle.   By the time I got to the driveway, it started to rain and I was freezing.  I made the last few passes and I was done and ready for a hot shower.

The lawn looked great and that project was out of the way.  Let the weekend begin.

Day 673, Frost and the Traveleze

View from LaJolla, CA

Last night I had to cover all the flowers and plants in the garden.  The temperature was expected to be around 30.  When I woke up and all the sheets and towels I used to cover the plants were frozen.  Luckily the protective measures helped prevent any frost bite.  I had an early morning meeting at 7 am, so I had to get up a few minutes earlier to uncover everything and make the meeting on time.

A friend of mine texted me in response to my comment on her recently posted Facebook picture.  She had just gotten the keys to her new "walk up" in the Pearl District in Portland.  I was really impressed with the place and she sent several picture of the purchase.  She then sent me a picture of her toasting to her new home.  It was just mean, she was in California enjoying the sun and the beach.

The view from my desk.

I responded with my view and what I was drinking.  I clearly think she had the better deal.

Ready to take the Traveleze to Bend

With the sun shining Justin from Flyte Camp contacted me to see if I could bring the Traveleze, so they could finish a few final touches to the trailer and un-winterize the water system. I left work around 4 pm and headed home to hook the trailer up and take it to Bend.  I wasn't so sure how easy it would be to hook it up myself, but I had it done in now time.  I dropped trailer off at Flyte Camp at 4:45 pm and they expected they would have it ready for me by Friday.

I had a few errands to run in Bend, including Costco and Fred Meyer to get a few things for the trailer.

It was a great day.

Day 672, Tuesday

Tonight I am having my folks over for their anniversary dinner.  Their anniversary is actually tomorrow, but they have plans with their neighbors.  June 6th, 1954 was the day they got married, 58 years ago.  I'm pretty impressed with that and wanted to do something.  I invited my brother and his family to come for a barbeque at 6:30 pm. 

I had a meeting in Bend that ran to 5:40 pm and I had to run home to get ready for dinner.  I had gone to the store that morning, so I had everything I needed.  My sister-in-law was bringing a salad and I had the rest.  My Mom brought a rhubarb crisp with rhubarb from my garden.  As it turned out my brother and oldest nephew were not able to come as they had to work on homework.  The 5 of us had a great time and enjoyed all the food.

After diner, I gave my folks the concrete "Vineyard" plaque that I had purchased in Norman, Oklahoma in April.  They appreciated the story about carrying the heavy sign on the plane to get it home and were excited about finding a location for it in the wine cellar.

Day 671, Traveleze

Now that camping season is upon us it's time to get the Traveleze ready for the road.  Justin  had wanted to pick it up over the weekend, but that didn't happen.  Today was looking pretty nasty with lots of rain, so it was looking very unlikely that today would work.  There isn't much of a rush, but the first big outing other than my drive way is coming up in late June.

Field starting to flood from too much rain.

I have a small list of things that need to be completed and we need to drain the water tank which had been winterized.   I also still need to pick up a few things for the trailer including the portable holding tank, trailer jacks and a few other miscellaneous items.

On our first outing Tracy has promised to baked a meatloaf in the over, but she has never made a meatloaf, so I think I will actually be making it.   I've never made a meatloaf in a trailer.

The weather all day was gray and rainy.  My parents property across from my home was actually starting to flood.  The farmer who is leasing the property had just planted alfalfa, so some of the seed will probably be flooded out.  

Day 670, A lazy Sunday

I love the kind of day that starts off slow and lets you wake up at your own pace.  All the windows were open in the house and it was just a bit cool, which made for staying in bed under the covers all the better.  I got up with two hungry cats looking at me and they were pretty convincing that they should be my first priority.  One cat eats inside, and the other will only eat outside.

Swallows nest in the birdhouse on the deck.

With the animals fed I could grab a glass of juice and sit out on the deck.  The birds where happy and the swallows were busy padding there nest.  The sun was gently warming everything up and I was one happy camper.  A few moments later I heard my neighbor pull up the drive and ring the door bell.  His wife Kathy, had just backed fresh blueberry muffins with some of the eggs from my chickens and she wanted me to have a few.  There were still warm from the oven. I couldn't help but think this is a great life. 

Today at Church my friend Doug and I were ushers, so we needed to be at the church in time to great the congregation.  I sent Doug a text around 9 am reminding him that I would be coming by early to get him.  With the weather as perfect as it was I fired up the 53 Packard and headed off to Church around 10:20 am.  Doug and I did our ushering duties and picked up the church after service.  It was now well after noon and we were both hungry, so we stopped off at our usual, Mazatlan, and had lunch.

For Sale by owner and needing lots of help

My friend Christian had to work an 11 hours shift today, but I took my father to go look at the two pieces of property that Christian was interested in.  My father loves to work a real estate deal, but when I showed him the first property, he was really nervous about the condition of the house.  The second property he liked better but in his mind were way over priced for what he would be getting.  The third property was a major fixer upper with a manufactured  home that was no longer liveable and needs a new septic system.  The property is covered in trash and will take at least a year to clean up.  Surprisingly, my father though was an opportunity to make a very low offer and see if the owner would dump the property.  I always learn a ton from my father and welcome all the time I can get with him to learn from all of his wisdom.  I had a lot to share with Christian when he finished work and I planned on calling him after work.

What could be a better way to cap off a great afternoon than cleaning out the Chicken coop.  With my shovel, broom, gloves and trash bag I tackled the job.  It wasn't as horrible as I expected and I had it cleaned up in an hour.  The chicken's were very curious about what I was doing and immediately had to investigate.

Day 669, House hunting and yard work

It was a beautiful spring morning and Christian called me up and wanted to show me a house that he had discovered close to where his daughter rides horses.  I said sure I would meet him there and I jumped in the truck to go look.  It was in a great location, with good neighbors and the property had tons of potential.  The best part about the property besides the awesome surroundings was the price.  We spent quite a while just walking the property (two acres) and talking about the possibilities.  Christian had placed a call into the realtor and found out there was an offer on the table, but it did not look like it was going to move forward, so there was a chance and he would know in two weeks.

We had one more property to look at that was listed as a fixer upper.  It was less than a mile away, so we headed over.  The property was scary and the neighbors even worse.  However, we did pass one property on the way in that had a for sale sign, so we stopped and looked.  It was a great piece of property, two acres and the house had potential.  There was no sales info on the property, so Christian called the listing agent and got some of the details.  We both liked the property and thought it was worth looking into.

I had chores calling my name at home, so I headed home after the house hunting expedition.  Christian was encouraged that there homes out there and we both had a blast looking.

New boards in place to keep gravel out of  lawn

My big project for the day was replacing some of the boards I lined my gravel paths with between the lawn.  I put the boards in over 11 years ago and one section by the garage had rotted away.  I purchased several pressure treated 2x4's and went to work.  It wasn't too difficult, but it took time.  When I was done I like the look and wanted to replace the rest of them, but I'll do it as the need arises. 

Tonight was dinner with my folks.  I invited Christian to join us so my father could share his thoughts on making an offer on the house.  My father loves to deal with real estate and has done well.  He's not afraid to make an offer and he has always said that "he can buy property at full price any day of the week, but he is looking for the deal".  He is never afraid to walk away and keep looking.

We had a great dinner with lots of good conversation and Christian took several pages of notes.  I planed on taking my father to look at the property tomorrow to see if he had any thoughts or concerns.

It was a great day.

Day 668, FRIDAY

Despite the short work week, I was still thrilled to see Friday roll around.  I was really looking forward to the weekend and hoped to pull the Traveleze out of the garage tonight and camp in it.  Justin at Flyte Camps wants to work on a few thing on the Traveleze on Saturday, so it would be a good excuse to get it out.

After a great day at work the weekend was upon me and I was ready to head home.  I had a few errands to run at Fred Meyer's and Lowes and then head home to mow the  lawn.  The weather was starting to look like it could rain.  I wanted to get the lawn mowed just in case it did and have that project done.  I quickly jumped on the mower and got to work.

Christian had come and got the Packard, so he could pick up his daughter at school with it and go to Sonic.  She loves the car and it gives them some great father daughter time.  This time Christian's daughter had a friend with them and they all go to rid in the car.  They put the top of because it looked like it was going to rain and they all thought the car looked great with the top up too.

As I was moving the last few feet of the lawn Christian brought the Packard home.  He had a great time with the car and said it created some great memories for him and his daughter to share.   We sat and had leftover pizza and played a few rounds of dice (Farkle) before Christian headed home.  We were both bummed with the weather and that I couldn't bring the trailer out.  It would have had a blast camping out in the driveway.

Day 667, Sons of Norway

My last meeting of the day was from 4 pm to 5:30pm in Bend, which was going to work out perfect for my Sons of Norway Board meeting which starts at 5:30 pm as well.  I was hopping the first meeting would end early and I could make it to the SofN meeting on time.  As it turned out, it was running long and at 5:40 pm I excused myself to head on over to the Lodge. 

The Lodge meeting always start with a light meal and I arrived at a very presentable time, in fact I was one of the first ones there.  The meeting is to plan out the Board meeting for next week and we quickly got down to business and discussed the agenda.  I would be just as happy to skip the meal and get right to the agenda, so we could all get  home. 

After the lodge meeting I headed over to Christian's house.  He is in the market to buy and a house and he had a few properties he wanted me to look at with him.  I love the fact that it is still light after 9 pm and we had plenty of time to look at a few houses.  We were both were not thrilled at any of the houses, despite the very attractive low prices.  The fact is the neighboring homes were all in horrible condition and looked very unkept  We decided it would be just too depressing to live in any of them and that he needed something in the country.

Day 666, Wednesday

It's always nice to have a 4 day work week.  Today was hump day and I had only worked one day so far.  The down side however, is trying cram a full workweek into 4 days.   I had several meeting today, which made the day fly by.  This is also my workout day and I missed last week with my trainer being out of town, so I really needed to get my butt into the gym.

Surprisingly my workout went great.  I seemed to have lots of strength and I was breathing well.  The pine and juniper pollen count is way up, but I have manage to keep my allergies under control.  Its a horrible feeling to try to workout and not to be able to get any air when you get your cardio up.

After the workout I headed over to Flyte Camp Vintage Trailer Restorations just to see what they were working on.  They are filming their next TV show, so they were busy getting the trailer ready for Friday's filming.  Justin and his crew are working like crazy to keep up with production schedule.  I told him it's the price you pay for being famous, which got me a smirk.  The work they are doing keeps getting better and this next trailer will be spectacular.   I was hoping to see their Anderson, which went to the painter several weeks ago, but it wasn't there.

On my way home I did my Costco run and then headed home.  I had driven the BMW convertible and I was enjoying the drive.