Auld Lang Syne

As I like to say at work, "Guess who's back? Back again? AJ's back. Tell ya friends." 😁

Feeling ready to get started on this project again. The last few weeks were a whirlwind of family get-togethers, vacation trips down south, and cooking and baking treats, not to mention near-zero temperatures in our tropical climate. 

The night we returned from vacation (Dec 26th), we unpacked the truck and immediately went out back to survey the RV and get a grasp on what would need to be done next. The flooring had been torn out at this point, and it revealed a telling tale of leaks. It had rained heavily the day before, and the floor around the kitchen slide was leaking. 

This is annoying, but not detrimental-we will do our best to find and fix it, however we also know the camper wasn't bought as a travel camp, it was bought for a stationary camp and living space to be placed under a pole barn. 

With vacation being at an end, I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday, plus I was on call Wednesday night. I got off early for lack of cases on Wednesday, but when I got home I found out my dad and grandmother were both sick so I decided to make some homemade corn chowder for everyone. It's delicious and easy to make, the longest thing to cook is the potatoes. Here's the recipe I came up with. 😋

Thursday was a day for sanding. The flooring was being worked on in the bedroom area, so that gave me the perfect reason to start on the other end and work on the cabinets. I swept the floors and cleaned up before I started. I removed all of the curtains and valances, then puttied all of the holes. 

DH had replaced the flooring in the back where the small hole and leak was at on Wednesday while I was at work/making chowder. 

Now before I tell you all this part, please know that I am suffering from tennis elbow in my right arm. I'm sure I'm supposed to be resting it and stretching it, as well as taking my naproxen, but because I work in healthcare, I'm the first to be a fugitive from the healthcare system. Obviously I know enough to get myself into trouble, so I usually do. I showed my arm to one of my favorite orthopedic surgeons on Tuesday the 27th, and he lit my ass up when he grabbed just the right spot then said 'Got you a little tennis elbow going on, huh?' That being said, after his recommendation to come see his NP at the office and get a cortisone shot, say less. I'm scared of needles, so I'll just suffer with naproxen and trying to remember to stretch until I can't stand it anymore. 😨

So, while I was *supposed* to be resting my arm, I definitely got the sander out and sanded cabinets and doors down. I started with the cabinets for the glass, then slowly disassembled the slide out cabinets and sanded as I could with frequent breaks. 

Once that was done, I quit for the day. I worked Friday and was on call 24hrs on Saturday (New Year's Eve)-of which I was at the hospital 18 of those hours and rang in the new year by setting up to receive a patient out of surgery. I began fielding calls from my mom first thing in the morning because my oldest daughter Pootie shot her first deer up on their property near ours. She's always been a deadeye shot.

 I'm very proud of her, she shot it with a 700 Remington .308 at 106 yards, dropped him where he stood, he didn't even kick. 5 point, 132lbs. Will be good meat for the freezer and she's learning to cook so it will come full circle when she makes a meal with it. 

Rite of passage, blood from your first deer on your face. She is now a hunter.

She's a sassy kid, but she's so cool too. I hope she got that from me as well. 💓

Sunday was a day of rest after that. 

Monday I perused facebook marketplace ads and Amazon for the remainder of the bigger priced items I needed for the camper. I figured after Christmas they may have some clearanced out pieces and people may also be moving and getting rid of things they replaced with new for Christmas. I was right!

The microwave I was looking at from Best Buy went UP in price from $180 to $200, however I found nearly the same model with the convection/air fryer option and baskets to go with it on marketplace for $50 cash. I paid the seller immediately. 

As I was scrolling through my friend's posts and updates, I noticed a friend that had JUST posted a table and four barstools fairly similar to the one I was looking at, however she was asking $125 vs the $400 I was looking at. I commented and prayed my comment was first. It was! 

I had my last big purchases; the microwave and the table and chairs were secured. We picked them up that night. 

Of course, I once again had to return to work. 😑 

While I was at work yesterday (Jan 3), DH sent pictures of his shop being built. He spent the previous day arranging for the shop he bought to be erected on a spot of his choosing. These photos are three hours apart, these guys don't play around.

Today, I worked on painting the sanded cabinets. The flooring guy is still working, so I had to take the cabinet doors outside and put them on the table to prime and paint. I'm using Zinsser 123 latex-based primer that I tinted with a little of the green paint so it wasn't bright white. I also had a helper.

After they were dried, I put a coat of the green on with a foam roller. I wasn't pleased that it showed bubbles in the paint, but was hoping it would flow out and dry flat.

It seemed to clear up on it's own, so I left it alone. 

The flooring guy left at about 4pm, so I was able to get inside and paint cabinets that I had sanded last week. I started with the couch slide cabinet and worked my way around to the back cabinet, then the refrigerator area. I stopped there as I haven't had time to sand further down yet. 

So that's the update! 

I just wanted to add, we have been rocked this last week with the death of Ken Block. We enjoy lots of his videos on YouTube along with 1320 Videos, Cleetus McFarland, and Whistlin' Diesel. This is a huge loss to the car community and sad for his family for sure. RIP 43! #HooniganForLife