Kitchen Polishing

I will not pretend like housework is a political act, but I do find it an interesting exercise while thinking about human rights and injustice. Since most readers will not agree, I will simply comment on the kitchen, then save my concerns for Weiwei for another post.
My kitchen, if you remember, was sterile white, with a dull checker floor, and the ugliest cabinet hardware I've ever seen, placed--in the style of the '70s--directly in the center of the cabinets. I probably would have hated them less if they were in the traditional, useful location of the cabinet edge, but I digress. I think the previous owner didn't like the checker floor (which I can't tell the make-up of.. vinyl? Linoleum?), so she put up black and white checkered border paper (which she inexcusably painted around), and black and white striped curtains. It was too matchy-matchy for me.

Now the kitchen is a light Granny Smith Apple green. I have removed the cabinet hardware, but will have to save refinishing the cabinets for May. The hardware left deep gouges in the poorly painted (probably circa 1970s) cabinet doors. The cabinets themselves are in good shape, and seem "fancy" for their age, with slide-out shelves and beveled fronts. I am planning on sanding them down, filling the holes, and painting them again, with a fresh, smooth coat (several layers of lumpy brush-work are not doing them any favors).
On hands-and-knees (imagining Human Rights Activists in prison around the world), I scrubbed the floor. It continued to be dull, though the blacks got blacker and the whites got whiter. I found a product that "restores shine to old vinyl and linoleum floors without wax", which was perfect, since I can't figure out what my floor is. Two coats of that (again, on hands-and-knees) and it is shiny again. The pictures may not do it justice, but take a look at the before and after comparison.
I bought a little stool on clearance at Cost Plus for my easel in one of the bedrooms, but then found I wanted it in the kitchen, so I could fiddle on the laptop while I was cooking. They only had one, so I can't buy a matching pair to fit under the wide counter. I have been thinking of taking out this counter and putting in a narrower floor-to-ceiling pantry, but now I'm wondering if this is a workable counter. What do you think?

Cookbooks used to be on the counter. Now they are in the cupboard, so it is tidier. I have a tendency to make things look sterile in my effort to look tidy, so I know there is more to do to make this a homey kitchen. The walls need art, that's for sure.

A $2 lamp on clearance at Target adds light to the dark corner. The kitchen itself is very dark, with a single, ineffective fluorescent light fixture in the (off-)center of the room. I haven't decided what solution I want to pursue yet. I'm trying to love the boring, off-the-shelf countertop and almond (in a white kitchen??) sink, but I think when I get around to putting in a backsplash, the counter will be going. No definitive plans yet.

Refinishing/ed Cabinets

I'm mid-way through refinishing my cabinets. The rest are in limbo while I decide which direction to take the decor. The nice thing about interior remodeling/decorating with a trailer is as much as every surface you touch leads to the next surface needing attention, there is a finite amount of surfaces for you to deal with. Did that make sense? Let me elaborate. If you refinish *this* cabinet door, you will need to refinish all of them. If you do the doors, you must door the cabinet frames. If you do the frames, you mush replace the sections with water damage. If you replace those sections, you may as well take out the fridge and do the flooring under the fridge. Etc. But it's only 14' long by 6' feet wide. How much trouble could it be?


I refinished the cabinets with the least amount of associated drama. They are beautiful (images to come later. Above and below are the details of the original finish and the naked, sanded wood. You can see how the old finish had yellowed and become flaky and gross... much like my ex-boyfriend? The 'original' look of the original finish is revealed under the hardware).


The areas I was concerned about and avoided refinishing, I'm waiting on. The bathroom cabinets, for example, may be painted instead of shellacked. They connect directly to the shower stall, a strange decision that has decades of water damage to show for it (all things considered, this is the least damaged area of the woods that have water damage). The framing around the appliances are also in limbo (I couldn't figure out how to sand in the narrow spaces... the areas I hand-sanded are a bit of a disaster). The wardrobe revealed its door was somehow welded into place, and now seems like a glossy white would do it nicely. Then there is the mater of painting the walls... see, everything connected.


I did take her out to the State Park this week. In the process of flushing the winterizing coolant from the tanks, the pipe connecting to the sink faucet broke loose. Now, I face deconstructing the cabinets to get at the plumbing... and while I'm there, is a new faucet and counter-top in order? Maybe a re-glazing of the sink?

Trailer emptying

Torah enjoying his kingdom on

the pile of trailer cushions.

My hands are currently vibrating from all the sanding I've been doing. (Please forgive any type-os.)

I wasn't exactly methodical about emptying out the trailer last fall. True, all the dishes may as well have stayed in there (even if now I have to take them all out to wash), but the tiny bits and pieces that found their way into all the nooks and crannies is just silly.

Yesterday, I emptied out everything, removed the couch cushions (I would like to have new covers made... more on that later... and not until later!), took apart the cabinets and set about sanding them down. I was (over) confident this would be just like when I sanded down and painted my kitchen cabinets in California.

Then I remembered how every thing I did to my house in California led to six other things needing to be done, and three things breaking in the process that would need to be fixed.

The cabinet frames were clearly installed after being finished, and the walls were painted before anything was installed. There are tiny areas between appliances and cupboards and panels the sander/sanding black can't go. Some of the panels are solid, and some are sandwiched/layered birch plywood. The plywood has begun to separate in some places, so I have to pause and repair it as I go.

It's been a lot of work, as I knew it would (but pretended it wouldn't be). I'm now off to the basement to put the first coat of shellac on the cabinet doors, then off to sand with a lighter grit in the trailer itself.



I really wanted to go camping tomorrow night, so I am determined to get it put back together enough for an over-nighter in Shades State Park.

Waking up Alice

I am notoriously not a morning person. Last summer, I was lucky to get Alice on the road by check-out at noon. We did have a rich night life that was tiring and caused such slumber.



A few weeks ago, I ran home from work, like a kid on Christmas morning, and I bodily tore the cover from the trailer. It took 20 minutes for three people to get it up there (with two ladders), and 5 minutes for one person with a step-stool.



Opening her up, I was pleased to find her vermin free, mold free, and the lights still flipping on and off to a happy battery. I looked around, thinking of all the projects I had to work on (got the door seal done in the fall--check that one off!), and set to work. The first rain showed me my new door seal was good... and my window seal from last summer was once again bad. A little nuclear goo (rubberized silver goo--Parbond), and it was all better.



Then, I took a look at the water damage to the little shelf under the window. I knew it had to be replaced last summer, but it was doing it's job. When I unscrewed the brackets, the whole thing fell into dust. Yuck. Soon after, the battery died. I plugged her in to charge... but nothing has happened. Uh-oh. Maybe I shouldn't have left it outside over the winter? It WAS charged...

So, you can see I have some work to do. I am planning on refinishing the cabinets this weekend and staining the new shelf... give the interior a face-lift. Oh, and getting the battery working. Oh, and emptying the coolant out of the tanks and flushing the water system. Whew.

Other plans:

• repainting interior with ceramic, heat-reflecting paint (I love the Zoloton, but it isn't looking good after 46 years; I'll be using low-toxicity paint with a non-toxic ceramic additive)
• replacing the banquet cushions (I replaced the bed last summer... they are very squishy in comparison)
• having new cushion covers made (I picked out a cheery green-striped fabric that will brighten up the space; it's a stain and fade-resistant stuff)
• installing a new floor (this is an expensive one; the first quote I got was ridiculous, but I still love the floor I picked out--actual eco-linoleum, not vinyl, in fire-orange)

I'm pleased so far with the "eco" decisions. It's a small space, so low-toxic fumes is nice. And hey, I bought used so I could have low toxic materials and low carbon foot-print.



I will get some pictures this weekend of the refinishing. Grading is finishing up, and the woods are calling Alice for a little visit, even if only a night.



Our actual summer trip isn't set in stone yet. More on that as information becomes available. I do know I am going to try to make the Avion Trailer Rally in Elkhart, IN, late July. Stay tuned!