The Worst Project of the Year

Posted by Rebecca

The insulation project was completed over the weekend.  And it was the WORST JOB EVER!!

I had 3 brave souls help me – Ethan, Jessica and Lisa.  And fortunately 2 of the 4 of us actually knew what we were doing (I was not one of those 2). 

If you have never done insulation before, let me tell you, other than appearances that pink fiberglass stuff has none of the properties of cotton candy.  It is soft at first, but then morphs into microscopic shards of glass that will leave you itchy and in pain.

But the discomfort of insulation pales in comparison to the horror of crawling under a trailer that has been sitting in the same spot for 53 years.  I’m not sure if I’m more horrified by the fact that my trailer rests upon a spider graveyard/spawning ground or that it sits atop the neighborhood cat toilet. 

We saw no actual spiders but we did see a gazillion dead spiders, cobwebs, and egg sacs.  I didn’t know whether to cry or scream and cry. 

Ethan, who was a total trooper and was under the trailer for the better part of the afternoon, had to wear a mask because of his cat allergies vs. the plethora of cat poop and spray.  At one point I was moved to nausea because of my own smell – I had managed to slither across some goopy cat guck.  It was the WORST!

But we are done!  We did it!  The skirting is insulated!  I don’t think any cat will manage to find its way under my trailer again, and I will be buying a bug bomb ASAP. 

And, you know what?  My trailer does feel a little warmer.  Ahhhhhhhh.

Piecing together the rolls of insulation to make it fit the width of the skirting.

My brave friend, Lisa, facing her biggest fear – spiders.  Now that is friendship!!

Lisa and Jessica, and Ethan’s legs.

Exhausted and over it.

Rebecca Knabe

Officially Winter

Posted by Rebecca

Happy Winter!!

The days are still reaching 70 degrees, but the nights are plunging to the 30’s.  And this aluminium tube I call home is not insulated well.  A couple of mornings this week I woke up to a temperature of 49F inside.  Brrrrrrr!

So today is winterizing day.  I have friends coming over to help insulate the skirting of my trailer.  This will probably be a pretty tricky job as part of the skirting is under the deck.  But we will do our best.  Besides the skirting we will be repairing the roof (this needs to get done once or twice a year with a bucket of roof sealant), attempt to close a little vent window that got stuck open this summer, cover the swamp cooler, seal a large window that hides behind my bookshelf, and change the filter in the furnace.

It’s going to be a busy day, but if I don’t have to wake up and see my breath while laying in bed this winter it will all be worth it.

Rebecca Knabe

And The Winner Is….

 

 

And the winner from our “5,000 Views” contest is (drumroll, please):

 

Cindy G. from Bend, Oregon!!

Congratulations, Cindy, it’s time to shop!  Reno eNVy is waiting!  🙂

Rebecca Knabe & Tanille Leal

 

How To Declutter Your Home

Posted by Rebecca

I come from a long legacy of hoarders.  My father owns more books than most libraries.  He is a writer and he loves to read, so I believe they bring him comfort and happiness.  But his one bedroom apartment is swelling with them.  The seams are bursting with classics and poetry and sonnets, biographies, autobiographies and stories of adventure.

My brother is a “collector.”  He collects this and that and the other thing.  Some collections are big, some are small, some were a fleeting thought, some are more intrinsic to his being.  Whatever it may be, he may collect it.

My maternal grandmother – also a hoarder.  My dad used to say she was stocking up for the next depression.  Her attic was full of plastic containers, squares of fabric, old boxes and a variety of trinkets that were just waiting for something to fill it up, sew it together, or put it on display so all could be reminded of its yester-yearish glory. 

But me?  I have rebelled against my legacy.  I feel the need to purge myself of some belongings every few months so my place can feel fresh and bright and new.  I have had a lifetime of scoldings for eliminating something that was using up unnecessary space, in my opinion, but was an irreplaceable treasure in the opinion of my family.  And it works for me.  Especially in my 450 square foot home.

If you would like some great advice on how to declutter your castle, I found this article on one of our favorite websites, Apartment Therapy.  Enjoy:

How To Declutter Your Home

If, however, you would like some ideas on how to hoard, collect and prepare for the next era of desperation, my only advice would be to get a much bigger place.  🙂

Rebecca Knabe

P.S.  We have a winner for our contest.  So stay tuned because our winner will be announced tomorrow.

And Then There Were Three

Posted by Tanille

Meet the newest member of our family – Burley Boozer, MD:

~Tanille Leal

No Big Deal

Posted by Rebecca

10 days ago I ran my very first half marathon.  No big deal.  Actually it was HUGE! 

My disdain for running began in grade seven when I earned the nickname “Fish” while running with my gym class.  It was the beginning of the school year, and the first run of the year.  I’m pretty sure the gym teacher (whose name alludes me, probably because I have permanently blocked it from my memory) was seeing if she could actually run us until we died.  Felt like it, anyway.  Half way through the ordeal my awkward pubescent legs attempted to tie themselves in a knot, and I fell face first in a mud puddle.  My teacher bellowed in her Drill Sargent manner, “Get up, Fish!  Keep running!”  The girls in my class giggled, I turned beet red, and decided from that moment on I hated running. 

The nickname stuck throughout the year, but I survived, and a paltry 25 years later, I’ve found myself running again.  Half marathons this time.  Not fast, not pretty, but running.  The whole 13.1 miles.  And that, my friends, is a HUGE deal! 

This continues to be a year (or two) of firsts for me:  First trailer, first renovation project, first half marathon.  And you know what I’ve learned?  Overcoming your fears is the only thing that’s going to get you through this life – whether it’s a fear of falling into a mud puddle, or admitting you live in a trailer park.  And let me tell you, learning to overcome your fears feels pretty, pretty good.

 

Me and Carly at the finish line.  Ready to sit!

Rebecca Knabe

P.S. We are going to be closing our contest this weekend, so if you would still like to enter to win a Reno eNVy t-shirt of your choice, comment on this post.  🙂

 

Do you have vision?

By Tanille

– Tanille Leal

Don’t Forget

Posted by Rebecca

Don’t forget to enter our contest, and maybe you’ll win a Reno eNVy t-shirt of your choice.

Reply to this post to enter:  4,837 and Counting….

And thanks again for all the support!  🙂

Rebecca Knabe

4,837 and Counting….

Posted by Rebecca

That’s how many views we’ve had on our little blog in the 4 months we’ve been blogging.  We’ve had great support from friends and family, and their friends and family, and many friends that we haven’t even met yet.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  From the bottom of our hearts.

To let you know how much we appreciate it, we are celebrating our upcoming 5,000th view with a big prize!!  Here’s how you can win:

Reply to this post (with your name and a comment, smiley face, funny joke, whatever) and the day we hit 5,000 views we will randomly (I promise) select a winner.  “What will I win?” you ask?  You will win a fabulous t-shirt (of your choice) from the amazing selection at our very favorite trailer-y store, Reno eNVy.

Check out their website here:  Reno eNVy

Like them on Facebook here:  Reno eNVy

And start daydreaming about how cool you are going to look in your new digs.  It’s what all the hip trailer folks are wearing these days!

Here are a couple designs available:

 

Rebecca Knabe

 

 

Ugh!

Posted by Rebecca

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like a total loser?  Like you should have your stuff together by now, but you don’t?  That’s today.  Ugh!  Let me explain….

Remember Bonnie the Great?  Trailer park cheerleader, laundry superhero, and all-around cool chick?  (You can read about her here)  Well, a few weeks ago Bonnie broke the news to me that after a year of the best laundry situation I have ever had, she was going to have to stop her laundry service with me.  One of her kiddies seems to be allergic to dogs.  And because my pooch insists on getting her DNA on everything that I own, it means Bonnie’s son is allergic to my laundry. 

I had already decided long ago that laundromats make me die a little inside.  Actually a lot.  And with my hectic schedule the only time I would be able to do the laundromat thing would be in the evening.  But those places are scary after dark!  That’s the time of day when hoodlums and hooligans do their laundry.

So, I’ve been searching Craigslist for apartment size stackable washer and dryers.  But I have a super limited space in which to fit the appliances.  And everything I found was too deep.

In the meantime I’ve had this mountain of dirty laundry that is growing exponentially.  So I’ve had to swallow my pride and ask for help.  Ugh! 

Two weeks ago my ex-grandmother-in-law did a few loads for me.  (She is a total gem!)  Last week Kara did a load for me.  And this morning I dropped off another couple of loads with Tanille’s mom.  Although she did offer….

But talk about feeling like a total loser!  However, there is a silver lining….  I actually have in my possession a brand new (actually 3 years old, but who’s counting) washer/dryer combo thingy.  It’s one of those machines that you throw in a dirty load and the clothes come out clean and dry.  My friend Monica has told me that she doesn’t believe those types of appliances exist, and that my new magical voodoo machine creeps her out. 

But they do exist, and I bought one.  It fits perfectly, and I almost feel like an adult with my very own laundry room and everything.  I know you are probably wondering, if I have this new fandangled magic laundry machine, why did I drop my laundry off at Tanille’s mom’s this morning?….

Because in order for one to use their new laundry room like a real adult, you have to hook up the new machine to the water and the electricity and the drain.  And, sadly, I haven’t figured that part out yet.  Ugh!

But look, isn’t it pretty??

Rebecca Knabe