Our Holiday Rambler

Here it is June 14th, 2015. Time is rapidly approaching that all of the stress and hoops jumped through with my work comp case will be through. Once I am free of that mess, we can move! Right now, we are estimating mid to late July. That means we have about a month to get the rest of our stuff packed and our RV livable. YIKES!

As I mentioned before, we have a motor home and will be living in it while we search for a new home and build the house. A 1978 Holiday Rambler to be exact. It is a 25th Anniversary Imperial 5000. We have owned this thing for many years but due to my injury, we haven't used in many years. Not to mention that it HATES ethanol laced gas. Which means, that it is much more expansive to drive this tank!

My dear brother and sister in law have been storing it at their place. Something that I am so very thankful for. A few weeks ago, my brother assisted my hubby in getting it running and drive it to the mechanics for a tune up.  After not being started for over 4 years, I was greatly surprised that it started it all. It was not easy to get her running. She is a big ol girl and didn't want to move out of her comfy spot!

Where she has rested for the last several years.

My brother has been working on his house and cleaning out sheds but took time out to help us so please excuse the mess!

These are by the front door.

Front end before she moved. 

Really close to that tree!

Going to need some TLC

Needs a good wash & wax!

Some assistance needed!

My dear brother had to hook on to the tow hitch and provide some assistance! After sitting for so long, she had sunk into the ground and needed a little help getting out of the holes!

WARNING! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! THESE ARE NOT TRAINED PROFESSIONALS! I CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE IF YOU TRY WHAT IS IN THE FOLLOWING PICTURE!

Do not try this at home!

We had to by pass the fuel tanks due to sludge issues. My brother is operating a 12 volt fuel pump (hooked to a battery on the floor) that is feeding gas from the pictured cans into the engine. The original fuel pump was not wanting to work so.....  My brother sat on the couch swapping out gas cans while my husband drove this to the mechanics and I followed behind with my pickup. I should also mention that engines that have sat a while will smoke, A LOT! This smoke will fill the entire coach if the dog house cover is not in place. Just thought you should know. 

On the road under her own power! Ready to head to the mechanics. We did not have to put any air in any of the tires. Couldn't believe it!

She has been sitting at the mechanics waiting for a slot to open up so he can give her the once over. She goes in on the 15th for her tune up. Will give you the run down of what we are having our amazing mechanic do. 

Mechanical Repair List:

Drop both fuel tanks.

Re-coat the better of the two and put it back. 

Flush or replace all gas lines

Make sure generator is plumbed in to gas tank

Replace fuel pump

Flush radiator

Oil Change

Tune up on generator

Overall make the engine is interstate ready. She has two go through both the Rockies and the Cascades to get to our new home.

Potentially remove radiator under back bed

Replace broken door handle (need to use a pliers to get in it now)

If you noticed, we only had 1 gas tank put back on. This is for a few reasons, one it saves us money only re-coating one tank. Number two is we will be stopping often enough on our journey West that there is no need to carry that much fuel on board. Third - the engine in the coach is severally under powered for the weight of coach. So we are trying to reduce what weight we can as she still has to tow our Jeep Wrangler!

Now for the stuff we will fix. We are not planning on doing a restoration and keeping everything period correct. Our concern is to make it livable long term. I will list the repairs/enhancements she is going to receive. Most if not all of the interior work will be done by my husband and son with me in a supporting role. Due to health issues from my accident, there are limits on what I can do at any given time. I am sure there are many things I am forgetting to list or that we will discover along the way that needs fixing. 

Interior Repair List:

Rip out the orange shag carpet (Seriously, who puts shag carpet in an RV? This should shave at least one hundred pounds off the weight of the coach alone!)

Take down all the "curtains" (Another large amount of weight removed)

Give thorough cleaning

Take out bunk over driver's seat

Take out back double bed

Build two single size bed platforms in the back

Replace all the interior water lines

Get ice machine up and running (Hopefully!)

Make sure all appliances are working correctly

Install water heater - possibly on demand

Repair all squishy spots in the floor (only a couple)

Sand/seal floor to avoid slivers or install peal and stick tile

Make new cushion for couch to replace the raccoon damaged one

Find/make seat covers for driver and passenger chairs

Fix/replace breaker box so we can see what works and what doesn't. 

Fix lights that are loose/replace bulbs that are burned out with LEDS if possible

Insulate under side of doghouse to reduce noise and heat from engine. 

Install actual curtains

Get all windows to open and lube the tracks so they open/close easier

Fix floor level "night lights"

Exterior Repair List:

Give it a serious wash and wax!

Install new kitchen roof fan and put on new cover so can be open going down the road.

Install same type of cover over bathroom fan

Replace all missing light bulbs and covers around coach

Seal up cracks in roof cargo carriers

Reseal around CB antennae 

Possibly re-caulk around all windows. 

Replace batteries that run the coach part of things

Ok now for the pictures of the interior just you all can see what we are up against.

This is the kitchen area with that nasty orange shag! The kitchen overall is in good shape. We are going to replace all the water lines due to how long they have sat unused. At the end of the cupboard, you can see the ice maker. It is my sincere hope we can get that up and running! Floor light needs to be put back in socket as well. 

Fancy "leather" wrapped cupboards on both sides of the living room area. You can also see one of the many blinds through out the coach. These blinds have real wood slats in them. They are quite heavy! As the mechanisms that hold them up or down are starting to malfunction, the blinds will be removed carefully and regular curtains installed. We will attempt to find someone who is doing a restoration that will want the blinds. There are two of these in the living room, one in the kitchen, 3 in the back bedroom. The room divider for the back bedroom is also the same color/material only floor to ceiling. Just removing all these heavy blinds should reduce some coach weight as well. 

Wet bar stays as is. I think it lights up but I don't remember now. It is pretty cool looking piece. Now you know why the coach has an ice maker :D The door is just to the right of this.

Battery and tank gauges under the clock as well as temperature, humidity, and barometer.  The ice maker is at the bottom of the counter. On the other side of the sink is a shiny rectangle - this is where the built in blender goes. After all, what good is all that ice and booze without a blender?

The aforementioned blender resting in the cupboard waiting to go to work. When the coach was stored, it did work.

Oven on top. Propane stove with microwave underneath. This all worked the last time we went camping. Just above the drawers is what the manual called an electric hot plate burner. We never used it in the past. However, we will be checking it out to see if it works. The refrigerator/freezer are across from the stove. I did not get a good picture of them but will so in the future. 

Lots and lots of closet and drawer space. Across from the closets is the bathroom. You can see the room divider for the back bedroom on the right side of the picture. 

Needs a serious cleaning. Will replace water lines to this sink as well. Otherwise, it is in pretty good shape.

Fancy medicine cabinet with soap holder and toothbrush holders built in. Those are original!

Do not know if the shower works as we have never used it. We always have camped where there were bath houses. However, since we will be living on our land while we build our house, this will need to work. 

Towel rack on the inside of the bathroom door.

Storage and night stand in back bedroom with matching one the other side of doorway. More of those oh, so lovely blinds!

Not the greatest picture but you can see two of the three blinds in the back bedroom as well as additional storage. This double bed will be converted to two singles on either side of this room. My husband and I do not want to have to crawl over one another to get up in the middle of the night. 

This is underneath the bed. On the bottom right is the breaker box. Right next to it is a hot air vent. When we bought this coach, we did not know what it was or how it worked. It was summer and we didn't think it would matter. Turns out that little round vent is connected some how to the radiator in the engine compartment. So when we had engine trouble in NV and it over heated, boiling antifreeze came gushing out of that vent and soaked the breaker box. Not the greatest of ideas in my opinion. Much of the electrical works if plugged into a land line but not all of it works now when the generator runs. This includes those two huge rooftop air conditioners/heaters. We are hoping that it will be a simple fix of replacing some parts. However, a friend has offered us a small house style breaker box just in case. Our mechanic will be checking to see if it is possible to move what turned out to be an additional radiator under this bed or to at least by pass it.

Back at the front of the coach is this food pantry. As you can see; it is right next to the door. To the left of the door is the wet bar. 

This is the slide out table. This is mounted on the other side of the sink cabinets. You can also see a corner of the couch that can be pulled out to make a bed. I will have to make a cushion to replace the raccoon damaged one. 

This picture shows more of the couch as well as the other living room chair. The orange thing on the couch is the engine doghouse cover. There are plastic bags on the front seats due to their conditions as well as how dirty the guys got trying to get this beast running. Just above my husband (in the driver's seat) is a drop down bunk. This too will be removed. The latches that hold it up ripped loose as we were bouncing down the OR interstate many years ago. I have driven on many gravel roads that were smoother than that interstate. Anyway, after numerous potholes, the latches tore out of the bunk frame and that all wood made bunk came crashing down on my husbands head. That drove his ears down to his shoulders. We ended up buying two mops to prop it up and keep it from causing any further injury. Our last kid at home is really too big to sleep up there easily so it will just come out. 

Well, that is what our HR looks like now. Once she is home from the mechanics, I will be posting before and after photos of all the projects. Back in the day, she was top of the line. We hope to at bring her back to highly livable at this point. We are very blessed that we have every manual and warranty card that came with this coach. It will certainly help us out when it comes time to work on the electrical and plumbing!

This is once again a case of my husband and I probably biting off more than we can chew. We do possess the ability to learn and figure things out though. 

I can't wait till we have her all fixed up and we are headed WEST!

We are a bit crazy!

Well, I guess I should explain some of the craziness that has been going on around here lately.

In January, my sweet husband and I went on our 2nd honeymoon to Whidbey Island, WA. We spent 10 magical days there! We went there to explore the area as a potential place in which to relocate our family. It was pretty much love at first sight! Between the beauty of the island and the loveliness of its people, we decided that Whidbey Island should be our new home!

On my 40th birthday in March, we announced to everyone that we would be moving. We don't have a move date yet as we are waiting on my work comp case to be settled. At this time it looks like by the end of summer, we should be able to move.

In the mean time, we have slowly been packing and going through stuff in storage. My husband and son have made many trips to a local thrift/charity store with donations.

Packing is a bit of a challenge as we currently share a house with my mother in law. Although she is moving with us, she will not be living in the same house as us. She will be living on the same property though. Also trying to figure out what can be packed now and what needs to be done last is a challenge when we don't have a firm move date. I have devised a system that is working for us. It is bits and pieces from other peoples move blogs that I have read. Also, we will be camping in our motor-home and large tent while we build the houses.  Yes, we are nothing short of crazy!

My husband and I talked about it a few days ago and it seems that most big events or projects in our life have been the result of biting off more than we could chew. (shakes head)  So we decided that our family motto should be "Biting off more than we can chew since 1999."

January 10, 2015 I am standing on the public beach in Langley, WA just below an amazing pizza place!

These next two are from January 7, 2015. Yes, that is green foliage you see! It is incredibly hard to explain that peace that came over both my husband and myself when we started exploring the Island. It is a slower pace of life that we both had been looking for. It will take many posts to explain all the things we love about the island. Perhaps, even a few things that we will not like will be shared as well. 

This move is exciting and terrifying all at the same time. We are looking at this as a grand adventure. A time in which we get to explore new areas, meet new people, and become the people we want to be. At the same time, we are leaving behind a network of friends and family. This is not easy to do. They are always there when help has been needed. We don't have any friends yet on the Island. We have met a few people and have an amazing realtor who has been a huge help in this crazy endeavor! We will be without that safety net. Then I remind myself, that I come from a long line of homesteaders! My family emigrated from Germany in the 1800's and ended settling and "proving up" a homestead claim in the Dakota Territory. I was born and raised on that claim. If they can do it with horse and buggy, surely with all the technology available to us, we can do it. 

I can't wait to start this new adventure!

Daughter's Graduation

Wow! It has been forever since I have posted anything. To say that this last year has been a crazy one would be the understatement of the year. I will post more about that in another blog.

Today, I am filled with lots of different emotions. Today my daughter graduates. Yesterday, we had her graduation party as well as attended 2 other parties of close friends. Today, we will attend another friend's party then off to see our daughter graduate with over 400 other kids in her school.

Anybody that has had teen girls in their life knows that you wonder if you will ever see the graduate. Mostly, because you are either going to have them committed till they are 21 or you are going to check yourself into a mental health institution until they are 21. Girls are a blessing and a curse. One minute you have a sweet daughter and the next there is a screaming entity in their room that you have never met. I love my daughter and wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. That being said, I am also extremely glad that I only have 1 daughter and 2 boys. I don't know how families with multiple girls do it.

 It seems like just yesterday when this little blond, noisy, giggly girl came into my life. She was about 2 1/2 when I first met her. Her dad and I were dating at the time. That was in 1999. Fast forward to today and she is still blond, noisy, and giggly and 18. I am so proud to call her my daughter. She has to face struggles that many other kids do not have to. She could allow this to make her angry and bitter. Instead, she goes through life doing the best she can and enjoying it all. She has worked so hard to get to this day. Her path in life will never be easy and it isn't the one we parents would have hoped for her. However, I wouldn't change her for the world. Just about anything can make her giggle and that giggle just makes me smile! Instead of wishing what might have been, we have worked together with her other set of parents to help be the best that she can be. This summer she will start attending Community Campus. This group will help her gain even more independent and job skills and work with her one on one at a job site to get those skills. She has an amazing love for animals and for science. She loves to read and science books about animals are some of her favorites. She takes such joy in the little things in life. She is a good reminder to stop and "smell the roses".

So today, May 17, 2015, we will celebrate you Miss E! You have made it through high school! There is a whole big world waiting out there for you, your smiles, and your giggles!

This is a picture from her Senior Prom. She is pictured with her Dad. 

Had the best Birthday weekend ever!! Started it out with the Tea Quarter Craze and Becky Nankivel and kids, and Shawn B Anderson. Then Friday, took Cody Anderson to the homeschool tour of the West Mall 7. We got a tour and watch a movie. We watched the latest Chipmunk Movie - Chipwrecked. Watching it with friends made it better! The plan was to come home and take a nap. Shortly after getting home, I get a fabulous surprise!! My folks showed up for the weekend!! It was awesome! We went out Friday to celebrate my birthday! Love me some Applebees! :) Saturday, my mom, my sis in law Sabrina Bochman, and I all went shopping! It was a great day and lots of fun! Dad, Cory Bochman, Shawn and Cody all went to the Outdoor Show and a gun show. Grilled out and had the first bonfire of the season!! It was perfect weather, which never happens on my birthday! It was a birthday full of lots of surprises and lots of laughter and fun! Thank you to everyone for making this an AWESOME birthday!! :)

Homemade Pizza Time!!

Well, we are a house that LOVES homemade pizza!! I have to make this at least one a month so that there is not a mutiny at my house! I have always just used a basic pizza crust recipe. Due to my health issues, I am not supposed to be eating white flour among many things. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a pizza crust made with cauliflower. Yes, you read that right cauliflower! I will post a link to the blog that I got it off of at the end here. Following you will find pictures of Cody helping me the pizza. He liked it a lot and had two pieces. Cody knew what was in the crust as well. This is the boy that doesn't like vegetables.

This is what the crust looks like after it is cooked and before the toppings. :)

Here is my sous chef helping top the pizzas. This kid has the makings to be an awesome cook in the future! One thing for sure, he will be able to feed himself!

Half of the batch of pizza!

Kid tested and husband approved!

Here is a link to blog that I got this off of!




http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

Good health and good eats!

Heaven gained a good man last night!

Today we are all sad. Bill M. went to be with the Lord last night. We are happy that he did not suffer long with his illness. The Good Lord was gracious and took him home before the pain got to bad. While we will miss him here on earth, this is just a "see ya later". As Bill had his ticket to Heaven reserved long ago!

I never really got to know Bill. So you might wonder why his death would affect me or why I would take the time to right about him. I will tell you why. I know of at least 3 boys that were blessed to have him in their lives. Two of those boys are Bill's sons. The other one is my husband. I know what kind of man Bill was based on how these three boys turned out! My husband has been a friend with the M boys for most of his life. With his sperm donor not in the picture, my husband looked to his friend's dads to see how to be a man. It is on thing to be a good father to your own kids, it is quite another to be a good father to their friends as well! In Bill, my husband saw a man who loved The Lord and loved his family! Best of all, Bill made this look like the way all men should live! My husband told me that Bill was one of two guys that he molded his life after growing up. That he wanted to be the kind of husband and father that these two guys showed him.

So I thank you Bill! You have blessed my life more than you could possibly know! I know that my husband would not be the man he is today if it hadn't been for you! I met my husband's "father" about 8 years ago. I am so glad that he wasn't around while my husband was growing up! I am blessed that you were, Bill!

I am sorry that I never got to tell you all of this in person, Bill. Perhaps, though if your family reads this, they will find some comfort in knowing that you were loved by a great many people!

Roc Day :)

On Sunday, January 22,2012, I went to Athena Fibers for their Roc Day. It was held a week later due to scheduling issues. It was an awesome time! It was the first time I was able to take "Jessie" out. :) Here is Jessie.

Her and I had an awesome time and got 2oz of fiber spun up. No pictures of that yet. :( Here are some pics that I took of the fiber sandwich and of a few of the people there.

It has been much too long since I have seen many of these lovely ladies! I had a great time and it was good to get out and relax and have some fun!