The Radio Girl

And Even MORE RV Renos

Me and Home Depot.

Clearly we have a little 'thing' going cause I can't seem to stay away from that place.  I had another brainstorm a few days ago to spice up the bare wall in the kitchen of JohnnyDisco.

Before

And after

We covered the wall with back splash paneling that's stamped to look like tin, but it's actually heavy duty plastic. It's very light weight and easy to wipe clean. 

The panels are supposed to be attached to the wall with special trim, but after calculating the cost of all the trim we'd need, I decided to buy gold colored screws instead.  The screws compliment the color of the panels and the project looks even better than I expected.  

The total cost was about $86 for all 4 panels, plus the screws.  And it looks so rich we might even do the wall space above the counter too, which is what this paneling was actually made for. 

Our little place is really coming together...

Thanks to My Handsome Construction worker, the brawn behind our little operation.

I bribed him to smile by telling him I'd call him handsome in this post  :)

More RV Renos

We've parked JohnnyDisco just outside Vegas for a week or two.

Our little family is slowly heading north to Canada as the weather continues to warm up and another post about our road trip home is in the works.  In the meantime, the RV office reno is almost complete, including the new window covers.

I've used this window privacy film from Home Depot on several former house renos where I wanted both natural light and privacy.  Wasn't sure how well it would work on the RV windows and I actually had to put it on a piece of plexiglass for the left window (the slider) but it worked.

We can still use the screen for air circulation ... and the sun shining through the faux stained glass is gorgeous.

The office space is almost done except for a few odds and ends - like the table legs needed for the desk top.  Turns out we won't be able to buy those until we get to California.  

Everything in the shelf area is stable and ready for travel.  The only thing we'll have to move when JohnnyDisco is on the highway is the file box on the center shelf.

Even the rolling chair will be held in place with a bungee cord and two heavy duty anchor plates that My Fella screwed into the shelf.

Stable furniture.  Just one of the many things you have to think about when your house has wheels...

On the Road In Arizona

First day of our road trip (heading home to Canada) was a long one.

It started at 4:45am when my inner alarm clock went off.  Rarely have I ever set an alarm to wake up at a certain time.  I'm one of those freaky freaks that can decide what time I'm waking up the next day and then just do it, within about 10 minutes either way.  Weird, I know.

We had JohnnyDisco at the RV shop by 7am and Norman was at the vet at 8:00 for his very first rabies shot.  He was totally composed on the vets table.  

Course at this point, he had no idea he would be getting a needle in his butt.  Pretty nasty way to start the day.

Shelbert was just along for the ride this time, so she was cool as a cucumber.  Note Exhibit A:

Doesn't she look like Bono?

After the vet appointment, we ran a few other errands and then picked up JohnnyDisco at 11am.  By noon, we were heading northbound on the highway and waving goodbye to Tucson.

It took 5 hours to get to our first stop, 3 Dreamers RV Park just outside of Salome, Arizona.  A one night stay with water/power/sewer cost $18 bucks with our Passport America discount.  The park was pretty average and a little out of the way, but a good spot for an overnight stay:  gravel sites, clean/quiet and a strong, fast wifi connection.

We have no RV park pics but here are some shots from the Arizona highway.

Desert cactus and highway construction were the main themes for this drive.  

Most of the road work took no time at all to navigate...

But a few spots took forever to get through...

At least we had the convenience of bringing our home (JohnnyDisco) with us ... for important stuff like snacks and potty breaks.

And naps.  And bone chewing.

More road trips pics coming tomorrow, but before I forget...  If you're ever in southern Arizona and need RV repairs, parts, maintenance, etc. bring your rig into Lance's RV Center just off the I-10 in Tucson.  The shop rates are much cheaper than any of the local dealers and Lance's customer service (and work ethic) is top notch.  True story.

JohnnyDisco Is On the Move

We're in transit for the next couple days so here's an RV office update.

We only added one more shelf for now since I may install a cabinet with doors at the very bottom.

The desk isn't quite finished cause we can't find individual aluminum table legs in any local stores.  It looks like we'll need to order them online from IKEA since we're not passing by any stores during our travels.

In this shot, the desk top is just resting on a rolling cart but when it's finished it will be sitting on 3 round aluminum legs.

We still have to take down the ugly window treatment and I have a brainstorm for covering the window panes.  It's still in the planning stages but I'll post some pics when we're done.

And just a reminder of what we started with:

The space has come a long way.

Just When My Fella Thought It Was Safe To Put Down His Toolbelt

... I've devised yet another DIY project for us.

When you have two mature (???  :)  adults sharing the same living teeny weeny living space, you better have some 'projects' up your sleeve or things could get ugly. Especially if one of the aforementioned adults is only employed for half the year.  Trust me... I know of what I speak.

We are a very very lucky couple.  Passive dividend income covers our living expenses and retirement savings.  I still put in a few hours a day on my stock stuff 'cause I love reading the biz news and researching companies.  Plus I have a wee bit of an old man crush on BNN's Howard Green.

My Fella isn't interested in stocks or investing.  His passion is sports and he works full-time during the golf season (April to Oct) at a small BC resort course.  My guy would like to continue working when we head south for the winter, but legally he can't accept a job in either Mexico or the USA.   

So I create new projects to keep him out of my hair us busy and productive.  Like motorhome renos.

When we first bought JohnnyDisco I had a funky vision for the office space.  But the plan had to be flexible since we didn't know what was hiding under the bunk beds (wires, steel bars, etc).

The first reno (bunk beds into home office) looked like this:

It was a great set-up, except for my desk chair lurking smack dab in the middle of the hallway.  Major obstacle course and a HUGE Pain in the Butt (or more likely a bruised knee) for anyone trying to sneak past that chair into the bathroom.  My five-legged rolling monster chair also had to be moved for constant rounds of Squeak Fetch with Shelbert. 

When I first envisioned the RV office, I wanted it completely in the slide that once-upon-a-time held the bunk beds.  The space is large enough for a small desk, bookshelves, a printer and the evil shin busting chair.  But My Fella and I were virgin RV-ers and ripping everything out of the slide made us both nervous.  

Fast forward one year and we are now experienced full time RV-ers.  Not much smarter, but definitely more smug.  After all, we've survived a full year without blowing up our propane tank, driving away with the slides out or getting wedged beneath a really low underpass.  

We are ready to tackle the Full Office Reno. 

First up, the destruction phase.  Everything had to be removed from the office:  the desk, the lower bunk and drawers and all the extra trim, staples and nails.

The materials were easily recycled.  We kept a bunch of the wood for our new office project and the rest was tossed into the RV park's bonfire burn pile after My Fella removed all the staples and nails.

Doesn't My Fella look like McSteamy in this pic?

Is there still a McSteamy?  It's just occurred to me that I haven't turned on the tv since last October...

Anyway, after completely emptying the former desk area, we discovered a snaky mess of wires and hoses that lived under the bottom bunk.  

My Fella constructed two wooden boxes to hide the wires away from our 5 month old pup, Norman, who has enthusiastically discovered that HE HAS TEETH.

After My Fella built the wire covers it was my turn to crawl around on the floor for a while, measuring, cutting and installing the new office floor.  (We work in shifts so we don't get on each others nerves. It's much easier this way ... and even after all these renos, we're still together  :)   

I have no pictures of me installing the tile (I only have two hands, people).  But here are some action shots taken when I removed the heating vent to see what was under the carpet, which we also want to replace soon.

Hopefully all of my tool-esque props convinced you that I do participate in the reno activities.  Especially during a full moon.  Or when we need a new office floor.  "Ta da..."

It's hard to tell in the above pic, but our little office floor is about 2 inches higher than the hallway because it's on a slide.  We like the colour and quality of our new tile much better than the original vinyl flooring that came with JohnnyDisco.  This project was so easy and inexpensive (box of tile was $30) that we plan on replacing the entire coach with new flooring.

The wire cover boxes (in the above pic) aren't screwed in place yet because I'm hauling them outside tomorrow to toss on a couple coats of wood stain to match the trim.  And I need to stain a long skinny piece of trim to cover the far right corner of the floor where the steel slide peeks up.

Also on our To Do list:

• cut the old desk top in half to fit the new space
• hunt around for three light weight table legs to install the desk top on
• remove the ugly window treatment that covers the lower blind
• build/stain three extra shelves on the right side of the slide
• put up a new corkboard - my old one has officially retired after 8 years of service
  

In the meantime, we're in the final planning stages of our road trip northwest to Nevada.  Our five month stay in sunny, southern Arizona is coming to an end ... hard to believe we head out early next week.  

On top of that:

• JohnnyDisco is going in for an oil change/check-up  
• Norman has a vet appointment for his rabies shot and his final DHPP, at two different locations  
• and we want to tour the Pima Air Museum before we leave town   

That's why I decided to spring this office reno on My Fella yesterday.  He renovates much better on a deadline   :)

We're Not Dumb, We're Just New

... at RV-ing.

As of this month, JohnnyDisco has been our full-time home for one year and there's still so much we don't know about this lifestyle.  

For example, did you know you need to constantly check the sealant on your roof vents and slides to prevent water leaks?  You can find this out the hard way or the easy way;  the hard way being water damage in your rig after a major rainstorm.  Luckily, we found out the easy way - through conversation with more experienced RV-ers.  

We were going to use Dicor sealant, a pliable caulking sealant that RV dealers recommend.  But then all the old boys here at Dodge City RV told us they use something called Eternabond which is a sealant in tape form.  From the pics online it looks like a roll of super thick duct tape.

Eternabond has a ten year warranty and after reading online reviews about the product, the only negative thing My Fella has read is that you need to place it in the exact the spot you want it because it's almost impossible to remove.

My Fella was invited to watch our RV neighbours apply some to their rig next week.  One of the other Dodge City guys has already used it on his 5-wheel and loves the stuff.  And he agreed that precision is important - it is really hard to remove Eternabond if you stick it on crooked. 

We just ordered a role of black Eternabond (4" x 50' long) from this online site and it was much cheaper than anything we've found at RV stores.  Total cost with taxes, shipping & handling charges = $62. 

If you've had any experience with Eternabond, please comment.  My Fella is very open to advice/tips about how to apply it  :) 

*Silly sidenote:  The morning business news has been consumed by the European debt crisis and I've had the word Eurobond stuck in my head for days.  And now I can't wrap my brain around the word Eternabond - I keep calling it Eurobond.  My Fella knows what I'm trying to say when I talk about putting Eurobond on the roof, but our Dodge City RV neighbours don't quite get it.  Whenever I mention Eurobonding our rig, they look at me like I've been drinking since 9am.

Eleven Months In JohnnyDisco

As of this week, we've been full-timing in JohnnyDisco for eleven months.

We've made a few significant changes to our lifestyle since the dream of full-time RV-ing began:  

• selling our house and furniture
• giving away a lot of stuff
• cutting our annual housing budget by roughly 2/3 

Making JohnnyDisco our home is still a work in progress, but I'm a fickle gal so things change pretty quickly around here.  For such a small space you'd be surprised at the number of times My Fella has been told sweetly asked to move the couch.

We've made quite a few more changes since we've been back from Mexico and I'll post pics in the next few weeks.  One thing that won't be changing any time soon is the huge fluffy blanket on the couch.  

Or the spooky blanket monster that lives there.

The scary white, fluffy, one-eyed monster. 

Okay.  Two-eyed monster.  And really not so scary.  More fuzzy than scary.  Perhaps even a little irritated at the constant camera flash. 

MY Fella gives me this exact same annoyed look when I sneak pics of him napping on the couch.

While going through blog entries from the past month I noticed I haven't posted year end portfolio numbers or an update of current equities. 

For a little perspective, here are some benchmark returns for 2010:

• S&P/TSX 60 Total Return = 13.84%
• S&P/TSX Composite Total Return = 17.61%
• S&P 500 ($CAD) Total Return = 9.35%
• MSCI EAFE ($CAD) Total Return = 2.84%
• MSCI World ($CAD) Total Return = 6.76%

Our overall return was +19.24% ... five different portfolios composed completely of Canadian equities and a teeny bit of cash. 

Current equities, in order of weighting:

• Student Transportation
• Alaris Royalty
• New Flyer Industries
• Cash
• Inter Pipeline
• Pembina Pipeline
• Artis REIT
• Data Group
• Chorus Aviation
• Avenex Energy

Looking forward to crunching my January numbers at the end of the month.  

Hard to believe there's only one week left in this first month of the new year.  And only three months 'til we head back to beautiful BC for another golf season.

Heading South for the Week

Shelbert has an ear infection.

She doesn't seem bothered by it and we didn't actually even know until we took her to the groomer yesterday for a trim and nail clip.  Lydia, the groomer (who clearly doubles as a pet detective) spotted it after she cleaned and trimmed The Berts right ear.

Shelbert has special ear cleaner now, and really good meds which means she'll sleep in the car the entire way to Guaymas, Mexico tomorrow.  Our little family is crossing the Nogales border after we drop off JohnnyDisco at the RV dealer for annual maintenance.  

A lot of folks have been warning My Fella and I about driving into Mexico this year, and to be honest, the drug violence in the border cities does seem worse than past years.

I've been exploring Mexico (cruising around in a rental car alone) on and off for the past 15 years and My Fella and I have been driving across the Mexican border together every winter since 2007.  

We have never witnessed any drug related activity or experienced problems of any kind.

We didn't want to bring JohnnyDisco into Mexico this year because he's new.  And he's our full-time home.  

But I was pretty disappointed that we wouldn't be going further south as this would be the first winter since 1995 that I wouldn't touch Mexican sand; and My Fella was bummed out about missing out on his fave homemade churro snacks.  

So we decided to pack up and take a mini road-trip while JohnnyDisco is getting some RV lovin'.

My Fella and I will stay very alert on the highways, follow our intuition and keep our eyeballs peeled.  Neither of us is showy or loud, nor do we wear expensive clothes or jewelery.  We speak enough Spanish to be comfortable in most situations and we're both respectful towards everyone, although My fella is much better at shutting up than I am.  Blame it on my birth sign ... I'm a Gemini   :) 

Neither of us have ever been involved in drugs or guns in any way, which seems to be at the root of most of this violence.  That's not to say we couldn't get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

But in reality, that could happen anywhere.

In the next couple of days I'll post about our border crossing at Nogales and let you know if it's any different from past years.

In the meantime, say 'hola' to my feathered little pelican friends who may, or may not be using this photo op to laugh at my Spanish.

RV Curtain Exchange

The windows in JohnnyDisco look great.

Last night My Fella took down the rest of the ugly window treatments in the main living area and put all the black sunshades back up on the windows.  

Then it took a little head scratching and problem solving to get all the curtain rods up because some of the spaces were too tight to use the drill.  

My fella looks a little irritated here.  

Is it because:

• I see myself as the project manager yet he ends up doing most of the work  :) 
• Shelbert just peed on the battery charger for the cordless drill
• He's tired of me saying "look up and smile honey" and then being blinded by the camera flash
• I've got BNN streaming live from my laptop and keep mentioning "for an old guy, Howard Green is a goodlookin' man..."
• ALL OF THE ABOVE 

We now return you to our regularly scheduled post...

It's amazing what a difference the curtains make.  The main living area now feels more like a small living room than a generic hotel room.

And they offer as much privacy as the blackout shades.

The project was pretty easy and took about 5 hours, including shopping for curtains and rods.  Cost for 4 windows:

• 4 packs of curtains    4 x $14
• 4 curtain rods            2 x $4, 2 x $6

Total cost = $76 plus tax, already accounted for in the RV Purchases budget.

Another RV Project

We just can't seem to leave JohnnyDisco alone.  

You'd think after reno-ing 8 houses over 15 years I'd be totally sick of it by now.  But noooooo.  Once a reno-er, always a reno-er.  And that's not the worst of it.  

I've passed this special sickness on to My Fella.  

But he's turning into quite the handyman.  Since graduating from the The Radio Girl School of Renovation, my guy can frequently be seen pacing our teeny 340 square foot living space - cordless drill in one hand, orange hammer in the other, looking for stuff to switch/change/violate/modify/fix.

So together we reno.  

Our latest RV project involves replacing the hideous window treatments, standard in most new motorhomes and trailers.  JohnnyDisco has a lot of windows and every single one of them is covered by an upholstered boxy thing that is supposed to hide the rolling blinds, but would really be more at home on the headboard of a bed.  A super ugly bed.  

Today My Fella took down the first padded window thingy and removed both the white blackout shade and the black sunshade from underneath.  

We're keeping the sunshades so after measuring the window area, he drilled new holes and replaced it on the wall.

Over the next few days we'll scour the city for a lightweight curtain rod and some swanky curtains to match the rest of our decor.  And turn JohnnyDisco into more of a home.      

Removing the heavy padded window treatments will also give us another 8 inches of width in JohnnyDisco.  

And apparently every inch helps.

Note to all you recyling freaks out there:  we're a very green, eco-friendly couple.  While we had to toss out the padded window thingys (seriously, who the heck would want them!!) we will offer the basically brand new blackout shades to My Fellas folks, or anyone else who may be able to use them in their motorhome.