Little Helper

I've been knitting again (it feels like forever since I picked up the needles) but I can't show you what it is because Marlin is such a good little helper.

I'm knitting a bunch of items to (hopefully) sell at the trailer park. Lots of people sell hand-made crafty things there and a couple times a season they have craft sales, where people set up tables and sell their stuff. I don't know how much I'll sell, but it gives me something to knit. The orange blob under the orange blob is a baby sweater. The green is just what I used to hold the sleeves. I'm about 1/2 way done.

Back to the Drawing Board

Last night when I got home from work Michael had played Tetris with my boxes again. He had it set up differently than what I had left it.

Marlin is very helpful.

And then he got fancy ...

And now the family cannot decide what configuration to make it. It wouldn't matter so much if I wasn't planning to screw the boxes together in their final form for stability (and so the dogs don't knock them over).

I think I'm going to stain 3 aqua and 3 grey and go from there, playing with the design ... though Marlin seems to like the first one best.

Here I Go Again ...

The number one problem with trailer life is storage space and keeping things neat and tidy (with a family of five, plus five pets). My biggest storage pet peeve is footwear and bike helmets outside the trailer door. Shoes get kicked off at random, helmets get tossed down, creating a mess and a tripping hazard.

This is my solution:

Once I got the boxes home we played a game of Tetris with them trying to decide on a configuration. These were the three options.

After much debate and a family vote, the staircase stack won out. 

But wait! I'm not finished yet! I have more! I'm going to stain the boxes (and label one for each family member -- the top one is for dog leashes) ... I just have to choose a stain pattern. Keeping in mind the deck will be a dark wood colour similar to this (though the deck style won't look like this one), which pattern do you like the best? (Colour spread sheet idea stolen from Valerie).

I will be using the leftover stain from the signs (aged grey) and the squirrel feeder (antique aqua). I also plan to put a plant on the top of each stack. 

Michael isn't sick of my projects yet, but I'm thinking once I start giving him the ones on the list he needs to help with that will change ...

Pets in the Wilderness

Anyone who knows me at all - even in the slightest - knows I love squirrels. Red squirrels, black squirrels, grey squirrels, big fat fluffy squirrels. They are adorable. Their antics are hilarious. If I could hug them and pet them all I would.

At home I sprinkle peanuts under the bird feeder and on the front porch; I put out bits of fruit for them as well. At the trailer, however, we don't want to encourage them to come too near the trailer, so to my dismay, Michael put his foot down and said we will not be inviting them into our area.

We were at the local Farmer's Market on Saturday, shopping at my favourite turkey shoppe (they are amazing and have turkey sausage that cater to my allergies). Right by the exit, for as long as I can remember, there has been a man who does wood working. He builds bird feeders and houses and other cutesy garden things. On this day, we spotted something new, something different, something exciting ... a squirrel feeder!

To my absolute joy Michael decided right then and there that I needed to have this for at the trailer. We'll put it on a post a little ways off the deck, but I'll be able to watch them eat.

You see, they climb up the pole and into the jar and sit and eat. The woodworking man lives out in the country and tests each and every one of his designs. I imagine his property is covered with adorable little feeders, houses and whimsies! He assured me the squirrels do not get stuck. He did say, however, it can take a few days for them to realise what this is and how they get their food from it. It's okay though, I have patience.

There is a lid currently on the jar, that comes off.

The plain wood colour is nice for some people, but not for me. I wanted something a little prettier and a little more campy, so today I made my way to the Home Depot and picked out some stain.

Once it dries I will put the jar back in and take a better picture. I did wear gloves for the staining process, but I always manage to make a mess of myself.

At least it matches my nails ...

Art and Going Fast

When we decided to park the trailer at a permanent site rather than towing everywhere we toyed with the idea of not getting another truck -- in the weeks prior we had test drove several. Well, as soon as we park our trailer at site M4 we are putting our beloved Tahoe (Eleanor) up for sale. I will probably cry when she sells. I love her. She's just too old and is now costing us more money than we want to spend on maintenance.

On Monday, Michael bought himself a "new" car. It's older, but he bought it from the original owners and it is (literally) in mint condition (even my dad approves and he has always been hyper critical of the vehicles we buy). I won't ever be driving it, because it has a manual transmission. He hasn't named it yet. He's considering Hector or Janet. I'll let you know ...

In other news:

Today was a super productive day for my trailer sign. I cut out all the lettering with my handy dandy exacto pen.

While I sliced and diced, Lily got her paint on. She is such a talented artist. She really sees things. How they should be, how they could be. She has the artists touch and the artists eye, so I entrusted her with the painting.

She did a fantastic job with my stencils and requested she be able to add her own "touch" to some of the signs so I left her to do her thing. I am absolutely floored and in love with the final product.

All we need to do now is add a clear coat, get them mounted to the post and put it in the ground on the trailer site. I'm over the moon with how this is turning out. :)