Week Forty-Three: Shame on Me……….

Hello my friends.  Welcome back.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed, not a whole lot has been accomplished over the last two weekends.  Hence the lack of a blog last week.  Unfortunately, this week’s blog isn’t going to be one of my more stellar blogs either.  It’s that time of year and this weekend I had a very nice graduation party to attend.  A good time was had by all.   Add to that the fact that it has been an inferno outside and my, up til now, fervent camper-building muse has gone on vacation to a quaint little resort in Antarctica, and you can see why I haven’t been chomping at the bit to get outside and suffer a case of heat stroke.  Just stepping outside after 9AM gives you a very good idea of what a cake feels like going into the oven.  I’ll never look at a chocolate, chocolate surprise cake the same way again…….but I wouldn’t pass up a piece, either.    We had no spring here in South Carolina this year.  We went from an unusually frigid winter to mid-summer, (every day has been, officially, in the high ninety’s……according to my outside thermometer, they have been in the low 100’s), in the matter of a week.  These God-awful temps have, believe it or not, further goosed my burning desire for a garage that much harder and, at present, plans for a garage are in the works.  Since getting the fever for camper building, another project; a stand-up sized TTT, has been formulating, (or fermenting, depending on which school of thought you subscribe to), in my mind.  I’ve learned a great deal from this build and had a great many, “I won’t do that again,” moments in that learning curve.  When that dream comes to fruition, it will be built in a secure, somewhat climate controlled, garage.  I’m not as young as I used to be.  My tolerance for temperature extremes isn’t what it used to be; not to mention the fact that I wasted a whole lot of precious time last spring, waiting for the right temps and cooperative weather to apply fiberglass resin during the Nosty’s Nook build.

I did manage, however, last weekend, to remount the storage box on the newly refurbished tongue so, with the exception of a road test, Nosty’s Nook is ready for next weekend when it will be serving in its’ intended capacity as a camper.  I have reservations at a local campground for, yet another, shake-down cruise.  Talk about trial by fire.  It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it.  Sitting by a lake with a cold, malty beverage in hand, eating “stuff” cooked over an open fire, swatting mosquitoes.  I wish that kind of peace and solitude on each and every one of you; sans the mosquitoes, that is.  Thankfully, the campground is within fifteen miles of home and, at the risk of sounding a little immodest, I have complete faith in the metalwork I did on the tongue so I’m not overly worried about any mishaps in that department.  The rest of the camper has already proven itself road worthy………I hope? *laughing*

I say shame on me in the title of this week’s blog because I had all intentions of towing Das Nook to the scales this weekend and finally finding out what the actual weight of my “light weight” build is.  I’ll need an official scale ticket, along with a list of all the expenditures for everything I’ve put into the build when I get to the registration and titling phase; probably sometime in the very near future, and to answer that unanswered question that’s been gnawing at me since the design phase:  “How much does this dang thang weigh, y’all?”  Based on my initial, estimated calculations from the rough weight chart I had to go by for the various wood weights, the unadorned trailer weight and the guesses I made on a lot of the accessories, my guess, and it is a long shot, is that Nosty’s Nook will weigh in at about 1000 pounds dry, (without any camping gear).   If providence is with me and I can manage to get my crackling bones out of bed in time next Friday, I’ll haul her to the scales before I start loading her up for next weekend’s trip. Working four ten-hour shifts per week has its obvious benefits, and I do enjoy my three day weekends every weekend, but getting up before noon when you didn’t get to bed until five-thirty on a Friday morning isn’t one of them.  Stay tuned for film at 11.  I have a feeling I may be in for a big surprise.

Baring any unforeseen disasters, there will be a blog next weekend with pictures and anecdotes from my weekend in the woods.  However, after next weekend I think it might be better if I  start posting here every other week; at least until I start another project and have more to share.  Nosty’s Nook is now an entity in and of itself and, fortunately or unfortunately, all the major, noteworthy, work has been completed.  All that’s left now is finding just the right accessories and bric-a-brac to make it more suited to my personality, (puke green walls to remind me of the walls at the institution, {Happy Acres Home for the Terminally Insane and Karaoke Bar; my alma mater}, various and sundry pictures of famous torture devices and a battery-operated shock therapy machine for those more trying weekends).  I’ve been researching some graphics for the sides and rear doors to give it a little flair and panache but I haven’t found that “just right” combination yet.  If I’ve learned one thing over the years it’s that patience truly is a virtue.  “Act in haste and repent in leisure.”  When I finally, permanently, adhere something to the sides and rear doors, it won’t be something I’ll regret a few months later.  I still have the front window guard/awning to complete.  My first attempt failed miserably, (fiberglass has become my nemesis).  I’m currently keeping it in my dining room as a blatant reminder that haste makes waste and fiberglass is a communist devised plot designed to drive dimwits like myself further toward Happy Acres and, thereby, eliminating the psycho factor when they try their ill-fated attempt at world domination.  Fortunately I have since rethought that project innumerable times and believe I’ve finally come up with just the right design to add to the overall appearance of the camper; not take away from it.  Another of those “I won’t do that again,” moments, but, being ever the optimist, I look upon it as a, not overly expensive, learning experience.  Then there’s the cabinet doors for the over-the-bunk cabinets in the cabin and it’ll be time for the fat lady to sing.   Another chapter in my crazy life completed with the end result being a very stalwart camper to bring me hours upon of hours of pleasure for many years to come.

Before I end this week I’d like to let the people of Joplin, MO know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers.  May God watch over you all and help you through these terrible times.  One of the families devastated by this tragedy are very active members of the Teardrop and Tiny Travel Trailer community.  They lost their home and their teardrop in that terrible storm.  Thankfully, they all survived.   Many weren’t so lucky.  My prayers go out to all of you.

As always, feel free to email me with thoughts and comments at doc@bgreenleaf.com any time.  I love hearing from you and chewing the fat.  And, if you like, or don’t like, this blog, please vote and/or comment using the buttons below and let me know how I’m doing.

Until next week, may every happiness be yours.

Adio,

Brian

All new for 2011!

And, should you be so inclined, The Tenderfoot’s Guide to Family Camping has been completely revised for 2011 and is now available as an ebook!  Every ebook dealer from Sony’s iPhone store to Amazon and Barnes and Noble are carrying it.  However, we’re offering a 20% discount for all the loyal readers of Brian’s blog through Smashwords.com.   Just add the coupon code CM84R at checkout and you’ll receive the discount.  Picture this:  Wilderness 2011.  You just bought a new tent and figured it’d be a cinch to set up.  You got out of work late and arrived at the campground after dark.  Ominous dark clouds are looming over your campsite.  You unpack your tent only to realize that you haven’t got a clue about how it goes together and the directions are all in Mandarin Chinese.  What do you do?  Well, if you had a copy of this informative book on your phone or ereading device, you could simply thumb through a few chapters and be roasting marshmallows within the hour.  Don’t have a copy?  Well, there’s a lot to be said for sleeping in the car.  Oh, you have bucket seats?   The kids are loudly voicing their displeasure over sleeping in the back seat…..all night long?   Save yourself the headache.  Order your copy today.