What to do while waiting for my new Trailer . . .

Fixing up my camping gear!

While setting up for the garage sale a couple of weeks ago, I sheared off a peg on one of the legs for my Paha Que sun shade tent - - bummer!  The 4 pegs are what hold the tent covering on.  But, I did think I could cobble together a solution.  So, off I went to my local hardware store to scrounge some parts.  I came up with a PVC pipe end cap, a metal washer and a small, fat bolt.  The cap was a tiny bit big for the tent pole but with some strategically placed tape and some super glue, I think it will hold.

The next project was to protect the wiring on my AGM battery (in the cloudy, very shady PNW, I like to store as much 12v power as possible!).  I keep the AGM battery in the back of the car and power it up with my 85w solar panel that rides on top of the car on a Yakima rack. Since I also store a lot of stuff in the back of the car on long trips, I wasn’t really liking all the exposed wiring for the battery.  So, I bought a battery box and cleaned up the wiring a bit.  I think it looks better and will be safer.  I may even think of a way to strap/bolt the box down – last year, my strapping solution was a little iffy.

Lots more volunteering!

I’ve been getting involved with my local Red Cross Chapter.  It’s fire season in the PNW – not only the year-round house and apartment fires, but we’re heading into wildfire season.  So, I’m working with others to create and update our Sheltering Supply kits and update our Sheltering Locations database.

Last week, I participated in a smoke alarm installation event in a neighborhood that had experienced a tragic home fire.  It was fun and I met some neat folks.

Red Cross offers a lot of training on-line (as well as classroom training).  So, I’ve been spending some time completing online classes.  The more training I have, the more volunteer opportunities I will have!  Right now, about the only thing I'm certified to do is set up a cot!

My First Garage Sale!

Portland, Or: June 26-27, 2015

I’m on a roll!

Before selling the Greyt Escape, I had to empty it completely.  That’s a little bit like moving a another whole household into my already not very big home.  So, things are a bit cluttered.  Time to get rid of the excess.  I’ve never done a garage sale, but I jumped at the chance to participate in a neighborhood sale (for $7, the association provides signs, publicity, and put my house on the garage sale map).  There were about 50 sales going on in my neighborhood, over 135 (!) in a nearby neighborhood.

Luckily, I enlisted an experienced garage sale friend to help me out.  She had lots of tips on set up, tagging and strategies.  It would have been very chaotic (and lonely) without her help!

Of course, it HAD to be the hottest weekend of the year (expected to break records)

The first day was very, very hot.  We started setting up at 5:30 am to beat the heat.  Buyers started showing up exactly at 7am (when we had advertised our start).  The day was very busy but mostly a lot of fun.  Some good natured haggling, none of the nightmare stories I’ve heard about aggressive professionals looking for bargains that they plan to resell.  It was pretty easy to tell the pro’s but they were all very polite.

A ton of stuff sold - so I figured it was worth the sunburn and exhaustion!

A friend's easy-up was a godsend in providing some shade!

Partway through the second day, we were getting goofy.

The second day was a lot slower - but thankfully, not quite as hot.  But between the heat and not selling as much, we decided to cancel the 3rd day.

Crazed bunny killer wielding a super-sharp cleaver (all 3 items fortunately sold separately shortly afterwards)