Everything AND the kitchen sink.

I always pride myself on where I grew up and how it helped shaped me into the person I am today, yes..yes I know that opens the door to all sorts of comments. Truth be told, where we grew up and with whom, and the opportunities awarded to us makes a huge difference in who we become. My intent of the comment was not to get to deep in the philosophical realm, but rather I was just going to say that I have always considered myself a winter person. I love the crisp biting air of a cold clear winters day. HOWEVER! ......Man I love spring time.

There is nothing more wonderful than sitting outside in the early morning sun with a steaming hot cup of coffee listening to all the birds chip and whistle the world from it's slumber. So as much as I love winter, I really appreciate the way the world grows and blooms in the spring!

The weekend saw me pull the bus into the sunshine and work in shorts and a t-shirt for the first time this year. I was able the "finish" the back bench......I mean when is it really finished. I will confidently say finished for now, until I paint, and maybe tweek the design.

But for now ,we have a rear bench that pulls into a bed.

That being done it was time to move to the kitchen, my goal is to have running water for the road trip to the Grey Owl golf tourney in Manitoba....so that my brother can make me fresh coffee while en route!

Started with a basic test fit to see if the counter selection would work. The colour is perfect, it pulls together the colour of the rear bench cushions and the flooring.

I don't like the sharp corners so I cuta radius into them....which means I now have some creative edging to take care of.

All the while I keep trying to look ahead to the next step so that I have all the parts and pieces I need. My last puzzle was to figure out plumbing. I need to be able to hook into city water, so I need check valves to eliminate back flow and manual valves for isolating fill vs pressure....as well as a pressure regulator.

I'm always amazed at my inability to keep pace with the progress schedule for the day when I am working, having said that I will take it and say...not bad for a days work...

Long Long Ago in a garage Far far away...

I am ashamed at how long it has been since I posted in this blog. Having said that I have not been sitting on my hands, there is plenty that has happened...just not all bus related!
This year proved to be another busy and fruitful year for the kids. Anna, once again, blew our minds with her commitment and talent on the stage, she truly is radiant when she performs and is able to break through, what in the biz we call, the fourth wall and easily and concretely makes a connection with the audience. This year she rocked it out in front of Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, cousins her parents and her little string bean nugget (brother) took home a lot of bling and very strong accolades from the judges!

Jeff, although battling some health(back) issues was determined to have as successful of a year on the volleyball court. He demonstrated skill,commitment, team work, and overcame physical and mental challenges to help his team hit the podium once again taking silver in U15 Boys Tier 1.

I think it's probably pretty apparent how proud I am of these kids, they are good students, good athletes and good people...frankly makes me wonder what genetics they got from me.
Needless to say when the choice was between watching ,( I like to think of it as helping-even if it looks like I'm just drinking coffee on the bleachers talking to other parents) or working on the bus. The kids won out.

To complicate matters even more. Jeff has acquired a 1970 Datsun 240Z, and as you can guess...when the choice is between working on my car or his....I tend to prefer to be rubbing shoulders with my boy rather than working solo in Fillmore. Although I did propose we should alternate vehicles but continue to work together!

None the less, the cabinetry moves forward...all be it at a snails pace, we are still making progress.

I redesigned the back rest for the rear bench/bed area. Moving the back support forward and in the process creating some areas for storage.




















I'm trying to squeak out as much storage as I can, every nook and cranny, every useable space gets a drawer. I have become very aware that we have another journey to Manitoba right around the corner and I am nowhere near where I wanted to be in terms of level of finish...but as my daughter says when faced with a potential road block stressor......Meh!