Wes’ Birthday Snow and Our Camper Van!
By Rachelle Siegrist
Well, it happened . . . it finally snowed at our house and on Wes’ birthday no less! Sadly it wasn’t enough to go sledding, but at least it looked much prettier than rain falling. It was one of those wet snows too, with big fluffy flakes that cling to everything, making the world appear as if it had been dusted with powdered sugar.
Since we couldn’t go sledding, we went for a walk instead, and occasionally the heavy, gray cloud cover would thin just enough in spots, to allow a wee glimpse of the sun, creating an ethereal world below indeed!
A couple of times, the clouds parted just enough to allow a sunbeam to shine through, illuminating a white mountain top below, creating a most spectacular view!
The rainy cold weather outside inspired me to read about warm places in my spare time and Wes to convert our faithful van into a camper, something which we’ve been talking about for sometime now. He’s been working for a couple of weeks on our van and completed it just yesterday. It has a platform that will serve as our bed, with shelving up front, and cubby hole cabinets to the right of the bed for storage of camping gear and clothes.
The great news is that our two beloved kayaks still fit in nicely, with one being stored below the bed, and the other sitting on the top. At times when camping, we’ll be using the inflatable kayak, which will store easily underneath the bed, along with other camping gear, allowing the bed to stay made, which will be very nice.
Underneath is a large storage area, that even has a heavy duty cardboard shipping tube, which Wes had the great idea of attaching to the bottom, and will serve as the perfect fishing pole storage compartment! He also read online about converting an old ice chest into a redneck air conditioner, using ice, a fan and a top with a hole cut into it, which will make it cooler for sleeping in the summer. Now we’ll be able to go camping at the drop of a hat pretty much!
This past week Wes turned 53, and guess what he got for his birthday? A new heat pump unit! That’s right, our faithful, old heat pump decided to conk out on us during the coldest week of winter thus far! Thankfully the EM heat still works, but the sound of the spinning dial on the electric meter outside is louder than the heater itself, so needless to say, we will be glad to have the new unit installed tomorrow! Friends Fred and Barb also treated us to a fun supper at a Mexican restaurant, to celebrate Wes’ birthday one evening this past week.
It surprised us both when a group of employees came merrily singing, placing a huge sombrero on Wes’ head, followed by a surprise . . . a BIG spoonful of whip cream in the face! Laughs filled the air as poor Wes cleaned up his face, and the remainder of the evening was spent playing Mexican Train dominoes at friend’s house and enjoying Wes’ real birthday dessert in a normal manner, eating it one bite at a time.
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I was delighted to learn that my painting “Baryard Cottonballs” was juried into the Looking West: An Exhibition Highlighting Works by American Women Artists, May 24th through September 14th, 2019 at the Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO! Our Exquisite Miniatures exhibition was at this beautiful museum from December 5th, 2014 through April 15th, 2015, and I’m excited about having my work there once again!
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Until next time . . .
~ Rachelle
Fifty some years ago I had a Volkswagen bus outfitted for camping that looked a lot like yours.
I drove it all around the country in the summer of 1964. Good memories. Paula
Wow . . . That’s awesome Paula!! And in a VW bus . . . it doesn’t get any better than that!!!
I bet those were great memories!
Rachelle :O)