My Fob is Working!

Last week, the weirdest thing happened.

The vanity mirror fell out of the visor on the driver's side.
I could see the two little wires that hooked it up to the light
that would come on when you opened the mirror. 
They had come loose and the entire mirror/light had fallen out.

Then, my key fob stopped working.

Then, I noticed the dashboard clock wasn't working.

Then, I noticed the inside dome lights weren't working.

Then, I was unable to lock all the van doors with the switch on the driver's door. It wouldn't work unless the key was in the ignition and turned on.

All within about 24 hours.

I checked the battery, installing a new one.
No go.

I was so bummed!
I got online and poked around the internet.
I checked the fuses; they seemed to be ok.
I couldn't help but think it had SOMETHING to do with the visor, but that didn't really make sense. Anyway, I made a list, drove the car to Portland and left it with my mechanic this morning.

I was expecting the worst.

I got a call two hours later and guess what the problem was?
The mirror which fell off disconnected a wire, which blew fuses and caused all the other problems. While I COULD have replaced the visor for about $250 in parts plus labor, I really don't use that mirror, so I told my guy, "Just make it work! I don't care what it looks like."

And he did... putting it back together and securing it with a zip tie,
suddenly everything was working again.

I'm back on the road...

The bill?  $129.00

I love days like this!

Portland, Oregon

 

Funny the things you forget...

I drove to Portland, Oregon yesterday. 
I have an appointment early Monday morning to have my van looked at. Hopefully my mechanic friend can figure out why the fob and inside lights stopped working.

I stopped by my middle son's house for a short visit and enjoyed some of the luscious pork roast he had in the oven. Then I headed over to my eldest son's home for a visit. I have two teenage grandchildren that will be starting school on Wednesday and I wanted to at least see them before school started. We grazed their wonderful garden, and I stuffed myself with golden raspberries and cherry tomatoes and strawberries. My son was off kayaking, so I had a great visit with my daughter in law and grandkids, then headed out to the van about 9 pm to sleep.

I had cut reflectix to fit in the driver and passenger window, as well as in the smaller triangular "wing" windows in the back. But in the two side windows, I'd simply cut some decorative film that I got at Home Depot. It blocks the view of people wanting to look in, but lets in the light. It looks like stained glass. It's very pretty but I realized pretty quickly it wasn't good for sleeping. All night long, the very bright streetlight at the end of the driveway shone in my eyes. I finally took off my pj bottoms and positioned the leg over my eyes to block out the light, and got to sleep. The same light woke me up at 4:30 am!

Note to self:  Cut more reflectix

You'd think I'd have known.  There was an "Oh doh!" moment as I recalled yes, I had reflectix for those two windows in my last van. I just wasn't thinking. Also, in my old van, the back was entirely blocked by the kitchen I'd had built in, so no light came in from the back window. Last night, the little curtain I usually draw across the electric van door window was used to block the light in the back window. Though comfortable at the dark beach a few weeks back, I wasn't prepared for bright street lights. Next time, I will be!

I've been using the van without the fob now for a couple of weeks, and honestly, it's no big deal. I wonder if I'm stupid to pay to have it fixed. I guess I'll just wait to see what the issue is and what it's going to cost, then decide. We've become so used to ease in our modern lives, we forget the simplicity of simply using a key to lock doors instead of pushing a button. Maybe I'll just leave it be.

As I write this, the whole house is asleep... all except Shakti, my son's cat. She is sitting near the box of her food, rattling her food bowls, telling me she's ready for breakfast! She and I are early risers. I'd better go feed her before she awakens the rest of the family.

Happy Trails!

Annie

Maiden Voyage

After selling my Toyota Sienna a year and a half ago, I've been chomping at the bit to buy another van. I finally found one and had a bed built into it. The kitchen will be done next month!

I took my new-to-me van for its maiden voyage 2 weekends ago. It was WONDERFUL!

First I went East to a place called Detroit, Oregon. The campgrounds were chosen by a friend, and it ended up being in the middle of the big heat wave. My spot was shady but probably 102 degrees in the shade, so nights weren't pleasant. For reasons I won't explain here, in order to reserve a spot for my friends, the campground host insisted I park my van on their spot, which was right next to the river, but had absolutely no shade at all.  That meant the inside of my van was registering (literally) 120 degrees!!!

In the end, I felt I was getting heat stroke, 

and made the decision to go WEST to the Oregon Coast.

 GOOD decision!

The rest of the trip was great!

At night, 

I parked on Joe's lot at Newport, Oregon.

During the days, I drove down to the beach,

and parked there,

with my door open.

I slept.

I read.

I watched the tourists

and the sea.

I took walks on the beach.

I cooked there.

It made me remember how much 

I miss living out of my van.

I had a funny experience.

A lady peeked in at my door and asked,

"Are you ok?"

I said, "What?"

She said, "Are you ok? Do you need money? Are you homeless?"

I was so taken aback by her question

that I started laughing.

I said, "No! I'm on vacation!"

She scurried away,

and then I felt guilty.

I thought of a million things I should have said to her.

Things like, "Thank you for caring!"

I sent a quiet prayer off into the Universe

to thank her.

I'm sorry I didn't do it in person,

but it just struck me funny.

I mean, 

do I look homeless?
My van is spotless.

I'm clean.

My hair was done.

I had on earrings.

Anyway, I felt bad for days,

but finally forgave myself.

All in all it was a FANTASTIC trip,

and I got a lot of rest.

I'm taking off in the van again this weekend.

I'm heading to Portland,

to visit my sons and grandchildren,

and to just hang out.

Then Monday, 

I take the van to my mechanic in Portland.

My fob stopped working.

I checked the battery,

and that wasn't the issue.

I checked the fuses.

Nope,

The inside lights also are not working,

so I suspect maybe something in the wiring. 
Hopefully it won't be an expensive fix

I hope to get more and more weekends away.

I really REALLY miss van life.

I miss the FREEDOM,

the spontaneity,

and the ease of living.

See you on the road!

Annie

A Day NOT in my Van

As those of you who have been reading my blog know, a year ago I moved my elderly mother to Oregon and bought a house here to care for her. There is so much work when you own a house. Though it's wonderful in many ways to have a home base, it also can be exhausting. Here is a (not so) funny tale about my day yesterday.

I put a load of laundry in and was out in the garden planting some new plants I'd bought when mom came out and said, "The kitchen sinks are plugged up."

My heart dropped. I was so looking to having a day to myself. I also planned on taking a walk. I'm still trying to recover strength from my double mastectomy. It's amazing how long it has taken and how much stamina I've lost.

Anyway, I poured some liquid drain opener into them and said, "I'm going for a walk. I'll check the sinks when I get back."

I started out the garage door and as I passed the laundry room, I realized it was FLOODING!

I spent time mopping up the mess, then called a neighbor to ask if he knew of a good plumber. He offered to come down and help.

The friendly neighbor came down and we went to the rental place and rented a snake. This is a HEAVY machine with no legs that has a long wire "snake" coiled up inside. The machine was like a drill with a forward and backward. You hit forward to push the snake down and backward to bring it back up. For about 1.5 hours, he struggled with the weight of that thing while he pulled out snake, turned on the machine and drove it down the washing machine drain pipe in the wall. I stood by and helped hold it up occasionally, and I saw that snake going down. After it was down a good ways, we'd retract it to see if it snagged anything. Nothing. And the sinks were still plugged up. After doing this about 3 times I said, "Let's just pull it out manually and see how far it's gone. It feels like it's gone 20 feet!"

So we did.

And out came FIVE FEET of snake! WTH?!

The machine was broken and that poor guy had been hefting it for 1.5 hours while he pulled the snake out 10 inches, then the machine just pushed it back into its nest. Because of the cylindrical shape of the snake, it appeared to be going down... but it wasn't.

So we took the broken snake back to the rental place. They gave me back my money, and I went home to try to find a plumber.

I decided to take a break and rest. I was sitting in the den with my 87 year old mother when we suddenly heard a very loud "glub, glub, glub" in the kitchen. I went in there and both sinks were EMPTY! They had suddenly drained. I went into the laundry room and the water drain pipe was EMPTY. What the heck?

Then a lightbulb went off in my head. I said, "Mother, when you used the carpet shampooer in the den yesterday, where did you empty the water?" (She has a carpet shampooer she loves to operate)

She says, "In the kitchen sink."

My gosh... I couldn't believe it. That water was probably full of hair and fibers from the carpet and that had been our issue. After all that... I was torn between jumping for joy and, well, you know. I told her, "Next time, please dump it in the gravel out in the backyard, ok?"

The LDS Missionaries came over later and helped heft the dryer off of the washing machine and put it in the garage. That had been a pain in the kazoo for the last year since we bought the house, as both mom and I needed to use a step-ladder to even see the controls on the dryer. It was not made to be a stackable but the previous owner must have been 8 feet tall, because he'd stacked it. So that was the second good thing that happened.

So...now my pipes are clear, and we're waiting for my friend, Joe, to come over next week to hook the dryer up in the garage. We aren't sure if there's a vent under the drywall or not - at some point the machines WERE in the garage we believe, as there is a water spigot out there, though it's only cold.

Today, I have a pile of wet towels and rags from the flood that need to be washed and dried.

Morals of the story:

1) Don't let your 87 year old mother shampoo your carpet and if you DO, watch where she dumps the dirty water.

2) Try drain opener before you panic

3) Just because you rent a tool doesn't mean it works

Now I'm looking for a laundromat to dry all the towels. Then we have to pick up Scooter, mom's dog, who is having dental work done today. The I have to get groceries for mom, as I'm going to try to go to Portland for a few days to see my other two sons and grandkids, and take my car to my mechanic Monday morning there.

Some days it feels like the work will never end.

I miss the freedom and the simple days of van life.

Score!

 Today I went to Goodwill to see if I could find
good used yoga mats for the floor of my van.
I found one, but it was $6.99. 
For me, $7 is too much -
I needed 2 or 3 and just didn't want to spend that.

Our community has a "Ask/Give" page on Facebook. 

I posted an "Ask" for clean used yoga mats
and got an immediate offer for 3 free mats!

Check them out!

They do smell a bit like Febreze,
which is an issue for me
with my MCS
but
I'm going to air them out a day or two
and hopefully I can use them.
Thought the orange and yellow one 
sure is pretty,
I'll probably use the purple and blue
for the floor.

I love when things are free!

Nomadland!

Not long ago, several of us who are van dwellers
got jobs as extras in the Oscar-winning movie,
Nomadland. 

It was fun experience,
and I was proud to be a part of it.

Those of us who worked in the movie were asked
not to talk about it or post photos until it came out.
So I've been pretty quiet.

But when I saw the movie,
I was SO happy to see my face got a
HUGE full screen shot! 

I have to admit,
I love this photo!

New Van Bed!

For my 69th birthday, Joe built a bed in my new van!

I'm SO happy!
Now I can escape every now and then ~
~ Hooray!

Here are photos of the process:

First, a piece of plywood over the carpet makes the floor

Cost was about $40.

Scraps of 2 x 2 from a construction site
Cost: FREE

I did buy 3 new bins. My old ones were shot.
These are deeper so I can pack more clothes.
Got these at Walmart on sale for $8 each = $24

Joe started by making the leg/braces out of 2 x 2

A closer look at the finished leg/braces

I cut out the old seat belts in the back
Haven't yet figure out how to remove this piece.

Next, Joe measured to be sure the leg/braces

were wide enough. And I wanted about an inch space at the top.

I don't use lids on the bins - 

I have found it easier just to slide them in and out

and let the bed be the lid.

Perfect fit!

Screwing the braces/legs to the plywood floor

All four braces/legs are in. 
The last section holds more than one bin.

Next, piecing the top.
We are just using scrap plywood,
but you COULD buy a whole piece.
It's just awful expensive right now.

I asked Joe to round the corner near the passenger seat.

In the future, I will be turning that passenger seat around,

but right now I need it for my mom to sit in.

Almost done!

Putting in the last piece.

There is a space in the front where Joe will put wood,

to make the floor completely flat.

I will go to Goodwill, nab some old clean yoga mats,

and cut them to fit. Then, I put a rug on top.

This gives me a LOT of insulation.

I really never got cold in my other van,

and this is the way I did the floor.

Here I am trying out my bed.
Bins are underneath.
Joe is working on filling in that little front piece.

I'm sooooo happy!

Come back in a few days to see how I organize the space.

Next month, I'm going to pay Joe to put in my kitchen.

It will be in the hatchback, just like my other van,

with a few small changes.

Life is so good!

Annie

New Wipers and Bins for Under My Bed

 This week, I worked a bit more on the van. I thought I'd post prices I'm paying for anyone who is also building out their own Sienna.

Sun Shades

First, I put in a new set of Eclipse Sunshades. I love these shades for the front window. They are SO easy to install and use and keep me from having to store a sunshade or piece of reflectix for the front windshield. Price was:

Subtotal : $54.99 USD

Shipping : $14.02 USD

Total : $69.01 USD

Reflectix

I did buy some reflectix for the other windows. 
A roll 48" x 10 feet was right around $30
This will cover all side windows.
When I'm not using it, it will store nicely flat under the mattress.

Windshield Wipers

I bought GOOD windshield wipers. I live most of the year in Oregon and we get a LOT of rain, so I needed good wipers!

I got them at my local NAPA Auto Parts, where the nice man agreed to install them for me as well.  I paid $34.48 for the two front wipers. He asked if I wanted the rear wiper, but I declined, since I'll be building out the kitchen in the rear and have no need to see out the rear window.

Sterlite Bins for Under Bed

Next, I went to Walmart and bought 3 bins to go under my bed. I bought simple Sterlite bins. I did buy the lids, though I generally do not use them. I find the bottom of the bed gives enough coverage and I like just being able to slide them partially out and grabbing what I need. I use one bin for my clothes, one for my art supplies, and one for "miscellaneous."  I paid $ 7.98 for each bin.

Joe is coming to visit today and I'm hoping to get the bed frame built in. I'll let you know. I DO know that we will be using plywood, which is quite expensive right now. But I will post the price and photos if we get to it this week.

That's it for now,

Annie

Eclipse Sun Shades and New Brakes!

 Today I drove to Portland to my favorite mechanic shop
and had new brakes put on my van.

When I arrived back home, my Eclipse Sunshades had arrived.
WHOOP!  WHOOP!

These things are the BOMB!

Soooo easy to install and sooo easy to use.

That means tomorrow I'll be working on the van.

Joe is coming to town next Tuesday
and I'm hoping we can at least get the bed in.
Then the kitchen, then I'm ready to get her outfitted
 for a camping trip in August to see the Leonid Meteor Showers.

I am SO happy to be vanning again.

FREEDOM!

Installation is a breeze!

Using them is even easier!

From the outside. 

Isn't She Lovely!?

 

It was a very sad day for me when I had to sell my van so I could drive mom's car up to Oregon. That was about one year ago, and today I finally went shopping for a new van...

AND I FOUND ONE!

I had appointments on both the East and West sides of Portland today.

I had looked all through Craigslist and other websites
and was prepared to pay between $12,000 and $14,000
for the right Sienna.

After my last stop on the East side with no luck,
I was headed to the Sellwood Bridge
and passed a little lot and something said
(maybe it was Joe?),
"let's pull in here."

I asked the sales lady if she had a Toyota Sienna. 

She did not, but wanted to show me another van.

At this point, a man came out, the owner of the shop.

He said, "Are you looking for something in particular

I replied, "Yes, a Toyota Sienna."

He said, "I suppose you're looking for a newer model."

I said, "No, actually, I would love to find an older one
with less than 150K miles on it.

He said, "Have I got the car for you!"

He had it at his shop
and they had just finished repairing a bumper and headlight
after a minor collision.
The insurance company had totaled it, because of its age,
and so it had a salvage title.
I asked him the mileage and he said he thought it was around 117,000
(turned out to be 110,000!).
I said, "Let's go see it!"

The price was $4500.

When I told him I'd like to trade in my 2000 Lincoln
his eyes lit up.
My Lincoln had only 70,000 actual miles on it.
He said he'd give me $2200 for it.
That meant the Sienna only cost me (after registration fees, etc.) 

...DRUMROLL...

$2384.

Here she is, a 2000 Toyota Sienna.

She has only 110,000 miles on her.

I took her to my mechanic friend, Sammy.
She needs new brakes but otherwise is in EXCELLENT condition.

I'm SO stoked and can't wait to get busy
turning her into my next camping van.

YAY!

I asked him to take all the middle seats out and one of the back seats.

I'm going to wait and see how I want to arrange my bed 

before I take out this last back seat.

I may keep it if I can.