Our Adventures
Renovating our 1974 Airstream to call home
We were lucky to have such a beautiful day for our outdoor wedding in the woods. Here's some of our favorite shots of the day
Our photographer was Sarah Achten (Eden's Cove Photography). She did an amazing job, and set everything up just like we wanted. You can see her other work and purchase prints here.
We got about 3 feet of snow dumped on us here this past weekend. It's been about 6 years since we got this much snow all at once, so I guess we were due! It's hard to tell just how much snow this is in the photo, but some things have disappeared:
And the dog can't see over the snow.
Dan dug a path down to the airstream, and of course Luna had to photo bomb the picture.
He dug all the way around the airstream so the dog could have a track to run on (and also so he can do work). She's a big fan of having somewhere to run again. Poor dog's been a good sport for all the cold wet mazes we've put her in recently.
The snow is making for fun hide and seek with her:
Russell was kind enough to stop by and lend us his riveting skills. Buck riveting takes two people, so it was a huge help to have a skilled helper. Russ is A&P mechanic (Airframe and Power Plant), and learned how to rivet on airplanes. Work went much faster this weekend thanks to his help.
But first, some practice on the old bellypan material that we aren't reusing.
And now, for the real thing. We reattached the awning bracket, plugged a bunch of screw holes left from removing the old air conditioner, riveted the sides of the shell to the f-channel attached to the subfloor on the sides of the coach, added a patch over the holes from the old antenna, and replaced a few leaky rivets. With the exception of the plumbing vents, refrigerator vent, and few other odds and ends, the Airstream is mostly sealed up.
Here's Russ holding the bucking bar. I'm on top with the rivet gun, hammering away on a rivet. Russ is giving the rivet something to hit on the other side, which causes the shaft to flatten and widen, to create a water-tight seal.
Riveting the front hold-down plate. The black pegs are called cleco fasteners. They fit in a newly drilled hole to temporarily hold multiple sheets together while you're riveting nearby. Very helpful.
Moral support dog.
Leanne the Riveter.
Getting the Airstream ready is only part of the prep work happening around here. Dan and I both want to live with less stuff and have the freedom to take our home with us, should we choose to travel or move again. Read more about that story here. This involves sorting through everything we own, selling or giving away 95% of it, and keeping what we love and use most. It's been anything but easy.
I still had some furniture and things in my house for staging while my house was on the market. With the sale of my house (hooray!), it all needed to go. Our wonderful Baltimore friends helped us sell/give away a lot of my remaining "stuff" before I closed on the sale this week. It was a bittersweet goodbye.
We filled two trucks and a car with donations to the thrift store. It's a win-win for me :) I even got a collection of coupons for future thrifting! These will be put to good use for my thrifted capsule wardrobe.
Also, I got a harmonica at Christmas (thanks Dan!). Not only is this a super fun, pocket sized instrument, it will be perfect for our nights around the campfire. Luna's helping me practice.
