A Most Productive Saturday

Much to my surprise, Gary spent the majority of today (Saturday) working on me. Not all of the things pictured here actually happened today, but most of them did. Let me explain what you are looking at. As I mentioned in my last post, my new stainless steel kitchen backsplash has been installed. I'm still not allowed to show you the nearly finished product, but at least I can show you how the tiles were laid out, and how they looked before being installed in my kitchen. Pretty nice, huh? There is some wasted space under my bunk beds, so Gary decided to build a drawer to fill one of the vacant spots. In the photos, you can see that the drawer is being test fitted, and later in the day, it got two coats of black paint. The drawer will eventually have a thin plywood facing, and that will be covered with a stainless steel panel that will match the fronts of my kitchen cabinets. Next on the agenda for today, was covering up the big dent in my sheet metal that was created when my door flew open while we were trucking down the interstate. Gary looked through his spare parts, and found a twin to the vent cover that was already on me. It was the perfect disguise to cover that doorknob shaped dent. Other accomplishments today included installing a new water inlet cap and lanyard, and a new lanyard on my sink drain cap. Both of the lanyards were broken and needed to be replaced. To make positively sure that my door will never fly open again as we're rolling down the highway, Gary drilled a hole in my entry door and installed a deadbolt. This adds some much needed security as well. The deadbolt is probably the most important improvement that Gary has made to me this summer. I also got my door brow reattached today, and the last thing that Gary did, was to rework the metal guard that goes over the inside of the window on my entry door. One corner needed to be cut off in order for it to clear the new deadbolt. It will be freshened up with a new coat of paint before it gets re-installed. So there you have it. It was a VERY productive day here at the Green Acres Garage, and I am one happy little camper. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Less Than A Month To Go

We are well into September, and there's less than a month to go before we head out on our first round of camping for the fall and winter season. Gary PROMISED me that he would spend lots of time working on me when September rolled around, but he hasn't exactly done what he said he would do. He's still been working primarily on his collection of vans and other projects, but there has been a LITTLE bit of work done to me. I am totally disgusting inside and out at the moment, and I'm sure that we won't be going anywhere until I'm in decent shape. That leaves LOTS to do, and not a lot of time to do it. I'm hoping that I somehow reach the priority status, and all of Gary's other interests fall by the wayside, at least for awhile. There isn't much to tell you about, but I can show you a couple of pictures that I managed to download from Gary's camera. The thin white board you see in the first picture, was cut and primered for my kitchen counter backsplash. The instructions for the stainless steel tiles (shown in the second picture), said that it was necessary to paint the wood with oil-based primer in order for the tiles to stick properly. So that's exactly what Gary did. After all, we don't want that pretty tile to fall off as we're heading down the road, now do we? I LOVE the tile. I think it adds a bit of depth and class to my kitchen. There was nothing wrong with the plain stainless steel sheet that used to be my backsplash, but it was not nearly as nice as the tiles. The new backsplash has been installed, but Gary will not allow me to post any pictures until my kitchen area is totally completed. I'll do as he asks. I surely don't want to make him mad and have him go camping in the van without me. I've waited since April to get the heck out of this garage, and I am NOT going to blow my chances. So, I will hopefully have some more pictures for you soon. Thanks for your patience. Love, Toaster.

The Latest Member Of "The Dodge Gang"

It seems like all I've been talking about lately is Dodge vans, and this post will be no exception to the rule. Meet the latest member of the "The Dodge Gang". This is "Snail", a 2003 model, and the newest of the vans here at the Green Acres Garage. I don't think that Gary is too thrilled with my choice of names for it. I call him "Snail" because he is a cargo van, as in escargot (cooked snails). Get it? I thought it was pretty clever, but Gary just rolled his eyes and walked away when he heard me say it. Anyway, Gary didn't break his vow to not bring home another vehicle that needs a lot of work or doesn't run this time. "Snail" runs good, has ice cold air conditioning, and seems to be mechanically sound. This van will be an EXCELLENT back-up tow vehicle to my best friend "Dodge", our loyal and trustworthy 1992 Dodge conversion van that has towed me all over the United States. I'm sure that there will be some cleaning and tweaking to be done to "Snail", but unlike the 1995 Dodge conversion van that Gary brought home a few weeks ago, this one needs nothing major done to it at all. It has it's share of dings and dents, but overall it looks very nice. As far as my old buddy "Dodge" goes, here's an update since the last time I posted. He went to the local tire shop yesterday, and got a brand new set of Cooper HT3 tires, and a front end alignment. I LOVE the aroma of fresh rubber, and "Dodge's" new tires make the garage smell WONDERFUL! Next up for him will be a complete rear brake job, and then he will be ready for our upcoming camping season. Even though he's almost 23 years old and has 230,000 miles on him, Gary and I feel totally confident that he will take us anywhere we want to go, and will get us back home without any issues. He's never let us down. He's an AWESOME van!!! As we near the end of another incredibly hot August, I'm looking forward to the work that Gary plans to do to me in September. I'm still a mess at the moment, but I know I'll be looking better than ever when we hit the road in October. For now, I'll let Gary play with his collection of vans, and I'll be content to be my lazy, TV-watching self. That's something I am VERY good at!

"Dodge" Is In The Garage

I got my wish for lots of rain. We are currently in that typical summer pattern, where it rains almost every day. As you know, I was hoping the rain would bring Gary into the garage to work on me. Well, he's been working in the garage a lot, but "Dodge" is the one who's been getting all the attention. I have no problem with that. After all, "Dodge" is my tow vehicle. Without him, we wouldn't be going camping anywhere but here at home. Gary and I REALLY depend on him, so I'm happy to see him get some much needed repairs done before our camping season begins this fall. On the agenda for this round of repairs, was front suspension work. "Dodge's" upper ball joints were worn out, and his upper control arm bushings were looking pretty terrible as well. Instead of replacing the individual parts, "Dodge" got completely new upper control arms. These new arms contain all the parts that needed to be replaced. From what Gary tells me, it's much easier to simply bolt these in, compared to removing and replacing all of the individual worn out parts. I'm all for simplicity, so that sounds logical to me. Things went smoothly with this project, and I'm glad for Gary's sake. The temperatures have been hovering between the low and mid 90's in the garage, and his temper tends to get shorter as the temperatures rise. I didn't have to listen to even a single swear word, and that's unusual for this time of year. There was one additional piece to replace on the passenger side of "Dodge", and that was his shock absorber. Gary had replaced the other three shock absorbers last year, but whoever it was that replaced the shock absorber previously, mangled the top of the mounting stud. That made it impossible to remove without removing the upper control arm. Since the arm was being replaced, it was the perfect time to take the Saws-All to that mangled stud, remove the old shock absorber, and replace it with a new one. New tires have been ordered for "Dodge", and he will get a front end alignment too. Once all of that is done, he will get a complete rear brake job, and then he will be ready to haul Gary and I and all of our camping supplies to any place we want to go. I am SOOOOOOO anxious to hit the road!

Biscuits Of A Different Kind

It was a fun day here at the Green Acres Garage. Gary ditched his plans to work on the "new" van, and spent a couple of hours working on me instead. COOL!!! I got to watch him use a tool that I have never seen or heard of before, something called a biscuit joiner. I've heard of biscuits and gravy before, but I quickly learned that a biscuit joiner has nothing at all to do with food. I don't know the specifics, but somehow, the tool makes rounded cuts into wood, and then little wooden biscuits and wood glue is used to attach two or more pieces of wood together. The biscuits look like flat little wooden footballs, not at all like the tasty breakfast treat that Gary often eats on camping trips. The whole process is far more complicated than I can understand, but Gary seemed to know how the tool worked and how to use the biscuits, even though this was the first time he has used it. He made all of the cuts in the ends of the pieces for my kitchen cabinets, then dry fitted (no wood glue) the pieces together to make sure the cuts were correct. I didn't hear him complaining, so I guess all the pieces fit together like they were supposed to. He could have glued everything together today and been done with it, but the new end pieces he made recently for my upper kitchen cabinet need to be sanded and re-painted. There's always something to do. So, I'll pray for rain in the days ahead, as that is the only thing that will get Gary away from the van work on the driveway, and back into the garage to work on me. I think I hear thunder right now!

There's A New Dodge In Town

Once again, the work being done on me has been set aside in favor of other projects. There's no use in me complaining. I know my time will come. I'll practice the art of being patient, and will fill my days watching People's Court and Judge Judy. Speaking of projects, Gary SWORE that he wouldn't bring home any other things that needed to be fixed, but now there's another one sitting on our driveway. UGH!!! Sharing the driveway with my older sisters Jackie and Caroline, is a massively large looking 1995 Dodge Conversion Van that unfortunately doesn't currently run. Gary says that it obviously needs a new timing chain, so that's where the repairs to it will begin. Gary bought it from a guy on Craigslist. He got a GREAT deal on it, and I'll have to admit that it's growing on me. It will never replace my best friend "Dodge", our trusty 1992 van that has towed me all over the country. But, if and when it's in running shape, it will be the perfect back-up tow vehicle. It is a wheelchair lift van, and it has extra seats in the back of it. All of that will be removed, and it will be transformed into a hauling van like "Dodge" is. I have no idea how long it's going to take Gary to get the van running. If he gets sidetracked as often as he has while working on me, it may take a LONG time. That's the latest news. Just thought I'd check in and say "Hi" since I have all this free time on my hands. I'll catch you later!

Side By Side

I apologized to Gary for my recent bout of complaining, and bought him that nice cold drink. That was all it took to smooth things over, and to get back in his good graces. Lucky for me. Things seem just fine between us. We've been laughing and having a good time together, just like nothing was ever said. Gary decided to do some work on the house yesterday while it wasn't raining. That's understandable. I'm in the garage, so he can work on me at any time. Today was my turn to be worked on again, and some very good progress was made. The second side to my upper cabinet was cut out of nice new wood, using the scrap wood piece previously cut as a pattern. There were lots and lots of test fittings and lots and lots of cutting and sanding to get that pattern just right, but it was SO worth it. The new piece fits perfectly. After taking the picture of the cabinet ends in place, the next step was to remove and paint them. While the first coat of paint was drying, Gary shifted gears and went from being a woodworker to an electrician. All of my wiring is now back in place. It's been awhile, but all of my interior lights and plugs are working once again. WOO-HOO! My new cabinet pieces will require another coat or two of paint before they are installed in me for good. That will happen soon, I'm sure. My biggest question now is what the plan is for my backsplash. I really don't think that Gary knows for sure what he will do with that area. I've seen him looking at various things online, but nothing has been decided on. Time will tell. He seems to be encouraged by how well things went today. I think he's going to work on me again tomorrow. I'll let you know what happens next. I'm SO excited!!!

No More Bitchin' About The Kitchen

As you all know, I can be an impatient little guy. Gary is trying to get a lot of work done this summer, but things are moving at a snails pace when it comes to the repairs on me. I've tried to be understanding, and tried not to complain, but I'm getting really tired of being all torn up and looking awful. Maybe the summer heat is getting to me. All I know is that I'm getting more and more grumpy every day. I've whined often about my kitchen lately, or should I say the kitchen that looks like a bomb went off in it. I've always been proud of how my kitchen looked. Everyone that sees it seems to like the use of stainless steel against the black cabinets. But Gary had to remove my upper cabinet and part of my electrical wiring to repair the wall the cabinet was mounted on. The cabinet has been sitting in the garage collecting dust for quite awhile now. In the meantime, Gary tore out my stainless steel backsplash as well. That made me look even worse. I guess my constant complaining finally got Gary to put aside his house repair projects, and start working on me for a change. I've seen him more this week than I have the last couple of months combined. He hasn't stopped working on the house, but at least I'm getting some attention. Here's what's happened since my last posting. All of the glue residue that remained on my wall after the backsplash got removed, got scraped off. Following that, the wall received two coats of paint. Then my upper cabinet got cleaned up, touched up with paint in a few areas, and put back into place. As I've mentioned before, the short little ends on the cabinet were removed awhile ago, and new end pieces that will connect the upper cabinet to the lower cabinet are in the process of being made. The end closest to my door got cut and fitted for size today. Fits like a glove! I like the little swoosh on the piece that meets up with the lower cabinet. That's going to look cool when everything is painted and the trim is put on. Some of my electrical wiring got reattached to the same places it was originally. All in all, I'm looking better than I did a week ago, but there's still a long way to go. I do feel bad for whining so much and seeming like I'm ungrateful for everything that Gary has done for me. He has SO much to do around here, and I know I'm not a big priority right now. I really do think my general attitude is as bad as it is because of the intense heat this time of year. I'm going to apologize to Gary for being such a grump. Maybe if I buy him a nice cool alcoholic beverage, he will forgive me. It's worth a try!

Door Swapping

This was a day of doors being removed and attached and removed and attached. I'm not stuttering, that's just the way it happened. Honest! Let me explain. First, my entry door was removed. Gary cut a piece of brown paper the exact length of the door, and then taped it over the edge that has the mounting holes in it. That's actually the edge that the hinge attaches to. I had no idea what the heck he was doing, but like always, I knew he had a plan. The plan was to mark the exact location of the mounting holes onto the paper, and then transferring those locations onto the red temporary door that he built awhile back. Are you with me so far? Once the holes were marked, punched, and drilled into the red temporary door, he mounted the door onto my hinge. The holes aligned perfectly! He also attached my revamped screen door to see how the two doors would fit together. You can see how the bigger screen door slide allows access to the area where the lock and deadbolt will eventually be. Looks good. The next to the last step for the day was marking the locations on the door jamb where the holes need to be cut for the lock strikers. And then the screen door and the temporary doors were removed, and my original door was reattached. We've gotta have a solid door to hold in the air conditioning ya know. So, that was the gist of the happenings around here today. More soon (I hope).

My Blog: The Third Anniversary

You didn't hear from me for weeks, and now here I am, posting for the second day in a row. I probably wouldn't be posting so soon, but Gary reminded me that today is the third anniversary of my blog. Wow, time really does fly by. It seems like just yesterday that I was trying to learn some computer skills to get this thing going. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm a whiz compared with when I started. I couldn't let the day go by without thanking each and every one of you for checking in so often and making my blog a big success. I really didn't expect many people to see it, let alone reading it so often. As you know, the blog started off with stories of my initial renovation when Gary bought me. As Gary and I have gotten to know each other over the years, all of you have gotten to know us. You've been with us through all of our camping trips, fun times and bad times, and lately, another round of renovations. Some of you we have met in person, and some we never will due to the many miles that separate us. But, we (I'm speaking for Gary as well as myself), love you all, and greatly appreciate your interest in our adventures. Most of our readers are from here in the United States, but as odd as it seems to me, my little blog has been seen and often read regularly by people from around the world. The internet is a wonderful thing. Gary checks the stats for my blog nearly every night, and has compiled the information below. The following is a list (in order, by year, of their first viewing) of the countries outside the U.S.A. that have checked out the Adventures Of Toaster. And the list is growing longer all the time. If I've missed anyone, please let me know. In 2011: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, and Sweden. In 2012: Argentina, Bosnia & Herzgovina, Chile, China, Finland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Venezuela. In 2013: Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM), Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, and Vietnam. In 2014: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Equador, Jamaica, Lithuania, Portugal, and United Arab Emirates. Who knew that this silly little blog would reach so many people? I am truly amazed. Once again, I want to thank everyone, wherever you may be, for being one of the nearly 23,000 visitors to my blog thus far. I appreciate you all SO much. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Have You Missed Me?

It's been awhile since I last checked in with you guys. How are you doing? I've been okay, just sweating a lot in this hot Florida summer weather. The temperatures didn't use to bother me much, but the older I get, the more the heat seems to get to me. I can clearly see why my beloved owner Gary hates the summers so much. As you know, he's MUCH older than I am. I hope he won't read this. I'll get scolded for telling everyone that he's old, but let's face it, the truth is the truth. Anyway, the reason I haven't written isn't because I'm ignoring anybody or being lazy. There's actually been very little work being done on me lately. Gary has been focusing his attention on house repairs, and I've been spending my days watching TV and sleeping. I'm extremely good at doing both of those things. I think that Gary was feeling a bit guilty for not spending time with me. He spent almost all day with me today, and he made some good progress. As I mentioned (I think) in a previous post, the plan is to extend the sides of my lower kitchen cabinet all the way up to my ceiling. This is more difficult than it seems because of the curvature in my side wall, especially on the end near the door. As Gary always does, he used a piece of scrap plywood to cut and modify as needed. Once he gets the scrap piece to fit as well as he can, he will use it as a template to cut a new piece from. He was in and out of me dozens of times, attempting to get that plywood piece just right. He did pretty good. As you can see in the second picture of the plywood lying next to a straight edge, a lot had to be shaved off to fit the curvature of that darn wall. Moving on from that time consuming job, Gary removed my stainless steel backsplash that was glued FIRMLY to my wall. He has never been particularly fond of the backsplash, and was thinking of doing something different there. Unfortunately, he damaged it during the removal, so it will have to be replaced now for sure. I can't wait to see what he comes up with for a replacement. Later in the day, Gary began modifying my screen door. That required a good deal of cutting and filing, but the main part of the modifications are done. He moved the tracks for the sliding panel, and replaced the smaller aluminum panel with the larger black plastic one. The large slide will allow access to not only my door lock, but a deadbolt as well. After completing the modifications, he rescreened the door. And while he had the tools out for rescreening, he replaced the screen in my rear window that the squirrels had clawed through at one of our last campouts in the spring. Little by little, I'm getting repaired. I wish that everything was done, but I guess there's no big hurry. We're not going camping again until October, and that's three whole months away. I hope to have more for "show and tell" very soon. Until next time, stay cool!