Olive The Green Goddess

Finally I have returned with news of Towanda, or as she is now known "Olive, The Green Goddess" or simply "Ogg."

Much has happened with the bus since last I posted.

A brief recap of the high and very low points:

A new fridge
The Bluebird of Happiness
Outside paint completed
Masking tape disintegration
A new floor
A new bed
A new vision of the folding bookcase



Entirely unexpectedly, we bought a fridge while picking up lumber and caulk at BOB (the Big Orange Box, aka Home Despot). Last of it's ilk on their shelves, it was severely marked down and a deal we simply couldn't pass up. Fortunately, the bank account was agreeable. So now we have cold water and milk readily at hand in the bus whenever we get thirsty, which is pretty constantly in the triple digits we've been experiencing this week. :-(



Made a trip to Tractor Supply Co. for some serious paint - the stuff used on farm machinery and implements. I now have a new favourite store! GREAT place and darned good prices, too! We bought a gallon of high-test glossy white to use on the roof, and scouted a ton of other stuff we've been looking for, too. Later, when the bank account has recovered from the latest round of expenditures. In line to check out, Peter spotted a pretty little stuffed animal - a Bluebird (well, okay, so it's actually a Blue Grosbeak...so sue me). It chirped at him, and he insisted I have it since "you need a Bluebird for your Bluebird." A VERY endearing gesture that meant the world to me.

We are ALmost finished with the paint job. The corrugated sections and all the detail work has been a JOB, believe me. Not for the faint of heart. If this paint job goes south for some reason, the next one will be done by a professional auto painter... The single disappointment is the effect the ceramic additive has had on the paint. I had hoped for a lovely high gloss, but the sandy texture of the additive simply doesn't allow that to happen. The most I have managed is a semi-gloss. Oh well, I'd rather have the additive in place than a shiny paint job, given the choice. As I write this, Peter is applying the finishing detail work to the pale green, and will follow with the final coat of darker green on the stripe. Once all that is done, I will begin the painstaking process of applying my decorative pattern to the stripe, and THEN I get to come in with some marine poly and cover the front of the bus.

See, it's my belief that the front takes the most wear and tear, so a thorough coat of marine-grade polyurethane will guard against a lot of potential road and weather damage. The kid at the paint store insisted that I could neither use house paint OR marine polyurethane on a vehicle - that the paint would "disintegrate within 6 months," and the polyurethane would "crack and fall off, 'cause it's not made for moving objects." When I pointed out the word "Marine" to him, along with the associated knowledge of use on boats, and the fact that boats MOVE - a LOT, and also asked him why the paint would last on a house for 10-15 years, but would disintegrate on a vehicle, he shook his head and gave me a sneer as if to say "you're an idiot, lady." Maybe so, but this lady has had a LOT of experience with various paints and coatings, and I believe in what I'm doing. And so, btw, does the manager of that store, with whom I discussed the pros and cons of my plan a week or so prior to the visit with the kid.

Wisdom for the day? Nope, wisdom for LIFE. Never, NEVER allow the "experts" to nay-say your dreams. Phooey on doctors who give you three months to live, phooey on friends who say you'll never stop smoking or lose that weight, phooey on people who say "it can't be done." PHOOEY!

The deeply low point of the paint job involves the masking tape I bought at the Kelly-Moore paint store. This stuff may be great in a house, but the adhesive disintegrated on the bus, leaving me with a nightmare of residue I have slowly begun removing, using Goof-Off and Goo-Gone. Peter and I both curse Kelly-Moore and their masking tape multiple times a day. Grrrrrr....

The high point of the paint job was when I realised the colour we were painting looked all the world like Green Goddess dressing, though it dried a more olive shade. And thus Towanda was rechristianed "Olive, The Green Goddess," or as I am fond of calling her "Ogg." Towanda may be her 'tude, but Olive is her name. :-)

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I painted the cover plate for the hole in the cockpit ceiling, making it a moon to go with the starry sky. Yup, more creeping hippie bus...



And in my SPARE time (and remember, there are crowds of people coming through our house every day...an average of three groups per day), I made my first quilt from a stack of bandanas I've been collecting since the 60s. Queen-sized, it isn't perfect by any measure, but it's pretty enough to be used on our bed, and with all the left over bandanas, I made coordinating pillows! Some fun!

As I look back over the photos of our progress, I am reminded of how thrilled we were with each step forward with the floor. When the seats came out, I thought we could we use the black rubber floor that was in place, so I decided to clean it up a little. So saying, I pulled the power washer inside and proceeded to blast the accumulated grossness away. And then a flap of rubber jumped up and revealed the TRUE filth underneath, and I knew the rubber had to go. Rubber gone, we were faced with one nasty looking plywood floor, so we laid the white sealant gunk, and the floor was so improved that we just danced in the driveway. Too quickly, we realised the white stuff, though probably great for the roofs of Mobile Homes (for which it was designed), was a miserable product underfoot. Took forEVER to dry (two weeks, easy), and immediately was marked up by ANY form of traffic. Okay, fine, no matter, we knew we weren't finished. When we finally put the pink unsulation down, we were thrilled to see white stuff get covered, and when the final plywood substrate was screwed down and caulked, we danced again with glee and abandon. When the 2 good coats of polyurethane were applied yesterday and the floor glowed, I thought I couldn't be happier. Soon the cabinets will be built and I will be at a point where I can lay carpet and cork, and I know that moment will thrill me every bit as much as each step before.

Late yesterday, I walked out to check the mail, then thought I should check the front porch for packages. I was stunned to find two HUMUNGOUS boxes leaning up against the door. The new trundle bed had arrived! I grabbed Peter and we decided we couldn't wait...we wheeled the boxes to the bus, opened 'em, and proceeded to build that sucker in place. It is PERFECT, and with its arrival, Peter can now begin to build the supporting cabinets that serve as anchor point for everything else in the bus. We WILL be ready for our first road trip - planned for the first week of July! Woo hoo!

I LOVE my bus!