Spring Cleaning...I Wish!

Just doing a little "spring cleaning" and getting Betty all ready for summer # 4. NOT! Oh my, even though it is officially SPRING, winter still has us in its grip! We had a few centimetres of snow last night which was beautiful depressing to look at this morning. In November I would have liked the way it looked on the trees. However it is March 23rd and I am ready for spring and spring-like weather, not fluffy snow! But it only gets better...a big blizzard is supposed to hit Nova Scotia on Wednesday! I may not get camping until June at this rate...

Just Scooting By...

source: Pinterest

Just scooting by to wish you a happy Valentine's Day!

Thought I had better post today in case we lose power tomorrow as we get hit with another winter storm. This time it will start as snow and then change over to rain. I guess they didn't get the message that I was tired of winter. But wherever you are, enjoy the day named for Saint Valentine. Any day that focuses on love and candy is a keeper!

Rock Star

Do you recognize this little tin can? Yes, it's Betty, painted on a sandstone rock by my young cottage neighbor, Miss Abby. I think she did a wonderful job of capturing what Betty looked like before I repainted the stripe and removed the decals. She even included Brownie, the little rabbit who used to nibble the clover beside Betty almost every day last summer. Every time I look at this rock it makes me smile :) Cottage neighbors are the best!

Girl Camp Canada - NS Rally

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Girl Camp Canada rally at Caribou-Munroes Island Provincial Park. This was the first rally for GCC women from Nova Scotia. Definitely one of those events where we arrived as strangers, enjoyed ourselves, and left as friends! There were six trailers, eight women and three fur kids (dogs). Here is my trailer nestled in a lovely wooded site.

This caravan belonged to Stacey from Sydney. She calls it Bea! Did you notice the little Dutch door? Be still my heart...

                           

You would not believe the size of the window at the hitch end of this English cutie. It's the size of a picture window in some living-rooms!
If you would like more info about this beautiful park along the shores of the Northumberland Strait, here's a link to the park brochure.

http://www.novascotiaparks.ca/brochures/Caribou-munroe.pdf

Betty Gets A Facelift

Oh my, it's been a while since I have posted. I have tried to write a couple of times but once I took that little break it was really hard to get going again. Now I know how kids in my classroom feel when I ask them to write...sometimes it just doesn't flow from your head to your hand. So what have I been up to? Well, we took another trip to PEI which was just glorious. Stayed in Cavendish for two nights at a campground, and then we towed Betty to Savage Harbour where  we boondocked at a friend's cottage overnight. So sweet, two little grandkids who absolutely loved our camper. I suppose to children it looks like a little playhouse.  The boy (who is 3) was calling it a mini-camper. Love that :) But now we have been home a week and I have made a few changes to my mini-camper. Here's what she looked like before PEI...

This week I decided to paint the maroon stripes a different colour, it's called Whisper and it's Rustoleum paint that I actually bought  two years ago to do this project. So are you ready for the big "reveal"? This is what she looks like now after three coats. Drum roll please.....

I love her new look! Oh, and did you notice anything else? Yes, I removed the giant G decals too. Next project is a new awning!

Every Cottage Must Have a Fire Pit

That title says it all. I love beach campfires, but for us it's a lot less work to just have a campfire in our backyard. Nothing beats sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows or making s'mores. For several years we had an old, metal, dryer tub which I thought worked fine. But then new neighbours moved in and they set up their fire pit using a truck rim from an 18 wheeler. Another neighbour said she was going to switch over to this "new" style and she could get us one too. So, here it is! Our new, low profile (all the better for marshmallow roasting) freebie fire pit. (It actually rests on a 24" patio stone but the rim hides it.)

Not pretty, but it works great! However, if I was designing the backyard of my dreams, I would buy one of these.
http://atwistofiron.com/
Handcrafted from old propane tanks right here in beautiful Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. These truly are works of art!

The Big Reveal

The big reveal! Yes, I finally finished painting my *free* wicker planter. That would be four cans of spray paint. So far I figure this project has cost me about $35, but you can't put a price tag on vintage! It has a metal liner too, but I haven't quite got that refurbished. It has a few holes, but I say every planter needs a few for drainage :) Until I get the liner in there I am making do with a hanging pot plopped in. Here's an up close view taken last Friday when it was over 30 degrees Celsius. That's above 90 which is pretty much a heat wave in Nova Scotia!

Trailer Pad

Did you know that Betty has her own spot? Yes, yes. Last year my DH and I built a trailer pad out of patio blocks. I love it! We used 24" blocks to make a pad 3 blocks wide by 4 blocks long. Then we added one extra block for the trailer tongue. If it gets muddy (and it sometimes does), I just hose it down. Same thing after he mows - first I sweep it, then out comes the hose. Here's another shot taken with my husband's phone...

It took a morning to build the pad but I think it is worth it. Our soil at the cottage is mostly clay so every time it rains heavy, the water just puddles on top. This little pad keeps some of the dampness away from the trailer's undercarriage. It also makes it easy to level the trailer as the jacks have a nice firm footing. Oh, and those three aprons are just there to demo my little trailer clothesline that I have across the front end. Easy to make using flexible curtain rod tubing and screw eye hooks!

Camper Flags

S'MORES MEMORIES

I love decorative flags, especially these garden size ones which are perfect for adding some colour to the exterior of my trailer. Although this is not my garden, this is the flag that I often hang outside Betty. I love the shape of the camper on this flag. I also love how this flag reminds me of when I was a kid and we would roast hot dogs on alder sticks. Ummm. I can almost taste them now! If you are interested in checking out other designs, here's an eBay link.
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/happy-camper-flag?_trksid=p2047675.m2392

Wash on Mondays, Iron on Tuesdays

                

Last summer I decorated the outside of my trailer with this vintage  ironing board, an idea I copied from my favourite glamping book, Sisters On The Fly. I think my dad had bought this wooden ironing board at an auction years ago. By the time I took possession, it had seen better days. I gave it a good scrubbing with some vinegar and water. Then, on a nice sunny day I applied two coats of Briwax. That stuff is amazing! It's almost like a stain and paste wax mixed together. (I believe it's made in England.) I let the Briwax cure in the sun for about an hour and then I buffed the board with a soft rag. Voila! 

PS. Apparently times were tough last summer. Looks like I only have one bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade cooling in my ice bucket. Actually, that ice bucket is a repurposed citronella patio candle. After the candle was finished I just sprayed the tin bucket with my favourite Krylon colour, Blue Ocean Breeze.

  This post makes me think of that old rhyme:

Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Or do without.

Chaise Lounge Chair

So one day
last spring when we were on our way to the cottage, I spotted this chair at a yard sale. Now I want you to know that my husband does not drive at a yard sale pace. He does not want me to spot anything, let alone buy it and drag it home. But, this time he actually stopped, turned around and we went back to the sale. For $5.00 I got this sweet chaise lounge chair! Reminds me of a blue one my mom had back in the sixties! One thing I've noticed about it though, it seems more narrow and shorter than chairs today. Were people smaller back then?