Post Labor Day Post Apocalypse Scenario

Our fourth outing in the Sweet Lime was a super success.

This time we ventured north to Napa, not for wine tasting but to visit the DiRosa

Art....museum, gallery, nature preserve. 

We had seen a documentary about Rene Di Rosa years ago and it

stuck to one of the walls in my brain, like Angkor Wat, one of those places I really 

needed to see.

Rene di Rosa was an amazing man

who collected art just for me. Or so it seems. I loved and responded to

every single piece of art I saw. Art LIVES in that place. At first I wasn't thrilled

about having to go on a tour but it was so beautifully done, that in

the end, I was glad it was done that way. The guides were low key, funny and

had stories to share about the artists and their work that made me look a little

closer and we were invited to touch and go into and play with the art!

I am still vibrating with the energy of it.

comfy shoes recommended for the Art Meadow tour.

 Current Show in the Gatehouse Gallery...

Zombie Proof House is a meditation on anxiety and hope in a troubled time. This major group exhibition, organized by di Rosa curator Robert Wuilfe, explores recent history and potential futures as they relate to collapse, political upheaval and shared responsibility. Taking its tongue-in-cheek title from the recent predominance of zombies in language and pop culture, [...]

One of two David Best cars. This one created from Rene Di Rosa's mother's car. Allene, this one's for you!!

One of our favorites out in the meadow....

can you tell what it is from the crappy photo? 

No?

File cabinets.

another David Best car and the back of my cute little head.

We were pretty much left to our own devices once in the gallery because of an overlap

in tours. Unfortunately only a few of the works were labeled with the artist's names so my apologies for not being able to credit the following pieces.

except for this one...

Just a couple more random pieces...

Push pin portrait...

This was taken with my new Vignette phone app that I didn't realize

took tiny pics unsuitable for anything other than viewing on my phone.

Still, I love this one...

and the camping?

It was awesome! It's always a little scary picking places at random even though I read

reviews etc. You just never know what you're getting into and this place I picked, the Skyline Wilderness Park has the worst website imaginable and when I called to reserve the lady didn't take any information from me, just said "no problem, I've penciled you in" and then I forgot to call a day ahead to confirm so I was more than a little nervous driving up to the place. Especially driving through the shiftless looking neighborhood and the State hospital right next door.

It was all for naught, the place was perfect. 

The day we arrived though, was HOT. 

Lu had to have an ice pack on her belly and I took a cold shower! 

Note to self:

Scope the place out before doing anything so rash. This place has showers.

The next day was divine and Lu spent the day lounging in the Sweet Lime...

and sometimes on HIGH ALERT...

My favorite thing about this camp site was the Martha Walker Native Habitat Garden carved out of the State Hospital's old dump site.

It's a magical garden with meandering paths under redwoods and oaks.

and a random orange chair...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...

Fantastic, can't wait to go back to the di Rosa and Napa....

not so much. We're not big wine drinkers. Anymore.

and Napa looks very much like home. We did take a short drive up to the town of St Helena 

and had lunch. It is a beautiful little town with charming little tree lined streets and old 

well tended houses and gardens. We did see the Napa Wine Train and thought

that might be fun for next time.

Camping in our little Sweet Lime has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable

things imaginable. Go figure.

Delayed Post!

We went camping in the Sweet Lime

This is her all neat and tidy just before take-off.

It didn't stay that way! The weather was so fine
we turned the dining table into our bed/lounge and
ate outside.

Lu is always reluctant to get in. 

At first.

Then she won't come out.

We wandered around town and stumbled upon Saturday morning farmer's market...

and Morning Glories...

and the Gold Lion.

We walked on the beach...

found treasures and bought some too.

The red cloth is a beautiful double weave cloth I found at a Thrift store that

made for a perfect table cloth.

And that was that.

It was a Sweet Time in the Sweet Lime and I'm already

plotting our next trip.

Details

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She's got her official name-plate now!

For me it is the little details that have come together so beautifully that really make her feel complete, and magical. 

I love to just sit in her and look around. We don't have to be going anywhere at all.

Here's some more:

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I got this from a real sign in a train station somewhere in India. It sets the tone, doesn't it?

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Custom hand-made pillows by The Woman on The Verge. Her hands and eye made all of this possible.

The conductress.

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Here you can see the view from the entry door. See our chandelier? Another brilliant addition by the Woman on The Verge.

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We were supposed to take her out this weekend, but I dropped the ball, so no camping for us.

Maybe next weekend.

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Still to do:

1. Waterproof and seal the roof.
2. Replace the old vents and vent covers.
3. Tear off the front wall, rebuild the damaged framing, put back together.
4. Strip and sand the exterior.
5. Exterior paint job.
6. Prep, prime, and paint the frame and bumper.
7. Prep, prime, and paint the wheels.
8. Reinstall the awning.

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Namaste.

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Sweet, sweet lime.

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Well, here she is in all her painted glory!

Sweet Lime, the trailer.

The view above is looking toward the back of the trailer, with the galley on your left and the fridge on your right. We rebuilt the old dinette table and mounted a map on top, trimmed it out with aluminum edging, which we also installed in all of the corners and where the walls and overhead meet. 

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Here you can see more of that streetside corner and the Indian on the bull.

Enough color for you?

You give up yet?

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Ha!

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The ceiling turned out great. Flat and hard and clean looking. Yay!

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Here's the galley. The entry door is just left of the oven. This is where some of the magic happens.

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Galley and dinette. Beautiful, if I do say so myself.

Which I do.

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Here you can see the front gaucho that pulls out into a kind of full/twin bed, longer than the dinette/bed conversion, but narrower. Good for naps with the bull dog and looking out the open door at whatever view is present.

Are those cushions da bomb? That Woman on The Verge, she can do anything!

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That gorgeous floor again.

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Okay, so, that's how she sits right now. There's still some interior trim to install, the molding for the floor, and more stenciling or decoupage for the border trim, but the inside is pretty much a done deal. It was a lot more work than we thought going in to it, and we're pretty experienced painters (ask the Woman on the Verge how many times she's painted our kitchen!). We took it one step at a time, though, and never panicked. Just had another drink, put our heads down, and plowed ahead.

We love it super bad. 

We can't wait to take her out!

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Namaste.

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Prep, prime, & paint.

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How can such a tiny trailer have so many cabinet doors and drawers? So many bits of window gear and knobs and pulls and crap that has to be unscrewed and taken off before you can sand and prep and prime and paint? 

We figured out that painting inside a trailer is just as hard as painting a giant house, but with all the easy parts left out. No big expanses of walls or ceilings. Everything is cutting in and brush work and cramped and awkward.

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So, here's the blue! 

Shield your eyes!

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You may find this shocking, but we have a high tolerance for bold color.

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Just waiting for doors and seat cushions and the table and new flooring and a new refer door and and and.....

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The Woman on The Verge spent every waking hours for two weeks painting and stenciling like a man possessed. Or a woman. Maybe both.

She's a damn good worker.

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The galley got new aluminum trim around the edges of the countertop. 

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And a new backsplash! We love how this turned out. It echoes the pattern of the stencil we used on the walls perfectly, and it just looks so neat and well-finished.

It really ties the room together, dude.

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That stenciling looks bad-ass, right?

Hell yes it does.

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The new floor is in. Took maybe an hour? Looks like a million bucks to me, and it feels great underfoot. Peel and stick vinyl planks. No muss, no fuss, lovely floor.

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The Woman on The Verge applying the first of several attempts at a border to separate the top stenciled portion of the walls from the plain lower half. The painting is on the door of the refrigerator. Gettin' that Indian vibe yet?

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Can you say "Sweet Lime?"

I bet you can.

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Namaste.

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