Tiki Drive-In

The list of Gotta Havits that need to be completed on the motorhome before we move is growing very short.  I'm not-so-secretly thrilled that we'll still be here to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, but I'm equally excited that we're almost done.  The buckets of chilly rain pouring down on the Willamette Valley this week are doing little to entice us to stay. 

Meanwhile in the motorhome, the kitchen countertops and cutting board are in place, and the plumbing on the sink is almost finished.  I've already spent a little time gazing out the window, imagining that I'm washing dishes...in California.

Bob tells me that life is more fun when you DON'T know anything about plumbing.

Because I'm just that excited about it, please humor my close-up of the loveliest granite ever to grace the inside of a motorhome:

Black and gold and purple, oh my!

On the walls, the straw has been covered over with reed matting.  It'll look less busy and more "classy" once the reeds have been plastered over, but in the meantime I'll be living out my fondest tiki dreams AT LAST!

Every cup of tea that we drink this winter is going to have a little umbrella in it.

In my fantasies, the whole world looks like a painting by Shag.

Our big curtains have been hung, as well as the CD/DVD shelving that Bob built.  I'm super excited to have all of our CDs in one spot, rather than spread around the living room in three racks and a cardboard box.  The little ADS speakers that Bob gave me years ago are up on the walls, and they sound fabulous.  The other stereo components and Bob's computer will go on the little shelf just above the speakers.  I like that it makes a square arch over the place where the TV will go.  A lovely embroidered cloth that Bob got in India will hang down from it when we're not using the TV, protecting us from its mind-control rays while we sleep :)

The rounded rectangle of sheet metal is just there to mark where the TV will hang.

Bob won his race against the rain on Saturday and completed one of the storage boxes that hang down from the sides of the motorhome.  He was able to repurpose the rolling door from the back of the box as the doors to the storage compartments, which was pretty exciting.

This one will be a dedicated cat food compartment.

Our attempt to scrape together enough plywood for the storage boxes without buying another sheet was unsuccessful, but the search did uncover this intriguing gem in the sideyard:

Bob suggested mounting it in the cab as a "living dashboard".

Lastly, the greatest triumph of this week: we figured out the Perfect Material to finish the ceiling with, sourced it, and purchased it.  But I'm going to hold off on revealing its true identity until we have pictures of its amazingness.  In the meantime, maybe tomorrow I can work up the nerve to measure, cut and mount the mural in the bathroom.  Does beginner's luck apply to wallpapering?