Musings from a RV Trip

If you follow Straddling the Gap or my personal account on Facebook, you know we recently went on a 19 day vacation all over the West.  In addition to the 4,000 miles of cool places, we did it in a RV.  We don't own a RV - we rented it - and it was a first for all of us.  During our 19 days on the road, we did learn a few things about RV travel and have a few tips.  In no particular order:

1.  You WILL bump your head (at least twice) and definitely on a cabinet door.  Ice packs in the freezer are a necessity.
2.  We let the kids roam around the RV which was probably the best thing we did.

3.  Get a Swiffer - wet and dry.  Small space, lots of foot traffic.
4.  "A place for everything and everything in its place."  Spend a few days in a RV and you'll understand what it means.

5.  Take a pair of heavy latex gloves and extra yucky shoes for dealing with the "black water" hookup and take down.
6.  Use nubby shelf liner on the table to keep things in place during driving.
7.  Take bungee cords with you.  You probably can't imagine all the ways you will need them.  We had two drawers that stopped latching and the bungees kept them closed.

8.   Wedging the tip of a hot dog into the carbon monoxide alarm works great to muffle the sound in the middle of the night.
9.  Bring a bucket - you never know when the black water valve might leak.
10.  You really need one of these things.  It keeps the hoses going downhill so the hoses drain while you are parked (as opposed to liquid sitting in the hose - ewww).

I don't know if my family would agree, but I would buy one of these in a heartbeat.  We shall see . . .

cindy

Kenzie Does Crafts - Watercolor Stained Glass

During our recent trip, Mackenzie did manage to do a couple of crafts.  This one is sooooo easy and great for little kids too.  You need:  blue painter's tape, heavy (watercolor) paper, watercolor paints (you could even use finger paints).  That's it.

Do this with the painter's tape:

Do this with the watercolors:

Do this with the painter's tape:

You get this:

If you would rather have the "black" window look, use a black crayon and a straight ruler to outline each watercolor design, then color or paint in the black.

I said it was easy, right?

cindy

Delicate Pastel Shells Afghan

I've been working on clearing all the baby yarn I was given and having a lot of fun with it.  I'm pretty proud of this one.  It's really delicate and soft.

 I used 1 skein of Bernat Baby Coordinates in each color: white (Color A), pink (Color B) and mint green (Color C).  I used a size G hook and the pattern was a Catherine Wheel.  I'm pretty pleased with this one.  If you like this one, you can buy the finished product or an electronic version of this pattern in my Etsy store.