A Firm Foundation.....

At least Zar is helping.....This morning I went to Home Depot and bought a length of quarter inch lath, long enough to make the foundation for the trailer.

I marked it the length of the sides and ends of the trailer and mitered all of the corners. Then, with what was left, I put in two cross braces to make it firmer.

Zar would have you believe that he did all of the cutting with his trusty saw....If you look closely, you will see that the blade is extremely rusty...I don't think that it would cut butter.

I glued it all together right on the bottom, clamped it and let it dry.
Then I flipped it back over and painted it with a mix of charcoal gray and trail tan. The trail tan is what we decided on for the outside color. I wanted the gray to be a warm color rather that the cold color that it would be if I added plain white.

While I am thinking of it, I will offer a tip that a few people might still not know about. I had poured the charcoal and tan on a paper plate for painting. I dabbed it around on the foundation without mixing, just blending as I went. I may want to use it for something else before I am done....So.....Here's the tip. I covered the paper plate well and put it in the freezer. It will thaw out in a matter of minutes and be ready to paint with again. No drying out or scum on top!

Someone asked about the stain pens. That's the next step. I cut out all of the pieces for the kitchen and bedroom furniture. I am using Red Mahogany from Minwax. I comes both in the can and the pen. My old pen is getting worn down....Notice I didn't say that it was running out of stain. I have experimented with refilling these pens and it can be done. The felt tip can be carefully pulled out with tweezers or needle nosed pliers. the you can use an eye dropper to fill it. After you fill it, the tip can be put back in the pen. I am not advocating this, unless you are a brave soul. It can be very messy. The pens are expensive and this is a way to save, if you are a cheapskate like me. The pens cost almost as much as the can that you see beside it.

I think that, while the stain is drying, I will start on the stones for the foundation.

I'll bet that you are wondering where Tessie is whilst all of this work is being done....She informed us, "I have my five bucks and I bought muffins!" She is sitting just outside of what she thinks is camera range...

Don't tell her I took this when she was stuffing herself with her ill gotten gains. She would probably renege on Zar's rental.

I am going now to play with rocks. I might even pilfer a bit of her muffin. When she eats a lot she gets sleepy. Shhhhh....

See you tomorrow.