Scraping up is hard to do!

Mercy back to give you just a little update on what's been going over here. Things seemed to have settled a bit and I was ready for some settling in. Then, it started up again. More tear me down stuff. That's okay, I am struggling through because I know it will all be worth it in the end. What's been happening you ask? My old dingy floor tiles were scraped up. Personally, I thought my floor was in pretty good shape. Except for a few loose tiles at the door they didn't look too bad. Unfortunately, 99 layed some new tiles down over the top of my old ones and she got that fever to make another adjustment...

You can see my original floor in this photo. I guess it is kind of boring. Black and white checkerboard would look pretty awesome. What do you think?

99 got to work and she started to remove the old tiles. Did you know that the glue they used to put these down back when I was born was pretty invincible? These suckers were HARD to remove. But, 99 kept at it for a long time. When she finally got the last tile...her hand dremel either overheated or gave up completely. Dumb luck you could say, but at least those tiles came up. You should have seen her trying to get up off that floor when she was done. If it weren't so sad I would have laughed out loud as you humans say. She had been bent over the floor for so long I think her back and legs decided they were going to stay that way. You woulda swore she was actually 99 years old! Maybe someone needs to do a restoration on her? (Shhhhh...don't tell her I said that. She might take offense.)

Is the hard work over? Nope!! Of course not! All that black residue has to be taken up because the floor has to be smooth. This will happen. I know it. 99 looked up some tips and tricks of the trade on this one and she is going to try soaking it in a hot water and vinegar mixture. Then more scraping! She is excited!! I can tell. Tee hee!

You have to be real careful when doing this due to the possibility of asbestos. Always wear a mask and keep the area wet down so the particles don't get airborne. If you are going to attempt it, 99 and I reccomend you do some research first. Then...enjoy!

Anyway, that's my latest quick update for you. There's more to come but if I keep blogging like this there will be no one to supervise 99 and keep her working. It's a rough job, but someone's got to do it! While waiting for the floor to soak up the mixture 99 hopes to do a lot of odds and ends like put a new lock on my exterior fridge access door so the new owners will have a key. I'm going to think about giving the new owners the key to my heart. Yeah, I'm just an old softee, but let's keep that between me and you. Okay? New Yorkers are supposed to be tough, you know!

This is Mercy signing off with a big merci beaucoup to all of you once again for visiting my blog. Until next time...I leave you with this:

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did....Newt Gingrich

Yep, we are working hard over here and we are tired too. But...there is more hard work to do so time to kick in the perseverance factor and get 'er done! The key to opening the door is to take it step by step, keeping at it and when you get tired of something maybe move on to something else for a little while. The key to the vault is to never give! 

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Well how do you do, my friends? It's your old friend Mercy! I sure am not feeling old though. Everyday, little by little I am starting to feel young again. Come on, you know the feeling. Like when you get a new outfit, or a totally different hair do, or you just wake up and feel ALIVE! Well, that's me in a trailer shell! 

Tonight I think I will tell you about some of my updates. Let's start with my front dining/sleeping area, shall we? As you know it was a bit of a wreck when I arrived. Pictures say it best so here you go....

My front area had all the typical signs of that dreaded trailer disease, leakatosis. The front lower area under the window was not too bad, but bad enough.

This is my curbside window. You can see the moisture damage also at the top area of the front window.

Same situation on the streetside.

 The nice part is that I have no damage along my upper edges...so no leaks there!

You can also see that there is no moisture damage inside the cubbys either. 

The damage at my sides was enough for 99 to remove those lower panels. Surprisingly, the braces were in good condition and the moisture was mostly on the surface of the birch. The top beams that go across the underside of the windows did have to be replaced. The braces in this photo were sanded down. They had some water damage, but the wood was still solid. At the left another vertical brace was added for extra support for the new wall that would be fitted here. The beams going across for the bed were also removed for access. 

 This is the new top brace on the curbside. Sometimes it is hard to work with only two hands and lord knows I don't have any to off my assistance. All I hand out is moral support. Good thing my pal 99 knows how to improvise. She put a board across the width of the trailer to hold the brace in place. 

The center vertical brace fit into a notch of the horizontal brace. This was gorilla glued and screwed. Never get gorilla glue on your hands. It's a real nightmare...or at least that's what I had to listen to for the next two days! Two supports were put in place at each each side attaching to the existing structure. No real weight goes on this brace but the structure is important. Insulation was put in place across the whole opening. The other side was done pretty much the same way, only an extra brace was added.

 99 was able to peak behind the front to check out the braces there. They were also in good condition and the moisture damage was to the surface. It was necessary to repair this from the inside without removing the skin due to the weather here in NY. This is a much harder way of doing things, but it has been done by lots of people without the luxury of heated garages and sunshine year round!

The damaged sides were cut out. The braces were solid and the remaining front panel was sanded down. Extra vertical braces, not show in the photo, were put in place to support the new birch.

Once all the new pieces were put in place lots of sanding and shellacking was done. Trim strips were cut and added. New wood was put above the window as well. A brace was put up along the back at the seat level for added support. 

The ledge under the window was sanded and shellacked.

The tables were removed and sanded and shellacked.

The lower base was sanded and shellacked. Then the bed beams were put back in.

The Shasta magazine rack was removed and given the royal treatment as well!

The tables were put back up.

Curtains were made and cushions were recovered and I went from this.....

To this...

And finally.....to this!

So.......how do you like me now? I like me! I feel like I just went through a whole session of some plastic surgery only with wood. There are still things that need to be done. I need some new glass and more touch ups, but boy oh boy....I am feeling camping season coming on!! Whoo hoo!

Oh yeah, this New Yorker is ready to rumble on down the road. Well, maybe not quite, but I am getting there!

This is Mercy signing off now with a big merci beaucoup to all of you kind enough to join me on this adventure of a lifetime. Before I go...I leave you with this:

“But he who dares not grasp the thorn 
Should never crave the rose.” 
― Anne Brontë

Sometimes you have to grab that thorn. You might get hurt. You might get dirty and frustrated too. But if you don't do the hard work, face your fears, take on challenges and overcome your obstacles....well, you might never know how lovely is the rose! I mean, look at me. You can't tell from the photos, but I am even starting to smell as delightful as a rose! That's saying a lot compared to what I was!

Eyes are the windows to the world!

Hellooooooo out there! Mercy here, back to show you some more of what's been done to bring me back to my old glory. They say that the eyes are the window to the world. I say feast your eyes on my windows!

This is my front window on the outside when I arrived...

Well, all by her little ole self that 99 took out those old rusty screws and removed my eyebrow and my window. Brrrr....that cold breeze flowing through my insides gave me quite a sensation! 

Now this was no small feet because 99 isn't even five feet. She stood up on the hitch, pulled out the window, rested it on the hitch and then climbed down the whole while saying over and over "please don't break, please don't break". It didn't and neither did she!

I heard her start up the sander and do some cleaning and wet sanding and then it was polish time. Next all the old putty had to be scraped off and removed from the window and my skin. It felt awful refreshing to get rid of that old grime. 

Then she put fresh new putty tape on me, climbed back on the hitch and tried to put the window in. She decided not to test fate and this is when she called her daughter to help her. Her daughter held the window while she popped in a few screws to secure it. It was a typical New York day in February. Downright CHILLY! 

"Wow, my hands are freezing. This metal is cold!", her daughter informed her. Well, 99 just kind of looked at her and said, "you wanna tell me something I don't know?". I giggled. It was funny!

Next thing I knew, my window was back in place and so was my eyebrow. 99 even went around the top and sides of the window with caulk for some extra protection! Check me out....I'm smiling...

The inside of my window had to be done also. It was scrubbed and polished and the screens were taken out and replaced and my trim was all shined up too. I went from this....

To this...

You can even see how much of a difference just changing the screens makes. It's not hard to tell which is old and which is new here...

Most of my other windows have been cleaned up too. Here is my curbside...

On the inside...

All of my window trim has been done. What a difference it makes!

If the eyes are the windows to the world then I am feeling like I just had my cataracts removed! 

It's late, I'm beat! This is Mercy siging off with a big merci beaucoup to all of you who stopped by to visit. Until next time, I leave you with this:

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Audrey Hepburn

Any time you feel like you are alone in a big battle against the odds, just remember...there are always people cheering you on. That and that alone can make all the difference in the world!

Goodnight everybody!