Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work.....

Hey folks,

I’m glad you got to see the inside of LuLu in Margo’s post. She’s done a fantastic job of making this travel trailer a true full-time home. It’s more than just making it look pretty. She has unique challenges that people who live in a house do not have to deal with. Not only does she have to find a place for all our stuff she also has to make it easily accessible but out of the way at the same time. It also has to be safe while going down the road. Now you see why I only had one plastic fork when it was just me here by myself. She’ll be putting together a post soon on all the behind the scenes details; how she organizes things inside the closets, cabinets and other storage ideas she’s come up with. She’ll talk about her gadgets and even how we deal with two dogs underfoot. All good stuff so click that button on the right and sign up for e-mail notification. I’ll still send out an e-mail but this way you’re sure to get every post. We’re fixin’ to get going soon. Her gig at the bank is up in June so we’ll be shoving off then and posting often about our adventures.

Now none of this is going to happen without me working. I certainly can’t retire at this point. As I’ve shown in earlier posts I have the green screen pet photography business but that’s only part-time. For those of you who don’t know, I work full-time as a medical transcriptionist. I type medical reports 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I’ve worked from home for 15 years. The only difference now is the view out the window changes and as long as this Internet thing remains popular I’ll be able to continue earning a living from the road.

The mechanics of this are simple. As you can see the living room converts into an office quite easily. I have a really comfortable chair, a large monitor connected to a laptop and an old bullet proof IBM keyboard. This thing has buckle springs under the keys and weighs about as much as a good size bass. You can get one here http://www.pckeyboard.com/. It sits on a simple folding TV tray. Not attractive but lightweight and very functional. For connecting to the Internet I use a Verizon MiFi which I’ve talked about in an earlier post. With a hot cup of coffee on my left I’m in business.



During my work day I only take up about one third of the living room. Margo and the dogs have run of the rest of LuLu. At the end of the day the chair goes out the door and gets covered, the folding table gets put away and everything else stores in an overhead bin. It takes about 2 minutes to take things down. Not bad compared to the average person’s commute.

Lastly, to some it would appear claustrophobic, not to mention a bit crazy, to sit in a trailer all day and work but actually my office here seems larger than when I was set up in my house. The photos may not show this but the panoramic windows give the feeling of being in a much larger space. On nice days I can even go out to the picnic table and work.

Till next time.

First Mate On Board

Hello Everyone!  Margo here…aka First Mate.

January 01, 2013 was officially Move In Day for me and Shiloh, my 14 year- old Cocker Spaniel (perhaps more familiar to you as ½ of “The Boys” seen in previous posts). For those of you who don’t know, April 2011 (Kevin and I had been together for just over 3 years by then) found me living in my own two bedroom, two bath spacious apartment near my office where I worked as a dental hygienist. In March 2012 I retired after 23 years and began to downsize via many garage sales and put my most treasured belongings into a 5’ x 10’ climate controlled storage unit. I then moved into my dear friend Nancy’s house and began a new career as a bank teller until her house sold in December 2012. Kevin had already been living in LuLu since March 2012. The plan was for me to move into LuLu once Nancy’s house was sold. So here we are!  New Year... New Life (style)!

Now, to go from a 2000 sq. ft. house and an 1100 sq. ft. apartment before that, to a 180 sq. ft. Airstream takes a huge leap of faith but I didn’t think of it so much as “downsizing” as I did “SIMPLIFYING”.  Of course, having a kind, patient, understanding, supportive and loving man like Kevin as my partner in this amazing adventure made it easier to take that leap….and he has a great sense of humor which helps.. A LOT!

Five years ago when Kevin and I first dreamed of full timing in an Airstream, I have to admit I was thinking more of the new places we would go, the people we would meet, making new friends, having fun and exciting experiences and not so much about the logistics of the daily living and the challenges that may come. Being here in Ocala, in “pre-flight” until June 2013, has actually turned out to be a good thing as it will give us some time to adjust to living together, working out the kinks of limited storage, cooking and let’s face it, living space (I did mention that there are only 180 sq. ft. here in LuLu).

Before I moved in, LuLu was definitely a bachelor pad. …ship shape and clean but strictly utilitarian. The only pillow Kevin thought was necessary was his bed pillow. The kitchen was “complete” with paper plates, one coffee mug, two spoons and a fork. And the fork was plastic. Well, there’s a new sheriff in town…..

Kevin and I came to a consensus early on that inside LuLu would be my domain and he would be responsible for all things outside… round, shiny, greasy, and stinky ( i.e., tires, hitches and anything tank related). My first order of business was to bring more organization, more function and definitely more style! Airstreams are so iconic and stylish to begin with that I had great bones to work with. In a future post, I will take you behind the scenes (read behind doors, cabinets and inside drawers) to show improved organization and function but now I’d like to take you on a tour and show how LuLu has become “Home Sweet Home”.

In-Joy!
Margo

Come on in...

Living Room
] Kudos to Monica of "Just 5 More Minutes" (another Airstream blog) for the atomic clock inspiration.  Kevin made it and had the idea to use a  page from the road atlas for the clock face.  Brilliant!

Dining mode including my great thrift store find of mid-century multi-color aluminum cups (Steel Masters Inc).  Two of a set of eight[/caption]

Foot stool multi-tasks as storage and extra seating - note our "party time" rug

R&R





I made this to compliment the decor. We use it for shopping lists, notes to each other, etc.

Memory boards. We each have one of these on the bedroom cabinets for pictures, postcards and other treasures.

The bedroom. Yes, twin beds. This floor plan gives extra storage under the beds and the nightstand.  Also, when Kevin is working his day job up front this gives me plenty of space to relax, work on my crafts, read or use my laptop.[/caption]



We really love our bathroom. We thought at first we would have issues with the size but it has plenty of space. The shower is on the left. We removed the standard issue sliding shower door and replaced it with this curtain to add color and function. The under sink cabinets provide plenty of storage and what you can't see in this picture is a very large mirrored overhead cabinet.[/caption]