this moment

THIS MOMENT: a friday ritual. a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. a moment i want to pause, savor, remember & cherish.

I spy someone taking off into the forest

All of Hubby's hard work this summer paid off. Bitsy made it out for one short but memorable camping trip in 2015!

Bunk beds fit for a tired drunk.

So I didn't figure I would have had to ever use our Boler with the front bunk bed setup, but me and a couple buddies are going to test it. We have planned a weekend away to ride some new mountain bike trails. It's only the 3 of us this year, so I volunteered the boler to be our home base. I didn't really trust the factory setup, so I built my own. I even tested it with 240 lbs of weight on it. Now I just need to buy some beer and we are good to go.

First Camping Trip with Bitsy at Awenda {Part 1}

Listening to the sound of Alvin, Simon and Theodor, the chipmunks, running through the forest, woodpeckers pecking away at the trees, birds singing and the wind blowing through the leaves. The smell of a camp fire and no technological gadgets occupying our time ... this is how we spent Father's Day weekend! It was our first camping trip as a family with Hugo & Roxy and I am pleased to report it was a success! I must be honest at first I felt very disconnected from the world (since there was no cell phone signal and we were unable to connect to the world wide web for very long) but that only lasted for a brief moment then I was over the shock. The weekend was quite relaxing to my surprise. I honestly did not know what to expect camping with an almost 20 month old and a very curious dog. This was also our first adventure with Bitsy the Boler! I took a lot of photos (a wee bit too many to try and put into one post), so I have decided to break it down into a couple parts.

A couple months ago we decided we wanted our first camping trip to be at Awenda Provincial Park which is located on Georgian Bay, 20 minutes northwest of Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada. We have been to Awenda in the past and really enjoyed it because there is so much to do besides the usual sitting by the camp fire. You can go swimming at the beach, canoeing in the lake, and biking & hiking through the forest. We booked our site and kept our fingers crossed for nice weather. We ended up leaving a bit earlier Sunday morning as it started to rain during the night and it is not much fun camping when it's raining. The rest of the weekend the weather was a bit cool but enjoyable.  

Hugo is such a good helper. He insisted on helping Dad setting up Bitsy.

 

In the mean time Roxy checked out our campsite ...

 

 

Roxy always goes crazy when she sees a squirrel or chipmunk in the backyard so we  did not know how see would react seeing them in their own habitat. 

Guess what she spotted here ...

A chipmunk!  All in all she just got a little excited when she noticed the little guys and then  she was back to observing her surroundings. At times it was almost like Roxy had ants in her pants {imaginary pants} because she would not sit still for more than a minute. All the different sounds were driving her nuts probably because she could not figure out where they were coming from. I think she really enjoyed herself and the fresh air.

This was our campsite set up.

 

From top left photo. 1. Awenda Provincial Park. 2. Bitsy the Boler setup in her temporary location on the back right side of our campsite. 3. The kitchen shelter (back left side of campsite). 4. Hugo's play area.  5. Cooking station for when we were not cooking on the fire. 6. Drying the dish towels.

Some of the beauty at Awenda Provincial Park. I could sit and listen to the sounds of nature all day. It is so tranquil.
 
 

The above photos of the water lilies were taken during our canoeing adventure the last time we went to Awenda. We did not go canoeing this time. It was a little too cold.

I was able to get some reading done when the Lil Man was napping. When he was awake we could not take our eyes off him as there were a lot of hazards for a wee little person if you know what I mean. While I sat and read Roxy insisted on the following ...

She had to lay on my lap.  While I was reading this little guy came for a visit.

The first night was interesting to say the least. The Lil Man decided he did not want to go to bed and made a bit of a fuss when we put him to bed even though he was extremely tired. By the time we went to bed he had fallen asleep, but that did not last for long. He woke up shortly after we were in bed (I think because he was cold). Byron grabbed the heater and put it into the trailer and we gave him some warm milk and after some crying he eventually fell asleep and things were good with him. Roxy passed out the second she laid in her bed and was out for most of the night. So we slept for a couple hours and then Roxy was ready to get up at 5:30 because she obviously did not want to miss out on all the fun that was going on outside on the campsite. When we told her to go back to bed we had to put up with her sharing our tiny bed or she did not want anything to do with going back to her bed.

She laid in bed for a bit longer and then insisted on getting up shortly after 6:00 a.m. Thanks to Roxy our second day started off kind of early.

One thing I really dislike about camping is having to share a shower with hundreds of strangers. The thought of stepping barefoot on the shower floor really grosses me out and I refuse to do it so I wear my all plastic flip flops to protect my feet and then I can handle the whole shower thing a little better. Unfortunately though my flip flops decided to finally break this weekend (I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did, I think I've had them for over 11 years). They were so comfy. Time to find a replacement pair.
 

We went through 4 bags of firewood the two nights we were camping. We used it to cook with and of course to warm us up and to prep some tasty camping treats. The proceeds of the firewood goes to the park which is nice to support such a wonderful park!
 

On Saturday I noticed we were getting low on milk. I thought 2L would have been enough but it was not. So we had to drive into town (Penetanguishene) to pick up a plastic jug at Max. On our way there and back Roxy was extremely tired. She refused to nap at the campsite when Hugo was napping. As a result, the second she sat in the car she tried to get comfy for a snooze. She tried to snuggle in with the Lil Man while he was watching Thomas. This was the first time she ever tried to get this close to him to cuddle. She gets this close when he has food and she wants some of it. This camping trip has definitely strengthened the relationship between these two. It was so funny and cute to watch Roxy and Hugo in the car.

Our last morning, this is what we woke up to ... 

 

A very wet Sunday morning. We noticed that some of the windows in the Boler were leaking (to be expected as it is quite old). Unfortunately, this means another thing for Byron to add to his to do list. It will be a winter project for him. In the meantime we will have to find an alternate solution for the next time we take Bitsy out {probably put a tarp over it}.

 

 

Luckily we were able to check the weather for Sunday on Saturday evening. We decided to pack everything up Saturday once Hugo went to bed (kitchen shelter, Hugo's Play tent, etc.), which made taking stuff down a lot easier and we were not putting stuff away that was drenched with water. Byron did have to move stuff from the vehicle into the Boler in the pouring rain Sunday morning and he did get really wet but it wasn't as bad as having to do take down everything in the pouring rain.

Overall the days went by relatively well. We did not get to doing much biking because Hugo was enjoying himself playing in the dirt with all the rocks and acorn shells and trying to catch the ants on the ground, but that was fine for us. It meant we could just sit there and take in the beauty of nature and watch him investigating and enjoying his camping experience.

Wondering what we cooked and what tasty treats we made on the fire, check back in a couple days to see! It is crazy how much work is required once you return from a camping trip.  How did you spend your Father's Day weekend? Hopefully it was an enjoyable one for all the Dad's out there!



Important Boler modification.

Ok, so this weekend was a little crazy working on the boler as I don't have much time to finish everything before out first trip. I did however make sure I got a very important thing looked after. A crib setup for Hugo. It started out with me just tying it into the bottom of the bench, I was not happy with just that though. So I tied it also into the piece of steel at the door and two screws through the inside of the kitchen cabinet. Now it feels super strong, and I am super happy.

Other things checked off the Boler to do list

- Install flooring (leftover laminate flooring from basement)
- clean everything (done 3 times now)
- fix door and how it seals
- hook up new tail lights
- new trailer tires
- spare tire under trailer
- put the cushions back in (thanks mom for the great recovering job)

Things still to do

- put blinds in place.
- cut and install rear bumper bench
- install licence plate
- put a little extra grease into hubs (Dexter ez-lube)
- check trailer and tongue weight
- find places for all our gear

Bitsy in the sun.

So I was finally able to pull out the boler from the workshop in the garage this weekend. She has a nice thick coat of dust so I gave her a quick wash and started to work on the spare tire holder underneath and undercoat it with spray on rock gaurd. Once that is done I can start to work on the inside and get her ready for our trip in 3 weeks. Only 2 more weekends to do the work though........

Glad I had the old brake rotors from my Mazda Tribute, otherwise bitsy would have been stuck in the garage.

Waste of a day

So today I was hoping to deal with the door sag on the boler. I did a bunch of Internet searching and formulated a plan of attack to make the fix useful. I didn't have time to do a full on rebuild like I was hoping to do and tried to do the cut, pull up, and re-glass option. However after doing this I am very unhappy. It's to much weight on the bottom of the door and I feel over time it will just get worse again. So tomorrow I am going to take it all out and just use some cable until I have the time to do a proper fix.

Live and learn I guess.

First Sewing Machine Lesson

Last week I finally unpacked my wonderful birthday gift Byron gave me this year - an amazing new sewing machine. I had never ever used a sewing machine before Thursday nor had I read the manual yet (I still haven't I will have to do that soon).  On Thursday my Mother-in-law (MIL) came over for most of the day. She entertained Hugo in the morning for me so I was able to get some stuff done and in the afternoon after we had lunch, she gave me my first sewing machine lesson. I am so grateful that she took the time out of her busy schedule to do this!! I am one lucky girl to have such a talented and amazing MIL. She showed me the basics of how to even get the machine ready to use (as I was completely clueless). We almost finished two panels but halfway through the second one Hugo woke up from his nap and that was it for my first day of sewing. My MIL was an awesome teacher! I would have to say my first sewing machine experience was a great success thanks to her!!

 

 

 

First panel finished and in the Boler so Byron could see how it looks!

 

On Friday when Hugo went down for a nap I attempted to finish the second panel on my own ...

 

It was a success.

Now I just need to get to all the other panels. This past weekend I tackled the garden and did not have a chance to start. We shall see what this week brings.

I must say I absolutely LOVE my sewing machine. Byron picked up an amazing one with all the bells and whistles I think I will ever need!!

 

Boler retro fit LED taillights

So I had some fun today trying to figure out how to keep the original look of the taillights but give them the LED treatment. I didn't want to just replace the bulb so it took some DIY hacking. I picked up these LED taillight kit at Princes Auto on sale for 40 bucks and figured I would give it a go. I cut out the side maker and licence plate light and have the original side ones wired in. They will get a LED bulb once I look for them. I will also have to see if I can find a plate light I like and wire it in.

I also plan on using the yellow side marking lights as a porch light. Once the solar gets set up and I have 12 volt power in the trailer. I figure for the little money I spent it turned out great.

Boler reno day........ 2 weeks worth

So I have been so busy with the boler I have not had time to document the progress on bitsy. The body is back on the frame and will stay there with the stainless steel bolts I used. Was just #6 screws before so it should be overkill. Got the door off and the opening square and same width top to bottom. I had to pull the bottom in one inch. I was able to do this easily using the cable come along I bought like 5 years ago. Tania says I buy tools and never use them, well this time she was wrong.

Since we also don't plan on having a water tank or sink, I removed the inlet valve and glassed / bondo over the hole. Had to fix a couple other areas to so got that done. I am now at the point of being able to rock gaurd the underside and reinstall the door.

Roxy also just had to check my work and walk on the fresh paint, such a silly girl.

It's a nice feeling seeing all my hard work paying off. Can't wait to take her out for the first trip next month.

Boler after work part 3 and 4

So no pictures to show of the work I did over the past 2 days. I did however get nothing done the first day even though I was working on it for over 2 hours. I was trying to get the shell back into the position it was originally in. However it just did not want to move, so i got it as close as I could and decided it was good enough. Had to get Tania to help me also tighten up the bolts to hold the frame to the shell. I have just done the rear as I have to pull the front to the back seeing as the door has a 1 inch gap top to bottom. I will snap a couple pictures once I figure out how I am going to accomplish this. I am thinking I might finally use a tool I bought a couple years ago when we lived in Barrie. See what I can figure out tomorrow.

Boler after work round 2

So i am pushing hard this week to have the boler put back on the frame by this weekend. I left work early today (was up at 3 so I could however), and I was able to get the body put on the frame. This is just a first dry fit to see where I need to adjust things. All in all though it went well. Only down side is I am super tired and itching like crazy due to having to cut a little fiberglass. If things go good I can get a bit more done tomorrow night.

Boler after work

So the weather outside was awesome tonight so I busted my butt and was able to get the frame under the body and was also able to sand down the little body work I did. I was hoping to do more but our first camping trip is fast approaching and I don't think I have the time to do everything. Tania and I figure what's the point of having a camper if it's in 2 pieces all summer. So I hope that in the fall I can get more work done. None the less here is how things ended today.

Boler day 9

So I got the boler closer to being reattached. New plywood is installed for the drop floor, and everything I have access to has been painted either white or black. I even had time to start working on the fiberglass shell. I was able to take off the front propane regulator since we will not require it. I was also able to start work on the rear fiberglass, I just hope I can make it strong enough to not happen again.

Fabric

I just realized I have not yet posted a photo of the fabric that we bought for the curtains for the Boler (aka Bitsy). Now I just need to learn how to use my sewing machine ... actually, first I have to unpack it and find a place for it.

Boler half day 8

So i was able to spend a bit of time on the Boler today. It is now ready to get painted. I feel that for what I spent and what I wanted to spend on it in time I did not to bad. I hope to get a couple years out of it before I need to think about doing up a whole new frame. I hope to pick up the rust paint some time this week and get it done after work.

All I can say is, not to bad of a welding job for a guy who just started welding.

Boler Reno day 7

So Sunday was a Boler day for me. I had one goal and that was to get my new axle mounted. So I finished making the riser blocks I needed, they turned out to be the perfect height from what I can see. It was hard work flipping the trailer back and forth so I could make sure the welding didn't get to hot in one spot. I can also say I am feeling the pain today. I took out the trailer just around the block once it was on and everything seems to work fine. I also installed new safety chains seeing as the style that where on there before are no longer legal. Everything is mounted using grade eight fine thread bolts. I got an awesome deal on these as well as 8 lbs of welding wire and all new stainless steel mounting hardware when I put the tube back on. Seeing as number 6 screws held the tube on before, 1/4-20 should be overkill.

Next week I hope to get the frame painted.

Boler Reno day 6

So I was hoping that on Saturday I would be able to get the new axle on the boler but I ran into some problems. I made some nice 2 inch square riser blocks figuring that it would be enough as the guy I bought my axle from sells them that way. However I needed a 3 inch lift for my current situation. So its back to the steel shop to buy some more material. Once I pickup some 2 by 3 I can make up some new mounts and should be able to get the axle installed in a couple hours.

This will have to wait till one day through the week. My wife has to get some tax returns done so I need to baby sit Hugo. I have such a hard life.

Boler reno day 3-5

Busy Easter weekend for work on the boler. Bought a bunch of steel for it on Thursday on my lunch break at work. Come Friday morning I was out there cutting and welding away. The rear bumper is a total mess, I have to put a whole new skin over it. I am using 1/8 steel everywhere to try and keep it light but strong. We will see how everything holds up, if things should fail I will build a new frame and move the new axle I got over. Here are a couple picks to see the progress.

On Saturday while I was out welding a neighbour noticed I had a welder and stopped in to see if I could weld something up for him. He dropped off a 1 inch steel strip and 5 steel rods and wanted them connected. About 45 minutes later is was all done and he slipped me 20 bucks for me time. That 20 bucks is going to a Friday night pizza this week. Here is a pic of how his project turned out.
 

Boler reno day 2

So it was a much easier and faster day today. I had a buddy come over to help out. Now the frame is fully out from under the body. All nicely supported and safe. Taking a good look at the frame makes me happy I have decided to go this route. Will have to go to a steel shop and place a nice big order this week.

I put up a tarp to protect the egg, cause the grinding, welding, and sandblasting is about to start.

Boler Reno - Full Day 1

So I just finished my first full day of boler reno work and got the frame off. It is not out from under the body but I should be able to get that done tomorrow, or next weekend. I had a couple hiccups, but that was due to the previous owner. I don't know if I am getting over my head with this project, but it's going to be fun. I am super sore after today so here are a couple pictures that show the problems and the progress I was able accomplish.