LOVE This Blue

Howdy.  Hope all is well with you. 

Today I wanted to show you the curtains I made to cover Freedom's skylight windows.  Our 1998 Ford Conversion van has long, narrow windows in the high top portion of the roof and they are set at an angle.  Boy do they let in a lot of heat. And that can be useful or brutal; I needed a way to regulate it. 

The solution was a long narrow strip of Reflectix for each of those strips of windows along both sides.  Reflectix is so useful, but it's so ugly; some curtains were in order.  I also wanted a way to let the sun shine into those skylight windows should we be caught in a cold spell somewhere. Reflectix fixes both problems. 

If the sun is shining and it's cold out, the Reflectix comes down along with the curtains. Lots of warming is on its way. If it's warm outside, the Reflectix goes up as well as the curtains and that brutal heat is tamed.  Put 'em up, take 'em down....   Rawwhhhhhhide!!!!  OOPS!  Sorry go carried away.  But hey, do you  remember Clint Eastwood playing Rowdy Yates?  Oh my....    Where was I?  Oh yes, Freedom's  curtains.

Once on the road there may be need of adjustments.  Or the curtains may get an overhaul at some point but for now they are working and I like how they look  (I LOVE that blue!). 

This is Reflectix, being used here in the windows of the side doors to reflect heat. I used this photo because Freedom is in storage and basically I am too lazy to go over there and get a different photo :-)   If you look closely you can see the skylight windows at the top left corner. 

If you remember from a previous post the other side of the Reflextic is covered with black, tightly woven fabric.  That side will be used at night if we need to be in stealth mode.  That post is here https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3720370496126944301#editor/target=post;postID=916008398565535451;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=7;src=postnameERE.

Below are the curtains I made for the skylight windows.  It's just a long, long strip of fabric (did I mention I LOVE this blue?) with a casing sewn along each long edge, top and bottom.  Florist wire was used in the casings to hold the curtains' shape and position; I didn't want them hanging straight down, but rather held in place up against the angle of those windows. The florist wire along the bottom edge does the trick by helping to keep the bottom resting on the ledge just below the windows.  I used small drapery hooks to hang them up.  I attached a safety pin to the curtain from the back, going in behind the florist wire and then back through the fabric and then closed the safety pin.  The pin was then hooked over the pointy, straight, open hook part of the drapery hook.  (EW, too many hooks in that sentence, but I don't know how else to explain it.) Then the part of the hook that would normally attach to the drapery rod attachment is hung over the strip of wood trim that runs along the top of those long, narrow windows.  It's a bit saggy, and I need to adjust where the hook is attached to the fabric and/or add more hooks so it will hang just along the top edge of the wood trim like it does ion the right side of this photo. These hooks will make the curtain easy to take down and put up.

 

Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs today.  We appreciate your interest in reading about the process of getting Freedom ready to roll and our planned future of adventure. 

 

The Chiweenie Brothers, Burger,  and I wish you a lovely day.

 

Hugs, Shawna

YUMMY!

Hi there!  Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs.  It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Spring is upon us in a big way and the The Chiweenie Brothers, Burger, and I are all enjoying it. 

The flowering quince is in full bloom

And the bleeding heart is beautiful this year. 

I have a recipe to share with you today -- van dwellers don't leave -- that makes the possibility of roasted vegetables a reality in the hot days ahead when you don't want to heat up your kitchen.  Have been wanting to try  roasting some vegetables in my crock pot and since I had a sack of brussel sprouts in the fridge, I decided it was a good day to try this.  NOTE:  I am not a huge fan of brussel sprouts, but I have to admit the sauce in this recipe makes those little cabbages uber good, not to mention healthy. Those two words usually don't go very well together!  Throwing in some carrots made the whole thing even better.  YUMMY!

SPICY ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS FOR THE CROCK POT  adapted from PureWow.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 Pounds brussel sprouts
1/2 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 Cup rice-wine vinegar  (I've used plain ol' wine vinegar and it works just as well)
1/4 Cup honey
2 Tablespoons Siracha  (If you don't like super spicy, cut this back to 1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste

Use some of the olive oil to coat the bottom of your crock pot. You don't need a lot, just enough to keep the vegetable(s) from sticking. Turn your pot to high.

Trim the base away from the brussel sprouts and discard.  Cut the sprouts in half.  Put the sprouts in your crock pot and stir them around to lightly coat with the oil. Place a paper towel over your crock pot and place the lid on top.  The paper towel will absorb the extra moisture.  You may need to change it out once.  Cook for about 1/ 1/2  to 2 hours, maybe more.  It all depends on your crock pot and the size of the sprouts you are making. 

Once your brussel sprouts are tender, mix up the remaining oil with the rest of the ingredients and pour over the sprouts, mixing well.  Cook for another half hour or so.  Dig in!!

I made this with fewer brussel sprouts and added carrots (cut in small chunks).  You could use any assortment of vegetables that you normally roast in your oven and it would be wonderful; any of the root vegetables, sweet potatoes, onions, bell peppers, etc.  Use whatever you want, but I'd try it with the brussel sprouts first.  And I gobbled this up so fast I forgot to get a photo.....you will have to be content with the flowers.  Sorry! 

WHY I WANTED THE VAN DWELLERS TO STICK AROUND -----

As many of you van dwellers know -- or maybe you don't -- they make a 12 volt crock pot that you can plug into your vehicle's cigarette lighter.  How cool is that?  It even comes with a cord to secure the lid.  One of these is on my wish list!!  So, if you are planning on changing camps, just going for a drive that may last an hour or two,  or travelling to another destination, make this recipe and let it cook while you are on the road.  And just think of all the other things you will be able to cook while you are driving down the road enjoying the scenery.

Next, I want to try roasting these little gems in a solar oven.  But that's down the road.  Why?  Because I haven't put one together yet.  It's on my To-Do List :) 

Hugs to you,
Shawna