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

Dogs and a Tip

Before I get into today's quick tip, I simply must share these photos of The Chiweenie Brothers.  As we transition from summer into autumn the cooler mornings have my crew scrambling to find some warm sunshine.  As the sunny patch in the living room slowly disappeared, I let them out front and they quickly jumped into the wicker chair I have on the front stoop and cozied up for a sun bath.  Burger, ever faithful and wanting as much attention as possible, stayed inside with me.  Sweet Burger is beginning to slow down like all the rest of us seniors.  Hard to see this happening to him, but it's the way with dogs.

I love my dogs, and I love this quote from Roger Carras --- "Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole".  Indeed they do.  Oh yes--- indeed they do.

OK, better get to today's frugal tip and leave all this cuteness.   

Having dogs means loving them, feeding them, exercising them, and putting up with a few little unpleasantries.  One of these unpleasantries is the sometimes noticable "doggie smell" that can get into the carpets.   I refuse to shampoo my carpets every month-- I do it about every quarter-- and in between shampoos just a little something may be needed, and something a little more than just covering up the scent with room sprays.  A much-cheaper-than-store-bought carpet deodorizer to the rescue.  Sprinkle liberally, let it sit for an hour or so (I like to let it sit overnight.  Not that it works any better, it's just that it makes me feel like it's doing a better job), then vacuum it up.  Easy peasy,  Lemon squeezy.  :) 

CARPET DEODORIZER

 

Mix together:

 

1/2 Cup baking soda

1/2 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax

20-25 drops of essential oil of your choice OR 1 teaspoon ground spices (clove or cinnamon is great)

 

If you have an old store bought carpet deodorizer box you can cut off the top of the box, dump in your measured ingredients, tape the top back onto the box with duct tape or similiar, shake well and use.  Or if you want to get all fancy-smancy you can purchase one of those glass shaker bottles from your grocery, Walmart, or such, and put your stuff in that.  Or you could use an old jar with a lid and poke holes in said lid for a nice cheap dispenser; being careful not to hurt yourself when getting those holes installed.  Lots of choices for dispensing --- let me know if you decide to try this and what you use to dispense.   

 

I am going to treat my carpets tonight with the last of my "summer blend" (lemon scented) and then make up a batch of cinnamon and be ready for fall.  It's just around the corner. 

 

Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs today!  Have a great week!  Hugs, Shawna

 



Another man in my life................

Unbelievable that it has been almost two months since my last post.  Summer is always so busy and then the wrist problem (pulled a tendon or something.  The one that runs along the thumb and into the wrist) didn't help either.  BUT, I just had to sit down and write about the new man in my life.  What a sweetheart!  What an energetic fella!  What a GORGEOUS male!  I am smitten and feel like the luckiest girl alive to have him in my life.  I decided to go get a Burger............... 

Burger is his name and he is a seven year old wire hair fox terror, er, terrier.  I felt like I had finally got to a point, after losing Charlie, that I could look for another wire hair, and I found this charmer on ATRA (abandoned terrier rescue association) as a courtesy listing.  I emailed his owner, got all the info, and thought about it for a few days.  When I felt like I was ready to commit to taking this guy, Ryan, Burger's previous owner, and I tried to figure out how to get him from Orange County to Burney.  If you don't know California, believe me, it's a long way.  We emailed back and forth between meeting half-way in cars, to trying to fly him to Reno or Sacramento.  In the end it was meeting halfway and I made the 750 + mile round trip. 

He is settling in. Toonie Mae Hound Princess Dog of Burney has her precious little royal nose a bit out of joint over having another man around, but she is adjusting.  Burger still hasn't gotten the subservient part down, but Toonie is training him. We are all still in the adjusting phase, but so far it is working out fine despite some battles between her highness and the court jester. 

If you know wire hairs -- if they are normal healthy dogs -- they have A LOT OF ENERGY and if you don't give them the exercise and attention they require they will find their own entertainment and it's a forgone conclusion that you won't like their choices!  It's not the dog's fault, it's just the way they are built and if you cannot put up with their shenanigans, a wire hair is not for you. Burger is normal.  Burger is healthy.  Burger is very energetic. Burger gets a run alongside my bike at least once a day, but mostly twice a day to burn off some of that energy and we play ball in the backyard and are even making up games to play in the living room.  He is very smart, and very well trained and I am getting a LOT of exercise right along with him.  He is only 7 and they are chronically active until past 12 years of age.  Lord help me...................  :-)

A few shots of the clown

Gardening should be interesting from now on with this helper!

Checking out the new toys

Making sure there weren't any goodies left before the dishes are washed.  He's the pre-rinse cycle. Or wants to be anyway!!!

Doing the canine version of yoga.  DOGA!

Thanks for stopping by.  Burger, THE PRINCESS, and I are off for a bike ride.  Have a great week!