I FINALLY made a decision about how to make the curtain tie backs, and I also decided to use the green ribbon. It seemed like a simple enough project–sew some Velcro onto the ribbons and then sew the ribbons onto the curtains–but it took forever. I made the first ones (for the front window) on August 16th.
I didn’t get the others done until August 23rd…
The ribbon I used was only 7/8″ wide, which meant that I had to cut tiny little pieces of Velcro and then sew it into place. I was surprised by how tough the “plastic” part of the Velcro was AND how hard it was to push a needle through it. So no pictures of my progress; my hand sewing isn’t all that neat, but hey–they serve the purpose. We both like the color because it adds a nice, bright contrast to all of our blue!
The next project was replacing the chains. A couple of months ago Wayne sawed off the old chains and the bolt holding them because they were horribly rusted. Getting the new bolt in place and tightened was quite the challenge, though, since there wasn’t a lot of room to work in the space where it needed to go. It took some doing, but he finally got them on securely.
The new chain is much heavier and longer than the old chain and so NOW we’re wondering if we’ll have to find a bolt cutter so we can shorten them. We’re also not sure how much slack we need to leave–certainly enough to make sharp turns–but when does enough slack become too much slack? Currently they’re about 5.5″ above the ground, which seems a little low….
I thought I’d be able to let the extra chain hang down from the hitch, but it was too long. I looped the end of it back into the hook, but I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not.
Also, our “break away” cable is too long. That shouldn’t be too difficult to shorten, and I guess we’ll need to because I doubt if we should just loop it all around on its hook…. (I’m waiting to hear back from Scamp experts about both the chains and cable.)
After connecting everything, we checked to make sure that the lights and turn signals were working (yes), and then Wayne moved the trailer a few feet over in the driveway. This will make it easier to get in and out of since we’ve been way too close to a flower bed on the side of the house. It wasn’t an issue until just recently, and I guess that some of my Black Eyed Susans literally have black eyes since we’ve stepped on them!
On a very positive note, the past two weekends we’ve “camped” in our yard! So cool! The new Memory Foam mattress is very comfortable, and I’ve surprised myself by sleeping very soundly. And so funny–the trailer seems really BIG when it’s dark inside and you look from the very back to the very front….
I can now fully understand why people sometimes use their trailers as “guest rooms,” and also why they just go hang out in them to read or to work. I’m so glad that we’re finally able to use it–even if it IS in our driveway. 🙂