Home Sweet Home

The view from my deck, high tide. At low tide, a lot of land
becomes visible, and it's harder to see the water.

Prior to moving to Craig, I tried to find a place to rent. There are some decent rental properties in Craig, but they were all fairly expensive, and no one was willing to accept someone with 3 dogs. When I saw an old trailer for sale for $15k, I thought it was probably a wise move to buy it. The cost comes out about the same as renting someplace for a year, even with the lot rental. If I stay in the trailer for more than 1 year, it's almost like having no rent or house payment. (I bought the trailer for cash.)

Scamp is playing with her best friend, Lily. See the peeling
sofa behind them? The area rug isn't too bad, but the carpet
beneath adds nothing to the room.

My principal very graciously checked it out for me, mostly to make sure there weren't huge problems with it. However, it's still a 40+ year old single wide trailer, and it shows. The families that have lived here have had more skill than money, so things are in good repair but, well, lacking a bit when it comes to aesthetics. For example, the curtains hang on lengths of pipe, not necessarily cut to fit, and the pipe hangs from a block of wood nailed or screwed into the wall. There aren't any doors on the closets. The carpet is truly ugly, sort of a brown tweed indoor/outdoor thing. And the sofa that was left here is in good shape and very comfortable, but much of the vinyl has peeled off. There are flakes of the vinyl all over from the dogs sleeping on the sofa, getting vinyl in their fur, and then shedding it everywhere else!

The fence and deck are beautiful! Makes the trailer look
shabbier--if that's even possible!

I've done a lot of fixing up already, like getting closet organizers installed in each of the bedroom closets, removing built-in shelves, getting them painted, and then having them installed where I need them most. I got the kitchen painted nearly the first week I was here, from a brown/gold color to a very pale pink. It brightened up the room incredibly. I also had a fence built in the back, along with some remodeling of the existing deck. My next task is to get the sofa reupholstered. My mother gave me a gift which will just about cover the cost. We just have to settle on a fabric.

I've been sidelined this week with a nasty bout of bronchitis, but I'll be back working on my little home--or, rather, paying other people to install my vision of my home!