There are many distractions available in life. This Mercedes 300TD is one of them. 

I do, however think that I have worked all the major kinks out, and am ready to commit to daily driving. 

This collection of works has been another distraction from the trailer. Work has been more demanding than usual in terms of projects that require not only labor, but mental fixation as well. There are not enough hours in the day for me to dedicate enough of them to doing my job well. I wonder if I will ever have the lazy boy/ lamp combo that I often imagine myself having as I grow older. I wonder if I will ever actually sit there and read all the books and magazines and articles that currently sit stacked on my bedside table. Will I ever make the time to do more than casually read a few pages while I wait for the water to boil or the toilet to become available?

This is the little 60 cfm ventilation fan that I installed above the bedroom doors. It's very quiet, I just hope it does the job. 

Flooring is near completion here. I had to level out a few spots with a planer that I borrowed from my pop before laying the last of the finish plywood down. 

Unfortunately, this little rascal got sucked up into that planer. The screw's head was countersunk and the hole filled with sawdust so I didn't notice it. As I leveled out the high spots, the screw was "discovered". I thought for a moment that I had totaled the tool, but I got very lucky. I've already stolen and ruined enough of Pop's tools. 

This was one of the more challenging boards to lay. Tetris. 

After completing the flooring, I started working on the closet enclosure for our bedroom. We'll have to design and build a wardrobe for this space that fits everything we own in it and still looks uncluttered. I'm open to ideas, folks. 

A clean workspace happens so infrequently around here that I've taken to documenting it when it does happen. 

As the carpentry wraps up, finish work will begin. Which means that this thing is almost done being built.  That forces us to start thinking about where to take it.  When it is 100% complete, I'll need to spend a month or so tidying up my home. And then I'll need to sell it in order to finance building something like what you see below on a piece of land that I haven't started looking for and can't afford!  I stole the next two photos from google. Is that appropriate referencing?

I really like this roof line. I can imagine the spartan under this roof, but there is a lot for me to learn in terms of how to get natural light inside the trailer. I'm pretty sure that people go to school for years to learn about stuff like that, but I figure that I can wing it with a half hour search on the internet. That's how I fix most vehicles I've worked on anyway. 

Maybe we'll build a pool like this one before my girls are too grown up to swim in the back yard!

I've been really bad about this. It's hard for me to make the time to document this project because balancing the desire to work hard, be a good father and husband, and build for the future is a real challenge.  Progress comes so slowly in all those realms that I often forget to stand back and look at my accomplishments in order to frame them against the mountain of goals that remain ahead. I made the time today because I ran out of materials and it's raining, so I can't go get more. And we're broke!

The kitchen's hood vent is installed. 

Steve also completed the bathroom cabinet and I installed it before beginning the frame work for the shelves that will be accessible from inside the bathtub/shower. That little nook where you see the level leaning is where the towels will hang. I hope to prime this room in the morning and lay the hardy backer down on the floor whenever it stops raining and I can make a supply run. 

I hung the door into the girls bedroom. The void space at the header is left blank because I am waiting for the ventilation fans that I ordered to come in.  Because there is no ductwork in this   trailer, I had to come up with a way to circulate air from the rooms on the ends to the center where the Mini-Split A/C and Heater is located. The little fans that I bought will cycle about 60cu. feet of air every 15 minutes. My hope is that this will keep the bedrooms almost as cool as the main living area in the summer without a lot of noise. 

I rebuilt my childhood mini-bike for my girls. It scoots along pretty well, so we're in the market for some cool helmets that they can personalize. Mae said she wanted to paint a giant flaming eyeball one hers. That's my girl!!

Flooring creeping forward. 

I replace the word philosopher with whatever I want, and apply this concept broadly. Just some toilet reading. 

75% complete flooring.  Ran out of material and started blogging.