MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS *C* Cooking Stuff and MIrror Mirror OFF The Wall

HOLD ON - WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG POST TO BRING YOU A BRAND NEW MODIFICATION THAT JUST HAPPENED TODAY.

Mirror Mirror OFF The Wall:
Things sometime just happen, one thing after another.

It all started when---

We have this big mirror on the back wall of our motorhome. It takes up the entire rear wall.  We are not fond of this mirror.  Over the years we decided to just mount this favorite framed print from brackets overhead and have it suspend down in front of the mirror.  Good enough.  For a while.

Well, Steve decided today that he was going to go out and fire up the generator to give it some exercise. We do that monthly.  He suggested we could go out there and put away a few things and try out our new quilt on the bed in the motorhome.  Remember a few blogs back I mentioned making a new quilt for it?    I wanted to measure the valances and lambrequins on the windows in the bedroom to cover them with matching fabric.

He went out there and as the rig was warming up, Steve decided to remove the headboard over the bed so I could recover that too.  He came back in the house and asked me to come out and take a look at it. The wall was all nice wood underneath the headboard, and only three screws held it into place and didn't make any real noticeable marks.

Hmmm maybe we wouldn't recover the headboard, maybe we would go without one?

That led to the next thing---  he noticed the clip on one side of that big ugly mirror was broke.  He pressed on the mirror and said ''Hey, I dont think this mirror is attached to wall any more!''

We unscrewed a few more of the clips and carefully let the mirror slide down to rest on the bedside tables.  Wow.. it was all loose from the adhesive.  We could take it out!

Gee whiz, that huge heavy mirror was only held up there by four little bottom clips and two clips on each side. It could have come crashing off when going over a bump!

Then the next question was if the wood continued up the whole wall behind the mirror??   We tilted the bottom of the mirror outwards and stuck my smart phone up behind to take a pic to see ....
Yup!  All wood! Aren't smart phone cameras great? You can see into places you normally cannot contort your body around to look up into.

We carefully removed one light fixture sconce on one side wall. Now we could ease the mirror down off the wall and laid it flat on the mattress.  On the back is a sticker that says it is safety glass, which is a good thing.  I took pics and measured it up and posted it on the local Buy Sell Trade page and on Craigslist for FREE, just if someone would come and carry it out and take it away.  It's all bevelled glass edges too. Hope someone wants it. It is 93 by 37.5 inches.

Okay.... now about the adhesive? 

Like I said, one thing leads to another... 

Since the generator was running, Steve brought in his heat gun.  I set it on low, then medium, to soften up the adhesive.  It worked!  Softening it up and then pulling away the gun, give it a chance to cool a tiny bit.  Then it rolls right off like old putty!  I did a small section just to see how it would work.

I think it will all come off, and if the finish still shows some of the rings, I can coat the entire back panel with a new coat of satin poly to even it out. I will wait till warmer spring weather to complete it, but for now it is satisfying to know it can be done easily enough.

We will mount the framed print back on the wall, but we may not even add that goofy headboard back onto the wall.  I could recover it with matching quilting fabric like the valances around the windows if I want. Maybe? Maybe not?

Anyhow, see how something simple like running the generator can lead to a complete overhaul of the entire back end of our bedroom?  LOL

Now... back to our regularly scheduled blog about

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER C

Camping Outdoor Cooking and Grilling Stuff:

Yesterday's blog post dealt with outdoor cooking stuff.  This one will deal with inside items. Or items that can be used either or?

This first one is a REAL FAVORITE of mine!  See... our motorhome does not come with a propane oven under the stove. Nope. Just a microwave convection combo unit up overhead. I do NOT like it all. It never cooked evenly until just recently (we went over a big bump and now it suddenly works better)  Also we have to be either hooked up to shore power or else run the generator to bake anything. As most of you know, we love to boondock. So that is very inconvenient.

Enter... Karen's Easy Bake Oven!

Actually it is a Coleman Instastart Oven that runs off propane. It can run off the small 1 pound cylinders, or with a hose it can attach to a tank. If you have an onboard propane hookup for grills or accessories it can hook to those too.

I see the newest version from Coleman has two additional stove top burners added to the top surface. That is kinda cool too!

It can bake things inside the motorhome or outside on the picnic table. Very versatile. It has insulated walls so it is not very hot underneath when setting on a table. I do slide a cookie sheet underneath it to protect the varnish of our inside table just in case.

It can be used out on the picnic table to help keep the heat out of the motorhome on hot days. I like using it for toast when we have extra family members along. It can toast up 12 pieces of bread at one time, instead of 2 slices in a pop up toaster. Fresh baked cinnamon rolls are easy to watch out on the picnic table when coffee clutching with neighbors under the awning.  Not having to dash in and out and in and out to check on rolls in the oven inside is a nice plus.  I really like using it. Heating up frozen Hilde's Deli Chicken Pot Pies is a quick vacation meal on the run when we are travelling and stop for the night. Easy and fast supper.

It is slightly smaller than my largest 9x13 cookie sheets, 

but my 8x11 size fit. Roasting pans with tinfoil tops work if the whole lid doesn't fit.

It is even big enough for this turkey breast roast. Yummmm

I know I mentioned cast iron yesterday. 

I keep a small 6 inch skillet 

and whip up a little blue box of 

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. 

Mouthwatering baked golden Johnny Cake 

from my Instastart Easy Bake Oven! 

Another ''over the fire'' staple are Pudgey Pies!  We buy only the Minnetonka Toaster cast iron ones (not the alumiunum ones, they stick)  Good for pie filling, pizza filling, or cheese and ham etc. The sky is the limit! 

Doesn't this make your mouth water? 

Every camper of course needs some campfire roasting sticks. Hot dogs and yes, Some Mores! We buy the telescoping ones with wooden handles for the grankids to use. But we make sure the tips of the metal cool off and nobody tries to eat it right off the roaster.

My sister and her husband bought this for us...  can you believe it? It is a waffle iron for over the campfire!! It works wonderfully, but be sure to spray with non-stick cooking spray between each batch.

Yes, we picked fresh wild Michigan Blueberries. 

What a treat!!!

There is ONE camp cooking item we tried 

and it does NOT work well. 

Do not get me wrong, I love Coleman products. But this one is a flop.  I bought it, and was excited to use it. It is a slow cooker that runs on propane. Touted great for picnics, camping or tailgating. Neato, eh?  Well, even on the lowest low, it is still bubbling and boiling too high.  It burns chili, it scalds soup, and it boils over anything else you put in it.

I wrote to the company with my complaint, and they thought perhaps it was defective. They sent me a new burner control knob.  Nope, same thing. They suggested peeling back the little sticker on the control knob and adjusting the built-in regulator set screw. Nope, same thing.   I gave up and returned it for a refund. 

I will stick with my old $8 Proctor Silex crock pot and run the inverter on our battery pack to use it on household 120vAC current.

I should mention Steves favorite cooking utensil.  Bet you have seen these in the old days, eh? He loves his popcorn and makes it over the propane stove. The local Fleet Farm store still sells these.  He has worn a few out over the years. I think one of our kids gave him this current red one for his birthday. Good thinking.

My favorite utensil inside is my vintage Pyrex Flamethrower Coffee Pot! 

It brings back fond memories of my childhood. We always had this one going at home. Early mornings in the darkened kitchen when my mom would start this up. The blue flames of the propane stove licking up around the edges of the glass pot. The first few burps of water bubbles up the clear glass stem as it came to a boil. The caramel colored swirls that come drifting down into the clear water underneath the basket.  ahhhhhhh

We perk the coffee in the glass pot and then transfer it to an insulated carafe to bring out under the awning and sip our morning cup outdoors. I can start up a second pot on the stove while still sharing this carafe with coffee clutching neighbors. Bring out a basket of muffins and they all wander over to our campsite with a coffee cup in hand. 

I am also a pressure cooking person.  We have a vintage metal stove top one we keep in the rig for making quick meals, tender ribs, or wonderful beef roasts.  It is a great way to cook on the stove top instead of firing up the generator to run the convection or even haul out the Easy Bake Oven. It sure is handy.

But in keeping up with modern times. we just recently started using an electric pressure cooker in the house. We like it so much we bought a bigger electric one for the house, an 11 quart size, and we moved the 8 quart electric one to the motorhome.

Yes, we just brought it out there today when we just innocently went out to exercise the generator and lay the new quilt on the bed. Look where that got us!  LOL LOL