MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *K* Kitchen Cabinet Fixes and New Rug on the loom

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications, a few at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

So here it goes, we are up to the letter K now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER K

Kitchen Stuff:

Ahhhhhh My motorhome kitchen! This is the biggest kitchen I have ever owned in an RV. In the past, I have had:

• a Coachmen Santara with a very small kitchen and almost no counter space with 3 tiny drawers.
• a Sierra pull behind travel trailer that had a lot of kitchen cabinets but not a lot of counter space, 
• and my big old beast of a Winnebago had an absolute tiny little kitchen with virtually no counter space at all. 

So I really really appreciate the kitchen in this Safari motorhome. We do a lot of cooking when we are in the RV, and rarely eat out at restaurants.  Not only do I have lots of counter space, I have plenty of cabinets in the kitchen area and more cabinets over the table and in the living area to utilize.

The cabinets in our motorhome are made of Western Alder wood from the Oregon coast. They are all solid wood and I love the glow of the rich grain. Even our side by side Dometic fridge has matching wooden panels on the doors. I wipe them down yearly with a coat of Liquid Gold to keep them looking nice. Especially if we spend any time out in the desert, I like to wipe them down again when we get home because of the dryness to the wood.

This kitchen is pretty well planned out... but you know us, we are always thinking of ways to IMPROVE it!  LOL

The counter tops in our motorhome are a Corian like substance called Fountainhead. They wear like iron and never need anything more than a quick wipe. We also have two inserts that go over the kitchen sink that lay flat, made of the same countertop material. You almost cannot tell that they are that there is a sink underneath when they are set in place. But because I have such a large amount of countertop space I really don't need to set them in the recessed sink holes. The covers ride for years on end, stored underneath the sink, never being used.

The one cabinet I do not care for in my kitchen is this goofy corner cabinet on the bottom. It has a Lazy Susan in it, which can goods fall off the backside and get trapped. I can't even reach into the back corner and have to use a big BBQ tongs to get anything that falls behind. AARGGHHH

My big problem cropped up when we were downsizing to live in our motorhome full-time, I have these two wonderful cast aluminum roasters. My dilemma was that neither one would even fit in that cabinet, and I love using them both.  I really like the larger one better, but I know I could have stored the smaller one, or even both of them, in an outside compartment. But as any cook knows, you like to have your kettles inside and clean and ready to go when you are cooking.

My RV friend Paula offered this solution. They have the same motor home with the same problem with that stupid Lazy Susan. She said simply TAKE IT OUT! Who'da thunk it?

We removed the Lazy Suzan and now absolutely everything I need fits inside of that cabinet. In the photo below the smaller of the two roasters is not in there, but believe me, it does fit.  I had taken it into the house at the time of taking this picture. We now have room for everything, including Steve's popcorn popper.

I love those big roasters. I coat the outside surface with Dawn dish soap on a paper towel and I can use it outside on the tripod over the campfire. It's very easy to clean up again from the soot and flame marks on the outside because of the layer of soap.

Because my blog is about modifications to our motorhome, this was one that may seem small to some people, but it made a big difference to me.

In our kitchen there is one spot that COULD hold a drawer if the sink had been moved over just a few inches during the planning period. Because the rest of the drawers underneath are a little wider, the recessed sink is too wide to allow a drawer of the same size in the top spot.  Soooo???  The designers left the top spot as a blank space. They just put a fake front on it. They didn't even bother to put a handle on it to make it match the rest of the cabinetry? That was strange---

(P.S. this is an old pic with the original couches, the sink covers are in place and the salesman's runner rugs are laid all over the place.)

Steve agreed that it was crazy to waste all that space that could potentially be another kitchen drawer. So what did he do? He built another drawer box only a little narrower on the one side to clear the recessed sink. He put the fake front on and added drawer slides.

We could not find an exact matching handle so we found one close enough and put it on a back bottom cabinet in the bedroom where you really don't see it. We took that original handle and brought it forward to the kitchen and put it on the drawer. Voila!

So now I have a whole 'nother drawer in my kitchen!

Storage is important in our RV kitchen because there are certain things we like to take along for cooking. Steve has this favorite item, which takes up a lot of space. But he absolutely loves it. He makes his own popcorn over the stove and has worn through a number of these over the years. 

I think this newest popper he got from the kids one year for his birthday. He turns the little crank and there is a wire bar inside that rotates the popcorn so it doesn't burn. When done, you lift off the top lid and the bottom portion of the kettle becomes the popcorn bowl, once it cools off a little bit.

This next one is my favorite! A glass Pyrex coffee pot! I believe the original name was called "The Flamethrower".  Nothing can beat the smell of perking coffee in the morning when camping in the woods.  I have fond memories of watching a pyrex pot cook in the dark early morning hours in my childhood home on the gas stove. Flickering blue flames around the bottom, bubbles coming up the glass stem a bit higher each time until they pop out the top and into the lid and down into the grounds.  Even the basket is clear glass. I remember watching for the first carmely colored swirls sinking down into the clear water underneath.

Because we have a propane stove and often boondock without hookups, we don't like using an electric coffeemaker too often. I grind my Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee beans and perk them in this glass Pyrex pot. Once the coffee is done perking, we each pour a cup and the rest of the pot is dumped into this carafe that my daughter Erin gave me. It keeps coffee hot for the rest of the morning. This solves the problem of having to go back in and reheat the glass Pyrex coffee pot on the stove just to have a hot cup later. Of course both items take up a lot of room so that is the reason why I need extra space in my kitchen.

We must keep a space in the cabinet for this pressure cooker that sets on the stovetop, because we do really enjoy pressure cooked foods.

I have now moved the stovetop pressure cooker to a back cabinet since I brought my electric one into the motorhome. We bought a larger 11 qt. one for in the house this year, so the 8 qt. one is now designated specifically for the motorhome.

What I like best is I can throw the food in and set it and not have to watch and hover over it like the stovetop one. After experimenting with recipes for a while I know exactly what to set it for what types of foods and everything comes out perfect.

I know there are a lot of electric pressure cookers out on the market now. We chose this one because of it's stainless steel inside cooking surface, preferable to a Teflon non-stick surface.

We use the pressure cooker to make soups, stews, and casseroles. Everything that comes out is just super wonderful and delicious because you add your seasonings in the beginning. The pressure cooker than infuses the flavors and seasoning into the food rather than just floating on top or in a sauce

Savory stews or wholesome casseroles (Steve's Goulash)

Some of our favorite things to make are pot roasts or turkey breasts. We toss the whole thing in while still frozen and set it for about three quarters of an hour. I release the pressure, open it up, add in other items such as carrots, potatoes, onions, mushrooms etcetera. Close it back up and cook it another 15 minutes and everything is usually done --- absolutely perfect and tender.

Pot Roast or Boneless Turkey Breast

Since I absolutely must make room for this large pressure cooker in my cabinets, so again, I rearranged everything to get it to fit. Of course we can only use the electric pressure cooker when we are either hooked up to electric power, or while running the generator. I have not used it yet just from the power via the inverter and batteries, but I will try it this summer. We can see how much power it draws by hooking up our kilowatt diagnostic tool to check the amperage draw and watts when in use.

Now to the other wall in the kitchen, we have more countertop space and a glass cabinet overhead. Underneath is another drawer plus a Uline Ice Maker. This only runs off electric and not propane litke fridge.  We only run it when we are plugged into power, but it works really fast to make cubes. Once we get a bin full, we switch them to a large zip lock bag and put them in the freezer by the fridge and turn the icemaker off again.  

It can also double as extra freezer space when plugged into power by simply lifting the bail and using the interior space for supplementary freezer area when setting somewhere for a while. 

On the other side of the kitchen are the table and chairs. When we bought our motorhome there were two wicker backed wide chairs that were kind of rickety. We passed them on to our son for his first apartment.  Stored in the basement compartment underneath there were these two folding chairs that had padded seats and wicker backs that matched. These fold up and store away for extra seating. They were okay, but again, kind of lightweight and rickety.

While Steve was working at the University of Green Bay, every month they would hold auctions of surplus supplies. Steve managed to snag these two wonderful solid waiting room type chairs that were perfect color match of the wood. We really like them for seating and they tuck under the table perfectly. We can bungee cord the legs to the center leg of the table when in transit.

Our table pulls out from the wall cabinet enough to add two extra leaves for seating space.  (or for when I'm sewing large projects).   Then we bring out the extra chairs that unfold and set next to the new green ones we bought ... now we can have dinner for four.

Remember that saying?

 Our motorhome has room for 

cocktails for 6,

dinner for 4, 

sleeping for 2!

~~~~~~~~~

Now on to Our Old House Stuff:

Last night Steve started talking, and thinking, and got out his clipboard with his own honey do list. Take note, I have NOT made him a honey do list since he retired, this is all his doing and I am not taking any blame for it!

He and I discussed things and he wrote out a list of 10 things he would like to get accomplished this summer around our old house. It's quite an extensive list, and I think you will be happy to follow along my blog as you see what we are doing, step-by-step. It is going to be a busy summer --- in between his scheduled fishing trips, driving his Old Fart Party Bus for the county senior citizens, and doing some of these projects!!!

Do not worry, we are not remodeling anything to be modern features on our old house, we are just improving things and making things nicer or making things more efficient. We love the character and original style of our home. The items we will be changing will add to it, and not detract from it. Stay tuned for the exciting new events as they happen!



I finished up a rug order yesterday and have no more orders hanging over my head right now. I grabbed some very old vintage fabric balls that have been already prepared. I started a twill rug with them and I really like how it's coming out.

It's going to be very bright and multi-colored isn't it? 

Perfect for spring.

Speaking of spring, yesterday we got out for a walk with the dogs for a mile or so. The sidewalks are clear and most of the snow is melting again. But this morning we woke up to freezing ice, rain, and snow. At least it won't last long, seeing as we are over the middle of March and heading on towards Spring.

Finished Daughter's Kitchen Redo, Thanksgiving and Babysitting

Let's see... first I will start with some babysitting.  We swiped two of the grandtots last weekend for an overnight.  It was full of fun, baking, toys, silliness and good snuggles.  The kids were so busy...  and we were happy to find interesting thing to keep them busy.

Donning the "baking aprons" they went to work in our kitchen.  They worked together on breaking eggs and baking some brownies... here are a few video clips of their creative cooperation:

Check out this video clip is just adorable of little Clayton 

serenading his Granfaddah with the song from Frozen, 

while Granfaddah makes up pancakes for breakfast. 

Granfaddah put in his time with games, stories, and just hugging grandtots on his lap as they played. They have a whole pile of toys here that wait for them in the little hallway closet.  We made a reading nook in there too with a light for them to see wayyy back to the bottom of the staircase inside.  It's a great getaway room for them to hide out and play quietly.  Finnegan likes it too and curls up with the grandtots in there.  I even crawled in and snuggled to read them a story in there.

Chelsea put in some time at the loom, working on a rug. She wove close to 12 inches of a rug before taking a break for a nap.  Little Finnegan loves the cuddles with "the"childrens" who come to visit.  He glues himself to their sides, waiting for snuggles, pets, and of course dropped morsels of food for his TREATS!

Both of the kids helped to prepare dinner for the grownups coming later in the day.  They worked so hard to create two pans of lasagna.  One pan was the traditional style with meat spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese and mozzarella on top.  The other pan they made is becoming a family favorite of shredded chicken, alfredo sauce and mozzarella cheese with a liberal sprinkling of bread crumbs and parmesan on top.  Add in a big salad, some garlic bread and of course, their home baked brownies.  We had a meal ready for the parents.  The grantots even helped set the dining table for the meal.

That evening, our other daughter Heather and soninlaw Jesse came over with our grandson Jameson and their two incorrigible corgis!  It was a good family evening, but we were missing our son Dan and his Heather with grandtots Allegra and Mason.  They were doing a family annual shopping event with Heather's family.

Boy oh boy did Finnegan have fun running laps with the two corgis, up one set of stairs, thundering like a herd of elephants across the upper floor, then race down the other set of stairs.... Around and around and around.... Here is one moment that Heather got all three to sit still in ONE spot and held their attention with a treat.

FINNEGAN, PRINCESS LEIA and RADAR

During the week, I managed to get all of the outdoor Christmas decorations up on the house.  It snowed right after I got them up, so it REALLY felt like the holiday season was here!   I just love the house in the snow, it shows the Craftsman style so well with highlights of snow around it. 

The Pfundtner family gathered over in Waupaca for Thanksgiving... ya know, over the river and  through the woods to get there?  We meet in a restaurant because there can be anywhere from 20 to 40  people attending on any given year.  We sure fill up the room!    Little Clayton and Chelsea made little paper "turkeys" for Great Grandpa Pfundtner! 

Since we are both finally feeling better, yesterday we were able to get back up to our oldest daughter Erin's house to finish working on her kitchen with her.  Last time we got the cabinets and walls painted, and part of the countertop installed.  Steve also put in her new sink, faucet, and light fixtures....  So it's been halfway completed for a few weeks while we were sick. It needed to get done before she hosts our Christmas celebration at her house.  We drove up there Saturday morning and put in a full day.. and it's DONE!   (well all except a little piece of trim that Steve has to make a compound miter cut on that will take some time on the table saw at home)   

Erin and Steve mounted the last section of countertop on the peninsula to make the work area complete.  It was difficult to transition from the one piece to the other, but they got it done and it worked out great.  Then they put trim along the backsplash edge, the end cap on the countertop; it all came together great! 

Before we got there, she had given two coats to the floor with some porch and floor enamel paint, and it was dry enough for us to walk on the next day.  Great way to cover up ugly olive green and harvest gold patterned vinyl flooring without ripping it up or applying more over the top.  We were working on a set budget that didn't include new flooring at this time.  So she did the next best thing! 

The kitchen looks so sharp now, compared the the "before" pics I put in this blog post:

House Projects on Daughter's Old House

It really was UGLY in pale pink and hunter green and gooses on the wallpaper! 

The little bit of silver on the curtains really isn't this shiny, it just reflected from the camera flash. It has more of a hue and sheen like the muted silver on the backsplash around the countertops.

 She found this perfect table and stools for setting right between the windows.

Anything bigger would not look right or take up too much space.   

I can see sipping early morning coffee here as the sun comes up. 

I can see the grandtots sitting here to eat their cereal. 

I can see them helping to bake more brownies! 

And here it is... TA DAAAAA   

Complete with a new stove, fridge and rangehood/microwave mounted above

(missing a bit of trim yet) 

 Of course, little Finnegan helped too... 

with the painting!!!   Can't you tell????

Today is a rest at home Sunday kind of day...

I am going to work on a quilt. 

Steve is going to make us breakfast.

And later on there is a Packer Game that needs our attention....

from our comfy chair and couch in front of the television!  

Slavedriver Saturday

Slavedriver Steveio was up and at em.... with a whole slew of tasks on his list.

I started out with getting some decorative wood trim stained on sawhorses down in the basement, while he started mounting a heavy iron bracket he made for our microwave.  The microwave is the type that is mounted over the stove.  It is a vent hood type, and needed to be mounted to withstand 150 pounds (combined weight of microwave unit, anything that we would have in it, and a cabinet overhead with contents)   So Steve made really really sure it would hold 150 pounds by doing some chin-ups!   hahahaha

We lifted the microwave into place, and mounted the proper hardware to secure it.   Whew... it sure was a job, but we got this part done before breakfast!

Then while Steve was downstairs wiring up the proper new outlet for it, I started cutting and fitting in the faux tin backsplash around the stove area.  It's called "Facade" and can be installed in 24x18 inch sheets (that is what I used)  or you can buy a whole long roll to go along as a backsplash behind a counter-top.  You can cut it with a scissors or utility knife.  It is adhered with their own double sided sticky tape or else you can use construction adhesive.   Once I was done, we slid the stove into place.

I applied it around all three sides of the cooking area, but I still need the trim edging strips to make the job complete.  Another run to Home Depot will take care of it.

See how the stove just clears the window sill on the left?  That is why we had to move over the cabinet base and omit part of the second tilt-out bin the other day.  It works better this way and we have a bit of space between the stove and the wall that we will put in some kind of spacer.  That can come later.  At least now I have my stove to use again.  Since we started the floor a week ago, the stove was pushed into the center of my Loom Room.  I have only been cooking with the microwave set on the counter in the butler pantry, or in the crockpot.  It will be nice to cook again on the stove!

On the shelf above the stove, I am going to set my big blue enamel soup pot, (which has a very sentimental value) then my white enamel strainer and a blue enamel mixing bowl.  It will be a nice accent to the kitchen decor and will fill up that open space for now.

I had been trying to find some kind of light fixture to put up over the window that could shine down on the sink.   I found a few that I liked, but they were too wide with multiple bulbs or too small to give enough light with a single bulb.  Most interior fixtures are only rated to 60 watt bulbs.    

There is only 28 inches of space between the two upper cabinets on each side of the window.  The more we looked, the more I was not finding anything .... in the "indoor lighting" department, that is.  We walked past the "outdoor lighting" at Home Depot and we found a perfect light fixture!  VOILA!  And it is rated for a 100 watt bulb.

Steve cut a hole in the plaster, mounted an electrical box, and we fished the wiring up inside the cabinet behind the shelves.  He was busy doing the hookups and switches and outlet boxes.  He also ran the wires for the garbage disposal at the same time.

It was perfect and it matched the hammered copper sink! 

(we will pick up a spot type light bulb for it at Home Depot) 

We decided to do a wide plank board above the window for the light fixture to hang from.  Not only does it cover the big circle of the mounted electrical box, but also because I ruined the finish on the original window frame piece trying to remove some adhesive.  So this plank filled in the space.  The nice part is that the plank was originally the countertop of the cabinets---  we saved it when we used a commercial piece of laminate counter-top instead.  We might use more of it for making the sliding trash bin door too.  So keeping it all together, just in separate pieces?

He put the light on a dimmer switch, so we can turn it down in the evenings for a soft light, or else brighten it up to do work over the sink area.  I put a tension curtain rod to put the lace back around the window. There... another job complete.  Now it was time for lunch~!

Another project was the garbage disposal.  Steve got all the wiring done up to the switch at the sink and down to the basement.

I gave the three long pieces of decorative trim a coat of polyurethane and by tomorrow I think we will be able to start nailing that up into place around the kitchen at the 5 ft transition mark where we recovered walls with new drywall.   Steve was thinking of getting an air nail gun for tacking finishing nails for the trim.  So it might be a morning trip to Home Depot, and then an afternoon of work?

But for today, we called it quits, and hit the shower, and we have been laying around all evening.  We first watched a movie on DVD, and then also we are now tuned into War of the Worlds on ABC.  Geeesh I don't like scary or suspenseful movies!

Tomorrow he will work on the drains and some of the plumbing.  Of course, before the Super Bowl comes on the tv.  Too bad it isn't the Packers playing, but we will watch anyhow.  Especially for the commercials. LOL