October 2020 Island Trip – Day 3

We slept in after a night on our air mattress. This is code for not having slept all that well! We’ve had a high end foam mattress for years. Suddenly having every move the other person makes affect each other, well aren’t we ecstatic that our new Stella mattress arrived today!

Stella came with a tuner/cassette stereo system and builtin speakers. I tried to start a tape, only to discover that NPR came in flawlessly. Our truck’s attempts at NPR on the Island, and even on the way to the Island are pathetic. We were happy to listen to their morning programming and then jazz.

We mapped the circuit panel in the lower barn. This was a crucial step in getting ready bring power to Stella’s permanent site. As our Amazing Neighbor thought, there’s plenty of room in the panel to accomplish this goal.

I was able to finished emptying all the boxes in lower barn. Everything is now in moisture and mouse proof totes, and there are a bunch of boxes to use a garbage receptacles.

We swapped out the original, very uncomfortable, “cocktail” chair Stella came with for one of the oak dining armchairs my mom inherited from her primary author. While the oak chair isn’t small, its footprint is SO much smaller than the chair the trailer came with. Embellishing the chair with the last existing sheepskin from my parent’s flock makes it perfect.

My DH fixed a piece of trim in the bedroom and we played backgammon twice over lunch! Between all the interior and exterior chores, it’s starting to feel like home.

We both left our shoes outside the night before when getting back from Tim’s. In the morning they were soaked. We both have waterproof boots on the Island, but these are not the best for driving so, on our way to the ferry we paused and bought my DH a dry pair of far more comfortable waterproof shoes to drive home in

After dropping my DH at the ferry, I found out the consignment shop does want fishing gear, even in the fall, but aren’t open on Mondays . I’ll drop the gear off next trip. I picked up ground pepper and body wash (been using liquid hand soap), and then returned to the property. 

I deployed one the small electric heaters we bought at the hardware store. It works quickly, but I realized I was careless… It doesn’t oscillate. I discovered later in the evening that it doesn’t have the ‘tip-over turn-off’ safety feature. I’ll return both tomorrow morning and upgrade. Oiy.

9PM Day Three.

After a ‘drought’ shower, making a very detailed list for tomorrow, and consulting Stella’s bible about draining her water heater and winterizing, I was feeling fairly relaxed. Settling into the reality that my time is my own is helping. Knowing I can affect and catch up on so many things for us, starting on Tuesday, is a stress buster. My DH is working 50-60 hours a week, and could put in more hours. Taking some of his household chores off his plate will help with his stress level. 

One of my shoes is completely dry, with the other closing fast ;->. I think I can wear my athletic shoes off the Island.

Stella, being a 1999 trailer, is mostly full of fluorescent lighting. Inexpensive to run and not terribly bright. The ceiling an impressive 6’9” tall (for a trailer!). The ceiling light fixtures shed a pleasant ambient light, but not anything my eyes can read by. There are light fixtures underneath the overhead cabinets above the bed, couch, and kitchen work area that can almost be considered task lighting ;->. We think a very small goose-neck LED lamp over the fold out table would be a great addition for reading, cards, and backgammon.

The little heater, that I’m going to return, has gone a long way toward removing condensation on the interior windows. I think humans sleeping in the trailer for 2.5 days during high humidity, if not outright rain has caused most of it. However, she really needs to stay dry during the wet (months). I’ll see what I can find tomorrow at the hardware store.