this and that - oregon may 2015, part 2

This is a catch-all post of diverse photos that would require separate posts.

i wanted to capture Isolde's interior lighting - the white fixtures are Heller German marine halogen task light that i found circa 20 years ago and there is nothing comes close in design elegance; each is only 7W 5W

To me the interior of the Westfalia Vanagon camper is most pleasant for lounging. More so than the James Cook in the spacious feel. There are two dinning tables to boot. When I first saw the Vanagon camper in early eighties my friend had, I immediately decided one day I would buy one. Even till today, about 35 years since the initial production of the Vanagon camper the interior does not look a bit dated. The window curtain system is the highest quality that I have seen in both the fabric, design, and workmanship. There is virtually not a hint of sun fade nor wear - I've taken impeccable care of them by never touching them with dirty hands except my kitty's paws. (she would actually used her needle sharp claws dig into the rear curtain to climb up onto the shelf behind the air conditioner evaporator when she was a kitten)

i have been wanting to mount this air hose self-retract spool a very long time but i couldn't figure out an acceptable location until now

i have to keep fixing this cheesy garage door opener control panel as the use eventually either broke the solder joints or worn out the switch contacts - causing it to be increasing intermittent

with some Formica laminate scrap left and make the custom drink table in Brunnhilde a design ascent

when i first made this i repurposed a salvaged old school cabinet door but it has always been too rustic for me to be in harmony with Westfalia's modern and restrained aesthetics

i knew there is a common sparrow's nest in the fern - i saw a female sparrow brought in construction material for weeks; i waited until she is well settled in before going taking a photo

sure enough there are now two precious eggs

the Formica plastic laminate glued, the edges routed, and sanded

i have to re-coat a clear polyurethane on the edges again

another unapologetically Formica accent

more soup noodles - to prevent the noodles from getting soggy (which forces you to eat them very fast) i now put them in another bowl

i have been observing this robin's next for a month now, and i have been wondering if it belongs to a single mother (the male might have been killed); i am beginning to be convinced she just mated with a dead-beat male which has not been sharing the domestic duties; i have seen him very rarely and he appears to be a inexperience young male

i wanted to capture the uniform seam that i painstakingly took care to achieve - note also i retained the original screw and decoration plastic cap from the factory on the bottom

monitoring the temperature at two zones in the fridge so i know where to set the temperature control to - i decided that the plastic tray below the freezer box is poorly designed so i removed it as it keep the freezer box too cold and the rest of the fridge not cold enough (hence forces you to set it too cold and operates inefficiently)

actually it is more uniform now than it ever was until i readjusted the bottom steel grate that was shifted to far right and prevented one from achieving the uniform seam

the freezer box is way too cold to maintain a cold enough temperature in the rest of the fridge

i pulled out my collection of high quality speaker wires ready to do the audio update

removing the CD changer - i really like how these hinges that allow you to pop off the door to work on the inside

it pains me to remove something that i took so much care to install

this is the thermal curtain that i custom made for Isolde circa 18 years ago - it separate the cabin from the cockpit for winter, and for stealth camping in the cities

the power panel that i made circa 22 years ago - this is this LED that help you find the light switch in pitch dark and the the light switch turns on the factory dome light above the driver seat; i used a diode (diode logic) to make this function without the need to run more wire to the dome light

the mounting method that i use do not impede the use of the shelf above it - and the most reversable should you decide to undo the modification as i am now doing

this is one of the three Heller marine task light fixtures

a clean installation of the wiring

the articulations of this miniature and power miser halogen light fixture

i finally decided to remove all these remaining warning labels; many don't make any sense at all or just plain stupid if you ones that needs to be warned

the unleaded gas only did served the purpose but no longer

i have to use a heat gun

for a moment it appears the paint has uneven fading - but once i clean the adhesive with gasoline everything is well - after 26 years!

the locations of these label do not make any damn sense

this is Isolde's stock fire extinguisher and i wanted to see if it still functions - after about spaying awhile it stop with about half the content when it ran out of pressure; the white powder it sprays out appear to be baking powder/soda like chemical