As many of you know and most of you will find out, I'm an avid biker. No, not the of the gas powered variety but of the muscle powered persuasion. They're much more stealthy and healthy.
I have been toying along time with biking across the United States but have felt inadequate to the task. Never fear, that's still on my bucket list but first I thought I'd do a little exploring in #VanLife.
However, that being said, I couldn't possibly embark upon that kind of an odyssey with out my beloved Giant Escape City, affectionately named Peregrine.
I purchased Peregrine about eight months ago from Lewis and Clark Outfitters in Fayetteville Arkansas. Side note: they're an amazing group of folks and I highly recommend them! Peregrine succeeded Dominic, my Globe Vienna, which I dearly loved. He had been a gift from a dear friend and I put many, many, many miles on Dom over several years. Though I've already put several hundred miles on Peregrine, he and I are just getting to know one another. He's a swell bike, quick, agile, sturdy, utilitarian, comfortable, and pleasant to look at. All I could ask for in a bike really.
My brother and his fiance gifted me with a wonderful bike rack just before Christmas this last year. I was going out of town on a craft show and wanted to take Peregrine with me. The bike rack they gave me is absolutely wonderful: a Swagman XC.
Due to various challenges, I wasn't able to take Peregrine with me at Christmas and that is just as well. I spent December in Manhattan Kansas at a mall there and it was bitter cold for the most part and I worked around the clock blowing glass so I wouldn't have gotten in much bike riding.
So, for the first time, the Kraken got to meet Peregrine today. It would appear to me a good match and the bike rack seems to be perfect for my needs. I'm looking forward to the possible exploration to come!
So as it turns out the blackout panels and the curtain were the most expensive endeavor for the van. I'll detail my final cost in an upcoming post.
For the blackout panels I used "plastic cardboard" or corrugated plastic sheets and Reflectix reflective insulation.
I cut the plastic panels to size and then used 3M Spray Adhesive Hi-Strength 90 to laminate the Reflectix insulation on both sides. I used the 90 because it was heat resistant and I thought that perhaps that might be better given that the panels would go in the seven windows in the van.
I used craft paper to trace the pattern of the windows and then transferred that pattern to the plastic sheet and cut it out with an xacto knife. The panels fit really tightly so I added gorilla tape pull tabs to each of them to help in removing them from the windows. All in all, it worked well and took about two days to complete at a cost of about $120.
The black out curtain I lucked into in the clearance isle of a Wal-Mart. They were standard curtain panels of about seven feet tall. I cut them down to about four feet and hemmed them with permanent fabric glue. I hung them from a tension rod between the cab and the cargo area. The three foot remnants I also hemmed and kept for possible future use. The curtains were on sale for about $20 each and I used two panels. With the fabric glue and tension rod my cost was $56. This brings my total to around $176.
Honestly, this was the most challenging part of the buildout but one that I'm very pleased with in the end. The panels fit surprisingly well and the curtains are perfect. I'm also glad that I doubled the amount of Reflectix I used. I like the way it looks on the inside and it does double duty as insulation.
I found this duo, Amy and Lauren, on YouTube some time ago and love their music. This rendition of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” encouraged me to post this note about counting your blessings. Please, listen to the music and read on…
I use to pass out a note entitled “Count Your Blessings” along with a yellow legal pad to folks who worked and or lived around me and I tried to encourage them to take a look at the good things or positive things in the their life.
We often have a tendency to forget the blessings in our lives especially when things get tough.
My humble endeavor met with such open hearts that I want to pass along the encouragement here online. Sadly I can’t give each of you your own yellow legal pad but you can acquire one and then make your own list of blessings.
If you find the idea of worth, pass it along to your friends, family and or your work mates. You know, we can change the world, one person at a time by helping change their heart. Fostering an attitude of gratitude is a great way to do it.
Count Your Blessings…
Before I get to my shared list of blessings, I want to take a moment and share with you something somebody shared with me the other day and I think we all need to hear a story like this from time to time. It’s good for the heart and the soul!
“There was a time when I was in a state of utter despair, immersed in guilt over promises made on which I had not delivered. I went to my vocal coach, Fred Wilkerson, weeping copiously. He asked what was the matter. I responded, “I’m going crazy. I am almost at the brink of suicide.” He offered me a legal-size, lined yellow pad and a pen. He said, “Write down your blessings!” Furious that he didn’t understand my condition, I shouted, “Don’t talk nonsense, I’m telling you I am going crazy.” He said, “Write down that you could hear me say ‘write down’ and think of the millions who cannot hear the cries of their babies, or the sweet words of their beloveds, or the alarm that could help them seek safety. Write down that you can see this yellow pad and think of the millions on this planet who cannot see the smiles of their growing children or the delight in the faces of their beloveds, or the colors of the sunrise and the softness of the twilight. Write down that you know how to write. Write down that you know how to read.” Wilkie, as he was known, gave me that lesson in 1955. Fifty-five years later, I have written 31 books, essays, plays, and lyrics for songs — all on yellow pads. I remain in an attitude of gratitude.” — Maya Angelou Performer, Poet, and Author
Here are some of my blessings that I should always keep in mind:
I'm thankful for a body, that works as it should, for the most part, given the amount of abuse and or neglect I've heaped upon it over these 48 years.
I'm thankful for a sound mind, though some may disagree with its soundness, and my natural and restless inquisitiveness.
I'm thankful for hands that can type and preform delicate motor functions and which are skilled at crafting, caressing, and creating.
I'm thankful that my family, neighbors, friends, and teachers along my way taught me how to read and fostered a love of books and the pursuit of knowledge in me.
I'm thankful for my one good eye and for the redundancy of the visual system my body was born with, so that when I destroyed one of those eyes out of stupidity that I had another one to fall back on.
I'm thankful for my first bike and every bike since that carried me into a life long love of riding, exploring, and playing.
I'm thankful for a faith that is as intricate, informed, and structured as it is fluid, exploratory, and grace-filled.
I'm thankful for friends, family, acquaintances, lovers, and even a few adversaries who help to teach me how to live in relationship and offer me a glimpse of the infinite diversity within infinite combinations that makes up the human perspective.
I'm thankful for my many animal companions who shared my life and taught me about unconditional love, responsibility, and companionship.
I'm thankful for steel cut oats and pizza. ;-)
These are just a few of the blessings in my life but there are so many more to be thankful for. Maybe you can add a few things on your own yellow pad!
“And God said,’“Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault sky. And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.” -Genesis 1:6-8
Day 2 of Creation: "Water From Heaven"
“Water From Heaven”
24″ X 36″ Acrylic on Canvas
By Brian Ernest Brown, OSH
“The Painting Bishop”
I really enjoyed this one, capturing the separation of the waters from the heavens was a task I wasn’t sure I was up to but I turned up one of Liam Lawton’s cds , “The Could’s Veil” and away I went. This also seems to be among the favorites of the series but I’ll let you be the judge.
When we think of creation often our thoughts are caged by ages of interpretation of Holy Scripture and the familiarity of the story but can you imagine the creative forces? Can you imagine the power? Can you imagine the joy? Can you imagine the love? I did, if only in my limited ability. God is indeed an awesome God!
"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." -Genesis 1:3-5
Day 1 of Creation: "Let There Be Light"
"Let There Be Light"
24" X 36" Acrylic on Canvas
By Brian Ernest Brown, OSH
"The Painting Bishop"
I hadn't painted in years when I picked up the brush and began this next series of paintings.
My friend Juanita had encouraged me to set up a painting studio at the Branson Mill Craft Village in Branson Missouri many years ago and we'd paint together. We had just watched some YouTube videos of a fantastic artist in Asheville, North Carolina by the name of Jonas Gerard. He was just so lively and it looked like so much fun and boy did we need to get a little wild and sling some paint!
We got excited! And others around us got excited too and wanted to paint with us. We invited them to do just that, as they were able or wanting. Some took us up on the invitation and we developed a wonderfully fun little painting studio. We hoped our little studio might become a place for other crafters and people to unwind and let loose.
We both had always wanted to try our hand at abstract painting and so I dug out my brushes, put together my easels, and we both bought lots of acrylic paint and many, many canvases. I also bought a new cd player to crank up praise music by which to paint. What fun!
I'll be showing some of the paintings here on the To Love So Well The World blog but I wanted to start with this particular series on The Seven Days of Creation from the Book of Genesis in the Holy Bible. These paintings are 24" wide by 36" tall and are primarily acrylic on canvas. Enjoy!
