Just bought a vintage early 60s Shasta camper to restore!

She needs a ton of work, but we are really excited to get started.
Aren't we hopeless romantics?

The Half-way House for Wayward Sewing Machines

Look what my mother-in-law brought me from Grandma's basement!

This is what it looked like after I wiped some grime off with paper towels and water,
and I had removed the fly wheel and bobbin winder

Nice decals!

She had rescued it from her Great Aunt's basement and stored it at Grandma's. It is from 1924, and it has a cabinet that I will be refurbishing. I spent my time last night and today obsessively rebuilding it with parts from my other Singer 66 which ran, but it's decals were a little sorry. Aunt Ceil's Singer is really only worn where the fabric went over the base. However, it was very dusty and gunky from having sat unused in basements for several years- so about a gallon of machine oil, 55 Q-tips, half a roll of paper towels, a little soap and water, and  a fair amount of elbow grease later, it is up and running.

Love it!

I borrowed the base from the other 66, as well as the light and motor. I thought running it with the motor would help with the rehabbing and get some of that oil worked in. I intend to have it in running in the treadle base, though.
Can I just say, it totally blows my mind that you can pull a nearly hundred year old machine out of a basement where it has been sitting for decades, oil it, pull some gunk out of it, throw a few new parts on it, and have it sewing beautiful stitches through nine layers of fabric in half a day! Where will the plastic Brother I learned to sew on be in 100 years? They REALLY just don't make 'em like they used to!
Well, I have wanted a treadle for some time (Thanks Lorraine!), so this one will be joining my permanent collection (that makes 4 including the serger- not too bad!). BTW, I used this manual from TFSR (a really neat organization) to direct me with the refurb. If anyone has an old Singer, check this info out. It makes removing the tension assembly and other scary tasks unscary!
Next, it's on to the treadle base, which will need some cleaning, gluing and clamping, and maybe a coat of stain or polyurethane. It's very pretty, and I love having projects!
What about y'all- have you started any fun and crazy summer projects?

Sometimes You Just Need to Get Away- Our Camp-cation!

We spent Memorial Day Weekend at the Jekyll Island, GA campground with my younger sister and her soon to be husband. We got started on the wrong foot- it took us far longer to pack then we expected, and just when we finished the check engine light came on in the Subaru, and it started making funny noises. We looked at rentals, but we didn't want to pay very much, so we ended up taking our truck, and yours truly ended up riding nearly the entire way (it took us almost 10 hours) in the trundle seat of our pick up truck. In case you haven't had the good fortune to ride in one of these, it is a tiny little seat that faces sideways in the back of a king cab truck. And it is very hard on the derriere. I almost backed out, but luckily I had a moment of clarity and realized that once there, I would be without the constant nagging responsibilities that follow me around all day at home. So we went, and it was wonderful! 

Baby was asleep when we arrived, and she was soooooo
excited to wake up in the tent the next morning!

Baby in her Pope Mobile (as we like to call it, it's really a bike trailer).
This was great fun with the bikes! 

Grandma & Grandpa stopped for a visit on their way back to FL. 

The baby began her juice box addiction- she had never had one before, and she liked it a little too much!

Are you SURE you want to be my brother in law?

My little sissy has always been taller than me. When we were kids she always said that
she was supposed to be born first, but I pushed her out of the way! :)

Family shot

This was kinda weird- is that guy hugging a toilet bowl?

Father-Daughter Nap Time

Beautiful Driftwood Beach

Baby's first visit to the beach. The most amazing part of parenthood is
seeing everything for the first time again, through the eyes of your child. 

That is a sea turtle in the mirror in the background- we were at the
sea turtle rescue center- there was one that was 200 lbs!

Baby was an angel in the car

It was sweaty, and buggy, and a long drive, but for three days we ate out of one pot and one pan and lounged around doing a whole lot of nothing. Now we are on the look out for a neat, small, vintage camper to pull behind the car.

I hope everyone everywhere had a great weekend, and I hope those in the U.S. had a nice Memorial Day holiday. With my family and all of the good food and relaxation, I had plenty of time to think about those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that I could live in beauty, freedom, and peace with those I love. I thank all of our fallen heroes for their service.