Lady in White

I am almost finished painting Bing's interior! I'll add the final coat of white paint to the cupboard door faces tomorrow, and then I can re-install them, remove the masking tape and newspaper, and start decorating!

Here are a few photos to give a sense of what Bing looks like, all sparkly white. I used Cloverdale Paint's Interior/Exterior Melamine Alkyd Enamel Paint, which is what the experts at the store recommended for Bing's brown, 1970s panelling. It is self-priming paint, but I needed three good coats for a good finish. The paint has a nice satin gloss, and is supposed to be extremely durable. 

I debated long and hard about the exact shade of off-white, but in the end, opted for base white. I prefer red and pure white over red and cream, but I hope the result isn't too blinding! I also wanted the walls to contrast with my off-white curtains.

Here's the before and after: 

 

She looks completely different inside! A fresh coat of paint makes everything so clean. I painted the closet interior and the insides of all the drawers, but I will paint the inside surfaces of the upper cupboards over the winter so they have a good chance to air out before the next camping season. I really just want to get Bing on the road!

Happy International Glamping Weekend!

International Glamping Weekend is here...yet I am not camping!

Bing's not quite ready for her maiden voyage, and Doug had to work this weekend anyway. But, in honour of the occasion, we headed over to McDonald Park Campground right here in Sidney, for their camping season kick-off event.

Parks Interpreters, Girl Guides, and representatives from Mountain Equipment Co-Op set up information booths at camp sites around the park. There were games, bannock and marshmallow roasting, gear demonstrations, and Dutch Oven cooking lessons, plus plenty of banana slugs and tent caterpillars to entertain Ariel.

Photo courtesy HelloBC.com

The campground is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, and is located in a hilltop patch of lovely forest just on the outskirts of our little town, right near the ferry terminal to Vancouver. Although it's only five minutes from our house, we plan to camp there at least once this summer.

How did you spend International Glamping Weekend? Did you pitch a tent on the side of a mountain? Park your trailer beside the river with other glamping sisters? Or simply stretch out in the grass in your backyard for a night under the stars? If not, I hope you, like me, at least got a little campfire smoke in your hair.

Glamp on, sisters!

Green Smoothies for Glampers

One year for Christmas, my parents-in-law bought us a Magic Bullet. It came with several pitcher sizes, plus various lids. I use it almost daily. This handy little device is perfect for quick smoothies, especially when you don't want to bother hauling out the big blender.

Magic Bullets are light and small enough to take along Glamping. Simply toss in whatever organic fruit and greens you have in your teeny fridge (and maybe a splash of maple syrup or honey) and you've got a quick and easy breakfast that's refreshing and literally packed with nutrients and antioxidants.

These smoothies are also a great way to pack dark leafy greens into your daily diet. If you don't care for things like kale, chards, parsley and cabbage on their own, just toss a few leaves into your smoothie and you won't even notice them! Mint, lemon, raw cacao, ginger, organic vanilla powder, and flax seeds are also great additions. Use your imagination!

In her Glamping book, MaryJane Butters warns against dining on junk food during your glamping trip. Green smoothies will keep you feeling energized and fabulous!

Important: make sure all ingredients are organic! Pesticide smoothies do not a happy body make.

Here's what I whipped up today, much to the delight of my kids (who won't normally eat Swiss chard):

2 ripe pears, cubed
1 apple, cubed
3/4 cup water
1 huge Swiss chard leaf and stem
Handful fresh parsley
Handful fresh picked chocolate mint
1/4 to 1/2 cup Bottled lemonjuice or juice of 1 lemon

Enjoy!

Of Life and Lemons

Gluten free? How hard can that be?

I come from a long line of bread lovers. Dinner rolls, biscuits, pancakes, muffins, and big, fluffy, freshly baked loaves of bread slathered in honey and butter--I love them all. I also love to bake (my maiden name is Baker after all) and breads are one of my specialties. 

Still, I didn't panic when Ariel's recent blood tests came back showing a high sensitivity to gluten. Sure, it'd be a challenge to go gluten-free. But the main thing was, we'd finally discovered the cause of all her tummy pains. 

"Just think of all the new foods we can try!" I told my eight-year-old, assuring her that this culinary adventure would lead us to all sorts of new and delicious discoveries. "And we're in this as a family," I promised. "If there's something you can't eat, none of us will eat it."

But it didn't take long for all of us to feel frustrated. The first thing I learned was that the gluten protein sticks around, getting into every nook and cranny in the kitchen. That meant things like the toaster would have to go. And, of course, all the flours, cereals, pastas, condiments and other gluten-contaminated foods in our cupboards and fridge, which would also have to be washed out before I could restock with gluten-free foods. With our son's 3rd birthday party only two days away, we worked like mad to purge and clean our kitchen from top to bottom, while I tried not to worry about how I was going to make the birthday cake. 

Now take away eggs, cane sugar, mushrooms and whey...

To complicate matters, eggs, cane sugar, mushrooms and whey protein showed up as other culprits on Ariel's test. It didn't take me long to discover that many gluten-free foods contain at least one other ingredient Ariel can't have. My first shopping trip took ages. I'd take down a product, scan the ingredients list, and have to put it back on the shelf. Suddenly, I had a very keen sympathy for all the millions of other folks with dietary restrictions. This was going to be really hard!

Over the next few days, we realized that salad dressings, ketchup, chocolate, and a multitude of other foods were now off limit. "I can't eat anything anymore!" Ariel wailed when she realized she couldn't finish her Easter chocolates, enjoy her favourite creamy cucumber salad dressing, have regular ice cream in a cone, or roast marshmallows over the fire this summer. "When it gets to the point where I can't even play with my Play-doh, that's just ridiculous!" she sobbed.

Secretly, I began to despair a little too. There's gluten in EVERYTHING! But I determined not to let it get the better of us. After all, most of the foods we were giving up weren't that great for us anyway, or I could simply make my own version. Besides, our new diet would reward us all with better health. Millions of other people have given up these foods; we could do it too.

This calls for some culinary creativity!

As it turned out, our first gluten, egg, whey, mushroom and cane sugar-free feast at Graham's birthday party was a smashing success. The chocolate birthday cake was delicious and nutritious--moist, rich and dense like a brownie, with cooked beets for added sweetness. Luckily we can still have dairy in moderation, so I made the vanilla frosting out of cream cheese and whipped cream sweetened with Xylitol (a fruit sugar that's also good for your teeth). The icing was delicious, held its shape at room temperature, and was ridiculously easy to work with. 

Riding on the success of our first attempts at the new diet, we've adopted the motto: "It's not a matter of giving up foods, merely of substituting with a healthier version."

I admit that so far, the gluten-free breads we've tried are dry, crumbly and not very tasty. My gluten-free pancakes were an expensive disaster that remained gooey inside no matter how long I cooked them. I still have no idea how we'll ever enjoy hot dogs or hamburgers again in a lovely, soft bun. Sandwiches just aren't the same on rice cakes, and I don't even want to think about life without the occasional trip to Dairy Queen. And yes, chocolate is a major problem--the only kind I've found with no cane sugar costs $5 for a teeny, tiny bar and doesn't come in any flavours.

But the benefits? Ariel's horrible, constant tummy pains disappeared within a couple of days on the new diet, along with her sudden bouts of fatigue and crankiness. Graham's mysterious eczema-like rash that he's had since birth is gone. My own stomach pains are gone too. And we all feel energetic and just plain clean inside. 

And I'm having a ball experimenting in the kitchen. It's fun making things like ketchup, salad dressings and crackers that we used to buy ready-made. I'm discovering all sorts of wonderful grains like amaranth and teff, and we are so in love with creamy, cold-pressed coconut oil it's not even funny (ever tried a little spoonful with a drop of honey? So decadent it's impossible to believe it's good for you!). I never would have discovered the wonders of guar gum without these dietary challenges (just toss a bit in runny salad dressings or fruit sauces and voila! Thick and creamy.). And almost everything we buy now is organic, whole and additive-free.

And the chocolate problem? Today, I whipped coconut oil, raw cacao, vanilla, coconut sugar, maple syrup and natural peanut butter into melt-in-your mouth chocolate morsels that the kids declared better than anything we can buy in a store. See recipe below. Sinfully delicious, yet packed with nutrients. (Did you know raw cacao is loaded with zinc, protein, iron and magnesium? Maple syrup is nutrient rich too.) I can't wait to play around with variations. I plan to buy some fun chocolate molds and experiment with melted unsweetened chocolate, too. 

And so, dear friends, the moral of the story: 

When life gives you lemons, make organic, freshly squeezed lemon-aid sweetened with unpasteurized local honey. You'll be shocked at how much better it tastes. And best of all, you'll be rewarded with increased health and happiness--the value of which cannot be measured. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Morsels

1/2 Cup organic, cold-pressed coconut oil, slightly softened

1/2 Crunchy natural peanut butter (or any other nut butter)

1/3 Cup coconut sugar 

1 Tsp. vanilla 

3 Tblsp. raw cacao (or cocoa powder)

Maple Syrup (sweeten to taste)

Whip all ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Sweeten to taste with maple syrup and mix well. Drop into small balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment, silicone or waxed paper (or refrigerate until dough is slightly firm, then shape into balls. You can also flatten with a fork for a pretty appearance). Refrigerate until firm and enjoy!

Variations: Add coconut, dried cranberries, nuts or extracts like mint or rum. Experiment with different nut butters, or omit nut butter altogether. Try sprinkling with maple sugar, sea salt or pressing a whole nut into the centre of each ball when soft. You can use regular sugar, or any sugar substitute like Xylitol or date sugar.

Bing's Bunk Gets A Lift

Goodness me, April was a busy month! But not too busy to squeeze in a small interior renovation that greatly enhances the functionality of our tiny camper.

The Problem: A narrow upper bunk and no place to sit

Bing has a great layout, with a front bunk where our kids will sleep--Ariel on the top and Graham on the bottom--plus a side dinette that converts into a double bed. As you can see in this before shot, the upper bunk is very narrow, and is tucked right against the sloping wall and window, making it feel narrower still.

The upper bunk is removable, but there was nowhere to store it inside the camper. Since it's hardly practical to store the bunk outside all day long while camping, the lower bunk was pretty much unusable as a couch. That left only the dinette for seating, which is fine when the weather is great and we're mostly outdoors, but not so comfy when everybody wants to cozy up inside.

The Solution: Pull the bunk away from the wall, and add brackets to store it against the ceiling during the day

My clever husband, Doug, engineered the whole modification and had the project done within a couple of days, with very little cost. Here, he's installing the new supports for the bunk. As you can see, he's installing them out from the front wall about six inches. This will make the bunk seem wider, even though the actual sleeping surface is the same as before.

Above: Do you see the ledge that runs under the window? When Ariel is up in her bunk, she'll have a little "pocket" about four inches deep at her bedside to store books and toys in.

Below: As you can see, when we remove the upper bunk, Bing feels really spacious inside, and the lower bunk becomes a roomy "couch" big enough for the entire family plus our small dog, Higgins. The cushions from the upper bunk become the back couch cushions.

Here's the bunk installed on its new supports: 

Top view of the upper bunk, out from the wall a few inches: 

Installing the bunk out from the wall creates a nice storage ledge beneath the window for Ariel's toys and books:

The next step was to build new brackets to hold the upper bunk up against the ceiling. Doug left enough room to tuck pillows and bedding up there, too. Talk about handy!

And finally, to make Ariel feel safe and secure, we added a guardrail. The rail is part of the vintage bunk bed set they sleep on in the house (Doug and his brother used them as kids at the family cottage on nearby Salt Spring Island!). We took the bunk beds apart because the kids have their own rooms, so this guard rail was just stored in Graham's closet, unused.

Doug put the rail on hinges so that it folds flat for storage. 

Voila! Two happy little campers.

If only I'd thought to snap a picture of the bed installed against the ceiling and the couch set up before we took everything out for painting! But you Glamper girls have vivid imaginations, so I know you can picture that one, last detail.

Next up: Bing gets whitewashed!!

How We Nearly Gave Up Bing

The last few months have been tumultuous for us, and precarious for Bing. Twice, we pretty much made up our minds we'd have to sell her. Twice, we suffered broken hearts. Then we came to our senses and made a pact: no matter what happens, even if Bing sits forever in the driveway, we will never sell her. Not while our kids are young, anyway.

Here's what happened:

Way back last fall when I came down with a raging case of Glamper Fever, I knew our current vehicle, a 2007 Mazda 5, would be a major obstacle because it doesn't tow. Anything. Not even a garden trailer. We'd only bought the car two years prior, and switching cars seemed frivolous to say the least. But, I had a dream, and pretty soon, the entire family shared my dream. We determined to make it all work, and went ahead and bought Bing.

Then our dog, Higgins, got sick. He swallowed one little fruit pit and next thing we knew, he'd undergone emergency surgery, developed an inflamed liver, and suffered a spinal arthritis flare-up that sent him into full body crisis. We spent our entire Christmas vacation listening to scary words like CANCER down at the vet's office, terrified we were going to lose him at the tender age of 8. Fortunately, our beloved pooch healed up just fine--liver, arthritis and all--but our bank account was severely injured. (Yes, Higgins is SOOOO getting a paper route this summer!!!)

Enter Bing Crisis Number One. How could we afford to keep her? Shouldn't we sell her to recover some of the vet expenses? How'd we ever think we could afford a camper anyway, not even counting the vehicle problem? My daughter and I spent one entire, miserable day just wandering the house in tears. It was not good. For both of us, the end of Bing meant the end of THE DREAM. I'll never forget Ariel wailing, "Mommy, do you mean that dreams don't always come true? How can our dream not come true?"

Oh, boy. I know life teaches some hard lessons and children must learn to make sacrifices. But seven is an awfully tender age to be faced with the harsh reality of something as terrible as a failed dream. And I needed Bing. She seemed to fulfill a lot of different needs in me; the need for my own space, the need for something of my very own to nurture and share with my family, the need to give my children some beautiful memories, the need for the personal challenge of doing things on my own. And the need to do something for myself without the guilt or regret that mothers often feel when they indulge in a little soul nurturing. Doug and I had a heart to heart and resolved to keep Bing.

The New Year carried on and we suffered another couple of minor unexpected setbacks; still, we started our search for new vehicle in earnest. We got out the LemonAid and the Consumer Reports and all the other used car guides to find just the right vehicle for towing Bing. Since our little glamper weighs in at only 2000 lbs. GVW, we knew we didn't need a truck. And since we're a one car family, we needed something small enough to whip around town without guzzling too much gas. The 2008 Ford Escape turned out to fit the bill. It has an excellent safety record as far as we can tell, tows 3500 lbs, and is affordable. We started hunting Used Victoria and all the other listings for used cars nearby.

We found a lovely, lady-driven model with 106,000 km on it, a clean bill of mechanical health, and a nice price tag. We bought it and drove it home. We could finally tow Bing! We couldn't stop pinching ourselves.

Five days later the Escape's transmission blew up. Enter Bing Crisis Number Two. As the hefty repair estimates rolled in, we again went into despair. The only affordable path we could see was to fix the Escape, sell it, and sell Bing. We hadn't sold our Mazda 5 yet, but its value is the lesser of the two vehicles, so the numbers crunched in its favour. Again, we faced the loss of dreams and a household full of broken hearts. I went on the Glampers on the Loose Facebook page and poured my heart out.

"Don't sell Bing, even if she just sits in your driveway!" "We're rooting for you!" "Keep your chin up, honey, it'll work out!" All those lovely ladies chimed in. They were right. Bolstered by so much support, I blew my nose and got down to the business of Making Bing Work.

The previous owners of our Escape got wind of the troubles and phoned right away, offering to pay half the repair bill. I will forever love them for it, because it made all the difference. We were still out of pocket, but the blow was lessened now, and it no longer made sense to sell everything. Bing was here to stay.

And so, now we see things a little differently around here. We have a brand new transmission--all the better to tow Bing with, right? We have new enthusiasm for the work we need to do to Bing--and her mini renovation is well underway. We also know how much this little glamper means to us--ALL of us. I think she means more to us than we even realized. We will never give her up for a little thing like a financial crisis.

And best of all, my daughter has learned a lesson I think will support her for the rest of her life:

Dreams really do come true.

Edible Dragons

In the spirit of getting a little more adventurous, Ariel and I decided that every time we visit the grocery store, we'll try something new. Some ethnic dish, maybe, or an exotic spice, or something wild and crazy from the produce aisle.

Sometimes our palates are less that pleased, but often, the "new" food becomes a family favourite. Such is the case with Dragon Fruit (or, as it's more formerly known, the white-fleshed Pitahaya).

Glamour Fruit

Ariel adores dragons, so anything related is an obvious choice for her. The idea of eating something from the cactus family fascinates me; plus, we think the Dragon Fruit is especially pretty. It looks kinda like a hot pink pineapple, though smaller and less prickly. And when you slice it open--Surprise! Inside, is milky white flesh dotted with tiny black seeds similar to a kiwi.

The skin has almost a rubbery texture, and peels easily, which means it's easy to prepare and makes very little mess. I like that in a fruit. We're fascinated by the contrasting colours, and, being pink kinda girls, we're still trying to figure out how to use that pop star pink skin as fabric dye.

At first glance, the fruit appears a bit dry, but is juicy as a melon when you pop a chunk into your mouth. The flavour is very delicate: mildly sweet with a little hint of tartness here and there. The tiny seeds add a nice little  crunch.

My husband doesn't think much of the Dragon Fruit, but the kids and I give it two thumbs up. It's an inexpensive, easy-to-prepare delicacy that's pretty enough, well, to eat!