Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Chapter 3 (part one)

I've mentioned the cottage is small? Well, tucked away in the garden behind a wisteria covered pagoda, was an orange trailer. I think it dated back to the 50's, and at some point had been painted orange to match the front door of the cottage.
Once upon a time it had been used as extra living space, but was a bit beyond that by the time we got the keys, and it was just described as an Artists studio, and listed as personal property on the paperwork.

Within the first week, we decided it really needed to be replaced if it was going to be useful, as it would be the only place for visiting guests. Our guests tend to stay a while, as our families are from the UK, so three to five week visits are more common than the occasional weekend visitor.

We scanned Craigslist for possible replacements, and quickly found an older 80's Airstream trailer for sale within an hours drive of the house. If you know Airstream trailers, you will know the cool aluminum appearance on the outside hasn't really changed for decades, and we felt the retro look would compliment the garden and cottage. We decided to go and check it out, and were impressed with the layout and accomodation: A bedroom, bathroom with shower, dinette, and fully equipped kitchen with stove and fridge. Even a large lounge area with sofa. Perfect for out needs. The inside was suitably dated, but that doesn't worry me. The price was good and I am the Queen of remodeling! 

A pretty little cat hung around the whole time we were looking at the trailer, desperate to get in and have some love. The seller explained that the cat had been left by it's owners when they were evicted from a nearby house. The trailer tenant had fed the cat until she left for Colorado, so now the cat was on it's own. We agreed to have the trailer, and agreed to come back the following week once we had prepared our site and organized a large truck rental, as the trailer is 32' long, and needed something pretty hefty to pull it. 

The seller said we should take the poor cat too, as no-one wanted it. Yeah right, I thought - just what I need! Something else to take care of. I have three dogs, a three and a half year old child, and a new house in need of work. I think I have enough going on.

We drove home and saw the old orange trailer smiling at us from the spot which needed to be empty for the fancy new Airstream that would be arriving in seven days. Realizing we had to get rid of it, I started to make a few enquires as I was starting to stress that it would end up costly us a bunch of money to have it disposed of. Before bed, I had the sudden thought to post it on Craigslist. 'Free - you haul' kind of thing. Couldn't hurt?

Next morning, synced email to phone, wondering why it was taking so long.

Ah - 102 emails about free trailer by 8am. Maybe I won't have problems getting rid of it after all??




Here ends part one of Chapter 3. Realizing there is only so much you can put in one post.


Pictures of 'The orange one' as Posted on Craigslist. Looks rather nice when I see it now. But seriously, you wouldn't really have wanted to spend a weekend in it.


2 comments:

  1. What an interesting post. The orange trailer is bigger inside than it appears from the outside. The cat's story is upsetting.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the cats story is sad, but don't worry, we made sure it had a happy ending! I will elaborate next time :)

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