Wow. It's been a hectic week for me. And it's only going to speed up, lol. I've been rushing to finish my vinyl for the popup camper (I'm redoing the ends cause they had holes and were leaking) and I'm not even close to being finished. But that's ok. I'm going to stay in my mom's basement until approximately the 18 of December. Why the 18th? Well, because that's the projected date of my brother arriving. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't hate my brother. I simply can't stand him. We used to be friends at least, but apparently over the past year I've become one of the bad guys. What that means to me is that it doesn't matter what I do or what I've done it's not right. So, when I quit smoking, it was "Great you quit smoking, but....". There's always that "but". The last fight we had was thru e-mail. Basically he told me what he felt I should do and because I didn't agree I was wrong. Then it got to where I had to say something about the fact he never listens to me when I need to go on about stuff but I always listened to him and of course, that was wrong. I shouldn't have "enabled" that. Of course, at the time if I didn't listen that was because I was wrong and didn't love him. I went thru the same type of crap with my ex-husband. It didn't matter what I did because if it was my plan, my idea, it was wrong. I feel that I've made some great steps towards being independent. Right now I'm not getting any child support out of my ex-husband and I'm subsisting on my disability alone. I am improving my camper so that I won't need an electrical hookup to get by, meaning I'll be able to camp for free or almost free in a lot of places. Once my brother is gone, I'll come back here prolly until January. I might go to Arkansas for a bit then. I have to stay kind of close to home until April, when Blair's baby is due.

The vinyl is a big project and it's backbreaking work cause the pieces are so big and I can't crawl around on the floor if I want to be able to get up again. My knees and back don't like that sort of thing anymore. It's almost done tho and I think once it's put up it will look much nicer than that old vinyl that was there. It was the original vinyl from 1973 and it was crusty looking, heheh. I got the vinyl from this place that sells bolts of vinyl and other odd fabrics. You can check it out at http://www.ahh.biz/products/fabric%20military%20tent%20FTM014.htm . The specs on it are incredible. They say:

Weighs 14 oz. per square yard. It has a grab tensile strength of 340 lbs, a hydrostatic resistance of 500 pounds per square inch and a flame resistance
of 1X1 second (flame will be extinguished in 1 second, when removed from
flame source, if you attempt to set it on fire). Guaranteed for use in
temperature ranges from -40 F (40 below zero) to 150 F; This fabric is
mildew resistant, UV protected, Totally Water Proof and rated for constant
and prolonged outdoor use. It consists of a woven Polyester base fabric
Coated with a Specialized Vinyl. The Vinyl coating on this material is
formulated with an Infrared (IR) blocking substance; designed to make it
almost invisible to aircraft and satellites utilizing Infrared imaging
devices.

I have to say it's pretty easy to hand stitch (I'm using a sewing awl) and I'll find out how it works under the machine once I've got the major seams done. I'm using a heavier weight thread for the hand sewing than I can use with the machine for the seams that are critical. The machine sewing will just be to pretty it up, make it look nice and neat. Also, I checked on the prices and specs for marine vinyl, which is the next best thing. Not even CLOSE to this stuff, but still around the same price per yard. So of course I went with the military vinyl. If you don't believe me, check for yourself!