Progress

This post will be fairly dot-point oriented:

- In the interest of our many visa applications, we each got 16 passport photos. Each country wants one or two. Plus we’ll need some spares in case something gets lost.

-Cassie has cut up our camp mattresses into two perfect sized pieces. These will function in the day as the back rest and seat cushion and of a night become a perfect width air mattress. You’ll get a rough idea how they will work as they sit on top of the new cabinet.

 

Last week we ordered the Solar Screen’s. They not only offer excellent privacy, they reduce heat gain by reflecting light/UV during the day, and the insulation keeps the heat in through the night. Other hidden benefits include absorbing sound and reducing condensation. Have a bit more of a read if your interested: http://www.solarscreen.com.au/ With any luck, they’ll arrive before our camping trip this weekend.

All going to plan, we’ll be able save a heap on accommodation as in most towns, as it would be be nearly impossible to sleep in the car without privacy. From what I understand, it’s quite frowned upon to sleep in a car in Paris.

I ordered a spiral bound Mongolian map – cool – can’t wait to get it and start planning a route.

I spent Sunday with my Dad – he helped me build the cabinet. At some point I got a dimension incorrect, which threw out two other measurements. DOH! Oh well, it’s covered pretty well now, and if anything it’s stronger for it.

On Monday, armed with a chisel, hammer and pen I ‘rebated’ the hinges into the cabinet top. From the picture they look rough, but they will look better with some putty around the over-cut.
In case the picture doesn’t describe properly, there are three hinged sections. The two cushions mentioned above will sit on here. One will go nearly up to the black window clasps and the other goes all the way to the edge of the cabinet.

The hinges are deliberately offset from the edge of the cabinet – This will do two things. It allows the lids to stay open on their own to facilitate access and hopefully will also allow the top cushion to stay in place velcro’ed to the side with us only needing to move the bottom cushion to access the box contents.

Thanks again goes out to my dad – couldn’t have done it without his experience and craftsmanship.