T minus one month

We're coming up on one month until MJ's wedding. Gulp!

We're both going to give toasts at the wedding. Mine is still very much in the planning stages, but Frank has been working hard on his. He keeps making me cry, so I think it's going to be really lovely.

We answered question one about the trailer yesterday: Can we take all of our necessities and stay under the combined total gross vehicle weight rating? The answer is yes. It would be a comfortable, minimalist life.

Question two was about the van, mechanically, and with question one answered, we were able to focus on it better. Mechanically, the van is fine, but we think not fine enough for an extended roadtrip with mountain-pass towing. It has two seals that are leaking oil, neither of which is a big deal under normal conditions, and both of which are very expensive to replace (one requires pulling the transmission and the other requires pulling the engine). So, we're getting more serious about truck shopping. Finding a used Tacoma that has what we need and doesn't cost nearly as much as a new one is not easy. New ones are really, really nice but a big hit to our financial profile. We're heading out today to talk to the credit union about reality.

But even with increased towing capacity, we want to stay with our minimalist packing. We know from our year in the tent trailer that we don't need much. We'll probably use no more than a couple hundred of our added 3000 pounds of capacity. That leaves a lot of oomph for climbing mountains.

This past week has been mostly about our house. I finished cleaning out the storage room, so I was able to start using it for keepers storage. And yesterday Frank and I moved the definite yeses from the "trailer maybes" pile to the trailer. We have a little more room to move in our living and dining rooms now! Taking a big load to charity will help even more.

I've also started doing the touch-up painting on the exterior of the house. I got the east face done Friday, minus one corner I'd rather not attempt without someone holding the ladder. Oh, and minus the basement door, but painting that is going to be fun! New color! (It's currently the last remnant from our old purple trim.) Frank has three days off, so we'll tackle the big-ladder zones together.

Wedding tasks this week were not labor intensive, but I did a few. Shopping mostly, both my own and some that MJ delegated. We took Frank's suit to Nordy's to be tailored. I moved a button on Frank's dress shirt. And I trial-run painted the frame of one of the little chalkboards MJ bought to use for signs around the wedding. It went okay, but as I told MJ, both painter's tape and my skill with a brush have their limits.

The shoes I ordered arrived, and they are cute, but I don't think they're The Ones. MJ is going to come over and make the call for me.

I completely forgot to report last week about MJ's first bridal shower (of two). Niece Chelsea hosted, and it was a really lovely event, with photo booth, flower crowns, sherbet-in-rosé cocktails, and the most beautiful and delicious cookies. It was a lingerie shower, and MJ received some extremely gorgeous items for her trousseau. Really fun day! https://www.instagram.com/p/BlOrtxhAAXb/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1fw3emu34q423

Our weather continues spectacular. Northwest summers are amazing. It's supposed to get hot again tomorrow, but they've backed off from the high 80s forecast, so I don't think we'll be too uncomfortable. We'll do the painting early while it's cool and probably still be glad the north face is mostly in full shade.