Today was my designated day to do a repair on the outside of our Barbarian Invader. At some time in the past, there was a leak somewhere in the top front of our trailer. A month ago, Peggy got up on the ladder and sealed the leaky spot. The treacherous leaked water had run down through some inaccessible crawl space to the cheesy wood and plastic sheet that covers the underside of the gooseneck. Once there, it was trapped so it puddled on the formerly planar surface and slowly reconfigured a section so it looked like a big white hematoma about the size of a racketball. Eventually, the flimsy plastic burst like a big zit, emptying out the water but leaving a hideous open wound.

Today we used our oscillating tool, cheaply made in China and purchased at the Mount Vernon Harbor Freight store, to excise the subject ugliness. It actually worked quite well, cutting right through the fragile plastic and crummy veneer behind it and revealing the interesting, normally never-seen components inside. Many other tools eventually came into play but all were wielded amateurishly. After breaking and dulling many razor blades and repeated applications of Goo-Gone, I finished cleaning off many applications of caulk, crud and road grime all around the surgery. A thin piece of aluminum diamond plate acquired in Bellingham was stuck over the hole with butyl rubber sealant, screwed down tight with sheet metal fasteners and then caulked at the edges with a fancy Sika caulk/sealant we purchased on the internet. It even looks like I knew what I was doing although we all know better.

The whole time I was being puzzled and getting sticky stuff on me outside, Peggy performed a whirlwind of tidiness inside, cleaning up our well-used toilet room (including all the walls), doing the same to our shower, making the carpets look like I have always stayed outside and vacuuming out the heater duct work concealed below our floor. The place looks great inside. We had cocktails later.