This week we're making progress toward getting the subflooring replaced.  In order to do so, we've got to pull the shell (walls and ceiling) up off of the subfloor and trailer frame.  It's going to be quite the feat!  We didn't make it far enough this week to show you how crazy that will be, but hopefully soon!

The first step to pulling the shell off is to remove the Belly Pan.  Airstreams are completely covered in aluminum, including on their underside!  Here, we're pulling off Maude's "belt," as I call it.  It's just a trim to hide where the sides meet the belly pan on the front and back of the trailer.  The screws that held them on were INCREDIBLY rusted, though! Turned out to be a job for Mike - I'm helping in this picture ;)

Now that Maude's Belts were removed, we could access the rivets that hold the belly pan in place.  It was quite the job!  First, we had to center punch each rivet, so that it gave a starting place for the drill.  Then we (mostly) carefully drilled out each rivet.  We have to be careful not to make the original holes that the rivets are in any larger, or else we risk leaking when we go to rivet her back together!  The last picture here is of us unscrewing the rusted screws that broke off when we were removing Maude's Belts!  We didn't count how many rivets there were, but all in all, it took the two of us about 3 hours to complete!

Someone along the line welded on this spare tire bracket.  Unfortunately, it was in the way for removing Maude's Belt and then also getting at the rivets along the back bumper, so it had to go!

On Sunday, we did research!  We went to the Portland RV Show to not only day dream about trailers, but to see what sorts of fixtures were available for updating Maude.  The first picture is of some shelving that is reminiscent of the original shelving that was in Maude!  Funny how styles come back around :)

I've started keeping track of the total hours we put in to working on Maude. This week we put in 5 hours, not including the RV show (which was *4* hours! ;) ).  Our grand total so far is 22.75 Hours!

Thanks for following along!  <3 Becca

This was a big week for Maude in transforming to her future glorious self!

A few more finds prior to the really rough work.  Anyone need a shave?  Or maybe a hot meal on the plate we found? ;) *DISCLAIMER No meals or shaves were had using these tools in this trailer. BLECH!

It's demo time!  Because of the amount of mold/mildew and mouse feces, we wore masks.  As an aside, Thanks, Mike, for working so hard on our Lucky 13th Anniversary weekend!  Luckily, we do projects well together, so while it wasn't glamorous (in fact, it was downright disgusting at times!), at least it was harmonious and productive!  

For those of you who maybe don't know, the black water tank is where everything from the toilet is stored until you can dump it.  Grey water is what comes from sinks and showers.  This is the original black water tank.  ​We didn't spend too much time looking in it ;)  The good news is that it seemed to be intact, so this part wasn't QUITE as nasty as it could have been.

This was about 1 hour's worth of demolition!  Not too shabby! Well... she's still pretty shabby, but you know what I mean ;)

SOOOOO much mouse poop and even little mouse mummies!  Current mouse mummy count: 4.

This is the shower pan.  If you look past the spiders and other insects, you might notice that there's a pretty sizable hole that we had been unaware of.  Kind of a bummer, but since we won't be planning the floor plan around keeping the shower in tact now, it opens up a ton of possibilities!

Lookin' pretty good, Maude! After another 3 hours of demolition (the right side took WAY longer than the left because of all of the plumbing fixtures for the bathroom and kitchen!).  We also pulled up a layer of flooring.  Someone had laid down 1/4" plywood then covered it with red tiles all on top of the original flooring, of which you can see some of it in this photo (the brown squares).

Because of our new-found freedom with the floor plan, we're now imagining the treatment room at the back with a tiny bathroom in the middle and the waiting area up front.  Of course, this will all depend on logistics, so we're staying a bit flexible in case we need to change course ;)

Next on the agenda for Maude is to get her sealed up.  She's missing several windows and other ones leak, so we need to fix that before we get too much further.  After that, we'll lift the shell (the walls and ceiling) so we can replace the subflooring! 

Hope you all have an awesome week, and thanks for following along on Maude's adventures!
<3 Becca

Hi Guys!  Time for your update on Maude!  My plan is to aim for once a week updates, so here ya go!

We got to work on Maude a few hours here and there in the evenings this week.  We went camping over the holiday weekend, so we didn't get a TON done, but still - some progress!  Keepin' the balance!

Maude was one dirty lady!  After sitting for so many years, she had gathered quite a bit of moss. Here you can see just how dirty she was!  She cleaned up nicely!

We got a buffer for Maude! We've decided to go ahead and give Maude a once-over so that she's most of the way to her mirror finish before the weather turns rainy. What a motivator - look at her shine!  It will take 3 different buffing compounds each of a finer grit to get her to that mirror shine that is the signature Airstream look!

Camping for the holiday weekend was glorious! We couldn't have asked for better weather!  We did a little foraging, which was fun - we found blackberries and huckleberries, but not much by way of mushrooms.  Going to need a little more rain for that!

Back from vacation, back to work!  On Monday after getting home from camping, I pulled all of the external lights while Mike finished bathing Maude.  Then I scraped all of the putty that had sealed them in preparation for buffing her.

Oh Boy.  This is going to take a while!  It took Mike about an hour to get this much buffing done - it was quite the workout.  BUT!  Holy smokes, she's going to look AMAZING! 

While Mike was buffing Maude, I got to work inside removing cabinetry doors and hardware.  We'll reuse some of the hardware when we put her back together.  Anything we don't end up using we'll sell on eBay so that other Airstreamers who want to keep with the original fixtures will have an opportunity to do so!  Plus, I figure it's good karma - we're going to be needing to find some original parts of our own!

First bag for the dump!  I'm recycling and salvaging as much as I can from Maude's insides, but not everything will fit that bill.  

Another little treasure was hiding inside Maude!  The Lifetime Warranty Certificate was hiding in her wardrobe.  I think this will get preserved and brought back in once she's all put back together!

So there you have it, her first week with us!  She's going to be a lot of work, but we're totally falling in love with our Maude!

You guys!  I have some super exciting news to share with you all!  Let me introduce you to Maude!

Maude is a 1959 Airstream Overlander trailer that is going to become my new treatment space!  Obviously, she needs a little TLC, but I'm totally smitten with her!

For the last several months, I've been contemplating what I want the future of my practice to look like, and working from home, but not out of my house, feels right.  Now, you may be wondering why I'm moving in October, just to move again once Maude is ready to go?  My current office mate is moving on and I can't afford our current space on my own.  I could have possibly found more renters, but being an office manager AND trying to renovate Maude were too big of projects to do at the same time, so I made the choice to move twice in a not-very-long-period of time.  We're HOPING to get Maude complete in a year *crossing fingers!*  So for those of you who are disappointed that I'm leaving the neighborhood, I'll be back soon!

My plan is to keep you all in the loop with her progress, so you can see her go from neglected old lady to a shining (literally!), cozy treatment space :)

So, without further ado, let's take a look at what we're starting with!​

As you can see, Maude needs a full gutting in order to be safe.  Floors need to come out and be replaced.  She's missing a couple of windows as well. What you see in this picture is the front of the trailer.  This will be a reception/waiting area.

This picture is from the front of the trailer looking back.  Again, everything you see here will be removed.  In the way back is the bathroom, which will get completely redone.  In the middle you can see two twin-sized beds and storage that will become the treatment room.  In the front is the kitchen and more storage. We're not sure exactly what this space will look like, but will be where I store all of my Chinese herbs and supplements.

Maude's previous home was in Corbett, so it was a BIT of a trek getting her home!  We had to do some fun things to make her as road-safe as we could.  The newer piece of equipment you see there attaching from Maude's tongue to our truck's hitch is the sway bar from our personal camping trailer (Harvey, in case you're wondering.  Yes, I'm a weirdo who names things ;) )!  Maude already had the proper attachments!  Not shown: the magnetic tail lights we stuck on her bumper!

Maude was a real trooper!  She gave us no trouble getting home, and even though she's quite a bit larger than Harvey (Maude is 26', Harvey is 21'), she pulled very similarly!  Very smoothly :)  Not shown: As we looked back to keep an eye on her, we could see some of Maude's windows and cabinets flapping ;)

When we got her home, we started taking a closer look at her.  Look how close we came to probably blowing a tire! EEK!  But we made it.  New tires are definitely on her wish list ;)

When we got to looking around inside, we found some treasures!  Note: the little hurricane lamp will be a part of Maude's decor once she's a treatment space :)

That 1963 penny will TOTALLY help pay for Maude's renovation ;)

Here's Maude in our driveway!  The picture on the right is after we gave her a quick bath to see how difficult it would be to get all of the moss off.  Thankfully, it was super easy - and doesn't she look better?  Eventually, she'll get a polishing that will bring her to a mirror shine!

I hope you all have enjoyed meeting my new friend Maude, and will have fun following along on our adventures to make her beautiful again!

​<3 Becca

I've absolutely loved being in the Brooklyn neighborhood, but my time in my current treatment space has come to an end. My last day in this location is September 26th.
 
Beginning October 1st, my new address will be:
3133 NE Prescott St.
Portland, OR 97211

All of the rest of my contact info will stay the same :)

Those of you who have stuck with me for a long time may notice: I’m moving back to my old office! I'm super excited to be back working with my mentor and fellow acupuncturist and to continue helping all of you to feel your very best!

Hey Guys!
I'll be out of the office 8/1 - 8/11 for vacation!  Woohoo!

If you're needing some acupuncture before mid August, or you think you'll be running out of herbs before then, come in this week!

With Mother's Day quickly approaching, I'm now offering e-gift cards here at Thrive! The cards come in amounts of $10, $20, $40, $80 or a custom amount of your choosing.

The $40 card is perfect for treating the mother in your life to a custom, 30-minute Foot Reflexology Massage or Cupping session.

The process is really easy! Simply enter your name and email, the recipient's name and email, a special message and you're done! They'll receive the e-Gift Card and I'll help them get the relaxation they deserve!

Spring is finally here! Yay!

Most people are pretty excited for spring after a long winter, but have you noticed your self feeling a little antsy? A little irritable?

​That would be because your body hasn't yet shifted from the energy associated with winter - resting, recuperating, and hibernating - to the energy associated with spring - growth and expansion.

Liver is the organ associated with spring.  I like to think of Liver energy being like a flower bulb trying to sprout up through the ground.  It's a hard fight and a bit of a struggle getting through all that soil so that it can bloom - and if you've ever struggled against a barrier, you've probably known the emotion that comes along with such a struggle - FRUSTRATION.

So here we all are, pushing against the heavy winter, ready to get moving, but the weather is still keeping us mainly shut inside!  As a result of this pent up energy, we may have been irritable and short with our families, we may be experiencing some pretty serious cabin fever.

But don't worry!  Here are some things you can do to help ease this transition:

• Since spring is the season of growth and progress, now is actually a great time to set some resolutions for the year (a MUCH better time energetically than the New Year when we should all still be hunkered down for the winter).  Set some goals for personal growth!
• Have you found yourself craving sour foods? Fresh fruits and veggies? That's your body trying to self-medicate! Sour is the flavor of the liver, and will help get your energy moving. Citrus is particularly effective!
• Use up the last of your winter energy to do some spring cleaning. Clearing out the literal and metaphorical cobwebs will help boost morale!
• Acupuncture can be a help in helping you break through into spring and cut the irritability and restlessness.  Schedule your spring tune-up today!

Happy Chinese New Year of the Earth Dog!

I'm always super excited for a change in the energy that comes with the Chinese New Year, but this year, particularly so.

Earth energy is mothering, grounding, stabilizing.  Dog energy is coming together as a pack, working together as a team.  That sounds nice, doesn't it? 

If you'd like to read more about the upcoming year, and particularly in how it relates to your Chinese zodiac sign, I liked this website, where they go into those details.

Here's to a Happy New Year!