Removing the linoleum revealed several crumbling edges of the subfloor near windows or storage openings that must've taken on water at some point. ​I took off the cabinet doors and hinges for repainting, cut away some bottom sections of the fiberboard cabinets that had swollen with past water, and removed the sink-side bench and storage wall at the bed end. A long day that ended with the dogs hopping through the storage door "time machine" several times (Dover went to 1920s Thailand, Maple to last week's garbage bag heist) and making Vietnamese vermicelli bowls. 

I researched a truck that could tow the trailer--and stop it!--so I can (I hope) tow with confidence. So a few weeks ago I bought this used Nissan Titan. It has high miles but is in pretty good shape and after some extensive toothbrush scrubbing on every surface, the inside is looking a lot better. This truck is in the class with a Dodge Ram or Ford F150 in terms of its tow weight capacity, but has a smaller body thankfully. Switching from a 2003 Honda Civic to this truck has me feeling like a lumbering giant with pretty poor spacial sense at this point.

Well last week I learned that "The Possum" was the nickname of country music legend George Jones. This was not why I named the travel trailer "The Possum," but I suppose given that this whole experiment is unfolding in Texas, where Jones was born, the name now will have two levels. 

As for the experiment, last week I was tasked with pulling the trailer out of the yard it is presently in--moving it out from one side of the yard and backing it in to the other side. I was not successful.

I was successful at being supremely frustrated, being flattened by a tidal wave of doubts, and having a good cry. On the up side, a couple neighbors over there on the eastside--Juan Antonio and his wife Rosa --(who I did not know), were driving by and saw my predicament and basically backed the trailer in place with a couple directions uttered in Spanish and some obvious years of experience. They were kind and encouraging and I was grateful. 

I'll take their advice and return to some video tutorials and give it another shot before long. I suppose these are the growing pains of trying something new. But lest anyone out there think it's all rainbows and breezes over here . . .