Curtains
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I spent mine thinking more about "the trip." I did a bit more sewing and figuring out how to cover Lizzie's windows.
It's amazing what you can find when you go exploring in a car. There are all kinds of covers and hidey holes that can function for your special purposes if you are willing to uncover what you find. For example, I have always noticed oval cut out shapes on the side posts right above the front seat belt attachments. Knowing that I wanted a curtain across that space, I took my screwdriver and pried off the cover. Lo and behold, there was a space there that would just fit the end of a tension curtain rod. Problem #1 -- curtaining off the front seats -- solved. That seemed almost too easy!
The next problem is covering the side windows. That isn't as hard,
because I can use bungee cords attached to hand grips that are on both
sides of the car for the side curtains. Well, there isn't a hand grip on
the driver's side, but there is a container there for sunglasses or
something like that, and the bungee cord attaches to that really easily.
Actually, I could also hook the bungee cord to the tension rod in
problem #1 if I wanted to. Since bungee cords have a tendency to droop,
I will support them on the hooks built in to the sides about halfway
between the hand grips. These will have to come down for driving, I think, because I'm afraid they will restrict my vision. But they are so easy to hang up again that I don't think I'll mind that.
That still leaves the rear side windows to be covered and I haven't figured that out yet. I need to screen them so that I can have some ventilation, but the screening won't be enough. I'll consider that over the next few weeks.
The rear window was a challenge. There were more of those oval covers that could accommodate a tension curtain rod, and that would work for holding the bottom end of the curtain against the window, but I didn't know how to attach it to the top.
On a trip to the
Container Store I found what I hope is the solution -- Command cable clips. The large ones can hold a dowel, and they won't damage the interior of the car.
I may need to shorten the dowel I have in place, to make sure it doesn't force the clip to release, but we'll see. I think it's pretty nifty!
One of the things I learned while surfing other peoples' ideas for converting a minivan is to have the curtains made of a dark fabric so it just looks like darkened windows. I didn't want dark curtains on the inside of my "home" -- I wanted it to be pretty. So I just lined the curtains with a dark fabric, and when you look at the windows from the outside, you can't tell that they are covered.
I've been making lists of what I think I need to have for a long trip like this (yes, my passport is on the list!) and I think I'm going to need a "shakedown" trip to test all this stuff out. Maybe in January I can find someplace warm to go for a long weekend.... Till then, Happy Holidays!
