Happy little Vegemites

We are both blissfully happy tonight, and so easily pleased we are.  We have a living room!  We can sit on a sofa tonight.  I have a desk!  Somewhere to put my sewing.  I can do my sewing!

It is quite a rustic living environment but here it is :

1. Left blue door is the little kitchen and the right blue door is our living room
2. Our kitchen (otherwise known as the boys' lunchroom
3. Living room/office

The packing station

We worked out today that we are one third of the way through our time living in the caravan.  By the time we get everything sorted to our satisfaction it will be time to go!

In our "lockup" we've set up a little packing station - somewhere to lay out the stuff that has to go into boxes and suitcases.  It has actually turned out to be a good place to work as it is extremely well insulated.  The room was originally an apple store.  The temperature has been pretty much constant despite the extremes in temperature we've had lately.  It's also nice and quiet even when the rain is pelting on the shed roof.

Here are our 8 boxes all packed, just to be taped up, and ready to go.  Suitcases now on the packing station!

Practice for muddy towpaths

It's raining... it's been raining since yesterday!  I think we're in training for dealing with muddy towpaths and English weather.  For the first time since we moved here, the rain has been blowing in from the East today which is a real nuisance.  It means we're walking in the wet to go into the shed to use the bathroom/laundry etc.

It's rained so much that one of our new water tanks (only hooked up to the downpipes a few days ago) is almost full!  Once Mick has put a tap on it I won't have to fill our camping water container at work any more.  Tomorrow he'll divert the downpipes to the second new tank.

The water is pooling outside on the concrete and creeping closer to the van.  Hope we get a break soon or we'll be putting the poles in so we don't float away.  Although, it's nice to hear rain on a tin roof - very soothing.

I spent the afternoon finishing my packing.  We now have a neat row of boxes almost ready to be collected next week, just a few more bits and pieces to add. 

10 weeks to go....

Doesn't time just fly by.  In our case, maybe a little skip forward too!  Last week we were thinking we had 12 weeks left til we go.  According to our calendar anyway.  When we booked our tickets I marked each week back from the date we leave "1 week to go", "2 weeks to go" etc.  In my haste and enthusiasm it seems I wrote on the same date twice.  Our calendar is one of those with a month on each page and each day in a box.  When I got to the top of the page I'd written a count down on the greyed out box that filled in the week - the grey ones were the end of the month before.  I also wrote on that same date when I turned the page.  The other day I saw it and realised we actually had 11 weeks to go, not 12.  Isn't it lucky I worked it out now and not in the final couple of weeks!  I wonder how long it would have taken for it to dawn on us if I hadn't seen my error the other day.

So now there's only 10 weeks left and an awful lot to do in that time.  I've been packing boxes... yes, again.... ready for the shipping company to come and take them away to England.  We've scaled down a bit to save on shipping and only packed things we have duplicates of, plus clothing and some sewing projects.

He who has the biggest shed wins

Mick is as happy as a pig in mud living out here at the shed.  He has his mini renovation in progress converting one of the offices into a living room, there is the entire woodworking workshop at his disposal, there is heaps of space, and it's a lovely rural environment.  He has gone out after dinner to survey his kingdom and his handiwork.

Buying a half share of this place has turned out to be an excellent decision.

Frozen water pipes!

No.... not on a narrowboat.... at our shed!

I crept out early this morning in the dark to use the bathroom.  Oh, my goodness, it was cold.  We each have a pair of "crocs" that we have always used for the garden and walking around the chicken shed.  They are now on our little platform outside the caravan door.  So far I've managed fine wearing them with bare feet to hurry across to the bathroom.  This morning was so cold I could hardly stand it with bare feet in those things! 

When I turned on the tap in the bathroom to wash my hands no water came out of the tap.  I thought we'd used all the water in the water tank. I came back complaining to Mick about the lack of water and eventually we came to the conclusion that the water pipes must be frozen.


When we got up an hour later, it felt even colder.  It was -4 degrees.  Outside it looked like a Winter wonderland.  Everything was covered in frost and ice.  The property is surrounded by an industrial chain wire fence and the entire thing was white frosted.  Mick's bucket of water holding his paintbrush had a layer of ice on top.  Even my car, under the carport roof, had icicles on the roof.

The sun came out and began to melt the ice on the roof of the shed and the condensation on the steel beams inside rained down all over the place.  This time when I went outside I put my feet (with socks - I wasn't making the same mistake) in the crocs which were full of water.  It was so cold!!  I got dressed and retreated to my Mum's in Bendigo for a shower to warm up.  It took until I got there for my feet to defrost, despite having the heater blowing on them all the way.

I don't know what will happen if the pipes freeze on a work morning.  I think I'll have to take more notice of the weather forecast - and if it's likely to be that cold I'll get up earlier to allow time for a trip to Mum's for a shower.

I went to the Rivers factory outlet and bought two pairs of short "ugg boot" type things.  Tonight we've got warm feet at least and we've put the crocs away.  Now we'll walk from the caravan to the bathroom without cold feet.

I guess it's all good practice for Winter on a narrowboat.

The temporary home

For those who have asked to see where we're living - here are some outside photos.  Once our little living room is complete I'll take a few indoor ones.

1. Taken from the back corner of the property
2. From the driveway (shed on the left)
3. From the shed door
4. Frost and sunrise
5. The valley
6. Lovely outlook

Lockgate vs. solid fuel stove

We are interested to hear opinions about lockgate stoves on narrowboats.  We often see boats for sale having one and had thought that we should replace it with a small solid fuel stove.    I like to be able to put a kettle or a pot of soup on a wood burning stove. 

What sort of heat do the Lockgates give off? 

Is it a dry heat like a wood fire? 

Is there any diesel smell?

Is a Lockgate stove a good supplement to a central heating system?

We definitely don't want the central heating to run off a Lockgate heater.  We want to have 2 sources of heating in case of a problem with one.  But, with a Lockgate stove it's likely to be both soures reliant on diesel.  What if you're iced in and not able to fill your diesel tank?  Would it not be easier to collect a bag of coal for a solid fuel stove?

Opinions greatly appreciated.

Annie

I had a lovely day yesterday - taking my niece to see Annie at the theatre.  Being school holidays the theatre was packed with little girls.  The performance was great and Min really enjoyed her day.

Starting to feel like home

I never thought I'd say it but that little caravan is starting to feel like home.  We're getting used to where our clothes are stored, we have a method for the washing, we have a system for alternating power plugs for the kettle, toaster, microwave etc.  With the shed far more tidy now, it doesn't seem so bad having to walk through it to go to the bathroom.  I'm even used to saying "good morning" to the neighbour's cows when I step out of the caravan each morning.  I got the fright of my life the first morning I was by myself when one let out a loud "mooooooo" just as I came out the door.  It was right up against the fence and was quite close.  I rather like having them there now.

When we finally get our narrowboat it will feel enormous compared to the caravan and the cooking facilities will seem luxurious!  Being able to go to the bathroom without going outside will be fantastic.


I'm at my brothers tonight in Melbourne and his wife mentioned their plans for Christmas. It's strange to think they're planning what to do for Christmas and we won't be here.  Twelve weeks from tomorrow we'll be on a plane.  I know how fast 12 weeks goes when I have a holiday booked..... and that's a bit of a scary thing. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  I'm taking my niece to see "Annie" at the theatre in Melbourne.  It was the first thing I ever saw at the theatre as a little girl and it will be Min's first time at the theatre too.  A very exciting day.