Morning!

Morning!
What a nice way to start the day.
Yesterday was a pretty special day, as I got to spend a few hours with Jamie. He's a greenwood worker, who helps out at Clissett Wood (a famous place in the green wood working world). He needed a hand with something, and I was able to have a look at the workshop there. Wow. I had to apologise for saying wow so often, and Jamie seemed bemused at how amazing I found it!
Its a beautiful place, and I'm looking forward to returning at some point to do a course there. Jamie also offered to teach us some turning if we come back, so we're definitely planning to return (thoough Big One told us we were definately coming back anyway!).
The community here is lovely, but DH isn't ready for a community just yet, even if we did want to afford this place. I can see this as being a way to live a lot of our dream, but possibly only more likely if one of us wasn't fit and well enough to work on our own place.
Another opportunity has arisen unexpectedly for us- the cottage next door to my parents is going on the market. It doesn't fit into our long term plans, but could be interesting in the short term. My parents have added to the mix by offering to help us buy it, but I think that house (for us) would be ideal to rent rather than buy.
This has slowed us down on the caravan buying front, as we apparently would be house sitting rather than house sharing most of the time until after Christmas. That makes for a much shorter winter in a caravan....but we both still dislike packing up days.
So many ideas and opportunities, and that was just yesterday!
Today is packing up and moving on, so better get to it.

Half a sweet chestnut log converted to tent pegs we need. Not long ago I would have looked at that as firewood, so I'm really happy that half an hour with an axe can save us buying something. I think DH felled the tree as well. He certainly did the hard work with the handsaw this morning!
Result- 27 tent pegs
 (posted direct from my phone- wow it worked!!!)

An update over breakfast

I'm sat outside what was once a stately home, has been a school and is now home to a few families. I'm not sure exactly how many live in the house bit, as the stable block is lots of homes as well, with about 20 families here, about 50-60 people.My breakfast included soft fruit from the walled garden, which is wonderfully tidy and productive- that's a huge difference from here to Crabapple, which I was fighting a battle with the nettles taller than me. And, as usual, this place is completely different to all that we've been to already.
We're at Canon Frome Court, and the big difference here is everyone has bought their 'unit' to live in at market price, and then pays a monthly fee for maintenance, and then a seperate subscription fee for the 40 acre farm. My initial response is surprise- no matter how much or how little you work in the farm, the fee remains the same. My gut feeling right now is requiring cash isn't good- I would prefer some scheme where people who work more (e.g.full time hours),would pay very little if at all, and those who go out to earn but have little time for the farm, would pay more.
 We've only been here a couple of days and already I'm thinking how I'd change things-so much for being open minded!

I'm finding it all interesting, and an awful lot to think about and mull over. I didn't realise how many pre-concieved ideas I had about communities, and now we've been to two very different places ( though only two!) I definately need to reconsider.

Thursday was moving day for us, and very relaxed as we were only moving an hour down the road. We stopped quite a few times, mainly to look at caravans. We've had some interesting conversations with the retailers, so we've changed what we want to do. The latest idea is a 'van with twin bunks, NOT fitting the woodburner on the basis that at least initially we won't have a free source of wood- and buying firewood gets mighty expensive. Also, as caravans are not designed to cope with such fierce heat, everything would be damaged. I like the idea of some fitted things working for a while ( we're thinking of a new-ish 'van so we get reasonable insulation), so sounds like the woodburner in the 'van isn't a good idea.
We're considering getting a 'van quite soon, as we also reckon we're going to want to do this again sometime- this trip is seeming like a taster, we get so see so many places for a very short time, and making friends we'd like to visit again. We're also considering NOT renting a house as soon as we get back, and seeing how we manage in a caravan for winter.
So, we're at a beautiful place in cider country, so we were able to visit Weston's yesterday. They have pedal tractors in their 'farm' area, which the girls LOVED and  were so dissapointed that by the time we got there after the tour they had shut that area. We had an interesting tour, and tasted several ciders, one of which even I could drink ( I normally HATE cider).
Right, being harassed - I promised to make cordial- and can't think so must go. Apologies for typos, I can't face leaving this to edit later!

Another treebog.

Just a pic

Little one in the field where we camp.

Another Busy Week

I think I last updated from Brick House Farm, nr Ashford ( beautiful place, well worth a visit if wanting somewhere to camp or a venue for a special occasion).
When we left there we headed over to Dunsfold Landrover Open Weekend- a marvellous collection of landys set out in a field especially for us to have a good look around. We had our first wet packing up to be immediately followed by a wet pitching of tent- leading to our first drips through the canvas (squishing wet canvas meant the surface tension of the water, which normally stops it getting through, was disrupted enough for the rain to drip in). We made a back up plan, then it stopped raining and the tent dried out with a fire in the stove,and thankfully all was well.

We had rain, thunder and lightning over the weekend, culminating in a near death experience for DH and Big One. The lightning grounded a few feet away from them, and they have been partially struck by lightning. Big One described it as worse than touching an electric fence (she's touched the one around some pigs), and DH felt he should have a lump on his head. I'm very glad I didn't see it- its easier to see both fine  and telling me about it afterwards. DH didn't show any signs of making more sense than normal,he was just noticeably grumpier (though to be fair that could be seeing all the landrovers when he sold his).

Before the drama of lightning, we all had a ride on a little off-road course in a brand new Range Rover. WOW. I had no idea it could be sooo quiet, and so steady a ride (especially with moments of three wheels on the ground!). I feel that was a potentially expensive £6 (for charity) as I started looking at 10 yr old Discoverys online after that ride!

We really enjoy the van, its perfect for camping but we're considering a caravan for winter. If we go down the caravan route, then we really shouldn't need the long wheel based van. Talking about the van, and recognising that DH is doing the bulk of the driving-made me realise I like to know I can turn my vehicle around if needed. That can be tricky enough with a car, but sometimes it is impossible with the van. Reversing sensors help, but I tend to only drive where I've driven previously or scouted out parking beforehand. The visibility in the van is hard to beat, but I take children to the supermarket so I can park in the parent and child places, or shop when its not busy as the van isn't easy in a normal car space.
I feel I should add I would do a lot more driving (and I did the driving on the M25!) but DH is an awful passenger, and rubbish at navigating. Its much easier ( for all of us) if I navigate and DH drives.  We do have a satnav- given to us by my sister after a holiday ( THANK YOU!!!) last year. We hadn't intended on getting on, but especially for this trip, it is fabulous. It sometimes takes us different routes, and I haven't quite mastered detouring around blocked roads ( it gives me 4 options, none of which co-incide with news of problems 15 miles ahead) but overall it has saved us loads of time and effort.

Anyhow, this isn't catching up with what we're up to.
Back to Dunsfold- I mentioned rain, didn't I? It kept raining. On Sunday morning we had the sport  of watching the Icecream Van ( transit van base) being towed IN to the field! We talked to the icecream man briefly on the Saturday evening, and we all agreed that a field full of landrovers was the best place in the world to need a tow.
We were a little nervous about getting out of the camping field- thankfully nothing like the 6 + inches of sloppy mud  at the show field and our van was absolutely fine. We had the long drive up the M1 to Huddersfield which went well, despite Little One not napping well and screaming each time she half woke up.

We were house-sitters for a few days, as my Mum got a better offer for her birthday. Dad offered her a cruise for her birthday so we just missed them. We were in for a treat though, as Mum left us an apple pie AND a fish pie- lucky us! That just left me time to gather a few elderflowers and pop them in a jar full of vodka- elderflower tincture is in progress at last.
We had a lovely sunny day on Monday, so got the van mostly emptied, almost everything aired, carefully considered and a few boxes were squeezed into spaces in the garage or house ( sorry Mum and Dad!) The van is a little emptier- not that you can tell when we pack it, but now we're camping I think there are a few less things left in the back. We had a good look around my parent's garden- finding ripe soft fruits. Raspberries and strawberries were eaten, but the blackcurrants turned into delicious cordial-  I don't really like Ribena but this stuff is great.
Lots of washing dried on the line, and we felt a lot more prepared for the second half of our trip.

Tuesday was the Summer Solstice, with a long awaited party at Gill's. It was really lovely to see so many friends at one time, the girls were happy and we all enjoyed Mari's wonderful array of icecream catering for every dietary need! No sugar, no dairy, no nuts, vegan, extra chocolate- a fabulous array that all ( really!) tasted great. I wonder when she'll open a shop.......

Heath was followed by Manor Heath Park, and meeting up with E and J. It was E's birthday and wedding anniversary, so very important to see her! Big One made her a lovely card, and we picnicked and played. I celebrated my 30th birthday with a picnic there, so of course I think that's a great place for birthday celebrations :-)

Big One has been asking me to make crackers for ages- she remembers me baking some before we left. Lack of an oven ( and it being a little difficult to take over someone else's kitchen to bake when we're only at most places a week) had me say it'd have to wait, and she remembered we were heading to somewhere we could use the oven. I couldn't find my parent's yeast ( until we bought more, of course!) but our last evening there was a cracker-athon! Lots eaten, and a tin full with us should keep us going a while.

Thursday morning was the end of our trip 'home'. More packing up, with a last minute request for making a jam from some fruit Big One had picked- I seem to do 'requests' when its  in the kitchen! So DH did most of the packing,and I did a fair bit of cleaning while making just one jar of jelly with the fruit that I could find- especially for Big One with her name on it.

I'm updating from Crabapple Community near Shrewsbury. Its a lovely huge Hall, with ex-stables out the back and fields and an awful lot of raspberries. I'm not sure how many rooms there are here, but with new central heating they tell me there are 43 radiators! We had the luxury of a room for our first night, and we could even have stayed in the house more night. However, for us it's nice to be in the tent, just having a little space for us. There are 3 families here, and several single people also, a really nice mix and everyone has been really welcoming and lovely.

 I had a day picking raspberries yesterday- the first patch was either nettles in the raspberry patch, or raspberries in a nettle patch, but there were two more patches that were much easier to get to. Three huge bowls- and 8 children or so eating them, with a few left over for adults, and they all disappeared!
Today has involved coppicing some willow, stacking some split firewood, and starting the clear an old storage area for storing the firewood. DH has been enjoying using his scythe (he'll enjoy telling everyone exactly which Blackadder episode involves the line ' oh, its a scythe!'), and he finished off the bit of willow coppice when Little One and I needed naptime.

Our children keep disappearing here- there is a family with similar aged children so when they're around our children stick with them, and when they're not here the playing spaces are fabulous for them. No dogs, just a few cats so Little One is quite happy walking around, and Big One just needs to know where we are. We've felt a bit 'lost' not being constantly in demand, but its also lovely to have time to do things, like catch up on here.

Well, that feels a bit of an epic, so its time to stop. I feel a massive photo post coming up, but not today!

Just trying out emailing posts from my phone. A picture seems to big to send, but I'll work on it!

Thank You Tom Kilner!

Huge thank you to Tom for pointing out what I needed to do- and amazingly the WWOOF Google Calendar has information in it. Please let me know if it doesn't appear to you as I think its sorted now.
I'm now feeling an old fuddy duddy as its perfectly obvious what I needed to change; I was just looking for completely the wrong search terms- which I'm usually very good at coming up with. Grrr.

We're enjoying a quieter week in the same place, and met a lovely neighbour who is doing our dream (so many people share our dream!) and having a planning nightmare. Our hosts are also having a planning nightmare- Ashford area planning sound to be awful to work with. We're having a day off tomorrow, so hope to visit our last hosts ( and pick up the voltmeter we forgot), visit Rye, hopefully a beach, and a vineyard. I'm hoping we set off early, as the girls also want to play with the neighbours when they finish school!

Wealdon TImes Mid-Summer Fair

We're here at Brick House Farm helping out with the Midsummer Fair. We've roasted three pigs, quite succesfully if I do say so myself! We've also been responsible for feeding the pigs- Dotty, Spotty, Madge and her piglets, Mattie and a gang of weaners, and taking water to all of them, and the goats and sheep ( though they haven't wanted any water, silly animals!). We've had a wonderful time, and I think the rain definately helped Fridays pig from being too scorched- the crackling was fabulous.
We've made friends with some exhibitors here, and been inspired. Jane and her sister ( sorry, I've forgotten your name!) made friends with the girls and we loved Jane's designs for Slinks. If I wasn't planning on spending this summer in a field.......
We also loved the look of a hot tub. Not just any hot tub- this one is wood fired! She only got it just in time for the Fair, and unfortunately we didn't get to talk to her until the last day, otherwise we could have tried it out one evening when the Fair was shut :-( but it really, really looks like something to aspire to.
All the exhibitors have been busy packing up, and we've been able to relax in the sunshine and enjoy. WE have remembered to get some photos today, so hopefully we'll  get a photo post up this week.
Apologies regarding the Google Calendar- some info is there but in the wrong place. Soon I hope to get it sorted out, but that'll be a job for tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week.
Big and Little One have had a fabulous time, meeting new people and making new friends, but its time for me to go and play until our supper is ready. Its a hard life!

Itinerary

I've been introduced to Google Calendars, which has a sharing option. I'm putting our itinerary on there, so if you want to know where we are, or where we're going to be, let me know!
An email would be best then I think I might be able to link you in.
Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

A few days off

We've been at the Sustainability Centre in Hampshire, and the folk there are brilliant. We got there by accident though, I was just looking for a campsite to break our journey at, and this was the one that stood out. Of course, when I looked into it, its just our kind of place. I was a bit concerned about the cost though- it sounded a bit steep for what sounded a very basic set up.
However, the facilities are great. The showers are nearly instant hot water, good pressure (important considerations for us) and the disabled access shower was great for putting the kids bath in, so they have had a bath this month. The hot water went to the washing up sink, which is also under cover and the building is on rammed earth tire piles- something I bet Gill would be interested in. The water was heated by solar power- and I now have a new respect for it. When I read solar heated showers on the website, I was thinking luke-warm showers but cold in the morning, but this was a 'proper job'- what I could easily imagine living with in a house, nice and hot all the time.
What really made it a great place was the family we met who live there. The mum writes for The Mother magazine, and our children all had a whale of a time playing together, from pond dipping to bike riding to playing baking....I don't think us adults saw that much of them when playing! Big One was so sad the day we left, wanting to play with their Big One for another day.
It was also a holiday for us, because of our accomodation. We intended to camp, but it was really windy when we got there, and swirling around the camping field. I just couldn't face another windy stay- after all this is holiday time, right? So, we inspected the tipis and yurt and stayed in Henry's spare yurt for the 4 days. The extra head room- even though the floor space was actually smaller- has made our tent feel small now! We had loads of room, and things hung up on the walls, what a novelty... it was great.
The downside was a mouse trying to share our home for 2 hours in the night- we eventually encouraged it out the door, and kept the gap under the door stuffed shut. We didn't notice the windy weather at all in the yurt- happy us. We did like the tipis, but the Big One ( absolutely huge) was in use the first night, and the smaller one didn't quite suit our sleeping arrangements.
Our last night was really great as my cousin Sally came to visit- she lives nearby and we've not met up for about 20 years, we figured out.
We were glad of the positive for our last night, becuase we were having a hard time with the MOT for the van. DH carefully worked out (with the van limited to 70 mph and we rarely get that fast in it) our load weight and what tires were suitable when we got our nice chunky tires, but the garage said we had to have commercial tires on it to pass. So another £220 on tires we don't want, put on the van on moving day when we're going to the one place that warned us about access with a big van, was a bit of bad news and a bit stressful. Thankfully we've got the van in here- I'm not quite sure how we'll turn it around and get it out again but that is definately DHs department.

We're at a Woods somewhere near Charing, with some amazing folk- and 3G mobile internet reception- yippee! We didn't expect them to have any running water but they had the tap fitted a couple of weeks ago- so yay we can wash up, but boo we have a huge length of pipe in the wood to dig in 18 inches down. DH is in his element with chainsaw work, we've even got some carving wood- sweet chestnut seems lovely to work with. Little One is having a nap so I'm getting time to catch up with the blog. I had to leave putting up the shelter though- with more folk expected more space under cover is needed for meals and breaks.

We seem to be falling into a work pattern where we both try to work the morning, and I take Little One for her nap, which seems to be about 1 pm.  I stay with her, and then hopefully work a little more after her nap, but it does vary. The girls are staying up later, about 9 pm, as we've been chatting around the campfire the last couple of nights- but this is a little late for Big One. The woodland is beautiful, and Tinka and her boyfriend are just getting started with helping out her parents with woodland work. It sounds like they have more WWOOFers lined up for the coming weeks.
 We're getting to cook over the fire- the air is so still here in the wood that breezes hardly get us. Normally its the breeze that makes sitting around in the evening too chilly, and cooking take too much wood, but this is great.
We did start the huge water pipe trench yesterday, but it was so difficult the hosts are now considering a digger to at least do the accessible bits ( some of the trees are a bit close together!) otherwise it could take years, and it need burying before winter frosts!

Learning Stuff

Maturity is doing the right thing even if it's what your mother tells you to do.

Homeopathy is about energy. Electricity is energy you can't see and not easy to understand- you don't need to measure it, its still there.

When things go wrong we learn much more than when they go smoothly (I'm thinking of moving the sheep at Stroud here!)

4C at 2 am is very cold
7C at 7 am is quite warm
10 C at 10 pm is cold!

Walk behind the bull in the field- then you don't spoil his view.

A cow calving- if no further on after an hour or 2 might need some help.

When immunising lambs need to draw up 2 mls of vaccine very quickly.

Ordinary pegs are rubbish at putting up a tent in a stony field ( we had to use a crowbar to get a hole in the ground, which wasn't the same shape as our pegs)

A tent that normally takes 20 mins to put up  can take hours in a stony field.

Rock pegs seem to be worth while ( in a stony, windy field).

We like the look of a caravan with bunk beds.....

Not cooking tea daily is really lovely for us as a family.

Stones used as a path mulch either need a membrane under or tending frequently. Digging up deep roots through a path is a pain.

Polytunnels are fab, and lovely for gardening in windy weather.

A hillside is good for walking up and down for fitness, but might need knee replacements after 20 years.

Washing up in a sink is lovely. So is running hot water.
But washing up without either means I use a lot less water.

Laundrettes are expensive.

Fresh veggies are lovely, as is home made bread.

Independant food shops can be so hard to find, and local and/or organic vegetables are even harder to find.

The first step in a forest garden is establishing windbreaks, and 10 years is good for getting them established.

For DH to learn forestry we'll have to WWOOF in winter somewhere.

Compost loos and tree bogs are great.We've been 6 different places, none the same and each has advantages and disadvantages!

Sheep are daft animals.

We like cows.

I work better with a siesta.

DH really enjoys hard physical work.

I'm good at getting mucky.

Its quiet when the rain stops.

Our children are more fun with other people to talk to.

Our wood stove is lovely.

We still have no time for hobbies or reading, but the internet still happens.

Stroud

We had a wonderful week in Stroud with Sarah, Paul and Becky- home of the Stroud Pasty ( delicious- we had both beef and lamb hot from the oven and delivered to our tent!), and the most sheep we've met at once!
The downside- well, only the wind and the rocks under the tent pitch. We spent the weekend before getting there telling everyone how we love the belltent for being so easy to pitch- but not on rocks. We now have a selection of rock pegs, but we spent hours- literally- that first afternoon trying to get the tent to stay up. A tent in windy weather is ok, but we found the constant wind noise very tiring. We wouldn't have known it without trying it, but we're really thinking about a caravan for winter.
What we enjoyed at this farm: the sheep- we helped to immunise them and DH learned how strong they can be. How daft sheep can be- attempts to move them from one field to two fields over must have been hilarious to see, but ultimately not successful for us- we only got them into the next field, as half the lambs stayed put and could not be convinced to move to find their mothers, so we had to bring the flock back a field!
The beef cattle- we helped move one field of youngsters to get a couple of lame ones in the barn, so the girls ( safely behind a fence) and I had the exilarating job helping stop the cattle heading off into Stroud, while DH was part of the team herding them our way.
In another field on another day we were just in time to see a calf born- amazing stuff.
We helped with weeding in the market garden- 5 or 6 polytunnels of food growing- an amazing sight and we were glad to help with it, and eat the salads.
Which gets me onto the food- WOW. Sarah's ( and Becky's) cooking was fabulous. It was lovely not having to cook, and we all enjoyed the delicious food, and lots of it. Happy Us!
There was another WWOOFer who the girls adopted, calling her 'Koala'- quite close to her name, but not quite, who was really great to be around.
The girls discovered fossils while helping with the market garden, and that was a great project, with Little One also collecting snails or slugs in a more fatal way- her investigating tended to be quite squishy!
Big One loved watching the horses- she has yet to try riding and I imagine we'll have to get her to some stables when we get back if she doesn't get to try before.
We even managed to bump into a familiar face in the Market Garden- someone we met at Lower Shaw Farm also is involved there. It was lovely to see her, and be reminded again we want to revisit there.
Our journey South after Stroud even took us right past Swindon....
Our work days were long, and some of it quite tiring, especially when the girls really wanted to do the rounds of the fields but Little One not quite having the stamina. I was really grateful we had the sling, especially when immunising the lambs so she was on my back while I did the drawing up of the meds ( another new skill, I don't have anything to do with drugs at work!), and as well for trying to chase the sheep around the fields.
We all enjoyed the work, the food, the company and what we could learn- we know we like the cattle, and sheep seem to be a lot more hard work. We have so much to learn, but its been great learning a little about the animals.

Holidays

We've had a break from WWOOFing, and had just over a week 'off'. Last weekend was the Bodgers Ball, and our friend Richard is much more efficient with pictures, so have a look at his blog  where we had a lovely level pitch ( really appreciate these things after a couple of weeks on a slope!) and a peaceful place. We were at the Brockhampton Estate which was a lovely setting. DH and the girls spent 10 minutes going around the house, and said that was enough- I didn't get to have a look, but I'm glad we were members so a quick look was fine. The Ball is an annual gathering, and the APT has been going for 21 years, so this was the largest gathering in celebration. Lots of folk with lathes in the orchard, an amazing collection of items entered into the various competitions, from spoons to chairs, to sculpture and a very impressive Juniors section. I'm sorry to say we missed seeing what won for most sections, it was too crowded and hot in the marquee for us to stay through the awards. Both DH and I are keen to get on and carve more, but making time is the hard part. We came away inspired, weighed down by willow wands ( one made by Big One!) and a willow basket I enjoyed making. DH managed to have a go on a pole lathe, and we put on weight with the wonderful food that was arranged. We were impressed with both how it was organised ( children first at the hot evening meal) and the quality of food for the prices. We'd go there again! (however, the Bodgers Ball is in a different place organised by local teams each time, so I gather the food can vary).

After Brockhampton we had a little detour over to Wales to go to the Centre for Alternative Technology. I say little detour, as DH was arranging this part of the trip as was sure it was less than a couple of hours drive away.... It wasn't. Our journey also included a thunderstorm and hailstorm, prompting me to announce 'no matter how good experience it is, I AM NOT setting up camp in weather like this!'. It was sunny when we got there, but also a lot later than usual for us. Most of us went up the hill to CAT three days running- the girls liked the ride up, and enjoyed going back day after day- the last day was at their request! The shop was also visited daily, and the meal we had in the restaurant was fabulous- we only went in for a drink but it smelled too good.
Finally, we've been at the Natural Mamas forum Camp near Banbury. Its been a bit chilly in the evenings, which I think may have been a bit hard for first time campers- we were glad of the fire at bedtime. We bought food at this camp as well, and the lunches were amazing- the evening meal was absolutely fine, but a little dissapointing compared to the other food. Apparently the (volunteer) organisers envisaged a camp of about 30 or so, and instead there were a few hundred of us- they did a fab job, and I hope there'll be another next year! We managed to spend the weekend with friends from home, and meet a few new people. DH did a grand job doing 'guided tours' of our tent ( only bell tent this year, but I wonder how many next?lol) I think we were fair on the positives and negatives of camping in a big canvas tent. The magic for us was for the children. Most of the time they preferred to be with other folk, children or adults (especially Jill- thank you!) and Big One and I got to have a sewing and gluing time so she could make a picture for her friends. She did want it to be a purse, but I'm not up to that in 2 hours with limited materials....

We've had a non-motorway drive today Stroud, in a hotel for the night and then to our hosts tomorrow. They have an 85th birthday to celebrate today, and we don't want to interfere with their plans. We think we even have a rough idea where we're going- I think we drove passed a useful sign on our way here.
Right, better get back to enjoying family life and go find the family- they've gone to find the ducks.

The Last Few Weeks

I’m a few weeks behind with blogging- we’ve just been having too much fun living it!


Our latest hosts were a field or two too remote for internet and phone reception, so everything has been limited and rushed for the last couple of weeks. By that, I mean one of us has been keeping the children busy while the other catches up with essential communications- no facebook isn’t essential, but it is addictive and can be brief!

Anyway, we had a wonderful week at Kennal Vale Mills. Its a beautiful wooded valley with fields at the top, which is where they have a forest garden and a more traditional allotment. We’ve learnt about variety, with one adult working part-time, as well as holiday cottages, home ed, flexi-schooling, splitting wood and unfortunately dealing with vandalism. No animals of their own, but a rescue dog which visited which unfortunately didn’t agree with us too well- Little One is scared of dogs ( after being knocked over by a friendly one a couple of years ago) and Big One is wary. This dog wasn’t used to small children, which really didn’t help- and took a dislike to us all ( as it was shut away the first night we met it, and was how the dog had previously lived). That was the main drawback, and hopefully we’ve learned a little more about dogs.

I was initially quite daunted by the steep hillside- our camping pitch was at the top, and the wood shed at the bottom. I’ve no idea how many steps it was, but to where we could park half way up the hill, DH tells me it was 135 yds to the tent, most of it uphill. I felt quite ill the day we arrived, so DH had most of the carrying to do- now we all appreciate parking near our campsite :-) After a few days the hillside didn’t feel much of a problem- well, just locating the girls, and the annoyance of a forgotten tool at the opposite end of the hill....

Our girls loved spending time with a bigger girls, who lived there, and fortunately she seemed to enjoy their company too, which on a practical level meant both of us could work more, which we both enjoyed.

Our work varied from weeding, to building a woodpile shelter/rain collection system (I think the rainwater collection was more important than protecting the woodpile!), lots of wood to split as a shady job whenever we felt like it, clearing a fire circle to DH having a wall to help repair from vandalism- nearby public access seems to have attracted some folk who don’t accept some of the woodland is privately owned and maintained.

Our campsite was at the edge of the forest garden, so within the windbreaks and lovely and sheltered, we had wonderful sunshine for most of our week and very little breeze. It was so hot we had the cooking stove outside the tent all week, too hot for cooking inside! We had a few shared meals, but this was the first place we did most of our own food, which seemed to work reasonably well. Of course, the only rainy day I remember is when I did the washing :-)

We had an education about lawnmowers- or at least we could have, had we let the 11 yr old really get going on his favourite topic! He has started an impressive collection, with some amazingly old and working mowers- I can see a Cornwall Mower Museum in the making.

We’ve had fascinating discussions and informative chats with a family who have been working on their forest garden for 10 yrs, and having such a diversity of work going on- amazing.

We also discovered just getting off the site for a little while really helped us to keep at it- we’ve been working over a month with a travelling day each week, so only really one day off ( apart from John sending us to the beach!)- and we’ve not always taken it if we’ve been wanting to finish something. We found a playground in the local village, and picked up a birthday present for Little One and wellies for Big One at a garden centre on our way into Truro for fish and chips.

Our week here felt very short, and we could have easily stayed longer.



We’ve moved onto North Devon, and home of the Thunderbox. My appreciation of compost toilets has gone up again!

Our facilities sound basic- a mobile compost loo in the next field, a tap up by the cabin being built, and an outside bath 2 fields away-and its utterly amazingly fabulous.

We’ve met a family actually Doing our dream. They have a few sheep, a few cows, a few horses, a few chickens and a wood. They’ve got temporary permission to live on their land, which they have had for 4 years and been living in a caravan for that long. Actually a few caravans, but you get the idea. Where they differ from our dream is that they have about 10 or 20 times the land we hope for, and got it as a bargain from knowing the right guy at the right time. They’ve WWOOFed as a family for years, and been travelling loads after giving up ‘standard’ jobs ( well, it actually sounded like a pretty fab job- apart from- you guessed it- management!). They may well apply for full planning permission to live here now, as their businesses are doing well enough- selling salad leaf bags, animal healing and of course the Thunderboxes ( anyone want a franchise? We’d be interested if we had the land and wood source!).

We’ve been having a wonderful time. The Weather has been more changeable than we’ve had before, a bit windy and wet, but plenty of sunshine as well.

The border collie here has been the perfect antidote from the dog we met at the last place, with Big One not scared of her at all, trying to boss her around, and Little One is still nervous but sooo much better than when we got here.

Our arrival co-incided with caravan moving, to nearer the cabin so its easier to work on ( although the cabin is only a short term temporary eco build, until they hopefully get permission to rebuild the heaps of walls that used to be a farmhouse). DH helped with building a shelf for the outside sink area, and this week we’ve built a wall for the hay storage area ( which doubles as cowshed, milking parlour and stables as needed). DH is working on a chicken coop- I should be helping but Little One needed a nap.

Doris gets milked daily, which was very interesting for Big One- she was leaping out of bed to get there to see it all, and even had a go a couple of days, but she’s pretty worn out these last few days and not quite as interested. Doris’s ‘baby’, George, is 2 yrs old , and as he still has milk that means if Dave goes away for a few days (like he did a few weeks ago), George means milking doesn’t need covering. Best of both worlds, and lots of unprocessed milk for us all.

The sheep here have lambs, and Big One knows exactly how many there are. I know there is one less lamb than when we arrived- it died a couple of days after we got here, and had been ill a couple of days longer. Death doesn’t seem such a big deal, though 5 days afterwards Little One has started talking about ‘ the poorly dead baby lamb’ again, so a bit of processing going on. Big One is taking comfort that there are other lambs left, at the moment, so we’ll see how things go. The girls have always been told exactly where meat, eggs and milk come from, but seeing it all happening all the time is still a bit more of an education. I hope we can be involved in meat for eating ( when not with vegetarian hosts, of course!).

There are horses as well- they’re a bit futher away so we haven’t had much to do with them, though Big One wants to ride ( now she knows the little boy here gets to ride!) but I’m not sure that’ll fit in the short time we have left.

One of my first jobs was cleaning the drinking troughs in the fields, so I met cows (I lived with cows in the next field as I grew up, so not too bothered by that) which licked me a bit. The sheep kept their distance, but when I did the horses they all came to inspect my work! I’ve not spent much time around horses, and one of them here is a work horse so a good size. I had my buckets kicked over several times ( not food, so not too interesting) my hat removed and a lot of licking going on. I didn’t quite feel as confident to push the nosiest horse away- all the others would move when I talked and told them to move, but in the end I had to give him a shove- he was probably the foal and known to be nosy!

We’ve not been here quite two weeks, but ( apart from missing an easy shower- though there is a solar shower in the polytunnel, I missed that off my list of facilities) this is one place I wish we could stay longer. I feel I’ve not quite got into the swing of the work, with being distracted by children and some days being really quite unproductive, and if we had more time I think I’d settle into it better. They normally ask for a 2 week commitment as a minimum, but when I explained about the Bodgers Ball they were ok about us coming for a little less. Two weeks would be better, but already we’ve been some places that 2 weeks would really be a bit hard going for us all- we just can’t tell until we get to meet the people. I just reckon we’ll need another few summers off work to come back to all the wonderful places we’ve found for a few months each, and really do this properly .

We’ve had some smelly jobs- clearing the troughs was quite smelly in places, and shifting a lot of muck around. We’ve mostly been doing cow muck, making a few compost heaps, and shifting ex-muck ( ie compost) up to the polytunnel. Its hard work, its outdoors in the weather, be it hot or cold- and its really, really enjoyable.

Its Beltane (or was it yesterday?)anyway, so tonight they’re having a fire, a bit of a BBQ (first one this trip, we’ve not really thought of it!) and we’ll take a drink to share. Happy Days.

We're at the Bodgers Ball, which has mobile reception...so you get the update sooner than I hoped. Though everyone has appeared now so I can't really say much about the Bodgers Ball- but its good fun. I've woven a little basket ( hat for Big One apparently) and the breakfast butties really hit the spot. A muddle with directions means we (and many others) were directed into the 'Late arrivals' field- downsides is distance from everything especially toilets- but its good as last night it was quiet and no nettles or thistles underfoot where we've camped. Oh, and its LEVEL- wonderful! Someone packed the rain though- I think we've had our wettest day and night of our trip so far.
 Must go, Big One has a very big sharp knife out, and DH has just got a new spoon knife off Robin ( Wood, of course! are there other Robins, lol?). Happy Days!

just too busy doing

 A page of pics....

Dolly pegs at Bletchley ( the place with the enigma machines and code breaking in the second world war)..

 Lower Shaw Farm



entertainment at break time- yes that is a harp!



Including the polytunnel bare

poly tunnel new plastic

giant conga around from the front lawn..

Matt in his element with a team to organise

putting it up

the girls play barn (just for them, of course!)

at work in the sunshine

 



Little One insisted on a yoga practice after lunch!



Moving onto South Devon to John's place:

 Our pitch- a field to ourselves, apart from when the sheep visited.

the 'facilities' built by previous WWOOFers

First days work- sent to the beach!

 The view from the forest garden- the polytunnel ( the girls and I did some weeding there) and the huuge glass house. Fabulous.

A quiet spell in the journey!

Next Stop

Lower Shaw farm was WONDERFUL, and we've made some fabulous new friends. We were very sad to have to move on after only a week, but we're settled in to our new home.
We're in South Devon, working with the chap who started Riverford Organic Farm.
He's called John, and Dad to the grown up kids who run the various Riverford businesses.His wife's recipe is used in the shops Chocolate Brownie- and it is devine.
He's 85, and, well, if I'm half as active as he is at that age, I'll be happy. He's on his own now, and has a huuuge greenhouse, polytunnel, orchard and a few other fields as well. As well as plans for another polytunnel, the Forest Garden is underway, and an anaerobic digester....

The girls and I have been weeding, moving tree trimmings from the orchard, and have some more to keep us busy. Big One made sure to catch John so she could feed the chickens ( only 2 here) and find the egg :-)

DH has finally been able to use the chainsaw, felling his first tree and chopping it up today. Yesterday he was cutting down a fence ready for some work on the tanks for the spring which should happen tomorrow.

We've not done so much, mainly because on our first day of work we were all ready, went to the house and got told- no, you HAVE to go to the beach- the weather for the rest of the week isn't great, so get going! DH was a bit grumpy about that, but soon cheered up on the nearly empty beach.
John knows so much about farming, has had discussions with DH in detail about his PV and wind power set up, and generally is a really interesting guy.
He even took us all out for lunch ( to  Riverford cafe, of course!) which was really lovely.
I hope to get the girls busy with the camera to have photos of around here, and need to get looking at all the pics from Lower Shaw Farm...
Well, the chainsaw noises from the woodshed have stopped, and the girls have wandered off. I'd better get the picnic blanket tidied away so we can go in and have supper. Shared meals are agreeing with us!

Having Fun!

We're having a FABULOUS time :-)
Our arrival- well, we knew we found the right place by the sign by the gate 'Welcome  xxxxx' and then on our wander found another welcome sign by our room, and met Cormac and found the kitchen and met lots of lovely people.

We've had wonderful food, fabulous company and enjoyable work.
We've a comfy room for the 4 of us, Big One was able to feed pigs from the first morning, and loves her job of collecting the eggs. She keeps asking if its time to go get them yet! Little One has been scared of the chickens, but has got braver when she's on her bike.

Today was cafe day- which meant masses of children to play with ( sometimes a few too many for Big One), and having to share the two play houses, sand pit, huge play net and rope swings as well as swing horses. That kept 5 of us busy in the kitchen, with the bakers busy yesterday afternoon preparing lots of yummy cakes. Glorious sunshine made for a busier than normal cafe, but that helped the sales.

I got to pick nettles yesterday, dual purpose of tidying the stinging stuff away from where little legs were walking today, and getting lunch collected so we had nettle soup yesterday. Good stuff.
This is the place where the idea of WWOOF was born, and where Education Otherwise got started. The Swindon Literary Festival is organised by Matt here, and they have all sorts of interesting things happening here- this weekends South American Evening ( ok not technically here, but still) as well as  Work Weekend.

We've been a bit surprised by having a day off tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll find ways to pass it happily.
I've fitted in some yoga as there's a beautiful yoga room here, with an early morning practice and being able to attend an evening class. DH and I have both fit in some carving, so we feel we're doing very well for enjoyable individual time. I've even managed some crochet.
I feel very privileged to be here.
http://www.lowershawfarm.co.uk/

Enough words, a few pictures

Big One with New Tires for the van ( and man with workshop in his van- even bigger than ours!)

Practicing with the firepit the Tipi family could spare us- thank you!



Our lovely cake Mari made us- complete with vegan tree log so our vegan friends could have some. Apparently I'm the one with painted toe nails....



Otherwise I'm the one the hairy legs. No comment.

Tent kitchen area in use- we're still figuring out the best use of space, but it worked pretty well.



Splitting blanks on the course- we all had fun!



Some inspiration for doing the Spoon Carvers improvers course- cuksas and Native Indian feast ladles (and turned quaiches) all Robins.

What we ate lunch with- wonderful inspiration!

A nights strange rest in a hotel ( Big One is struggling with the heat), tomorrow is our last day of being on holiday with a look around Bletchley Park, and probably a Tree Centre near the hotel, and off to our first hosts near Swindon.

our 'holiday'

We’ve been in Edale at Fieldhead Campsite for a few days, while I’ve done a spoon carving course with Robin Wood.

The carving course has been excellent, as expected- from learning safe knife handling to wonderful lunches in wooden bowls and spoons, meeting intersting folk and just generally having a fab time. I've come away with 3 spatulas, 4 tent pegs of my own, and another half dozen of other peoples ( thank you, they are all in use and excellent in the windy weather), 2 spoons and working on a spoon-tula and some wood to keep going.

 I’ve had a lovely time, and we’ve been getting used to the tet. Its been quite blustery for the last couple of nights- which has been a bit of an experience. The girls have slept through most of it, but DH and I haven’t slept brilliantly- its all a bit new. The tent has been absolutely fine though, and we’ve been warm, if not hot, and dry. The campsite has gone from being us and another tent to 9 minibuses and a coach arriving last night, as well as other cars so its been rather busy, something else to get used to- new neighbours pitching in the dark on a windy night- impossible for them to be quiet!

A quick review of the campiste- lovely location, bit pricey but there isn't much choice here- 20 p for 2 minute shower and takes almost a minute to run warm sometimes, washing facilities not always cleaned that often, but being able to park in the village means we keep coming back.

DH and the girls had one trip back to sort out a few things forgotten and extra things we don't need ( we sort of expected it, that's why we started off near home) and the other grandparents came to visit us yesterday and say final good byes for a few months.


We’re having a day at Chatsworth – the farm and adventure playground- so I’ve briefly got internet access and occupied children to post this.

We’re having fun, settling in and planning packing up tomorrow! Hope to have longer internet access soon so will add pictures :-)

The Van is Loaded

Well, almost!
DH has spent ALL day carefully packing it- which is awful as when we have to leave a campsite by 10 am, we can't carefully arrange every box just right. The van is Very Full- and we still have yet another few boxes and random items to find places for. Dh reckons we'll have a trailer within 2 weeks :-)

He has done a FABULOUS job of it, even demonstrating how quick the tent is to pack up. I was talking to a friend on the phone for about 10 minutes, starting with the tent still being up, and by the end of the conversation Big One said 'Daddy's bringing the tent down  now'- meaning it all packed and into the van, not just taking the poles out!

Little One is poorly- a clingy day which has included 2 long naps and normal bedtime- I can only hope this is the worst of it and she'll be better tomorrow- please everyone have your fingers crossed for us xx
Big One has been wonderful fun, helping out and getting some playing done.

My parents house is hopefully clean and tidy enough- its not up to 'retired couple' standard, but its much cleaner and tidier than its been for the last couple of weeks- shhhh!
Speaking of parents, its time for me to go get them from the airport.

Our first port of call has no mobile reception, so I expect we'll be offline for at least a week now- thanks for following us this far.

Tent warming and Farewell Days

It was the coldest day for ages, but that's when we had out Tent Warming. Icy wind, no sunshine but we found out tent can take about 4 families, or about 7 adults and a gaggle of children (they were moving so fast most of the time, it was hard to count!) when I counted up who was in one time I popped in to see!
Apart from a now standing joke (DH can almost see the humour) regarding lack of tea and coffee with lots of freezing adults, it went fairly well. It was too cold to sit in the shelter outside, but the soup went down well. I didn't see hardly anyone get any- apart from Big One who suddenly was ravenous and came back for Fourths- but the pan was nearly empty by the end of the day. We'd asked friends to bring some nibbles or bits to share, and we had a bountiful tableful of cakes, crisps and dips,snacks, juice and pop, and it was lovely that so many people could make time to come to see us on our way.

For the record regarding the tea and coffee 'issue', DH repacked the tea and coffee into a different box, so when I searched high and low for a pink box containing them, they were actually in a box I had been asked to move....He found them eventually, and then we realised I'd not remembered to find the box of mugs we packed away ages ago :-) I suspect we'll have lots of moments like this over the next few weeks!!

Most importantly,our tent was warm and snug, various seating tried out, jumped on by many children -the grown up was more rolling than jumping ;-)  and has all survived intact. We're ready for the off!
I also found the positive comments really helpful- I don't feel very organised, and worry about the lack of a huge 'to do' list on paper, but having friends who sounded genuinely happy for us, regretful they aren't doing this, and/or enjoying the tent- well, its gone a long way for helping me feel reasssured and capable. Thank you all!

Today we had a much smaller family farewell- DH's family all travelled to visit us, see us set up before we go, and have a good natter. Great Grandma is ( I think) 3 years off being 100 and managed up the garden to have a good look at the tent and stove  and -seeing as I was anticipating the cold wind of the day before and had space in the house for us- we all sat out in the sunshine with hardly any breeze. We only just got the stove in the tent going late in the afternoon to reassure Grandma we wouldn't be too cold. Soup versions 2 and 3 needed more salt, but still went down ok. Grandma enjoys baking, so we had lovely chocolate cake that disappeared very quickly, as well as some other baking she brought, and a few left overs from the day before- fabulous.

Packing has gone well today- the neighbouring children in this row of cottages have met the girls today, and they've been playing up and along between all the gardens most of the afternoon. This house is down a lane, so no traffic or passing strangers, and the girls have been happy to roam a little -though not near the barking dogs. After tea Little One found a dressing up mask left behind, so I thought she'd taken it into our house for safekeeping. When I went into the house a few minutes later, DH told me she'd gone round to the neighbours to return it  and sure enough I turned around to see her trotting back happily, having been given a lollypop for her trouble ( and one for Big Sis). She'd walked around, knocked on the door, spoken to neighbour and come back- all on her own and she's not yet 3. I am glad she talked to DH before going though.

Around our farewells, we've been sorting and packing the last few boxes, with just a few more to deal with tomorrow. Tomorrow is the final pack- the tent comes down and we'll 'camp' overnight in the house before heading off.  Fingers crossed it all fits into the van..... and a lot of positive thoughts please!

Finally- I need to remember to go to the dentists. With everything else,  I completely forgot to go on Friday, but thankfully they can fit me in tomorrow-lets hope I remember...
So, last practice night in the tent- after this its for real. So far so good!

Getting ready for the last few 'home' days

My last day at work was yesterday. This week has been up and down, but in the end it was nice saying good bye and knowing I’ve got a good break from it all. I feel ready for a holiday, so I think it’ll take a while to sink in I’m not going back in a fortnight.


So now it just home stress to work through. I’m looking forward to just ‘being’ and ‘doing’ rather than planning. We’ve been talking about and planning this trip for over a year, and I hardly know what else we did last year- its disappeared and that doesn’t feel right.

I was out in the tent, Little One had a nap this morning ( 5.45 am was obviously too early for her today, she’s our early riser) so I tried out the dongle attempting to email potential hosts for Up North for the end of our trip. 11 emails out, 3 potential hosts out of the running aready and one that sounds utterly fabulous so just fingers crossed about dates working out.

We need to make some final decisions about our holiday weeks Down South, and then we’ll just follow the diary each week to where we need to go next- lovely.

One thing I’m regretting- we got a paper membership to WWOOF so we didn’t have to do all the planning with a computer on, and we have something to refer to when we’re without internet connection. However, that means ( as our year isn’t up yet) I’m still working from something published Winter 2009. I can’t help wondering if that is why some places haven’t got back to us at all- though several have very kindly forwarded our email to the new contact person if relevant, but a few places have stopped being hosts in the meantime.

We have our farewell ‘Tent Warming’ gathering tomorrow, so by then we need to sort the garage out, find our box of mugs and get the tent more organised.

We’ve got a few boxes left lying around the house that we need to decide what is happening, and on top of that my parents return on Monday, so the house needs to be just how they left it (without all our belongings strewn everywhere!). I've been moving all the final boxes to sort out to the garage, giving us pressure to get that done before friends arrive tomorrow afternoon- the forecast isn't fabulous so we might just need somewhere to shelter from Yorkshire Weather. There's a road nearby called Weatherhill- I can vouch for the fog and snow always being worse up here than everywhere else, and horizontal rain just isn't fun.

Its funny to think we'll be looking out for laundrettes and using other folks washers if they'll let us (with two little ones, especially Little One,  I'm getting a little worried about the washing) from next week. I'm looking forward to the journey, but the last minute nerves and getting through this final sorting out an  know we can hand wash, but I haven't made that mental step yet. I remember spending ages looking out for a hand powered washer I'd seen once- that'd be great for this journey and my peace of mind.
I've read a few books about journeys, and what stands out to me right now is how they mention the few months preparation in a line or two- just this week seems like forever to live,  and this blog feels very repetitive at the moment.

 I'll be glad when we're on our way at last.

Still Working....

We're still plodding on- 1 week and a day left for me to work- yippee! But until then I feel I need each day to have 48 hours to fit it all in.

I've had a nice conversation with EDF Energy tonight- after waiting for 15 minutes for one of their very busy people to get around to answering the phone- and thankfully got a helpful person who sounds to be sorting things out. We've nicely overpaid on our accounts for both houses, so we're just making sure we get our money back.

That'll go to help fund the new tires DH had fitted today- £650 and we hope we can handle damp grass better than the tiny amount of snow we were skating in last month! They look the part, but I also hope we don't need to test them out any time soon.
More electrical bits for the van arrived, ready for Tony to fit on Friday, and DH must remember to go get the extra leisure battery tomorrow, before his trip to the dentists ( important to get sorted before we go!).

I've had fun on ebay getting a stack of plastic-backed picnic blankets which are starting to arrive- our tent flooring- we already have 4 but that isn't enough!
I also have to figure out that bloomin stick-on velcro. Its doesn't stick to things that bend, so it hasn't worked with the foam sleeping mats. I had a go at stitching a short 20 cm length last night.  At 2 hours I had got far enough, I figure a couple of inches only sewed along one edge will have to do. the glue sticks to the needle and thread, needing rubbing off every couple of stitches, the velcro is tough so I broke a needle- it is not a fun job. I'm not doing any tonight, so I'll have to do double tomorrow to keep going.

We have some socialising planned this weekend, so I just hope we can fit enough work around it. We've accidentally managed to arrange to see a family who inspired us to give this a go.
Our 'tipi' family didn't get far in distance with their journey, but have shown us how they enjoy living in tents, and given us the inspiration to get on and Do It ourselves. We haven't seen them for over a year, but talking to someone at work this week- who's son plays with theirs- means we can catch up with them before we go.
We're also catching up with some home-ed friends, and hope to call in at 'lenten moon/spring equinox thing' if we possibly can on Saturday.
I'd better go get some sleep while I can!

Another Start

I hardly know where to start! We've had such a busy time recently.
Last Friday we moved out of our rented house, got tenants into our own house, and moved in with my parents.
If you say it quickly, it doesn't sound too bad :-)

But its been busy. We left far too much to the last minute, so Friday was far too busy moving out and cleaning, and not really having space to move our (unfortunately still far too much) stuff into my parents. We've been filling their garage ( after boarding out some attic space in it and filling that) but on Friday we had a van full, boxes all through the house, the garage full and even a some shelves and boxes in the greenhouse for a few days.

So, we have some clues about what we need to do- sorting through and thinning out on the 'stuff' front.
Actually, I think as we move into the tent ( no, we're not there yet) physically moving stuff up the garden will hopefully bring some realism into this. One place we're going to isn't sure the van will get along their access-moving our tent by hand any serious distance will be hard work, let alone 'home comforts'!
I'm still working almost full time, with the added interest this week of a commute. I've been leaving home at my normal getting up time, but getting home surpisingly early. A bus lane on the journey home by shuttle bus makes a huge difference, so much so I'm not sure I'll borrow the car I'm access to from next week.
I've been limited in my ability to fulfill plans this week- my back ( technically my SI joints, but no need to be picky) wasn't up to Fridays frantic moving. I've been having a few niggles fror the weeks since I stopped yoga ( and not managing to make the time to practice on my own) but Friday really finished me off. I was unable to move Saturday morning, gradually getting more mobile through the day but then really struggled with work on Monday.

Thankfully my wonderful chiropractor Debbie was able to fit me in that evening, and since then I've really felt on the mend. I even managed to walk around Ikea tonight ( wasn't great, but I managed it!) which is fab as standing and walking are the worst things, apart from work, I can do.

Today DH got the tent up with very little help from me, so we're starting to get things ready to go in there.
The stove (ours is called Louis) is in place, and our sleep mats. I've had a disappointing time today with the mats. I've spent hours hand and machine sewing covers on the final mats over the last few months, and planned to velcro them together. I couldn't face sewing all the metres of velcro on, so bought some heavy-duty stuck on stuff. Alas, it is not intended for use on fabrics and is also not suitable for machine sewing. I decided to give it a go anyway and the rotten stuff hardly stuck.

Stop press- I just tried the sample piece I brought into the house to check on, and there does seem to be some sticking activity happening, yippee! I hope it might just do the trick. the fabric I'm using it on is wipe clean plasticky stuff, so not 'fluffy' fabric at all, so all might not be lost to hours of hand-sewing...fingers crossed.

I've been a little apprehensive about sharing living space with my parents, not least that when I last permanently lived here as a teenager things were a little 'tense'.
My parents are not keen on autonomous home educating- I think if it was structured they might be more agreeable to it, but that isn't us. The first few days there was a daily 'comment' regarding 'what we're doing to that wonderful child' (with the speaker not willing to listen to any discussion about it at that time) but thankfully that didn't continue- I think we'd be struggling if it had. We did manage a good two-way conversation with a grandparent a couple of days in, which I hope might reassure them just a little bit.

Other than that, I've found sharing living space with them really great- the girls love being with their grandparents, and the feeling is generally mutual. DH and I have had several uninterrupted conversations, and even had an afternoon out together with friends at Portland Works on Sunday. I had expected stress levels to rise sharing in someone else's house- but so far ( admittedly I've been the one out at work all day) I've found it to be less stressful. I wonder how much we're irritating our hosts, but they do keep assuring us, apart from the boxes in the way, its not too bad for them. Of course, they are going on holiday in a couple of days- living with upset for a few days is different to the prospect of 3 weeks. Their trip is to Egypt, so recent events had us wondering if we would all be sharing for the full three weeks, which doesn't seem so daunting now we've managed one week. However when we were planning things three weeks sounded a long time to share!

Also today ( do you get the idea today has been busy?) our friend Tony ( who does a fab job keeps our van running) has been to investigate our electrics in the van. He's found things we had planned to buy hidden in there, and I've even heard mutterings of a space heater in there. I'm sorry to say I haven't got my head around electrics, so I'm reassured Tony reckons the wiring in the van has been done as he would have done (it was previously a company van, so when we got it it had racking in the back, complete with weekly maintenance schedule for chainsaws) and we've got a good starting place for our plans. We have a little fridge coming with us, so we want to keep that running and be able to charge up various laptops, mobile phones, camera batteries, etc. DH is definately doing the brain work regarding getting the van ready.

I mentioned a trip to Ikea this evening, which has been ( hopefully) the source of our 'camp kitchen'. I had been planning a wonderful homemade chuck box, but DH only properly looked at the plans 5 days ago and it would need some alteration to suit us, and serious work for it to materialise. We both realise we haven't enough hours left to make it (and learn the appropriate skills!) so have been looking for something to adapt to move our kitchen equipment, spices, etc. We expect to be self-catering the majority of the time we're volunteering- I think our kitchen will be important! We've worked through several variations, and thought we sort of had a plan- and went to have a look around Ikea. On our shopping trip DH managed to find something we think will work with very little work on our part  and I can't find it online to share. Its a little metal wire chest of drawers from the home office section called 'Lennart'. Its something like this, well, sort of.

I think that's a fair round up of the last couple of weeks- so I'm sure I've forgotten something major!