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!

Another busy day

It's been my birthday. I can remember last years quite clearly- it was snowy, it wasn't half term ( a rarity) and, as it wasn't a school holiday I was able to have the day off work. So, I had the week off work and went to learn how to carve wooden bowls with Robin Wood. I had a fabulous time, and this last week I've been able to get the axe out ( I really love my carving axe!) and do another little one.
There's a story with it though:
Last week I had a day off and planned to do a bit of 'wood'. DH had been itching to use his chainsaw, so my parents kindly found a cherry stump that required some help.

I naively thought that sounded good, I could have a go at a little bowl from that. Well. DH said it was a little hard work cutting a short length off with the chainsaw, but I eagerly got the splitting axe and tried to split it. I tried quite hard, then admitted defeat and called DH to help. Two of us putting serious welly into it, got about 1 mm into the end of the log.

see the tiny line almost parallel to the cliff edge? thats two adults giving the axe and maul serious welly!

DH then recalls Robin mentioning that cherry did beautiful spoons, but it was hard on your hands....we agree. If DH can manage to chainsaw a blank out of it he might try a spoon, but he's not sure his chainsaw ( and him) are up to that challenge!
Anyway, we had a bit of old willow around, and DH and I easily split that in 2 seconds flat- a good learning curve for how different wood can behave.

Lovely little bit of wood. Can you see a bowl in it? I could....

 Although it isn't finished yet, DH has been able to to teach me a little about knife handling- no cuts at all, and the only blood from a grazed knuckle which always happens when I start splitting wood. This bowl is quite small, so I didn't use my carving horse (handy as is moved to our next temporary abode ahead of us, and hopefully travelling around the UK with us if we've space for it in the van)and after the initial adzing just used the bowl gouge a little before using my curved blade that Duncan made.
Unfortunately I've found another learning curve- my sharpening skills really need some work. I've had repeated attempts, but everything I've sharpened leaves little scrapes, and although it'll have sharp spots, it'll have more dull ones. I reckon DH could do with some practice as well, so I've asked him to have a go at sharpening- then I can finish off the inside of my bowl.

Onto another topic completely....

I had a really lovely day the other day- and I was at work! I've started inviting folk to a farewell gathering, so more people are suddenly aware we're off on our travels, it really is happening, etc.
I was speaking to someone who works in a similar area, but different area at work, and I found it really inspiring. She works in an area where her personal beliefs are completely at odds with what she does, and she finds it a strength. She knows her clients get a really clear explanation of risks, possible repercussions and the options put in front of them, because she ultimately believes everyone should choose their own path- but that it should be a well-informed choice rather than being pushed into something without realising the potential consequences. I came away from a short conversation feeling a lot more positive about my work, and that realisation that other folk may not always agree with their work but can find the positive side to it, rather than complaining but doing nothing, or just being miserable and demoralised. I enjoy aspects of my job, but sometimes wonder about the 'making a difference' side of it being lost, and instead I'm working to tick boxes that 'this population gets offered x' irrespective of if 'x' actually makes a difference to outcomes, let alone improving outcomes.
I'm also hoping that when I return to work after our trip  that I'll be refreshed, revitalised and able to enjoy work more. I recall enjoying the novelty of working after maternity leave after little one, so I'm hoping I'll have that positive feeling, without the exhaustion of a little one!

Another tangent ( I've had an alcoholic beverage, I feel the need for tangents!)
We have a week and a half left in this house, before we move into my parents garden. This weekend is 'Moving' weekend, and I plan that we'll just be camping with the bare minimum of clutter around for the last week so the cleaning and final pack is quite straightforward. DH has other ideas so we'll see how it goes!
We also have the good news that our prospective tenants have leaped through all the hurdles the letting agents have thrown at them, and handover day is planned for the 4th March - yes, the same day we have to move out.
This means we'll not be liable for any utility bills, the house will be occupied, and the rent ( fingers crossed they pay) after agency fees should cover our planned (admittedly minimal) expenses for our trip- fuel, van maintenance and insurance, food for us and some holiday week camping fees. Day trips and meals out will be extra, but that's a huge difference to spending what we've saved over the last year. I think I'd better go look at prices to go visit my sister!

Final tangent ( but I've lost the picture, I'll add it another day)
A couple of weeks ago I realised the jigsaw board needed putting into storage, but had a jigsaw started. The time to finish it had come, so I got to have a peaceful time doing a jigsaw. Its a map one, and I enjoy finding new places each time I do it. And odd places- did you know there was a Starbuck Island?
I'm still plodding on with my crochet- I'm working on a square that's patterns done in treble crochet, and I've not got the tension right. It should be a square, but instead its very much a rectangle. Its a second attempt so I had hoped I'd figured it out, but not yet.
Enough tangents now!

Nestle? No thanks

I'm not very good with words, so I'll link to a friend who can say it better.

http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2011/02/irony-in-raising-money-for-comic-relief.html

Not our dream....

quite yet, but we've been able to help friends get a little nearer with theirs. We had so much fun the first day we asked to go back the next- ok, it wasn't quit so much fun or productive in the snow ( and we got a little stuck getting there!) but it was lovely.
We were able to focus on a task and get on with it. The girls had fun with friends back at the house, and we could relax and enjoy because we knew the girls were so happy.
A welcome distraction to packing up and making decisions ( as in 'which storage place does this need to go to? When will it be needed again? Or does it go in the charity bag, or, gulp, the bin?'). One more week until  we mostly move- I plan the last week living here as 'camping'. Next weekend we hope to get all the furniture into storage, our travel fridge to be in use ( its currently our freezer so we need to eat up!) and my parents house to be a bit full. It would be good it we could put off putting up the tent for another week, but that depends if we run out of corners to cram things when we get this house mostly empty.
Our travel plans are coming together, we've decided to try to go to particular events, so The Bodgers Ball, Natural Mamas forum camp and The Mother Camp are all on our itinerary. Not all of these have been easy decisions for us both, but we're willing to try different experiences. We had hoped to fit in a festival or two, but the ones that have caught our interest really have been at the wrong time/wrong end of the country, and/or completely astronomically priced. Much as I love my yoga, and expect my teacher will be doing a Yoga family friendly Camp, I'm not quite up to talking DH into a week of it.This year.
It looks like we're going to have a couple of weeks proper holiday in the South of England. WWOOF hosts there either have changed their email addresses or are so un-keen on our family they haven't responded to enquiries, but it looks like this will work well with doing some touristy bits as a family. Just looking at the National Trust Book there's tons to see, but I'm hoping to get onto the permaculture website to see what projects we can visit just for the day. We have one host lined up in the South East, I just need to decide which dates to go for. We don't want to clash with DH's landrover show (I'd do a link but TBH I know nothing about it :-)  ).

An Unexpected Holiday

I went to work today- and I didn't need to. I'd booked some annual leave a few months ago, planning that I'd need some time to pack and get organised, but forgot to write it down. As it happened, they'd booked a patient at my start time anyway, so I had something to do for half an hour, and then I came home. I'd have been annoyed if I had a commute, but at a two minute walk I can't really complain, and it was lovely finding out I had extra time, and I have tomorrow off as well! I won't make the same mistake tomorrow...
I've had a lovely day, which I'll say more about later. When I got the photos off the camera I realised I'd not shared us making Flowery Foot Powder from The Holistic Beauty Book :
Firstly- this wasn't made for any necessity or desire- purely that I had offered to use the grinder to make curry powder with the girls, only to find we were out of coriander ( and it just isn't curry powder without coriander)- and this was the first thing I found I thought we had the ingredients for at short notice!
The main ingredient being flowers, rose petals (bought) and lavender (home dried):

I had some help:

And a shot with the ground flowers:

It smells lovely, incredibly messy to use with small children, and very obvious when its all over the bathroom floor!

I've had a little time to do a bit more crochet while the girls chose to stay playing at a soft play place for hours- and I still had to drag them away- we'd been the only folk there for ages too! Anyway, I have now learned how to change colours which was something new for this week.

A neighbour returned  a book today, which personally I think all expectant mums should have access to. I had no idea about what was behind the low breastfeeding rates in so many places- that we are all exposed to so much marketing its no surprise so many mothers have no choice ( or feel they have no choice) but to use formula, and as a culture 'not breastfeeding' has been the norm for so long today's grandparents have no breastfeeding experience either- my friends mother-in-law came out with the classic 'its just not natural!'. Although I have been aware of people boycotting Nestle for years, now I actually get why its worthwhile to deprive us of Smarties and Aeros (you can get non -Nestle alternatives!). I can't explain it well- you'll just have to read the book!

In a similar vein, my Moby slings have come home for a few days, ready to pass onto the next mum:

Something I think all maternity units ( or some other stretchy wrap, other brands are available, lol) should introduce all mums to- I remember being taught how to bath a baby (which seemed incredibly faffy, I preferred the 'getting into the bath with baby' version that I figured out for myself) but its would have been much more useful to know how to use a stretchy wrap. I heard of them before Little One, so got myself to a sling meet and bought a cheap one off ebay before bump landed. I was very glad to get good advice, but the downside is seeing so much of what is out there, and there are so many lovely slings out there!

We order food from Suma, and we're stocking up for being away. They have had a special offer for customers of a goody box for the New Year, with orders before this Friday:

The Goody Box was advertised as being worth £25, and I'm impressed with it all- we ate the spaghetti for tea ( nice, not too smooth so the sauce sticks to it!), so that's not in the picture. The only thing we won't eat is the liquorice, but we probably know someone who'd like it...

We used to order with neighbours as you had to be a business to order wholesale, but they now recognise you might be a neighbourhood co-op and order with friends, so anyone can order (you need a customer number to see the prices on the wholesale pages, which have different quantities and prices to their retail page). We usually ask around relatives and sometimes remember to ask friends if they want anything, but we order enough for it to be worth our while. We get 3% discount for collecting as well, so it all adds up, enabling us to get organic 'things' that we might not otherwise be able to afford to get organic.

Anyway, that's part of the nice day, but the other bits aren't pictures. Seeing DH and Big One playing fireworks, Big One picking up a picture dictionary and asking questions and sneakily learning things (which kind of camel has two humps anyone?). And I've had a holiday- I was instructed to work on a jigsaw I'd like to finish before packing it away, so I did. DH planned a swimming trip this afternoon before we found out I wasn't at work, so I took her swimming while DH did other things. Apparently its different going with me, but we both had fun and I'm worn out! Later Big One got some rice out to play at making pictures, which DH joined in ( I was distracted in the jigsaw again), and not only did we tidy up enough to find some floor, we even found the vac again so a small amount of what I think may be termed 'housework' happened. Wonders will never cease!

We've also got another week arranged through WWOOF, though it sounds a bit tight for getting our van to it....

And we're getting some time to go visit http://www.portlandworks.co.uk/events/  while the girls have quality time with Grandparents. I nearly rented accomodation at uni round the corner from there...but that was many, many moons ago now.

A better day

A nights sleep and things are better again.
A few more things in storage- that huge fridge freezer moved as well as a few more boxes, food ordered from Suma to collect tomorrow, nice plans for tomorrow- all going well.

A phone call from estate agents this morning( they tried to sell our house for over 6 months, failed, now its up to rent instead) went something along these lines:
exchanged pleasantries then she said 'so, I've got some good news, there was a viewing last night and she really loves the house'.
Me: 'mmm' ( thinking we've been here before)
Agent: 'She'd like to offer £xxxxxxx for it.'
Me:' She wants to BUY it???' ( extremely surprised)
Agent: 'Yes, but she has to sell her house first. So, she'd like to rent it until she's in a position to buy.'
Me: ' Oh, ok. Yes, that all sounds good to me. thank you!'

Wow. it sounds very good, but we'll see if anything comes from it. And any offer she makes to buy won't be binding. After living there she might change her mind. She might say this about every house she views and not sign to rent it. However, I'm hopeful we might have a tenant. Oh, she wants to move in as soon as possible as well.
It couldn't be better for a phone call- so we hope the paper work will back it up.
But I'm just enjoying the day, not getting my hopes up too high. If we get a signed tenancy agreement then I'll start believing it!

Too Much to Do

And I hardly know where to start. I'm feeling the pressure today- at work all day, politely requesting DH contacts the campsite we're going to first (his delegated job from months ago, I know he's busy but it STILL hadn't happened!), reading how another family is a zillion times more organised than we are, and knowing that when I'd really like to have a bath, or just chill with a relaxing book, I really should be finding more hosts and emailing them.I've been packing up the cellar a bit, but need to 'politely encourage' DH to get on with it.
I know how busy the day is with the children, getting food, sorting food,washing up, washing clothes, all essential for daily life. But we are out of this house in 4 weeks and it HAS got to get packed!!!
I know I'm tired and grumpy from working the weekend, and I'm very glad I'm off Thursday to compensate- that's when we plan to move the fridge freezer from parent storage to paid storage, hopefully sort out addresses with banks, and I'm hoping a whole lot more packing can happen as well.
Home educating can be about working to a deadline this month....
Hmm, better tell DH to read this, though I think he might be getting the idea already.

Away from the Packing

Not technically mine, but Big One was busy with what we found in the bottom of a box- and made a farm with fencing and animals and people. She was busy for ages with it, and understandably upset when Little One walked in and kicked it. These things happen...

At some point, just after Christmas I think, I made some rather brittle flour tortillas. They didn't work too well, so the left overs got fried and turned into very yummy home made crisps. Much better than throwing them away!
I had a go ( from handmade loaf ) at picklets, one day when I woke up about 4 hours early. Plenty of time to have the batter rise for a couple of hours and have something fresh and hot at 8 am, before work...

 I hoped for something like crumpets, but they had quite a delicious bread taste instead.

I read The Mother Magazine (makes me feel very mainstream!), and there used to be a column by Star in it.Its not often I'm tempted to have a go, but her column really interested me, so when I realised she had a book I bought it ( after debating about it for about 6 months!). Its taken me another 6 months to invest in ingredients, but we've had a go at a few recipes so far.

We first made some 'hair soap'- shampoo to me. Big One chopped the black soap, and Little One loves shaking the bottle whenever she sees it- not necessary but fun because of all the bubbles. I like the feel of my hair after using it, but I have a suspicion its not ideal for daily use. Not much to look at either!

We (the girls actually did most of it) also made 'lipstick', highly technical involving vegetable glycerine and brambles from the freezer. Little One wasn't allowed to eat all the berries- Big One was definite we were going to make this! It has a definite flavour, which isn't sickly sweet for once. I'm not sure of how best to keep it, so its just in this plastic pot with fingers getting dipped in, which isn't ideal.

I've been wanting to try this since I got the book, making my own body spray. I've adapted it, using some jasmine oil as I haven't any infused flower water, and only making a small quantity to try out. My rose water is rather old, and I think it'll be worth investing in some fresh- but I think it smells quite good :-)

Not a very interesting spray bottle, but it does the job.I must remember that this has black specks in from the vanilla, otherwise I'll worry its past its best!

A few weeks back Little One was Very Poorly with a vomiting bug-the first 12 hours had me very tempted to take her to the hospital for dehydration, but she gradually stopped puking twice an hour and slowly improved. This of course coincided with having no hot water for the weekend, making handwashing painfully cold, let alone getting all over clean. We had to improvise, which thankfully worked well.

The following weekend we were away, Big One was slightly ill, but it was great that Someone was having fun with the marble run! DH's brother's girlfriend's son made some brilliant runs.

I'm sure I'll have mentioned getting a crochet book for Christmas, here it is:

 I have managed to make a fairly square 'square' ( Big One told me to make this).

 And our weekend away with family and poorly girl meant I had chance to really work on doing a few of the little flowers mentioned before. I like how quick they are, and how little girls just love them!

 I must confess to not doing as I was told with this one. Big One told me to make a square, but I enjoyed the rhythm of this pattern and decided to keep going and make a scarf. I obviously cannot count ( well, its remembering to bother to count that's my problem) so this one is definitely staying with me. I've considered unravelling it all to make the edges straight, but I like to be able to show progress. So when I can make a scarf with parallel sides it will be worth shouting about!

Now, I actually should be getting everything ready for camping for 7 months, starting in 4 weeks time ( head in sand moment).We had some foam mats made up to our size specification when we had a 4 m bell tent with a half circle as our sleeping space, which didn't fit in a double airbed terribly well. Our sleeping space is now huge with our 5 m tent, but we still have the same foam mats which we use however we need to.

I hope to add some Velcro so we don't slip down any gaps, but they work really well for us- especially once we bought a transit van to haul them around with us. They definitely take a lot more space than an airbed! They're quite dense, and should last us many years. Very kind and talented MIL made the first covers for some of the mats- the two largest and one of the little squares, which have been brilliant. Its a slippy water resistant fabric, which makes them a little hard to carry. My project has been covering the remainder of the mats, and sewing handles onto them all so they're easier to move. Luckily I went to a sewing class where the teacher really recommended Fabworks. I went in the summer, found loads of fabric for various projects ( enough for a couple of dresses for the girls, 3 doll slings, covering all the mats plus plenty left over for anything else, and a huge stash of fabrics that I have yet to think up uses for...) for only £10. the pricing was vague- I hadn't any real idea how much it would all be, but I really hoped it would be less than £40, just to give you a rough idea. They have many fabrics on the roll ( that's more clearly priced) but they also have different bins of remnants. Absolutely amazing place and somewhere, when I'm able to keep learning to sew, I'll definitely head back to.

 My hand sewing isn't great, but I was pleased to spend one evening making the cover for a small square (I had MIL's to copy from) and get a handle sewn onto it.

And, thanks to the generosity of friends we have plenty of cardboard boxes for the last few weeks packing.

Which means the girls have a den for the time being as well!

Nearly forgot to mention meeting 10 day old Harry yesterday as well :) No pictures (his dad's pics are bloomin marvellous, so even if I had taken a camera it wouldn't do him justice), but one gorgeous little man with very chilled and happy parents!

We managed to go play in the woods today as well. We were only 2 hours late, so most people were a bit chilled, even with the lovely fire going but it was so nice just to see some friends again, even just to say hi and bye- I've felt too stressed to make time to see people and its made me realise I have to prioritise. There's no point counting down to going if I'm not seeing anyone while we're local!

One Step Nearer!

Ok, this is quite a lot of blogging for me, but we've had three days of packing with children, and I'm really quite proud of what we've done. We've moved nearly all the huge things that aren't currently in use into the storage unit- one wardrobe still to dismantle but we had another first today instead.
Big One doesn't 'do' films. She enjoys the Peppa Pig DVD we have ( she doesn't know there's more than one, and have no interest in getting more just yet) and we also have several Wiggles Live shows on DVD ( thanks to DH's sister for starting that one- we all enjoy it!), so up until today the longest item she's watched has been a Wiggles show. We've started a few films, but anything not completely friendly ( Monsters Inc was NOT good) has not lasted long, we had a real struggle ( because DH and I wanted to watch it!) with Muppets Christmas Carol. Anyway, today we watched The Sound of Music. I forgot how long it was, but at least I could remember enough of the story to tell Big One what was going to happen next, so Maria did come back, and they did all get away safely. Trying to think of an explanation for the Nazis that wouldn't scare her more was more tricky... But she watched it all, enjoyed most of it and was only a bit upset when it finished, a bit late in the day and very tired out. A couple of hours in front of a screen is suprising tiring- I've not watched anything longer than, say Edwardian Farm for a while and I felt 'out of sorts' as well. We went for a little walk for fresh air, and I feel happy that TV isn't a regular part of our day anymore.
I bought a copy of Set Free Childhood once I was ready to do something about how stressful bedtimes had become in our house. I felt the 20 mins- 1 hr of TV in the evenings while we tidied up and got ready for bedtime was really making things worse. When we moved into the rented house we left the TV behind, and really noticed the difference. Recently we've had vomiting bugs, and I thought the TV would be our safety net- but we didn't put one iplayer programme or DVD  on to distract the children. Though ultimately, although the children benefit, going without the TV was to push us into using our time better. We'd both sit in front of the TV and laptop all evening after getting the girls to bed, not notice the time passing, skipping from channel to channel finding something else to watch instead of switching off, feeling 'out of sorts', tired but not quite sleepy after finally managing to turn it off....and I realised if we as adults have a problem, how much harder must it be for a child to deal with- no wonder the girls were acting up! I can really recommend Set Free Childhood, just as an interesting read about something that is in most homes, a major source of 'relaxation' or 'information' for so many people.

I was a bit worried about the van full of rubbish yesterday- but I really didn't need to. Less than 2 hours of sifting through it- and filling more rubbish bins- it seems a lot more managable. We have a small store of wood ( hope my parents don't want to grow anything in their greenhouse too soon!), a couple more boxes have been put away and  that just leaves a small pile of rubbish for when the wheely bins have been emptied again.
A few random boxes of junk were sorted through this evening, and I was finally ruthless and have only kept 2 boxes of glass jars- all with lids- and the rest have gone in recycling. I'd had a few left in the old house, so trying to get those together with my stash at the rented house has been one of those things that have taken such an annoyingly long time to happen- but the satisfaction in another little task completed is nice.
I wish we'd been able to sort through enough things together to empty another book case, but that requires  happy, well children and the two of us to both be awake at the same time, with brains still functioning. Hasn't happened yet but I live in hope!
I've been able to use my brand new Camping Mug this evening, that DH got me as a Christmas present a couple of days ago(its the thought, not the date that counts). I had to, he wants to borrow it tomorrow and I wanted to try it out first!
Hmm, I've not got pictures to add to this- I'm not wanting to photograph the rubbish in the van, and the half full storage or very full attics don't photo well..
Big One figured out what she was doing wrong when trying to tie a bow yesterday- and has got the hang of it, and even wore clogs today so she could tie her own shoes. I do have a photo of that first bow, but that's on my phone and requires more brain power to remember where the cable is to download it.
Oh well, I feel some crochet coming on instead. Photos can wait another day/week/month.

Slowly Does It

Packing,moving, packing, moving, even throw things out. That's how I assess each room I go into at the moment. I even managed to get Big One to sort through 3 of her various piles of 'important papers' and treasures- we've got a box of things packed away! The pile earmarked for travelling ( just her important things, not the shared resources of paper, crayons, pencils, pens, scissors, paint, paintbrushes!) is rather huge, but its a start.
Our van is full at the moment- mostly rubbish. I wish we could just take it to the tip. However, our van is tall. Our van is, well, a van. So, we've got take our council tax bill, get a peice of paper to allow us to take rubbish to the tip, and then, once we're allowed to do it- ask the man nicely to let us in as there is a height barrier and our van is too tall. Funnily enough I can understand the temptation of fly-tipping now we have a van- I can't believe its so hard to take rubbish and recycling in! Instead we've filled the bins at both houses, and will fill my parents bins as well. The folk who help themselves to anything not fastened down helped us out- we left scrap metal in the back yard at the old house and they obliged within a day!
I had hoped to get more boxes packed, the wardrobe dismantled and in storage- but the van is full of rubbish so we need to dispose of that before we can get another load shifted.
We've put a fair bit into the shiny new storage unit- the bed frames have gone, several book shelves, the filing cabinet, a coffee table....and that was just yesterday :-)
The other house is on the market To Let, and there's just cleaning and a few things left to move ( the van was full of rubbish, remember), so I hope we can get it finished very soon. Tomorrow we should at least get the van empty, but I don't know what else we'll get done.
5 or so weeks till we need to have this house empty. I think I'll go find a drink.

The Plan moves on

We're well and truly working on getting ready for the Big Trip.
Its hard to forget, each time I walk from room to room in this house I hear the clock ticking- 6 weeks to being 'homeless', 10 weeks and we're on our way...
Today feels like we've achieved a lot. No more boxes filled unfortunately- need to find another source or even, gulp, have to buy some. However I finally signed the paperwork for getting the house marketed 'to let' instead of 'for sale'. We did have another viewing last week but the third bedroom was too small for them (dimensions are on the website, but go figure). It is annoying that the house next door is sold,  about to exchange contracts- and we're having to give up.
We have a few more van trips of stuff to sort out at that house ( need boxes!) and we've capitulated and asked a local handyman to do a couple of jobs we'd be annoyed with ourselves for taking too long over and not doing well enough, even if we had the time. So that house is just about sorted. Everyone tells us the rental market is going really well, and three bedroom houses are in demand, its a great rental location....so fingers crossed.
This house is still rather full, only 6 weeks to empty it, but I'm hoping now we've sorted and paid for storage for 6 months that'll keep moving.
I want to get things moved because we still have to arrange how we're going to store  all our camping equipment and personal stuff in the back of the van. We've taken out some racks, and will need to put something else in instead ( currently looking at theIkea trofast storage we have in the living room), but can't fit anything until we've moved bulky things like bed divans.
I'd also really like to build something along the lines of this but I certainly won't have time, and despite DH's best intensions, seriously doubt he'll get chance either.

On a completely different note, I had chance, with a weekend away with DH's family (and one daughter- not the one from last week- puking and slightly ill), to keep crocheting. I was able to make loads of the flowers without constantly having to refer to the pattern- as I have less memory than a goldfish this is a major achievement! DH also let me in the Fent Shop in Skipton on the way to our weekend away, I'm so jealous that M-I-L has this as her local shop! I was only allowed a very quick look, Big One wanted a crochet hook to learn with, so I picked up some yarn as well...my first yarn purchase, but I don't think it'll be my last.
Our weekend away was in Arncliffe, at a beautiful house we keep going back to. We like how well equipped it is, always warm (but we light the open fire anyway) and how there's enough space for the 10 or so of us to enjoy each others company but not be on top of each other, especially when its not been quite the weather for playing out. Of course, its not far for us to travel, but with various folk travelling after work and school, we don't want to go far. With our girls any overnight trip is major upheaval, so being quite local is fabulous for us as well!

Germs

We've got germs. Little One has been sick since yesterday morning. I thought she was on the mend so moved to the more -comfy-but-but-harder-to-de-vomit armchair an hour or so ago. Thankfully her aim is quite good and got the bucket.
I'm not actually joining her at the bucket, but definately not feeling well...
The plus side is a day with Little One sat on me means I've finished my first ever crochet square. Big One wants me to do another square, so that's the next plan. However, can't move from the chair and can't reach the yarn....
More photos another day, perhaps another week depending how we all go!

Festive Season Photos

Big One as Mary at her Nativity- Wellies essential for all the walking Mary had to do!

The Girls were so happy Santa had some of his mince pie ( made by Grandma) and warm  milk:

And left presents! Little One with some of her stocking presents-Big One was really into presents this year.



As mentioned in a previous post, Mother- In- Law gave me crochet things in a lovely homemade bag and scissor case:

First attempts at crochet- they might not look like much but its been interesting to learn so far, and even the girls can recognise the flowers as, well, flowers. I even figured out what I was doing wrong without help!

Thanks to Lucy at Attic24 for the pattern.



 

A quick picture of a gift I made to give: we have a Secret Santa thing at work, so I gave my first attempt at a spoontula- I prefer the spatula, but I just need more practice at a spoontula. The handle on the spatula works well, and I like the colours in the wood. I hope they liked them- I had a wobble at the last moment, so gave a jar of homemade mincemeat as well. The value of the gift is meant to be £10, so I feel my recipient got a bargain!

 The snow melted, but the ice stayed behind. the plastic bucket was ok, but the metal bucket split :(

The girls enjoyed playing with the watery bit in this one!

I've been able to get in the kitchen a bit over the last few days:

Some bread from The Handmade Loaf which is really called 'cucumber pickle juice rye loaf'! Well, we'd finished a jar of pickled cucumbers so I had to give it a try. The taste is much milder than a sourdough rye bread, and it rises more ( in this cold weather!) so I think its a pleasant change.

 DH normally makes the tortillas in this house- but we'd run out and he'd gone to try out his chainsaw on a tree that has fallen, so I had a go- no idea where he got the recipe from, he keeps it on his phone. Mostly slightly over-cooked, so not great as wraps but lovely dipped in home-made hummous. Again, something we had run out of, had the ingredients in so I had a go. This was from Delia's Complete Cookery Course (Vol 1-3), but next time I make it I'll omit the cooking liquid at the beginning, and only add a little if needed. I like my hummous scoop-able, and this came out too runny. Oh, and I use tinned chickpeas, much quicker when everyone's hungry!

Finally, some crackers, also from The Handmade Loaf . They puffed up a bit, so I guess I didn't stab them hard enough with a fork, but I'm happy they're edible for another first attempt.

We made some butter yesterday. We had a large tub of cream Grandma asked us to buy that didn't get used for Christmas.We don't usually use cream, and if we did  it would be for something that'd last a few days- not great for cream already passed its use by date.Anyway, lots of vigourous shaking later, it turned into butter and buttermilk. The buttermilk works fabulously in scones according to Delia's Complete How To Cook, and I left the butter unsalted. I'd share a pic but, as we finished the shaking at Grandma and Grandad's, the scones were made there ( and eaten up!) and we managed to forget to bring the butter home. We used some of the butter in the scones, and lovely on baked potatoes.
  One or two of us will go to get it later, so we can make our own batch of Delia buttermilk scones.

Some friends need an Egg Donor

We're friends with a lovely couple who have had sad news about their own chances of conceiving a sibling for their son. They'd like the egg donor to be a known part of their family rather than anonymous, so have set up the following website.
If you think you, or someone you know may be willing to help, please contact them through their website.

http://eggdonorneeded.weebly.com/

Seasons Greetings

Short days and long nights- brings pictures in my mind of curling up by the fire (carving spatulas of course, they're a little more house friendly than bowl carving in my experience) after playing out in the snow.

Only our snow has melted, leaving us with buckets full of ice but thankfully the van can get around again. We haven't found snow/mud friendly tires yet, so skid and skate with it if there is even the slightest coating of snow on the roads. Unfortunately we made the decision to get better tires after the snow started, and everywhere has sold out. I was looking rather enviously at a truck on our road with brand new snow tires!

I've been able to book onto a spoon carving course at the end of March. As we will be homeless then (our landlord wants the house for a family member as soon as possible, and our contract ends the beginning of March so we've been given notice) I luckily can use some holiday before my career break starts 1st April- travelling to work when having to live in a tent with two small children just doesn't sound fun. And that's without logistic issues like washing uniforms! We're looking on the bright side and will have a couple of weeks 'settling in' whilst being handy for where we're storing the 'living in a house' junk to rescue what has been packed or ( hopefully) store non-essentials we planned to travel with. DH is convinced we'll need a trailer as well as our long wheel based crew cab transit, and I think he might be right.
I am just hoping we'll keep warm enough in the tent with woodburner in March- we've done overnight in the snow in the smaller tent last Christmas, but that's not living in  it full time! I know we're planning on travelling in the tent all summer, but April was when I planned to start, and we might have even found somewhere with housespace for us to start off with!
I've sadly put away the sewing machine as the next 10 weeks or so will be far too busy packing up to start new projects...though I have just remembered some of our sleeping foams need covering, and the machine would hurry that up..anyway, apart from that my mother-in-law has got me onto something new.

For Christmas she has given me a crochet hook, some wool (yarn I believe may be the technical term), a patchwork bag (expertly made by herself) to keep it all in, and a book to get me started!
I've had approximately 2 dismal attempts at knitting, when I was much younger and that is the grand total of my experience of 'that sort of thing'.
Growing up in Canada meant I had options at Junior High like Hunter Education that caught my attention, with plans on Driver Ed for grade 9 had I stayed there -I think you could learn to drive at 14, back when I was there, anyway. Secondary school here didn't include much in the home crafts or cooking. I seem to recall about a school-terms worth of cooking but there being a horrible amount of writing for what I expected to be practical classes.
To avoid too much PE I did Latin GCSE- the teacher came from the 6th form next door, but the only place in the schedule meant missing out on an hour of Games and some other (non-GCSE) lessons a week. The Latin class was fairly evenly split between really brainy folk and the rest of us doing anything to avoid running around outside in just pants . That was something that really shocked me moving to England, uniform for school I could cope with,quite liked even,  but having a see-through top and big pants to wear for PE- and not being allowed to wear anything on top? Winter classes in a freezing gym 'if you're cold you need to run about more' being a repetitive strain and the classes in 'summer' (I use the term loosely, it wasn't warm most of the time by any stretch of the imagination) being outside where even more people could see you  half dressed?! I gladly scraped through Latin to avoid it, but quite possible missed finding out about fun crafting stuff (this might have been in the other lessons grouped with it on the timetable) for another decade or so.

Anyway, M-I-L has kindly given me the crochet things as something to keep me learning, and quite importantly with our travel plans, doesn't need a lot of equipment or space to work on. She's shown me how to get started, and I think she's taught me how to do doubles or something. I'm getting to grips with the row bit, but I seem to have a problem at each end of a row. I'm hunting on utube for tutorials I can follow -the first one I got showed you how to do a slip knot so quickly that, seeing as I watched it about a dozen times and still didn't see what she did, I gave up on her.
If anyone can point me to somewhere good to start online I'd be grateful!

Hope you've had a happy, healthy (sounds like half my friends have had 'flu this Christmas so hope you've escaped) and warm Christmas, and hope 2011 brings dreams to life, or at least one step nearer, for you.