Caravan Diary, Day 9

Sick children and caravan life don't go together. You can't have a bed out for your poorly preschooler at the same time as having the table up for a decent cuppa/meal/working on project spreadsheets.
What kept me from losing it completely today was some decent catch-up with my girlies in the afternoon (I hope I kept my little tykes far enough away from your lot so as not to spread the lurgy!)

What's really nice about living in our own driveway, by the way, is that we've got a panoramic view of our new road. It's a bit like sitting in an oversized bay window. We're quickly picking up on the habits of our neighbours and can tell who belongs to which car/house.

Nothing more to report. Just still desperate for the BT man to come and connect our broadband and phone (note my priorities!) to take us back into 21st century. Apparently Wednesday's the day!...

Caravan Diary, Day 8

Right, our bedroom is now finally cleared of all traces of manky wallpaper. Am I imagining it or is it actually smelling a bit less?? 

Willem is a bit ill, so he was allowed to watch DVDs most of the day, while we tried to get on with stuff. Astonishingly, he aborted Toy Story several times in favour of jigsaw puzzles. Only snag: he doesn't like doing them on his own. On the one hand that's really sweet. I like nothing better than doing jigsaws with him. On the other hand we really could have done with longer productive slots. Thank heavens Korjian, our lovely neighbour from Princes Street, popped in for a couple of hours for a tour of the house and to entertain Mats, which helped a lot!

Not much else to report. I just hope Willem is fine again tomorrow so he can go to nursery...

Caravan Diary, Day 7

Willem drumming away to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'
on Radio 2. Slightly peculiar sound combo!

Today was odd. The kids and I had a lie-in which meant by the time we had tidied away the beds and had breakfast it was nearly midday. At least we nearly got our bedroom stripped of the hideous dark red flock wallpaper, in no small part  thanks to Alison's kind loan of a wallpaper steamer. Hendrik has been working away at it almost all day. I did what I could, but this whole DIY thing is so difficult with two kids tugging at my shirtsleeves. That's possibly the greatest challenge/frustration. I see all these things that I want to work away at, but always seem to have a hungry baby on one hip and a bored pre-schooler on the other. Arghhhhhhh!

In other news, we just found that the horrible people who sold us the house have left the attic (BIG space!) full of junk. Together with the furniture in the garage that we found on day one it's at least a skipful of old stuff that we'll have to get rid of. Bastards! They better hope that I never find out where they live! I'm in a good mind to just dump it all on their front lawn. WITHOUT the bin bags it's currently in. Oh yes, and the oven's not working. So no pizza anytime soon. I'll have to ask Dave, our tame electrician, to have a look at it next week. I'm just  annoyed that we spent a good three hours cleaning the darn thing before we checked it's working. That was super-stupid. Lesson learnt, I hope.

Team Schäfer tonight after well deserved curry. Caravan still smells a bit,
but how much better is this than the smell of stale nicotine in the house!

Caravan Diary, Day 6

As I write this, heavy rain is drumming on the roof of our camper and we still haven't found any leak. No real wood to touch in here, so my skull will have to do... I can't believe we found this slightly dusty gem on eBay :-) If only I didn't have that overpowering urge to get the sewing machine out and knock up some more attractive curtains and seat cushion! But we can't afford the distraction...
In other news, the roofer who was meant to start this week is still AWOL. How do people make a living if they're so unreliable??? Oh yes, and the gas fitter was here to quote, and what can I say: it always costs more and takes longer. So true, even for the tiniest of projects! Am amazed myself, really. I would have expected I'd be tearing my hair out at this stage. But still no histrionics. Let's hope I can continue to channel zen in the weeks ahead.

Caravan Diary, Day 5

Serious progress: we now have lights in the bathroom thanks to our lovely electrician Dave. No more showers in the dark. Major relief! Also, we have finally managed to level the caravan, so we're no longer sleeping on a slope AND the door shuts without us having to bang it loudly. I bet the neighbours are all sending a silent prayer of thanks heavenwards tonight.

In other news, I have single-handedly mended the broken sink and plumbed in the dishwasher. All in all a good day.