A Quick Look Back at the Year

 

Happy New Year to everyone that reads my almost daily ramblings.  

I hope that this coming year is kinder and more gentle with you all than the last one was.  Before we step forward into the great unknown here is a look back at my life during 2020 ... the year that lots happened but that somehow still seems to feel like a total non-event!!

January

Rather fortuitously I started the year buying a pair of new walking boots in the Hotter sale.  They sure came in handy when walking became the new going out!!

February

While the Caravan Park was still closed I was stuck in wet, wet Wales.  Flooded fields and dreary days.

March

Then it all changed, the sun came out and the Park re-opened after the closed season.  Washing was dried in the sunshine and doggy walks along the river made me and Suky happy.  Then after a couple of glorious weeks the park closed again as Lockdown hit the UK with a vengeance.

April

A lovely surprise was waiting for me when I got home to Wales, Ethel was back and with her a brand new son ... Joey.

May

The month my new best friend arrived.  

Who else will tell me what day it is without laughing at me!!

June

Then suddenly it was quite nice being stuck in Wales with the sunshine and the flowers.

July

But then Van Life resumed and my true life beckoned 😃

August

Long days, long doggy walks and lots of blogging from the kitchen table.

September

The month I managed to get to two car boots sales, before they were closed down yet again.

October

October brought a massive change, with me renting a flat and putting the Van on the market.  It was the end of an era but one I think that was a very necessary transitioning zone.  It was fun turning a blank canvas into a comfortable temporary home.

November

November was spent falling in love with my new hometown.  

The shopkeepers, townsfolk and the town council do so much to keep things warm and welcoming and participate in all calendar events.  The Remembrance poppies are just one of the ways the town shows it cares. 

December

It seems somehow fitting for December to show the leftovers of my Christmas dinner.

In my view 2020 is a year best left behind, and as we move forward into the chilly New Year I wish all my blog readers, family and friends all that they would wish for for themselves if they weren't such a beautiful bunch of  be more generous to others glorious folk.

Happy New Year ...let's make the most of it it's all we have until the next one!!

Sue xx

It's Here at Last - Moving Day

Like any good blogger on moving day my computer will be the last thing to be packed away, so here I am drinking coffee and tippety tapping away on the keyboard.  I thought I had done a really good job in moving everything over the course of the last week, car load by car load.  

At first glance you would think so wouldn't you!!

But then last night I lifted the sofa cushions to get to the storage area underneath where I knew the salt crystals and a big box of dehumidifier plastic thingies to put them in that we use when the Van is closed for the end of season were ... and I found a great big vacuum bag of duvets and more bedding which will make for a whole boot full for my little Fiat.

I am running to no definite timetable ... except one of my own making ... but I want to hand the keys in this afternoon, so I will be making a run to the flat to empty the car of this load and then one final return to the Van for a good clean of the floors and steam of the carpets.

Then the keys will be handed in ready for hopefully some viewings in the next few weeks.  As Alan said on the phone last night it's the end of an era.  Another chapter of our lives completed and enjoyed, time to move on to the next chapter.

Small town living here I come.

Sue xx

 

One Final Day and Night at the Van

 

Today is my last full day at the Van.

I am busy packing up virtually everything, just leaving myself enough food for my tea and one of everything I might need ... plate, cup, glass, knife, fork, spoon etc.  As I go round picking up the bits and pieces that are left and stuffing them in my usual haphazard way into bags I am giving the Van a really good clean ready for it going up for sale on Wednesday.  When it appears on the company website I'll share a link so you can see how it looks.

Alan was an amazing help over the weekend, he came through in our Mitsubishi truck with a few things from home for me.  My double bed and it's bedding, my little green 'alien' storage box, a large plastic box of kitchen items that I had packed up when I was last back in Wales, my clothes rail and a few other bits and pieces that have disappeared into the flat.

Once we had unloaded it at the flat on Saturday we went back and reloaded the truck with all the larger pieces from the Van, the bench from the garden, the tin bath ready for some Winter replanting, some large boxes and another set of filled bags.

Once we had unloaded the truck, he put up some shelves for me, assembled the bed frame and helped with a few of the heavier jobs.  Then we treated ourselves to a spot of late lunch before heading back to the Van to get on with some vital office work.  The only reason Alan was able to come out of Wales is that our company handles a type of work that gives Alan key worker status for travelling and we needed to sort out some of those work things together.  Now that has been dealt with he will be able to abide by the full Welsh lockdown and remain based in Wales until it is over or at least changes again.

Having the truck here for two days though was such a huge help.

My bedroom on Friday ...

... and then with the double bed in place and the net curtains hiding the worst of the horrible blue venetian blinds on Sunday afternoon.

Today I am doing one full car load and unpacking the bags into the spare room so I can bring them back to fill one last time tomorrow, when I will be handing in the keys of the Van.  While Alan was here we signed the contract for the caravan  park to act as agents and sell the Van for us, we have our fingers crossed it sells quicker than the house in Wales!! 

Then it will be time to head down the road into my new home town with the last of my bits and pieces.  For someone who thought she was minimal this Van sure held a lot of stuff.  Something I will be rectifying over the next few months.

Sue xx

A Beautiful Day ... and a Progress Report

 

We woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine, well the promise of it on the horizon anyway.  While I stirred with the sounds of the dustbin men emptying the bins into their wagon, Suky stirred with the rumblings of a 'always hungry Puggy tummy'.

The river called ... so this mornings shower was quick and perfunctory, and as soon I was dressed I was out, ready to slowly come to life with the sunshine and the beautiful colours of nature that are all around us at the moment.  

This really is my favourite time of year, I seem to come alive with the cooler weather, the jumpers and pom-pom hats of colder days make me happy.  The hunkering down in the evening absolutely blissful.

But for the moment we have sunshine and it brings alive everything around us, including the ducks who looked to us hopefully for bread as we climbed the steps to the riverbank, but I have none in the Van.  Yes, I know ducks shouldn't eat bread, but this lot seem to thrive on what they can beg from the folk that hire the caravan parks rental Vans that line the start of our riverside walk.  Indeed without the generosity of the campers four little ducklings would not have survived their first couple of months in the world.  They lost their Mum when they were a few weeks old and had not been fully taught the art of looking for their own food, with at least bread to eat and the other ducks not shunning them they have survived to adulthood and are now no doubt good little foragers just in time for Winter.

We didn't walk for long, Suky is low on stamina these days and I want to keep walks small but frequent to help her build it back if she can.  My little furry best friend was nine years old last week, her birthday slipping by in the midst of move planning and a busy mind.  Also my legs are aching after all the up and downing of climbing onto a chair for yesterdays cleaning windows and cleaning of the upper kitchen cupboards.  It was like having a two hour step class but with a step that was at least twice as high as usual, my lack of stamina started to show eventually but even if I'm not in shape the flat is at least beginning to get there.

I didn't get the curtains hung yesterday but all the windows are now sparkling clean ready for them to go up in the living room at least today.

The new white goods are in.

The guys from Curry's installed the washing machine and had it running on a short cycle to check for any potential leaks, thankfully all was good.  The little fridge freezer is brilliant and exactly what I need.  It will be turned on today when I get there after I left it to settle when I came away yesterday.

The kitchen cupboards and walls have all been thoroughly cleaned and I can now begin to take things from the Van to fill the cupboards up.  Even though it is a small kitchen I do have a lot more cupboard space than at the Van, so hopefully all my food stash can be out and in the cupboards ready for use.

Well I should stop waffling and go and fill the car with todays load of shopping bags full of food and a few other bits and pieces.  I am actually enjoying moving home with just a Fiat 500.  It holds just enough to be able to fill it, empty it and put things away without there being too much to do.

Sue xx

An Unfurnished Guided Tour

 

I picked up the keys on Friday, well the single front door key and a key that I cannot find any use for whatsoever.  

I had to check the inventory sent to us by the letting agents so Friday was all about familiarising myself with the flat with Alan's help, and then phoning around to have the services, gas, electricity and water put into my name with payment methods arranged.

I had been told by the letting agent that the person who had been in to do the inventory could not find the electric meter ... anywhere!  They had phoned the owner of the flat who seemingly has only owned it for two months and is not familiar with it at all and she didn't know where it was ... what!!

The owner then got in touch with the person that she had bought it off who explained it was in the front door next to the flat's door, which it turns out leads to the two upstairs flats and is a little communal hallway with the electricity meter cupboard.  She found what she thought was the key to it and dropped it off at the agents.  It was not the key to the communal door it was another front door key to my flat, so we still had no access to the meter.  I took a deep breath and buzzed one of the upstairs flats and a lovely chap called Brian came down and let us in.  We managed to read the meter after a lot of faff, we had never seen one like it and it was different from the other two in the cupboard.  Seemingly it's one of the earlier Smart Meters.  Brian then kindly lent me his hallway key to go and get a new one cut for myself.

Now this should have been a two minute job as the little Timpson's franchise is just across the road from the flat, so off I trotted leaving Alan pottering in the flat, only to see a note on the shop door ... 'Closed Until Thursday Due to Illness'.  Gosh this was turning into a farce and a half.

I popped in the discount shop near the flat and asked a lady stacking shelves there if there was anywhere else in town that could cut keys and she directed me to the Car Care shop right at the opposite end of the High Street.  So off I trot ... only to be stopped in my tracks at the Hospice Shop window.  There in prominent position was an almost new two seater sofa for £95. 

Temporarily forgetting all about keys and the cutting of, I went in asked if I could sit on it, yep, lovely and comfy and promptly paid for and arranged delivery of the sofa for the next day.  Back to business and I went up the road got a key cut and got back to Alan at the flat half an hour later.

Fate works in mysterious ways ... I wouldn't have passed the Hospice shop if it hadn't been for not having the right key and if the Timpson's shop had been open.

Now before I set off for the flat to take delivery of my fridge and washing machine and to hang my curtains, how about a little guided tour of the flat, all photos taken from the letting agents advert.

The living room, the biggest room in the flat.

The kitchen which is not as big as it looks here.  I would love a camera lens like the estate agents use, everything in my life would be so much bigger

The larger of the two bedrooms.

And the smaller one, which I think will be the one that I will use as I quite like the idea of having just a bed and two bedside tables in the room that I sleep in.

The whiter than white bathroom.

And a reminder of the overall floor plan.

I will take my camera and take some more photos for posterity.  I do like a good before and after and  I need to get a few shots to send to the letting agent and owner as previous occupants have left a large burn mark on the worktop cleverly hidden by what appeared to be a stuck down marble board and the oven is an absolute disgrace.

Sue xx

Walking into Autumn ... and Trapping the Sunshine

After a weekend of not enjoying her walks, suddenly yesterday Suky found her stride again.  

We wandered along the high bank that comes between the flood defence field over the river from the caravan park, and the mixed area of skips, hardstanding and general detritus that a caravan park throws up over to our right.

It doesn't sound like a good walk does it, but it's good if you keep your eyes on the nature and greenery all around you, watch the sheep through the gap in the trees ahead and the horses in the field and stables beyond the skips, ignoring the deserted steps, fridge-freezers and various caravan parts that litter the ground waiting to be enough to be collected for scrap metal, or called into service in some unexpected way by the campsites brilliant handyman. 

Suky loves it when it's just the two of us and lots of delightful doggy smells, she runs ahead then stops and sinks her face into the long grass burying her face in the smells that she loves so much.  Dogs can pick up so much from the scents around them and to see her enjoying herself makes me smile as I catch up and then overtake.

Two minutes later she streams past me again, her little curly tail waggling away in her happy rush to find the next delicious odour on her adventure.  We took our time and as I stood and took some photos and drank in the fresh air and blue skies it was on my mind that Summer is over.  Best to enjoy any patch of blue sky that comes our way and really make the most of it.

So when we got back to the Van I watered the houseplants ... Van plants? ... and put them out on the decking for them to soak up some sunshine for a few hours.

Later in the day the regular coolness came back. 

The nights have been drawing in quickly for the past week or so, and each evening I go round the Van closing the curtains on the shady side and making sure the curtains on the side that catches the evening sun are wide open.  As soon as the sun dips low in the sky all the curtains are drawn and for a while the Van fells cosy and warm.

 I've only succumbed to the central heating a couple of times, usually in the morning and only for an hour or so even then.  Free heat is good heat so trapping any warmth from the sun is good, once again this year I have had a gas bottle that has lasted me far longer than is usual.  So each morning my shower feels like a game of Russian Roulette ... will this be the day that I get the drenching in ice cold water as the gas runs out and the boiler switches off?

I've been lucky up to now ... but how long this luck will last I have no idea.

Sue xx

The River Has Risen ... Again

So the rains came down thanks to storm Francis and once again the river level went shooting up.

This morning the guy from Network Rail was there photographing the bridge and checking facts and figures against some documents in his hand.  A bridge has to be safe when it carries the main line from Preston, with goods and passenger trains passing every few minutes.

It's funny but living here it doesn't take very long for you to completely zone out the sound of the trains, I had to purposely stop and listen to see if any trains were actually using the line ... they are.

Yesterday the field opposite was also under water, but now the river is back inside the riverbank, even if it is pretty near the top and flowing very fast.

The area where there is usually a good sized pebble 'beach' is completely submerged, and Suky was quite dismayed to see the path stopped so abruptly.

Further along the adult ducks were all mooching about in one of the little fishing areas near the waters edge.  

The Mummy duck with her two week-old babies was nowhere to be seen, but I know she was safe last night as I saw her settling her babies into the bushes away from the edge of the river.  Their little legs could just not cope with the fast moving water at the moment, but they are good for carrying them along the grass looking for titbits.

While I photographed ducks, Suky had a good sniff around, everything must smell so fresh to her after all that rain.

'Are we going now Mum?'

We had a nice walk along the river and then it was home to get the soaking washing out of the sink and hung on the outdoor airer.  Fingers crossed the rain stays away today, it's looking hopeful.

Sue xx

My Mind is Blank

Today my mind is blank and I really didn't know what I wanted to post about.  So I looked at my photo file and picked out the most recent to put on here.  

Hopefully, I thought ... this will start me off rambling in my usual fashion  😄

Top photo the riverbank last night.  

The water is still high after the night long thunderstorm of Monday night, we had sheet lightening and rolling thunder directly overhead for hours and torrential rains that beat down on the Van roof like a hundred or more tapdancing clog-wearing garden gnomes.  

The heat of the last few days has meant that Suky's doggy walks have been very early and very late and it has totally thrown any minor routine I had in place ... I've not even been wearing my watch. 

The little entertainment area of the caravan park.  

This is a small park but we do have an outdoor heated swimming and paddling pool (it's just beyond the cream colour Mini and the gazebo like structure).  There are strict social distancing rules in operation at the moment, but it is now open again.  

The building to the front of the red car is the clubhouse.  It has three bars, the main entertainment room that hosts bingo on a Friday and Saturday night and usually when we are not under Covid-19 rules there is entertainment on these nights. The actual bar itself is partly double sided and at the other side there is a much smaller seating area with a widescreen television.  T this is where sports lovers congregate to sup their pints and watch whatever big match, tournament or game is being shown on the Sky Sports channel.  Next to this is a room with a pool table, and a few other gaming machines used mostly by children while their parents are in one bar or another.

Finally, upstairs there is the Riverview Bar, an adults only area with a full sized snooker table and darts board at one end and comfy seating with yes, river views at the other.  This bar holds an Open Mic session once a month usually with people coming from the neighbouring towns with their guitars, keyboards and voices to entertain each other.

Back in front of my Van I have offered my just read Country Living magazine to anyone passing by that would like it.  

It seems so wrong to throw away or even just recycle a magazine that cost me so much.  Does anyone else occasionally fall for the glorious covers of this type of magazine and just have to buy it?  It was a good read ... but wow how much more stuff I could have bought at the car boot sale with £4.99

I try my best not to be tempted ... but sometimes you just are aren't you!!

Mint growing in the bread bin at the front of the decking steps.

It's recovered well after the scorching and dryness it withstood when we were in Lockdown at home in Wales and the Van and it's garden had to fend for itself.

My cool reading area for later.  

There's a smidge of a breeze here today which is very welcome after the still, stifling heat of yesterday.

The indoor plants having a day out in the cool of the shade stood the nicely soaked little tin-bath.  

I cut the grass first thing this morning with the little push mower.  I was too hot to struggle out with the electric one or to do any sort of exercise workout ... so this was a good alternative.

This mornings washing under the shade of the umbrella, but the intense heat of the day is still drying everything nicely.

You know my mind is still blank, it must be the heat but the photos gave me something to waffle on about.  Normal service will be resumed ... probably, possibly, hopefully, eventually!!

Sue xx