Trials and tribulations

For the last two weeks we have been trialling living in the van up in Canungra, in the hills of the Gold Coast. For the first week, the kids and I stayed at Mum's while he finished the plumbing of the water tank, sorted out the solar panel and batteries etc, and basically figured out how we could live in and out of our van, comfortably. 

Meanwhile, the kids and I packed up all our clothes and all the schoolbooks and resources, toys and pantry food from Mums, and started to take them up to the van, load by load. 

After a week or so Geo and Will had a pretty good system going, and we're collecting, cutting and splitting firewood each day so we could cook on the fire at night. 

This was the evening we had homemade sourdough calzones in the camp oven, with stewed pears cooked on the fire that we then enjoyed with custard for dessert!

The campground we stayed in was pretty open, and although the road behind us was quite busy, we faced out across a huge paddock with trees to the creek and a lovely view of the hills. It was peaceful, full of wildlife and very cold! Especially at night! But oh, the stars were amazing!

In the middle of our two week trial, our friends the Dwyers came to visit. The kids had a blast exploring the creek, climbing the trees, running around the paddocks and engaging in general acts of mayhem.

Unfortunately it rained that night so we didn't get the enjoyment of sitting round the fire for very long!

But the next day we thawed out in the sun, the ids played frisbee and had a Nerf war while climbing up trees before snackng on fruit salad and popcorn. All in all it was a glorious day!

When the Dwyers left it was time to start sorting and packing. We still had to work out what was coming in the car and what was going back to our storage shed. And I still had to clean out and empty Mums place too!  

We lay everything out in the paddock and sorted it into piles. It was really hard deciding what could stay and what had to go. 

Our van is starting to look really comfy though!

It was nice to wake up to the birds and a view of the trees out the windows!

The day before leaving though, we had a willy willy come through camp, and our lovely yellow gazebo was lifted into the air, and then dropped to the ground in a broken heap! Poor Will had tried to hold on to it, but felt like he was going to be carried away with it as the wind was so strong!

He did his best but the gazebo broke in several places, and we decided to make do without replacing it. The fabric went into storage, and the broken frames went to the tip. 

Finally, we were all packed and ready to go. Our trial taught us to keep everything well pegged down at all times. It taught us to get used to walking to a toilet block with a torch in the dark of night, and to plan ahead for a fire for without good coals you can't cook much! It also taught us that we are all happiest when Nature is our backyard. Next stop, storage shed and then finally hitting the road.

Abbey Museum Medieval Fair

Last weekend we attended the Abbey Museum Medieval Fair held in Caboolture, Qld. It was a much larger event than I had anticipated, and as a lover of history, medieval times in particular and artisanship and textile handcrafts specifically, I was in heaven.

The Fair even hosts a respected jousting competition, where men and women joust on horseback wearing traditional armour. Unfortunately there was one injury requiring St John's ambulance assistance, but that was in the jousting session later in the afternoon. The session we attended (with much cheering "Huzzah") was well run and the Emcee was amazing. The kids were enthralled and I have to say, with great glee, that the ladies on horseback kicked BUTT! Hee hee.

There were swordfight reenactments, siege engines and large cannons that were regularly exploding in front of the large two story castle. There were Vikings, gypsies, Ottoman Turks and Knights Templar regularly parading the large grounds. There were encampments where amazingly devoted re-enactors live for the weekend in authentic, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th century style. 

There were demonstrations of candle-making, writing with quill and ink, dying, spinning, milling flour, a blacksmith and forge, cooking with clay pots, just to name a few! 

Gypsies wandered around offering fortunes for sale, peddlars with hand drawn wagons offered a variety of goods for a number of "gold coins", and the food and drinks were close to authentic. No fries or coke here. Lamb shanks (for the meat eaters) and vegetable broth with rye bread, strawberries and cream, toffee apples, elderflower cordials and then there was the mulled wine and honey mead. Mmmmm.

All in all, we had a truly magnificent day! The children were fascinated with the taxidermist's wares of skins and furs (ugh, gross) and the beautiful leatherwork and silver jewellery ... William bought a tail of some poor dead thing as he loved the feel of the fur and Lily used her own pocket money she had saved and bought a leatherbound, jewel encrusted journal for her to record precious moments of our trip.  Geo and I thoroughly enjoyed the immersion of the day, but finally relented and bought a memento to take with us on the trip; a flag for the van with a striking dragon flying on a field of yellow and blue.

All in all, an experience I highly recommend (if the weather is fine) and I take my hat off in recognition of the efforts and passion of all those who have contributed to making the fair so educational, inspiring and enjoyable!

Keeping busy

The last few weeks have been so much calmer. I have given the kids a few weeks off homeschooling so they can catch up with friends over the holidays. We have slept in, stayed in our PJs till late in the morning, sometimes even the whole day!  We've had picnics by the lake to feed the geese.

We have baked, and been to the library, we have watched movies as a family both here and in the cinema. We have planned and researched our trip - at least the first part, and managed to catch up with some friends. 

But it's hard being stuck in a small space with nowhere to go ... just waiting.

Waiting for Geo to tie up the business loose ends that have been tying up funds we'd like before we leave. Waiting for the chance to spend a few days with the van somewhere re-organising and packing shelves properly, etc.Waiting for Geo to finish the work on his truck that he wants done before we leave. Waiting for doctor's specialists appointments which for some reason take months to set up!? Are there that many sick people? Or is there just not enough medical practitioners in specialised fields? I've not had much experience so I'm a bit of a noodlehead when it comes to this stuff. Anyhoo.  Waiting for Geo to give the green light - business stuff finished, accounts finalised and sorted, truck and van ready for the road. 

In the meantime I am crocheting granny squares, making patchwork blocks out of the leftover fabrics, and if I get some time at my machine tomorrow, I might even make more winter pjs for the kids! It has turned cold up here. For Qld, it's positively freezing. (Having lived in NZ I am aware that Qld freezing is not the same as NZ freezing, ok? LOL)

I am also keen to start making sourdough. Geo says he knows how. (Surprises me not, the man has a surprising amount of knowledge stored in that computer brain of his - must be where my Lil gets it!) So I crocheted a sourdough starter jar cover.

Then a spare one, in case the other one needs washing.

And then I crocheted a coaster for the jar to sit on. (I love crocheting these mandalas - they are like meditation for me.) As you can see, I've been keeping busy. If I had a bigger bank balance I would be driving all over the countryside visiting all my dear ones. But am stuck here on the cold cold Gold Coast so keeping my fingers warm is a necessity!(inbetween freezing park visits to keep the kids worn out!)

Mum's peg basket broke, so I quickly designed up a couple of peg bags that would fit on some leftover childrens coat hangers. I made one for her, and one for me. Hope it will be a nice surprise when she gets back! 

We plan to head north the first weekend in August. If we don't leave then we will have to stay somewhere in the van for a few months then go south. Fingers crossed! So many hiccups as we try to make this Round Oz Trip a reality. Then again, we did only decide to do it in January. Most people I have talked to plan and save for years before doing it. We're not the sensible. We're kinda spurofthemoment-crashtestdummies-flybytheseatofourpants-batshitcrazy kind of people. 

Hope you are rugged up and warm wherever you are! 

Best laid plans and all that ...

I think I will stop planning completely.

 Yep. No more concrete plans. I give up! 

There is so much pressure to make the deadlines, to get the result everyone else expects. 

But SO MANY THINGS seem to get in my way. 

Sometimes it can make me feel like I am failing.  In reality though, I don't really care that much. It seems everyone else does, but I really don't. 

Instead I choose to believe in cultivating gratitude and happiness.

We have almost finished the van, but not quite. So what?

We are two months behind our original leaving date. So what?

I haven't gussied up the van with all my crafty decorations yet and taken photos. So what?

We have run out of funds but still need to buy new wheels and tyres and a cargo barrier for the truck. So what?

We might need to hang around town for another month or so to earn some safety net money (and for the wheels and stuff). So what?

What that means to me is ..

More time to sew more caravan bits and bobs ... and I have pyjama fabric ready and waiting ...

More time to crochet ... I will finish my ottoman granny square cover in time!

More time to practise ... we can take the van away fro a weekend and trial it out before the BIG TRIP...

More time to spend with friends ... I have missed them so ...

More time to spend with family and loved ones ... catchups are LONG overdue ...

More time to save money ...

More time to remember ... those whom I have lost recently ...

More time to recharge, relax and unwind from the frenetic chaos of the last few months ...

No matter what life throws at me, I will always be grateful for what I DO have. That I can promise you.