Not quite there yet...

The sensibilities of moving in tomorrow aren't really there as progress has been quite slow since our builder went on holiday last week. He's a very good project manager so I think it would all look a little further advanced if he'd been around. We perhaps 'ought' to wait another week but....the jobs fill the time available and Steve and I need to move in. The kitchen is messy but there isn't much left to do there and we could reasonably use it at the weekend after a good clean. The childrens' bedrooms are being carpetted tomorrow so we'll get their furniture in and blinds fitted on Saturday if possible with a view to that being our first night.

The granite worktop was fitted last weekend, just 2 weeks after templating, and we're very pleased with the result. The team were a very pleasant trio from Estonia and Lithuania. The plastic protective wrap on the doors and drawers is coming away on this photo and together with the general high dust and grime levels doesn't inspire but we reckon on using this kitchen this weekend. The caravan hob is just about adequate and the oven ok only for warming stuff. Last summer it took nephew Tommy Boy nearly an hour to part bake/part burn a pizza. We have managed to cook a good selection of food over the past 9 months, we've even entertained a few times, but a real kitchen is now beckoning.

Winter time...and the living ain't easy

Turning Chillier part two

A continuation of the previous blog - the technology sometimes prevents such things. The step shown left was finished on Friday. The stone for the whole wall and the step has been recovered from the demolished farmhouse save for the coping stones which have been bought from a nearby farm where the wall had fallen down. The weather forecast for later in the week is distinctly cooler with daytime temps nearer zero and we have had our first conversations around the subject of 'how long can we/will we stay in the caravan'. No decisions to move out yet as most of the time its really not difficult. Naturally we would prefer more space and a lovely big bathroom but that is, quite literally, a work in progress. The office is in an old toolhouse adjacent to the barn which adjoins the house and with its high level of insulation it is a very pleasant place. Steve has been insulating the water pipes within the caravan and we need to tackle the ones outside where they are not underground.

Four Months of Caravan Living

We've been living in the caravan for just over 4 months now, its hard to believe and generally has worked a lot better and been much easier than we expected (all those years of camping provides good training!). Yesterday was a horribly cold damp foggy day though and I felt chilled to the bone. By the evening I just couldn't get warm and the prospect of a warm bathroom in a real house would have been lovely. Its a better morning outside today but the water heater won't work and after attempts to remedy the problem we've called the engineer who is coming out this afternoon thankfully. If it doesn't work I'll be 'phoning a friend'.

Chilly Morning

Last night we had our first true frost. The air temp hit freezing outside the caravan and the lowest point inside was 4.8 deg C -the hard part is surfacing from under the duvet. The views are fabulous today, its very easy to see where the big windows of the house will look out to.