Hello fellow boating enthusiasts and followers of this humble li'l blog.
The sale of our house is still seemingly going through (our buyer has started filling our shed and garden with stuff), yet, it's the not knowing that is causing some stress, in me anyway. Our buyer is looking at exchanging contracts on 8th August. But we haven't heard a peep from our lawyer or our estate agent. It's really quite a challenge for me not being involved in the selling of our house at all. They leave you all out of it, and no one knows where things are. So, so, so strange. We do get the same type remark every time we speak about our house sale, which is, "yeah, house sales are very stressful". Why does it have to be like that? And why does it have to be all behind doors and us being kept out of the loop??? I don't get it. But here we are, waiting more or less patiently until someone lets us know about dates. Well, we're not only waiting. We are also being very active, not losing sight of having joy and happiness in our lives. More about that later ...
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| 2 shelves are gone from our dining room cum workshop space, plus a bureau. All things are now packed. |
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| The office desk has come down into the lounge. It will go last with some other furniture we give to charity. |
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| The lounge has become storage for the stuff that goes onto the big barge, eventually. |
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| Family collecting furniture. Niece and nephew are moving into their own first homes and were grateful for the wardrobes and other furniture. |
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| Wardrobe gone in one corner of the bedroom. |
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| Another wardrobe gone from another corner of the bedroom. |
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| The ex-office is now a storage room for boxes and suitcases. |
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| A mess in kitchen & lounge while moving stuff around. |
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| Yet another lot of clothes and bedding to go to charity. |
Looks a bit wild, doesn't it. But does no longer look like this anymore in every corner ;) We've tidied up, as we're still living here and want to feel comfortable. Our living space is looking like this now and giving us an idea of how it could be on a barge:
And the lounge is now the storage for the stuff we still need to access from time to time, as well as some things that go to friends:
The bedroom is now really spacey, and we brought the hanging rail in:
...and on my side (the corner bedside table is empty). All clothes I need right now in this weather are in those 6 containers plus on the clothes rail:
The ex-office is now holding all winter clothes, mattresses, bedding, washing, ...
...the vacuum cleaner and some small things:
The guest room, which we rent out via AirBnB, has only got empty furniture and some bedding. This will be emptied in no time, and all things in there go to charity:
Do you think we're ready? I think so. Upstairs is pretty much packed, downstairs it's the kitchen, the utility room and under the stairs. All of this could be done in one day.
So, here comes the news, which is not news to our closer social networks, as we've posted pics on FB. We've borrowed some money and bought a Birchwood 25 River Cruiser - apparently a much loved old timer on the English waters. And here she is:
A beauty, we think. We decided that it would be best to have a small boat before we buy the big barge, as we'll be cash buyers, and we won't have to fret about where to go when we complete and haven't got the barge to go to. It will be a huge adventure, as there are several challenges: I can't fully stand upright in there, I don't think I'll use the shower, the fridge is super tiny, and when it's stormy like now, we'll have to learn how to handle a floating home like this. Last night I had this horrible vision of us being on the river, enjoying ourselves and suddenly the engine stopping to work. What the heck are we supposed to do if this happens?? Okay - there's an anchor. Phew! Then call some emergency number and get rescued, I guess.
We bought this boat on 20th July, my birthday. We decided to take her out with some friends straight away. This was our first ever journey on her, and the winds picked up and the rain came down just as we moored back in Abingdon. It took Ewan 4 attempts. Not bad for a beginner. I was well chuffed. But I was also wrecked and reality kicked in for me. This is what we'll have to deal with when it comes to 'weather'. After a night of stomach ache and fear, we took her out again the next day with some of our children. It was sunny, it was fun, I was much more confident that we would tackle this. Ewan has been a beacon of steadiness and self confidence. Amazing.
On that day we also met George and Carol from "Still rockin'" again. What a joy. They had been the first, kind all-time boaters to introduce their beauty to us and tell us everything they thought we might need to know on this journey. Such wonderful people. We found ourselves again in their living space, catching up on all the news. It already starts to feel like becoming part of a new community, that is warm, welcoming, kind and helpful. We're so grateful.
Some impressions of that Saturday:
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| My friend's daughter made this b'day cake for me: A boat in my favourite colours, and even Jack is on it. So very special :) |
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| We jumped into the Thames and played Frisbee with a plastic plate. |
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| So handy, that little step outside on the back, but also a nice jump from the roof possible. |
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| Ewan's oldest found us a muscle. |
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| Ewan's youngest and her oldest bro. Unfortunately Ewan's middle son couldn't make it. Neither could my oldest daughter and her husband, as they live in Germany. |
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| A peaceful journey back to the mooring. |
It was such a fabulous, beautiful day, which we ended with pizzas, marshmellows and drinks in our garden. My youngest daughter and her partner had catered for all of us for the whole day. I was truly chuffed about everyone's efforts to keep me put (as my neck was still quite bad that day).
This post must come to an end, I think. I could waffle on forever at the moment - haha.
Please wish us well for a smooth transition from house to boat and then to barge within the next four weeks. Thank you.
