On the road again. Farewell to the farm for a bit

A couple of weeks late....but here is the blog I wrote as we packed up to come north to the warmer climes....


For the first time in over eighteens months the caravan is it's rightful place behind the ute. I was a bit worried that she might refuse to move after suffering the indignity of having the shade taken down on one side and the annex dismantled as well. Undressed in public even.

Solar panels are now tucked in their cover and the clothes lines are closed up neatly. Door mat is inside, BBQ in the boot, washing machine and generator stowed away. I've hooked up the backing camera and secured the lockers. (one always manages to pop open in transit) K has done all those mysterious things he does to connect the ute and the van. So we are good to go.


The weather while below zero at night and frosty in the mornings has been dry so we were spared the indignity of sliding down the hill to the shearing shed. (This might very well have happened this time last year after a really good downpour.)

Our shed looks lonely, with just the sedan and the satellite dish to keep it company. No sheep even, they are all in the next door paddock.

One last look down the hill to before we head to Rathmines for a few days. The caravan is due a top to tail scrub after off gridding for so long. Then hello Qld.

Cheers (better late than never) Sue

A Ferg on the Move

Camping with the family.

I have been somewhat lazy about blogging over the last few months. Just couldn't raise the energy to put words together.
Not my normal state of mind.

And there was plenty to talk about too!

We are actually in our caravan in Qld......

For a week or two we have been tucked into our son and daughter-in-law's house in Brissy being grandma and grandpa to their four boys.

This week we since they have just moved up to a more spacious van and we are in ours we have all slipped away to Cobb and Co Nine Mile near Gympie.

It is a family owned camping ground. Has fishing and all sorts of home made play ground things for the kids.

Of course "slipping away" takes a bit more effort than the term implies when you have four kids, a partially renovated caravan and a very busy life, but we made it.

Both our vans are off grid set up. So a place like this is perfect. Bikes, swimming, camp fires, bike tracks and a pirate ship play area.... It will get busy here on the weekend but just now it  perfect.   And warm weather too

It was quite a job getting our caravan to leave the farm. I expected it to flat-out refuse to move. But here we are.

Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move

The routines of simple life....Great grandma style

While we wait for K's mother's next surgery, and recover from  rushing her in for a urgent pacemaker op, we have been sharing her house and daily life. (Although as I write it's just me here cos K has headed off to NSW to do some work)
I guess cos I'm living much more simply than ever either in our caravan or our room at Rathmines Bible School, this visit I have enjoyed watching and participating in Mum's routines.
The first is tea making. Sometimes  we just teabag. But for a proper pot this is how it goes.

Kettle is filled with just enough water for the number of cups to be made, plus enough to warm the Tea Pot. She adds a carefully calculated amount of tea leaves,  just below boiling water then rests the pot on its stand and the tea cosy  is used to cover for steeping. Mum pours her own first because her grandmother taught her that the first cup might not be up to the correct strength and visitors must get the best.
Dregs from pot are kept for soaking fruit for cake or water a pot plant.

There are endless other rituals that make frugal simple life here. Every time the oven is on, lots of things get baked. There are always meals, snacks and nibbles created from just about nothing, in the freezer ready to pull out for visitors or to take to friends.

Rhythms of the week that save money and keep her mind occupied. Meals on time, tasks on schedule, bills planned for and paid.

I'm pretty sure I'm not up to this 88year old great grandmother's standard. Or my mum the 79 year old great grandmother's either.

I want to share two incidents that I reckon are pure Mum Ferg.

The first is about how she, like her son K, makes friendships everywhere. Her family doctor is very fond of mum and was especially pleased to share at the last visit that she, the doctor that is, had just become a grandmother. Said brand new grandson is in Croatia and the new grandparents are off to visit soon. Mum Ferg wanted to send a present!!!! So we went yarn hunting and I made this cot rug. Teddy is not going to Croatia. He is just helping with staging.

The other incident goes like this... (family members have already heard this one)

Kevin is packing for the run to Alice Springs in the car. Big bang and glass shatter. Mum and I rush out to see what he has done. Indignant huff. Nothing to  see here. Pop into toilet and there's glass all over the floor. Picture has hit the deck. Big fight with 88 year old lady to let me clean it up cos I might cut myself. Which one of us is on blood thinners I ask you. Try not to elbow her in the face while she hovers. It is very tight in a toilet room for two people.

Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move

Victory over the yarn stash. I think I might be in front at last.

We have truly been "on the move" of late. A quick run down to the farm from Rathmines and a few precious days in our caravan. Some equally precious time with the Crookwell family as well. Then a long day drive to Adelaide.  Close to 1600 km in less than a week. A lovely week with K's Aunty Gladys before she jetted off home to the UK. A weekend away with dear friends, trip into the Barossa to see my mum.

Then...
A bit of a health scare with Master Eighteen Month Old back at Crookwell. An equally nasty scare with K's mum who is 88 and fighting, if not fighting fit. K made a dash to Alice Springs which didn't quite go as planned since the car decided it needed attention. (Tell you about that another day) Not the most relaxing visit to Adelaide I have ever had.

So what do I do to battle the stress? Crochet of course.  I attacked my half finished stash busting project and bag of yarn between  disasters and completed this double bed rug in no time.

One up to me!

Not only have  I conquered the orange and brown yarn bag but I have had another win or two.    My well publicised battle with the yarn stash had left me with a huge bag of finished projects. All of which now have homes. The fifty pink thing was sold to a grandma for her pink crazy granddaughter. The Aztec afghan was delivered to the lovely lady here in Adelaide who commissioned it last year. The baby rugs are safely delivered and now await the arrival of twins who are due any time soon.

Felt pretty proud of myself..... But .... Can't sit here doing nothing and Lincraft is two minutes from Mum Fergs.....


Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move

Birthday joy.

Got a year older last Wednesday. My birthday falls around Easter and therefore I am usually at Rathmines at Bible School. This year Mr Fix It has been working here doing maintenance and helping with the renovations so there was a small crowd of workers here in the day.

Breakfast in bed in our little bedsit home away from our caravan, with a tear jerker of a card and message from K. Very romantic.

Roses from one friend, rose scented candle  from another and cheerful happy birthdays all round. Some hand made tea towels I have laid over my breakfast supplies.

Treated myself to an expensive trip to the hairdressers and I now sport lovely blond streaks.

Happy birthday song from the Brisbane crew over the phone. Video messages from  Miss Five and Master 18 Month. SMS and Facebook wishes as well.

Dinner out with friends completed a wonderful day.

Feeling very blessed.

Cheers Sue
A Ferg on the Move

The young and the older.

Youngest grandson went off to inspect the property last weekend. Toddled off down the hill toward the rams. Grandfather K (Poppy) wandered along behind just in case. At one stage the two of them were standing, hands behind their backs in matching stances as the rams stood watching them. I missed that photo.....

Then Master grabbed Poppy's hand and led him back up the hill.

Such a lovely relationship.

Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move

Me versus the yarn stash. A progress report.

 

Regular readers will remember that I declared war on the yarn stash earlier this year. So, of course, you will be waiting with keen anticipation for a progress report. I believe the score was Sue one, yarn stash too many

So the sneaky fluffy pink yarns have been tamed into this single bed spread, with only one ball left over. One up to me.

 

 

Left overs from Aunty Fay's Aztec inspired afghan  are now a smaller one ready to post to its new owner. Provided it is still wanted of course.

I tipped all the balls out onto the bed and sorted them into groups. So I have two stash busters on the go now.  Orange and beige tones. Black, cream and brown Tunisian entrelac. Both starting from the centre which is I think the safest way to use leftovers up. You can always (wait for it......) buy something to create a border if you run out of yarn before it gets to a good size,

So there's just  a small bag of greens, a bag of purples,  and some balls of green, blue and grey fluffy stuff left. Oh and the left overs from the rainbow cot blanket. As well as a random ball or two of white, and some bits and ends.

I haven't bought a ball of yarn for weeks........

Current score Sue three, yarn stash a bit more. Bag of finished but homeless afghans growing. Funny how the finished product takes up more room than the balls of yarn.


Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move