Hot water is much better. Or what ever happened to quality spare parts.

Today, after a couple of days on the farm, during which the family have come out from town to do farm things, we embarked on an expedition into Goulburn for serious food shopping, children and adults all.

To fortify the grandparents for this effort I cooked breakfast and while Mr Fix It had a lay in. While organising breakfast I flicked  the gas water heater on. Out of the goodness of my heart I let K lounge a bit longer and slid into the shower.

"Can you check the water heater," I uttered past chattering teeth a couple of seconds later.
"Did you turn it on?"
"Yes of course. I wouldn't be in here otherwise."

Mr Fix It clambered out of bed and into the front boot, to find the problem. Turns out that the relatively new gas tap that switches between the two gas bottles is faulty. No gas flowing out of either side of the tap this morning. Disaster. No hot water is bad enough. But the main fridge is on gas.





Add caption

 I  struggled back into my jammies, vacated the van and went out and threw a ball for the dog who comes up from the kennels to live with us each visit. Good way to warm up. 

Much muttering. Many trips in and out of the van as Mr Fix It rigged a single way tap. .A few trips to the back of the van to check the fridge pilot light and magically there was hot water.

You can be sure I checked the temperature before I ducked under this time.
Seriously I wonder what happened to quality in parts?  So many times the replacement part lasts less time than the original. Five years from the first tap. Twelve months from this one!



The rams enjoying the shade

Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move

A tale of bread, sticky date pudding and washing.

Today didn't go as planned.

I had four things on my to do list today; try out the new gluten free bread mix that has arrived in the post, cook gluten free Sticky Date for K, make some more yoghurt and do the washing. After that I was going to go have a swim with the holiday makers and catch up with the caravan gossip for the week.

My first gluten free cob loaf

I read the bread mx instructions last night. I'm really keen to get this working. I found it after some serious research. Most mixes are a batter, this one makes a dough and can be shaped into rolls or a cob loaf.

Gluten free cob loaf risen ready to go into the oven

 A great deal of emphasis is made about the need for accurate measurement of ingredients.
Now I am a chuck it all in from memory cook so naturally my mini kitchen scales were right at the back of the under sink cupboard.  K came in for a cuppa just as I had the whole lot on the floor in front of the fridge.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Just cooking," said I stuffing everything back in with great care.

Carefully assembling the ingredients I weighed out the flour mix, adding a bit more, still more and some more again. Since the flour was overflowing the small container I had on the scales I concluded that the scales had better be checked for accuracy. Sure enough a 250gm unopened cheese block weighed 50gms on my scales.

What to do?  While pondering this problem I made up the yoghurt and had a cuppa.

Yoghurt made up and sitting in the bench, I fired up the ute and made a 14km trip to borrow scales from the cook at the roadhouse in town and catch up on the town gossip for this week.

Back on track I mixed, kneaded and set the bread to prove in the obvious place. The dashboard of the ute.

Bread rising inside the car on the dashboard.

All went well with the sticky date because I had popped into the supermarket to say hello on my way to get the scales and remembered that I didn't have dates! That was a good save.   AND I had to use a pot as a cake tin because the right tin was ... you guessed it ... under the sink.

Now the oven. Not willing to trust the bread to the BBQ the first time I baked it I decide to use the glass oven which was sitting snugly in its usual storage place. ....You guessed it again.....Under the sink where had put it after I did the photos for the outside kitchen blog.

K breezed in on his way to fix the commercial drier.  "Still cooking," said I stuffing everything back in with great care again and dumping the glass oven next to the outdoor power point in the annex.

Sticky Date Pudding in the glass oven.

Sticky Date in the oven and bread  rising beautifully in the car  I lifted out the twin tub washing machine, pulled out the power cord and ....  No free power point.

So I currently I am sitting on the bed in the caravan waiting for the bread to finish, doing the washing with the twin tub in the shower, plugged into the power point under the bed and using the shower head to fill it.

Washing machine inside the caravan in the shower.
I usually do this when it 35plus degrees outside. 

K has come in from work to have his Sticky Date with cream and have a shower... Ooops.



Gluten Free Sticky Date Pudding and cream

I still have to return a set of kitchen scales.


Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move.

When small is just right.

We are watching Better Homes and Gardens TV show tonight. The chippies in the family are not fond of this programme. I think they resent the "just do this and you will have a wonderful...what ever." Like it can be done instantly.


The feature build this week is a house made from a shipping container. At 40ft long it is twice the length of our caravan. So while it is tiny to some it is huge to us. Take a look.

Our bathroom lives in two sections across the back wall. The wardrobe is in the centre, two door with drawers. Perfect for winter clothes, good shirts and my yarn stash. One side has a shower cubicle with a curved sliding door. 

The other side has a cassette toilet and hand basin. Getting in to the toilet room is a bit of an art. Sideways shuffling is necessary but once in....
K has added a full length mirror to the toilet door, and nifty stick on storage baskets to the mirror above the hand basin.



Over the door towel hangers allow towels to hang on the wardrobe doors.


Unused towels are rolled in the shelf above the bed.


All the mod cons.


Who needs a 40ft long palace?


Cheers Sue


A Ferg on the Move