Reading time

 Our lovely next door van neighbours, C & J, have a plumbing problem with their caravan.  As they are both elderly (C is 86, J is 77), although very fit and relatively healthy for their ages, husband has been helping them out - at 71 he's a spring chicken compared to them!  Yesterday afternoon he measured up in their van, made a list of things required, and took them off to the DIY store to get the necessaries.  He was supposed to go home last night, taking Betty with him and leaving me here, but as he'd been busy all afternoon and early evening with the neighbours, he decided to put off going until this morning.  He left at 07.30, got home at 08.15, did all he had to do (including going to the nurse for another toe check) and got back to the van by early afternoon.  Meanwhile, the gas man came here and serviced our van boiler - all was well, although he did find a small gas leak (outside the van, fortunately) which he easily rectified.

Husband then spent this afternoon in the neighbours' van, dismantling and rebuilding the plumbing bits.  He's not finished yet, some of the bits had to be glued and they'll need time to set, so he'll finish it off tomorrow morning.  So I've had a fair bit of time on my own the past couple of days - that's fine, I've got a really good book....well, it's a series of books by the author David Baldacci, thrillers with the same central character.  They're very good and I've spent loads of time just reading, drinking coffee, eating what I want, when I want (cheese and crackers with a bit of fruit, mainly) and just relaxing.

I'm hoping husband will finish the plumbing stuff by lunchtime tomorrow, as I do need to go and do a bit of shopping - husband brought some food items back from home, but despite me giving him a list, he did forget a few things (like milk!).  He did, however, bring back armfuls of garden produce again - mini cucumbers, loads of tomatoes, even bigger loads of runner beans, and courgettes - I'd thought they had finished, obviously not!  I've shared them out with neighbours again, far too much stuff for us to get through ourselves.

Joy, you asked if we'll grow tomatoes next year.  Honestly, I don't yet know.  Husband certainly has lost his enthusiasm for veg growing, I can't make him do something he doesn't want to (nor would I even attempt to) and I don't want to take on the veg growing myself - it would be just another job to add to the long list of things I already have to do.  However, we do eat a lot of veggies, and with prices going up all the time, growing anything edible at all would help.  But there's the problem of us not being at home half the time to water and look after things.  So I really don't know, I'll wait and see how things are next year.

And Chris - yes, the van certainly does feel like - no, is - home.  Partly I guess because we only rent our house, whereas we own the caravan.  And partly because I don't have the same responsibilities here at the van, or the amount of work, and I just love the lifestyle, surroundings, peacefulness and community spirit.  I'm certainly in no hurry to go home, we'll be here for another two weeks at least.