For Brenda

 Brenda, to answer your questions.....

Where we live here in the West Country is about 45 miles or so from Bristol, and around 150 or 160 miles away from London.  Not a long way by American standards I know, but it's certainly a long way for us!  

Joy (A Retired Teacher) and Sue in Suffolk both live on the eastern side of the country, also a long way from London, although I don't know how far, and a very long way away from us here in Somerset.

Thank you for your always kind comments on my blog, I know you're a long time reader.

Put to bed

 Well, the caravan is put to bed for the winter.  We left everything neat, tidy and clean, did all the necessary draining down etc, pulled mattresses and sofa cushions away from the outer walls, opened all room and cupboard doors, defrosted the fridge icebox, cleaned and dried the fridge inside and left the door open, made sure everything was switched off and all plugs, aerial etc pulled out, gas boiler drained and the gas switched off outside.  Put tubs of cat litter everywhere (for moisture traps, a recommendation on the static caravan forum I belong to) with some of those Unstoppables scent booster washing beads in, for a nice fresh smell when we go back to the van.  I'm sure it'll be fine for when we go back next year.  There were quite a few people there yesterday, more than we've seen for a few weeks, they were all obviously closing up too.  Husband kept wondering on the way home if we'd remembered to do everything....I think we have, but the beauty of living not far away is that if we do think of something we didn't do, we still have a couple of weeks to go back and rectify it.

Regarding the furniture - as I said, we're only thinking about it, it's not a done deal.  And we do know it's got to fit through the caravan door!  That's our biggest concern - once we've ensured that we can safely remove the old sofa without affecting the stability of the van walls, that is.  We had a good look at the structure yesterday, having taken off the sofa cushions.....we think that leaving the back board in place will continue to provide the required stability, we can paint it in a neutral colour and it'll be hidden by any new furniture anyway.  Thousands of people have taken out their fixed furniture and replaced with freestanding, it's one of the biggest topics of conversation on the static caravan forum, so we know it's doable.  As for fitting new stuff through the door.....well, again, loads of people have done it.  Obviously, we would measure up. 😉 Some sofas or chairs have backs that can be removed for transportation and ease of access, some people go to the extreme of taking out the front window to get the furniture in that way - not something we have any intention of doing, though.

Our preferred choice would be a 2 seater sofa and a recliner armchair, or possibly a 3 seater sofa with each end seat a recliner.  But we've got the whole winter to think about it and look at possibilities.

Today I have the task of finding places to put all the caravan stuff we brought home.  I think I'm going to have a good clear out of my craft room (it certainly needs it) and put most of the stuff in there, on and under the spare bed.  Our garage leaks like a sieve (we have tried, on numerous occasions, to get the Landlord to do something about it, but he's a skinflint who doesn't see it as a necessity 😒).  It also has a rodent problem, husband's found evidence of mice often, so we don't keep anything valuable or mouse destructible in there.  So the spare bedroom/my craft room it is.  We could put some stuff in the loft, but as we don't have a dedicated fitted loft ladder and husband has to bring his ladder upstairs from the garage, it's not something we do often.

A Good Thing!

 Had some exciting news yesterday from our friends from Kent who we saw a couple of times last week when they were here on holiday....if you remember, they visited us at the caravan park and really liked it.  Having put in that cheeky offer on the vacant static (owner is asking way too much and our friends can't/don't want to pay that much), they've now decided they'd really like to have a touring van on a seasonal pitch at our park.  I'm going to find out details from the site owner when we go there today.  There's even a vacant seasonal touring pitch very close to our van, so it would be fantastic if it all worked out and they put their tourer there.

It's going to be a bittersweet day, going to the caravan, having a last meal there (lunch) and then putting it all to bed for the winter.  It's possible our other next door neighbours, the ones with the 2 little yappy dogs, might be there to close theirs up, when we were there last week it was evident they'd been back (some of their outside things had been moved), but they have stuff still outside which I'm sure they'll want to put away for the winter.  Their dogs are a bit of a pain, but they themselves are a nice couple.  There's hardly anyone left there now, so it's very quiet and means husband isn't fond of going there now as he's got nobody to talk to!

We're toying with the idea of taking out the fixed sofa seating next year and having freestanding furniture instead.  Loads of people have done it, both on our park and on the static caravan forum I belong to.  We need to have a proper look behind all the sofa cushions and work out how the sofa was fixed in, and whether it provides structural stability to the van walls.  It may be possible to leave the wooden battening behind the sofa cushions in place and just have freestanding furniture (we're thinking a 2-seater sofa and a recliner armchair, although that's not set in stone) in front of it, we don't know yet.  The middle part of the sofa isn't bad, but each end seat is quite uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time.  And both of us like a recliner chair (we'll have to take turns in it!! 😂).  We'll have a look today, and talk/think about it over the winter.

I've not put any Spring bulbs in the front garden as yet, just concentrated on putting loads in the caravan garden.  I might get some today though, before they all sell out.  I might buy my first ever Christmas tree too!  We don't normally go in for Christmas decorations in any meaningful way.....husband is a right Grinch when it comes to Christmas, although I quite like it.  But I do have mixed feelings about Christmas, at the same time - my beloved Nanna, who I had a very close relationship with (I'm the eldest grandchild) died many years ago on Boxing Day, and of course my Mother died on Christmas Eve the year before last.  So Christmas brings a mixture of emotions for me.  But this year I'd like to put the sadness aside and maybe have some nice decorations to make me smile whenever I look at them.

Thanks for caring

 Re my leg and the falling over.....thank you for your concern, but I don't think it's anything sinister.  I've fallen over 4 times now in the past few weeks - twice outside, both on uneven ground (a beach and a field), and twice indoors, both times when I've just got out of bed, so am very, very stiff and very groggy as still half asleep.  I think the sciatica is the result of my current bad posture caused by my hip bursitis, obviously something pressing on the sciatic nerve - I've had lower back problems, including episodes of sciatica (always down the back of my left leg) ever since I was 19 and had a slipped disc, so it's nothing new.  I'm sure the osteopathy on the 8 Nov will sort it out.  Anyway, if I go to the GP (assuming I can actually see one), I expect all they'll do is try to throw more codeine at me, or give me another referral to physiotherapy - and seeing as they have a massive backlog (and cancelled my last referral without even telling me!) I'm not at all confident that I'll get an appointment anytime soon.  But thank you very much, it's nice to know that people are concerned for me.

Very misty this morning but not at all cold, apparently it's going to be warm and wet next week.  It should be dry tomorrow when we go to the caravan to close it up for the winter, which will be good.  Our lovely van neighbour Jean has texted me a few times with little tips for getting the van ready for winter, which is nice of her.  They're old hands at it, having been at the caravan park for 10 or 12 years.  I'm sure the van will be ok - after all, it had been empty and unused for 2 years when we took it over and it was fine with no leaks at all.

Today I'm not doing much.....the indoor freezer to defrost, making some dog food, cooking a gammon and prepping veg to have when we get back from the van tomorrow.  For dinner tonight we're having homemade pasty and chips out of the freezer.  This afternoon I might watch a film and do some crocheting, husband will be out cutting a hedge for an elderly neighbour.

Bloody leg

 My leg gave way under me again this morning, if I hadn't grabbed onto my bedroom chest of drawers (knocking off some books and toiletries in the process), I'd have been on the floor again.  Interesting that it's currently my left leg with the sciatica, rather than my right hip with the bursitis, that's giving me the most trouble now.  It makes me a bit wary of going anywhere outside the house, but I just have to take my walking stick and be careful.....I can't (and won't) become a hermit and stay indoors.  A minor problem is that, bearing in mind both my legs give me problems, I'm not really sure which hand to have my walking stick in - I generally go with the right, as I'm right-handed.  Perhaps I'll ask the osteopath when I see her next month.  And no I'm not going to use one of those walking frames - I'm not ancient or an invalid just yet!! 😜😜

Brunch with friends

 Another lovely sunny day, very warm indeed this afternoon, our friends from Kent have had beautiful weather for their holiday here this week.  We met up with them for brunch, then had a mooch around the shops, I bought some books (3 for £5, my favourite thrillers, bargain) and some dog treats, friend D bought a bagful of books! (she does a lot of reading when her husband is on late shifts).  We didn't take Betty, she's not keen on shopping and high streets, especially if they're busy, she gets a bit anxious.  We left our friends early afternoon, to get back home to Betty, D and C went to do some more geocaching - around a nature reserve I didn't even know about.  We're finding out about places here in Somerset we didn't know existed, all because our visiting friends love to go exploring.  They're off home tomorrow.....well, not straight home, they're stopping off somewhere en route tomorrow night and Saturday night.  It's been lovely seeing them.  C retires in January, so we might see a bit more of them next year, they do love holidaying down here.  As for the 'cheeky' offer they put in on the vacant caravan on our park....we knew it wouldn't be accepted, our park owner has already turned down a few higher offers.  The van has been vacant for a long time now, you'd think he'd stop being greedy and set his price a bit lower, then he might actually get a sale!  After all, he's not making any money on pitch fees whilst the van is empty, the previous van owner died a couple of years ago and there were no family members to take it over.

I'm very tired again now, even though I slept reasonably well last night.....I seem to go through the odd phase of feeling totally worn out, I think it's a diabetic thing.  I'll watch the Hairy Bikers and then have an early night.

Going shopping tomorrow to stock up on store cupboard tins and packets, toiletries and cleaning supplies, the idea being that I won't then need to go shopping for a few weeks, as the 2 freezers are well stocked.  With being at the caravan so much this summer, we didn't have a lot of garden produce, but we do still have 3 growing bags of potatoes (husband grows all our spuds in bags), and lots of apples.  I've already prepped and frozen about 6 plastic tubs of sliced apples, we've certainly had a good apple harvest this year, both eaters and cookers.

Husband still hasn't had a date for his prostate op, he rang Yeovil hospital again today and was again told that they haven't yet had a referral from Taunton hospital.  Goodness only knows what's taking so long - the lady he was speaking to at Taunton hospital last week who said she was sending the papers to Yeovil is apparently off now until Monday, so he'll have to ring again then.  It's all so frustrating trying to get treatment nowadays, as most of us know.  

A quiet day

 Went to get out of bed this morning and my left leg (the one with sciatica) gave way underneath me, so I ended up on the floor.  At least I was right beside the bed so could pull myself back up fairly easily.  No damage done.

I've had a pretty easy day.....put washing out on the line, weeded and pruned a small flower bed, prepared dinner this afternoon (bbq pork and beans, using leftover roast pork).  Other than that, I've just sat in my recliner chair crocheting and reading.  Husband's been out this afternoon, so it's been quiet.

We had a lovely time with our Kent friends yesterday, they love our caravan and park and even put in a cheeky offer on a vacant van (it was refused, as we knew it would be!).  We're seeing them again tomorrow, meeting up for brunch and then a beach walk.

There was hardly anybody at the caravan park yesterday, seems strange not having any of our van friends around to chat to.  We're going back on Sunday to finally close up, that'll be a sad day, but we've got a few ideas and plans for the van to keep us going till next Spring.