Otherwise known as Improvement Opportunities - never failings ;).
This weekend has been a very frustrating one, my car hates the damp and we limped over to a friends' house in pouring rain on Friday and have had to leave it there ever since. We attempted to start it yesterday and failed. It's safe there but clearly no use as a vehicle when it isn't running and it's 20 miles away from home :(
I consoled myself that at least we have Willow as a back up vehicle. I sorted out insurance for her last week and got it to start from today. Except that when I popped out to just turn the engine over and see if she was running okay I couldn't start Willow either :( So there we were, two vehicles in two locations and neither of them running. We'd got up super early (which I always resent unless I have a very good reason) and had a wasted run over to where the car was parked and a full week ahead of places to be at with no mode of transport to get there, very little cash to throw at any of the problems and the need to prioritise just where to spend funds.
We spent the day productively engaged in listing loads of stuff on ebay. We had various bits we'd brought home from carboot sales thinking we could try and sell them on ebay, several piles of books and large amounts of videos, dvds and cds that we'd sorted out. We photographed and listed and packed things up into lots - the plan is to see things as wholesale bulk lots now, collection only and if they don't go after two listings on ebay to freecycle them.
We have eight weeks before we are away on holiday for a week and my Dad is going to magnolia-ise the house for us while we're gone ready to get agents round to get it on the rental market. We need to have cleared everything by then, so it is easy for Dad to decorate and nice and clean and empty for viewers. The plan is to live with just stuff we are using up / taking with us / putting into storage. Everything else must go. Our lounge and playroom area already in this state (well the playroom sort of is, there is the pile of stuff for sale in the middle of it but we have sorted everything in there). Which leaves our bedroom and the kids bedrooms, two bathrooms and the kitchen. We also have a garage rather filled with stuff which needs going through too. My plan is to concentrate on one room per week and get it into the above state.
Will be back with updates on that as we go. Will commit here to doing one or both bathrooms by this time next week :)
So there we were last night, tired from being up early and fed up when there was a knock at the door and there stood Willow's previous owners. It turned out they had not got all the details needed on the log book paperwork. We had mentioned to them that we knew their next door neighbours so they had obviously described us to them (we never exchanged names) and got a vague address of where they thought we lived then driven round looking for Willow :). So we were able to ask them all the little questions we had and also get assurance that they'd never had problems starting her. To prove it he jumped in and got her going :). I've failed again this morning to get her started but at least I know it is me not having the knack rather than something the matter with the van.
I know have her insured and breakdown cover sorted and she is booked in for a service next week. Am fully expecting to be using her once that is done and intending to take her for a night or two away as soon as possible.
(My car is now back home after A got it started too - all's well that ends well.)
In other WW related news I have joined the Bedford CF club - already got loads of friendly greetings from the 'Bedheads' on the forum - I suspect that will be an invaluable source of support and advice to us.
I have also spent some time perusing the WWOOFing section of the Low Impact Living forum and we have concluded from various sources that our initial plan of a week at a time staying with hosts won't give us the experience we want. We have thus decided to re-shortlist our Zone two potential hosts and contact them for 2 week stays during June, July and August. That is the next big job to do. But first, more fundraising and crap clearing and van running.
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