Okay so it has been six weeks and two days of living in the camper, not that I'm counting! It hasn't been quite as bad as I sometimes make out. The upside of it all, because you should always start with a positive, is that it has brought us a little closer as a family rather than the opposite with the likes of divorce or a teenage child running away from home to party hard in Melbourne, which I thought might possibly happen with all of us being so close to one another in such a small space.
We eat dinner most nights at our very small table inside the camper, and during this time there are minor quibbles about elbows and the placement of feet. Prior to sitting we take into consideration our seating arrangement as whoever sits on the outside has to get the forgotten stuff such as salt, pepper, glasses, drinks and so on. We somehow haven't chosen a particular spot like we normally do in our usual dinner table where we are seated in the dining room of our house, probably because subconsciously we know it's a temporary arrangement.
On the downside it has been hard and I am so over it and so is Dave. The floor seems to always be dirty from the gravel and mud. And we seem to have accumulated more and more stuff inside the camper, making our space a little smaller each time. Alex hasn't complained too much and neither has Zoe even though she has minimal toys to play with. Alex is missing the Internet the most rather than his bedroom as he has his own space anyway with him being in the caravan on his own, he only shares his space with stuff that is stored in there. Zoe has managed to cover half of her bed with her stuff, leaving a small space to sleep on. She is happy as long as you don't ask her to tidy it up.
Cooking wise it has been extremely hard to get motivated. It has truly not been inspirational to prepare dinner on a bench the size of a stable table. My barbecue cooking skills has improved somewhat. The other day I managed to cook a pitta bread based garlic and cheese pizza without burning it. I am yet to cook a roast, I figure it would cost more in bottle gas than it's really worth. The barbecue has seen a lot more action than the norm especially now the weather is nicer. I have cooked various vegetables, that being eggplant, capsicum, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. I have also cooked bacon, eggs and grilled sourdough bread. I have worked out that if I use the egg rings for the eggs than the white doesn't run off into the rest of the food. We have used the wok side of the barbecue to cook our pasta sauces and curries rather than using the camper stove and stinking the camper out.
Entertainment wise we haven't really missed the TV all that much, although the other day I was saying I miss watching Midsomer Murders. I think Dave has well and truly been converted from couch potato as he was in his spare time prior "ME". We have watched a few movies but because we have only a selected few for the camper and the rest being in storage we have now run out of options other than watching them again.
It is nearing the time that we will be moving on from the humble camper and into our beautiful new house. I can't wait, we are all very excited about living in a house again. It will be like Christmas when we open our boxes to find some items we haven't seen in almost two years, and we will also find things in boxes which will make us think, "Why on earth did we pack that?"
We are in the process of painting and it's been hard work. So far we have under coated every ceiling and wall except for the walls in the living room and kitchen, as they need grey undercoat. We have also managed to paint the final colors on Zoe's and our bedroom, and the ceiling paint in all the rooms, so I suppose we are doing quite well. The bamboo floor boards get delivered this week so we need to finish painting before laying the floor and then moving in the furniture.
For now though I am typing this in the camper eagerly awaiting the day we move in and sleep in an actual bed and not have to use the outdoor toilet. It will be so luxurious to experience a real bed once again. It is funny the little things you take for granted. Can't wait to move in. I am very excited!
Steph
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