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And some bling
Thanks Jude C for sharing our last newsletter on Substack! We really appreciate it. And welcome to Riss J and Lisa M in becoming a Substack Vanlifers with us. You are amazing! You all are :) If you are receiving random Substack subscriber emails, please know this is an automated message from Substack. I’ll try and figure out if I can stop them, so apologies in advance.
A little poem…
TIMELINES
I found myself this morning.
Wondering where I was.
I recognised the light above.
It woke me from the fog.
Waking up not knowing.
What am I doing here?
Wasn’t there a time in space.
That whisked me out of here?
Plant my feet, ground underneath.
Feel the earth, right here.
The body melds with the light of the sun
And the soul soars to where it all begun.
The soul, our home, evokes our roam
We find adventures to embrace.
The body, the light, the two unite
Focus is ours to create.
Tania x
I’ve been Tachi shopping! Every time I buy something I wonder how much the van weighs. I probably should go to a weigh station one day. But that’s a side track…
Every time we get into the van I have to pick Tach up and she really doesn’t like. I’m sure she gets embarrassed when there are onlookers thinking ‘oh she must be old… poor dear…’ In Tachi’s mind she’s a spritely 3yo. And for me a 25kg squat lift up to six times a day is good exercise. She tries jumping up but only her front paws make it to the first step.
At least that’s what she tells me…
Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More. - James Clear
Initially she would only walk her front legs up the ramp, forgetting the follow through with the back ones - they would stay firmly on the ground to the side. I would be trying not to laugh and then scoot my hand under her bum and remind her that she has four legs. ‘Oh, yes, yes’, she’d say.
I thought we were doing well until she completely threw everything I thought about her abilities out the window.
It was bucketing down with rain the other morning and (I’ve been watching so many UK Narrowboat Youtube’s that I feel like saying ‘Chuck’n it down’ :) and, before I could reach for the ramp Tachi had bound up, in one great leap into the van and onto her bed! I thought it must have been a neighbours dog jumping in, because there is no possible way Tachi could do that. But she could and she did!
So now I’m questioning this purchase…
Our next investment is the Living in a Bubble window covers for the cab of the van. I’ve been using a car size sun visor that barely covers the front window and I didn’t even bother using it most of the time. These are schmiko! I used to pull the blue curtains across, behind the driver and passenger seats for privacy and to the cool the back living area. Now… check it out! It’s like we have a whole new extension built on! My new wish is for swivel seats instead of fixed. I’d like Knight energy (mutable) seats instead of Queen energy (fixed) :)
When we were at a camp ground in Daylesford I learnt the hard way that Tachi could pull the curtains back by herself when she wanted to check on me, you know … to make sure I was still alive.
I was in the shower and Tach was asleep in the ‘sunroom/cabin’ at the time. I didn’t realise that my bodyguard had forgotten to draw the curtains closed after clambering into the back. I exit the shower and start my drying routine, then turn around and I’m looking straight out and onto a couple sitting under the awning of their caravan looking like they were trying to figure out something that was way too confusing.
Now the first thing I do when I get out of the shower is to make sure nobody that there’s no exposure. And I’m so glad I don’t have side windows. The front and back windows and the bedroom skylight are just fine.
Tachi still declares that she had every right to leave the curtains open because we’re practically living in a tent.
Good call.
Our third purchase is due to arrive any day now. It’s a new pushbike for Tachi. I had to give away her old one because it wouldn’t fit into the van. This one is a little less fancy and folds up smaller so that it can fit in the garage, which is under the queen sized bed. Currently the garage stores:
Tyre levellers/ramps (I’ve only used them a few times - I have become accustomed to living on a permanent lean)
Peat blocks (for the compost toilet)
Hoses and a filtered nozel (a black one for the grey waste and a blue one for filling the water tank.
Tachi’s 13kg dog food (I transfer it into a smaller Tupperware container for inside the van)
Tachi’s carry on luggage (with her towels and winter jackets and crocheted necklace for fancy outings)
Extension ladder (for checking out the roof/solar panels, skylight, Maxxair Fan)
Portable tyre compressor (in case of a flat tyre … touching wood)
Tools/Shovel (for just in cases)
10lt watering can (for when I’m too lazy to use the hose to fill the water tank, or it’s an easier option)
A small tub of clothes (ones I’ll probably never use but can’t bare to part with)
Tow bar (heavy bugger!)
Butane gas bottles and a gas (outdoor) cook top (I haven’t used this, so could probably move it on)
Power cords and extension leads for connecting to 240 watt power and power convertor (only needed if I run out of solar and need to plug in to power supply - used a couple of times when I first moved into the van. Hasn’t happened since. It’s been free power ever since.
120lt water tank (I use about 120lt every seven days - showers, drinking water for us both. I wash the dishes with vinegar and water in a spray bottle and paper towel)
80lt grey water tank (this tank has a mind of it’s own and when it chooses to empty itself - must look into that)
Gas Bottle (for hot water)
These last three are sectioned off in their own little cupboards.
Gosh that’s a lot. Wish me luck!
A slight change of plans
I arrived back at Aunty Earlene’s at the start of September to help her get ready for her hip operations with D Day being 20th of September but it didn’t go ahead because they found another issue upon prepping her for the op.
It’s now the 12th October and two nights we called Triple Zero for the fifth time which has lead to about 15+ days in hospital. It turns out AE’s heart is an issue and it has been for a few years now. It’s only now been discovered. Officially it’s Atrial Fibrillation. Unofficially nothing is happening because of the public health queuing system. We have been told to keep calling 000 when AF attacks occur and eventually there will be a heart specialist assigned to Aunty Earlene. So that’s what we’re doing.
And Queensland is a beautiful place to be. Apparently it’s been a cold winter for the locals and I’m still in tshirt and skirts :)
Energy isn’t created or destroyed. It never dies, it just changes form. The energy of who you are can’t change, it just has to change form.
Thank you all for being here x
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Haha Tachi you are very cheeky! Loving your musings Tania and insight into how the van works.