Cate's Diary

Thanks, LaMa & Liza. I had a great sleep last night. Arch made me actually giggle at bedtime & I fell asleep quickly. He’s on my lap now with his Winter PJ’s on as it’s quite chilly. At these times I wish we had some instant warmth that we could turn on & off easily. It’s too soon to light our wood heater, but I think it’s almost time to take the cover off the flue & to set it.
My walk was along the road, where our neighbours keep the edges cut & it feels much safer. I really must get myself a safety vest to go over whatever I wear. Getting G to pick me up when I have walked as far as I can was a good idea & I’ll do that more often I think. It’s more fun. I must use a bumbag though so that I can have gloves, hat, rubbish bag, puffer etc. & take a light raincoat.
I feel a lot calmer today & less stressed. Sleep is so important to me.
 
Just got back from another 2 km walk. It was going to be a down to the letterbox & back one (1km down & back) but the mailman hadn’t been so I kept on going for 2 km & rang G. Got to chat to 2 older women :)
 
Glad to see you out walking!

Saw you post on the other thread about no covid cases in Tasmania, that is amazing. If you can do it I don't know why we can't, but I don't see us ever getting there, not to zero. More folks need to follow your model.
 
Thanks, Rob. Walking does me so much good :)
Because we're an island state on an island continent a long way from almost everywhere else, we have benefitted from locked borders & strict quarantine procedures for those who were returning home from other countries. I dislike both out state government & our federal government, but by taking these steps, I do give them credit. People mostly accepted the decisions made & mostly they are happy to travel more around our state. I am finding it almost impossible to find a small campervan for that reason. Last year everyone got a dog & now everyone is buying campers. Old bombs are getting exorbitant prices. I basically only want to be able to sleep in it, with G & Archie & have room to store golf clubs & picnic stuff. If I win the lottery I'll buy a new Merc Sprinter camper. :D
 
I think it is as hard for those in other countries to comprehend that we live mostly normal lives and mostly Covid free except for a couple of quarantine breaches as it is hard for us to truly understand the the sheer loss of life in the worst effected places. If our state governments had listened to the federal government we would be in the same state as most of the rest of the world. Tomorrow I am taking my daughter to her friends birthday party, which is all ok here but would be unthinkable in the USA. The only Covid cases here in Queensland have been in returned traveler quarantine, we have had no community cases for months.
 
Yes Australia and New Zealand definitely did it right. I keep wondering if we'll ever get out of this mess with all the new variants popping up. sigh. But really I know it's just a matter of time any which way. But yes excellent that you guys actually can feel safe socializing!
Nice to hear you enjoying some good walks and got some good sleep. Really does make all the difference!
Cate said:
At these times I wish we had some instant warmth that we could turn on & off easily. It’s too soon to light our wood heater, but I think it’s almost time to take the cover off the flue & to set it.
Click to expand...
yes instant heat is always nice. i often think of my friends that rely on wood heat as I just turn a dial to get a bit more warmth!
 
Hi Cate! You are so lucky in regards to covid. They are saying there is a new California strain and they expect us to go back to strictest lockdown (if we're not already) in April.

Here you can do 2 things if you want to buy your new home before putting the old one on the market. The banks do a bridge loan to help with that, but it's higher interest, or you can refinance your current place and use the money for a down payment on the new place first, but I don't know how either of those effects your credit score, plus here the banks like to see that you have a savings squirreled away, so many people move their stuff to a rental to get their old house staged to sell. When you interview realtors maybe ask them their opinions of what works best for your situation.

A new thing here that I want to look into is a whole house heating system that is stored outside and is supposed to be super efficient. If I do end up needing to research them, I'll let you know what I find.

So happy you found a nice way to take walks locally again, and glad it's making you feel so much better!
 
Thanks, Liza & Marsia. I'll keep de-cluttering and keep our options open, but I don't think we're ready yet to actually move. I may line up a neighbour to slash our paddocks next year I think & that would make a big difference to the feel & safety of the place & also dog-walking, being able to see snakes easier etc.
I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning as we're off to Hobart for a couple of nights. I do like a road trip (when it's in my car, not G's). Arch is going into kennels & we drop him off along the way. I'm going to miss him. It always feels weird when he's not with me now. He's like velcro :beating:
 
I hope you have a lovely trip Cate. To be honest, where you live now seems ideal, but I can understand that you're looking to the future in terms of a move. I'm really glad that R's new job is going so well and that your sleep is returning to normal.
 
Cate said:
I am finding it almost impossible to find a small campervan for that reason. Last year everyone got a dog & now everyone is buying campers. Old bombs are getting exorbitant prices.
Click to expand...
Funny I have also been looking, in fact we are going to a couple of dealers tomorrow. Same problem with demand and availability here too, but maybe not quite as bad as you have it. I am optimistic we will find something, also open to a travel trailer (I think you say caravan), but my truck is not real big and towing capacity is limited. My desire for one is not covid related and goes back a long time, now that I am getting more and more retired it seems like a good way to get out and see a lot of the US and maybe Mexico at a slower pace. Hopefully we will be able to add Canada to that list, but not right now. Keep us up on your search. Hope you win that lottery!!
 
Cate said:
I might go camper van looking tomorrow while G plays golf. I need to know how comfortable any of them are for me to drive.
Click to expand...
That is a good idea. Here there are places and people who rent them, you might consider renting one for a few days to see how you like it. I have done that, in Alaska. It was informative, I am sure you can drive one, but it takes some getting used to and there are limitations. Nothing like giving it a try. Below is the website I have used to find people willing to rent out their RVs. Looks like they have a few listings in Tasmania, and I see some availability for next week. In the US most rentals allow pets, so you could take Archie along!
Campers, Motorhomes & RVs for Rent | Outdoorsy
 
Hi Cate! I think the idea of having someone mow your meadows is a great idea. Where you live seems so magical, I get what you mean about not wanting to move unless necessity comes knocking.

We are also looking at camper vans, and we're going to check out 5th wheels. We have all these ideas that are based on what our next property will be, so won't buy anything until we know where we're moving, but it's fun to look and dream. Cate, if you do get a camper van, some modern ones that are high roofed come with wind assist (well the Ford ones do for sure anyway - maybe check if the Mercedes do as well). My grandfather drove his RV all around the US, and the hardest thing was driving in the wind with both hands clamped to the steering wheel if it was very windy. He said that was exhausting and you worried the whole time that your rig would flip over.

Have a very lovely weekend!!!
 
Thanks, Rob & Marsia. I didn't get to check out campervans or do anything really on Saturday. It was a bit of a crazy weekend really & I'm glad to be back home.
I may have a re-think about cars. We do need a bigger one, but I'll start having a look around at our options. Staying in a pet-friendly Airbnb & having a bigger car (with a boot for carrying golf clubs, dog bed etc) may be more logical. I just want to be able to carry more stuff really, like fold-up chairs, picnic stuff etc & I'm not much of a camper. My car is tiny & G's car is manual & old. I think we'd get rid of his & have my little car as the second car.
Operation "get fitter & feel better" had a setback at the weekend. Way too much wine & crap food, not enough exercise & it's no good. I haven't done that for ages & I didn't like it. Moving right along......
 
Have you considered getting one of those hard cell storage things for the roof of your car (they look like a little turtle shell dome but I'm not sure of their proper name)? You can store more stuff, keep it safe from the elements and not have to get a bigger car.
 
It's funny, we are doing the same thing as you are considering. We have a small hybrid car and a dying wagon, and we are thinking of maybe an SUV or crossover that has enough oomph to pull a lightweight trailer, but really the SUV or crossover just by itself would be big enough for day trips.

I bet it's a momentary blip on the scale (if anything) from one weekend of less activity and diet being a bit off. I picture you giving yourself a little shake like animals do to release stress, and then letting that be in the past!
 
Cate said:
Way too much wine & crap food, not enough exercise & it's no good. I haven't done that for ages & I didn't like it.
Click to expand...
It's good that you didn't like it though. Setbacks happen but you're on the right track.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top