The only way is up ...

The long run of fine weather has finally come to an end.  Last night we were woken at 4.00am by a huge thunderstorm.  (That's the last time I ever get up for a wee in the garden under an umbrella!)  I had to get up to check that Adrian's awning alterations had fixed the previously very saggy roof, which collected copious amounts of rainwater during the daytime.  The temporary roof put up over the house toilet was also bulging down with gallons of rainwater, which needed pushing off with a broom in the morning, much to Hannah's amusement.

During the last of the sunny days I was amused to hear Adrian congratulating me on making the most of our "passive solar gain" when I suggested opening the caravan curtains to heat us up through the windows.

Emma and I enjoyed lovely hot soaky baths and hairwashes on Sunday night when our neighbours at the end of the garden (nearest the caravan) kindly invited us to use their bathroom.  Adrian and Hannah opted to stick with the caravan shower (!??).

We now have the satellite dish back up and running, after not watching live TV since the beginning of August.  (Adrian found an amazing App on his phone which pinpointed exactly how to target our nearest satellite.)  I'm thrilled to be rediscovering Downton Abbey, Bake-Off (just in time for the final) and Strictly.  Adrian has straight away got back into Formula One, Match of the Day, and round-the-clock Grand Designs, Restoration Man, Build Your House for 100K etc, etc. I won't bore you with the girls' choices!   But I'm also aware that, for all of us, two months without constant TV has not been nearly as difficult as one would have imagined.

We had a slight electrical glitch at the weekend (just as the weather broke) when I accidentally overloaded the caravan circuit in my mad-dash attempts at cleaning up everywhere before Adrian returned from a(nother) week in Japan.  I'd put the caravan heater on, and the garden room heater, and the hot water, and plugged in the hoover ... when all of a sudden, nothing.  No heat, no hot water, no sockets.  I texted Adrian, just landed back at Heathrow, with a 'warning' that he might need to fix some things as soon as he got home!  The problem stumped him that evening and we all went to bed freezing cold with extra duvets, socks and jumpers.  The next day, luckily, my clever engineer husband identified a burnt out wire in the electrical unit and was able to replace it and make everything safe again (fingers crossed).  I'm now under strict instruction to limit the amount of electrical things I have on at any one time, and we now use gas a little more than we used to for heating and hot water.

Hannah and Emma are still being real troupers about our camping 'hardships'.  They confessed to me last night their latest 'game' after I've put them to bed at night.  Apparently they both lie in their parallel beds on their tummies, holding hands across the aisle, and then see who can turn over and pull the other out of bed. I have a feeling Hannah might mostly win this game?  Once I've gone out to the Garden Room I'm oblivious to all this merriment!  I can't be too cross when it's lovely that they can giggle together instead of bicker.

I'll finish with a couple of pictures which illustrate the level to which the house is now stripped almost as bare as it will be before new construction begins.  Alan tells me he is beginning to sleep easier at night now that he feels on track for preparing the outer walls for the upstairs panels to come.  A very exact science.  Fingers crossed!