Things get started!!! scary!!!!

I know this update is well over due, so sorry guys, I have been trying to spend less time at my PC and more time on the land, which is what I have been doing!

We had moved up to Sella in January if you remember,waiting for planning permission to be approved and also that we had a house with 4 walls and a roof. Rich headed back to the UK for work during July and I drove over to meet him and spend some time with the family.

Great views but too far from the real world for me!

Whilst driving to Orkney so Rich could guide on "The Old Man" we called in at Lancaster and bought a 21ft caravan, as you do! This would kill 2 birds with one stone as we needed to bring back bits and pieces from the house in Devon that we sold last year and we needed a new home down on the land.

Leaving Lancaster with the "lounge"

Once at The Orange House we emptied out all the crap we had towed for miles and started to rip the caravans guts out. It had a large bedroom at the back which I knew would make a great little kitchen and the main part we ripped out the bathroom to allow space for us to chill out and watch our massive TV.

It is still not finished inside but it does look alot better and is a great place to hide from the world!

I wrote this blog entry from there as you can see from the pc on the seat and the pussy cat Thomas sleeping at the side of me.

Before we had left for the UK Phil our lovely builder said he knew of a little caravan that we could maybe use on the land, he warned me it was little and I said that would be great and we would collect when we came back from the UK.

I called him one afternoon and said I could pop over with Jenny and collect the van if that was ok, he took a second to say, “we really need Rich with us” to which I replied “ I am sure I am more than capable of hitching up a caravan” sexist bugger! He laughed and said “ I forgot to tell you its laying on its side!” I laughed back, forgave him and said "OK we will wait for Rich to come with us".

Only I could go to collect a caravan that has been laying on its side in the mountains for over a year!

Off we set in the Nissan to collect it, I wish we had a photo of the poor thing on its side, and when Phil said little, he meant LITTLE, this thing is tiny but it was love at first sight.

With Jen and me on one side, Phil and Rich on the other and one little gentle push, over she went back to the same spot she had stood on over 12 months before.

We pumped up the tyres and drove back and forward a few times to unlock the handbrake and off we went back over the mountain tracks. I reckon she is vintage 70's and I will keep her forever, at the moment she is now making us a perfect dressing room. When all this is finished I will restore her back to her true self and use her in the garden as a guest room. My good friend Kim already spent the night in her and I am sure slept peacefully.

We had a moving out date from Sella, September 1st. I did sort of enjoy living up there but I have not driven up since. The last few drives up drove me crazy and I knew that living only 8 minutes door to door from The Orange House would be amazing ( and it is, now we are back in full season again!).

We worried, well Rich worried about driving the caravans into place, I had more faith, but don’t I always? The baby van went it first, easily pushed into her space, however, she does weigh nothing. Next big van, we had help from family and friends but really she was easy too. Backed in with a great view from my lounge window, Puig and the girls.

"well that was easy"

Then the camper-van, the last piece in our jigsaw, our bedroom and bathroom. She too was easy to reverse in and all sorted, 3 vans under our magic tree and the girls on the terrace just below.

Rich happy under the magic tree as we call it!

Polly watching!

Maybe I should have cut his ropes?

Water will be our main problem living up here, we have none! We do have a little well on the bottom terrace so Rich decided one day to take a look, nothing to see really apart from a large hole in the ground, but he had fun exploring.


Jose and Irene our architects came to draw out white lines in cement dust on the 8th October. This is starting to feel more real, the only downside is we discover that when we dug out a space last year we didn’t dig out enough. The machine and Phil would have to return.

more land needed

Phil and digger return and we have a bigger and better space with more soil dumped at the front to make us feel slightly better about sliding down the hillside.

Jose returned again to mark out the lines again and guess what that is our house!

My home, gulp!

The next instalment will be, how the hell do we get tonnes and tonnes of cement up this hillside with no water and tight bends! Watch this space...

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