TOURIST TUESDAY: PRELUDE TO THE ROAD TRIP TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Have you ever come home from an overseas holiday, jet lagged as all get out, and think it would be a great idea to go on a ten day road trip? No? Am I the only crazy one?

Rewind to the beginning of October, I was having a moment. Okay, I was having a sulk. All my life I have wanted to own a small caravan. I had been watching this van on Ebay for a bit. Both Justin and I had emailed the owner with a gazzilion questions. I knew that this was the van for our little family. Even though my instincts told me the price was too good that there had to be something wrong with the van...I just fell in love with it.

It did not sell the first time, and when it got re-listed, I thought to myself, "it's a sign! The van is meant to be mine". Did not matter that I did not have the money to buy it. It did not matter that the van was located in South Australia. It did not matter that we were going to Hong Kong in October to take Justin's Mum over to visit her family. It just did not matter. I wanted that van.

At the beginning of Chester's second birthday party, I thought... okay I didn't think, I just acted, and bid on the van. The day passed, and we all had a amazing time at the party. It was not until we were driving home that I thought to look at the listing. This is when my sulk started. I had missed out on the van by the smallest of amounts.

Even Justin was super disappointed, he spent the night looking at other vans to bid on, trying to convince me this van was not the only one. I didn't care, I went to bed with a sulk and a tear in my eye.

But!!! I woke up to an email from the owner, the other bidder was not being pleasant. So he retracted it from sale. And sold it to us privately. THE VAN WAS MINE!

Justin and I, okay well I screamed with excitement. And then the realities hit. I had to pay for the van AND pick it up. We sat down to look at our rosters and realised the only gap we had was immediately after Hong Kong. I was so thrilled at the thought of the van I thought "no worries, we can do this"....

Sneak peak at our van, swoon, isn't she a gorgeous old girl?!

PAPA SMURF MADE ME DO IT

He looks all cute an innocent, doesn’t he? But I blame Papa Smurf. Back in December last year I made a deal with myself, to buy nothing for whole year. This did not include food, gifts for others, stuff for the garden, and my hair colour and make-up. Why the deal? Originally I had budgeted to take a year off after Jarvis, but that year passed and I had no desire what so ever to return to work and be apart for him.

Papa Smurf

I had done so well, all new clothes were made from fabric in my fabric stash. New bath towels for the new house, were purchased with gift cards given to me for my birthday. Everything else I passed on. As the year went by it got easier, and easier to not buy. It just got easier to not want ‘stuff’, stuff that I really didn’t need.

However, yesterday I went to Bunnings. Oh that place how I love it, Bunning and Spotlight share my love equally. The lady in the garden section at Bunning knows me; I went in to get coriander that was it. But right there at the front Papa Smurf called to me. In fact all of the Smurfs called to me, to take them home and introduce them to Herbert, Basil, and Corri.

Herbert, is the big guy, Basil is wearing orange, and Corri is the pipe smoker.

Justin gave me the three garden gnomes, gifts that I adore. They sit happily at the back door, but Papa kept whispering he would look so smart at the front door. So I broke my rule. Then I broke it again. The stand behind Papa was also given to me by Justin, all year I have wanted to fill it with pretty flowers, but I knew this was bending the rule of buying stuff for the garden that was practical.

So now we have Papa Smurf and some Raspberry Fluff Petunias sitting at our front door. I am questioning, am I going to enjoy them? Or am I going to feel guilty each time I walk past them. 

Raspberry Fluff seedlings. 

My new coriander, which was the start of all of this. 

WHERE THERE IS LIFE, THERE IS GROWTH

Now it is a waiting game. After all of the hard work, of clearing out the mess that was our backyard, building the garden beds, and shoveling the dirt, the planting of the seeds and seedlings seems very calm. In only one week since planting happened, there is life. The seedlings are taller and stronger, and the seeds have turned into tiny little seedlings.

I got the grass in two lots (from the same place) and it is clear that Friday's grass is healthier than Thursday's grass. Fingers crossed that Thursday's grass can survive. I learnt that you do not Google 'grass', that it is turf or lawn. I found some very interesting ways to grow and care for another sort of grass altogether. I am tempted to go back and get some more for the bare patches. But I set myself a budget, and with the last four sheets of turf I have reached my limit. Wonder if it would be strange if I asked Santa for some grass?

In the large bed there is lettuce, cabbage, and two varieties of carrots, spring onions, bokchoy, potatoes sweet potatoes, and pumpkin. In the smaller bed there is cucumber, corn, capsicum, passion fruit, strawberries and pumpkin. Some are showing more growth than others, but it is just so exciting to see ant growth. Next, fingers crossed that this garden produces some organic fruit and vegetables!