Midlife Crisis much?

 Well, we bought a little caravan yesterday.  It was almost worth it alone for the experience of seeing our adult son's face drop when we told him what we had done.  The shock, swiftly followed by horror, then suspicion as he demanded to know if we were messing with him? followed by more shock when we assured him that we really had bought one, followed by much eye widening and failing miserably to hide how aghast he was, as he attempted to utter platitudes that sounded more like forecasts of doom: "well, I hope it will turn out to be really enjoyable for you both.." etc  before exiting the room with a look on his face similar to what I imagine a 48 year old man would receive on buying a red Ferrari and dating a 20 year old. 

All very amusing, especially as I had fully predicted it to DH in advance that we would have to face the music when we got home.  It's not an impulse decision for us but I guess it seems that way to DS. As well as talking about it a lot the last few weeks, we actually did spend some considerable time discussing the purchase - all the way up to the dealer in the car (over an hour), about 30 minutes inside the caravan and 20 minutes standing out in the rain outside, then another 45 minutes sitting in the car eating our picnic lunch. Not about whether we would get that specific caravan, but about what we wanted in a holiday and specifically in the next five years.  I also pointed out that we, and particularly I, are not getting any younger - so we are moving into the territory of "well if we don't do it soon, then we've probably run out of time to do it at all".  Although we acknowledge our own laziness and reluctance to leave our comfortable little rut at home, I strongly feel it will be good for us to get out into the world and have to problem solve, and see new sights after so long at home, and learn new things. It will be a new hobby we can do together, hopefully for the next 3-5 years anyhow, and then we can sell the caravan and recoup some of our purchase price.

So now I am hurled into a massive spate of organising and arranging: have to get a tow bar installed on the car, find somewhere to store the caravan (everyone is full that I've tried so far), insurance, all the kit and accessories.  There is so much learning online now, so I'm watching lots of Youtube videos on what to pack, and how to tow safely etc. DH will be the driver so I'm going to sign him up for a towing refresher course, as it's been many years since we last towed a trailer. It might be difficult to find places to go this year if all the sites are mobbed but should get easier next year hopefully if international travel opens up more.  Our car is on the smaller side so we could only buy a very lightweight van, which greatly restricted the available choice, not helped by everything being sold out.  In the end we have gone for a continental caravan called the Adria Action because they have a good reputation for quality and for such a small caravan the layout inside seems quite workable for two people. We won't be picking it up for a few weeks because of all the things to be sorted first.  I'll try not to bore you all too much with caravan talk in future. Fingers crossed it will all work out, we'll learn how to do it, and will have some enjoyable breaks in it. I'm already thinking about which quilts could become the caravan quilts and what sewing and knitting projects I can take in it. I've signed up for an Australian Block of the Month which will involve a lot of handwork so could be good for taking with me.

I finished the Autumn coloured socks and blocked the second one.  I wore them to bed last night and they were really warm.

DH helped me refold all the quilts yesterday.  I was smarter this time than when I previously refolded them all a couple of years ago - I measured the shelves of the wardrobe and taped out a rectangle of that size in masking tape on my bed.  That made it much easier to fold them all to a uniform size.  It was lovely to see them all again, all the memories in them whether made by me or by others, or antique.  Quite a lot of work and several trips to get them all back into the cupboard though. They really need a bigger cupboard so they aren't so squashed.

I had a go at a little totebag, trying an online tutorial for a recessed zipper in the top with mixed results. The vinyl I found in my stash was too soft and stretched under the presser foot so my topstitching is somewhat ragged.

It's been quite a busy week both at my (increasingly feeling irrelevant) job and otherwise, so I haven't done a lot of crafting.  Today we took DS to Oxford to see his girlfriend for the first time in months.  Having delivered him, we strolled into town and did a walk around the less crowded western edge of town from a book of Oxford walks that we've used many times.  Despite having been to Oxford so many times over the years (both as tourists and as parents of a student there), it continues to surprise with delightful corners and vistas that we had never seen before.  We walked along a network of river channels and the canal, which felt more like the Netherlands. Apologies for the rubbish pictures, my phone is really old and the camera struggles with light levels. It was actually an intermittently sunny day.  We took a picnic lunch so that we never had to come in contact with anyone else. It did feel really nice to be out and about apart from having to be constantly alert for other people.