more change

we've now started to winterise Milly and get ready for living and travelling in her - art studio, musical instruments and all. the shower/toilet room was being used as an ad hoc storage space and having the wall there was closing in the living space . . . so the wall's gone (padsaw, hammer, chisel and determination). this really opens things up and means we can install the wee wood-burning stove where the wall was (once it's done.) et voila - no wall - OK, so maybe it's hard to see the extra space, being as how it's full of stuff. note the pale wooden crate thing - a re-cobbled IKEA box I've built around the toilet!

all change

and these are images of Milly once we got our filthy cussid hands on her . . . . .

the story so far . . .

OK, so it's looking like this may be a weekly update - for now anyway. The Sorting Room - the community arts space in Stromness I'm involved in setting-up - is down to winter hours (3 days a week open rather than 6) which is leaving me more time to concentrate on my own business plans - and travelling plans, of course.

I'm uploading some photos of Milly today, to give a before and after idea. She's slowly transforming inside, whilst still looking like an unthreatening old standard motorhome from the outside. OK, there'll maybe be a couple of clues that all is not "weekend at the caravan club" (like the catflap and the chimney (to be)) but she's not a khaki 7.5 tonner, anyway. I'm so glad I eshewed the chanceof that 7.5 tonn ex-breast screening lorry I saw on ebay just before getting Milly - it would have stuck-out here at Skaill bay.

I feel Milly's a big enough vehicle to tuck into the landscape after years in Rita the Romahome (who could be easily and discretely overnighted in the middle of a city/on residential streets/in pub (and hotel) car parks/outside churches.) Only ever once outside a church, mind, since waking up in the middle of someones funeral. Still, living full-time in Rita really wouldn't have been ab option - not even for folks with a relationship as good as ours. Rita's off to her new home, now, with a friend on Shapinsay, who's off on a rtoad trip south to Glouscester for Christmas with cat and dog in her - so it's good to know she'll be well used and appreciated after her many years of faithful service with us.

I've re-done my en-case business website (without the dreaded bags) and listed a few things on ebay. I'm working on an updated version of my artist website as it's not been touched since moving to Orkney. Also building a site for John to display his musical talents - I'll link to it once it's up and running. John's off on a business start-up course this week - so maybe he'll get inspired to figure-out a way of making some money from all this creative activity.

Off to figure-out how to insert some images into this blog . . .

OK, the images on the left (hopefully) are of Milly when we bought her - very neat and tidy!

the first post

this feels significant
and yet refreshingly light
perhaps strange to write things down, and share indiscriminately - though for an artist (and a resident of Orkney) bearing the soul is an everyday affair.

so, the blog is born and now i commit to . . . at least feeling guilty when i don't write.

we're planning to travel south for a few months in the van (Milly) where we've been living for the summer at Skaill Bay in Orkney (well and truely north). she'll need to made ready for the season ahead - shes's only an old domestic Talbot from the eighties and not originally built for all-season living, so we'll be installing a wee solid fuel stove and insulating with sheeps wool. think of her as a toasty yurt on wheels. the stove is at the blacksmiths - gifted us in a dismembered state, i have no doubt the smith will re-create, and i'll post images when he does.

i'm currently staying in a hostel in Stromness http://www.hamnavoehostel.co.uk/ in order to update and plan - it has blistering (and free) wi-fi access so it's a week of hi-tech tweeking of websites and blogs - not to mention general faffing around in second life.