Packing Day!

Today's packing is about "Experimenting with our plans".  Long story short"  after carrying the bike and all it's accessories down and up twice, the final conclusion was:  yes they fit in and yes we will be more comfortable if they stayed at home.  We opted for the extra space for ourselves instead of space for the bike.  Our bed looks ever so cosy in the back!  Gordon did a stirling job!  Now I'm putting cooking oil in oil-tight little bottles and just really as basic as......salt! These things take quite a bit of thinking and visualising.

Everything that can be charged is charged, the extra memory has space and is compatible and Gordon's binoculars are in.  Sure we have forgotten something but then.........what must be must be.  We have a few rough notes of campsites and grocery shops at the bigger towns (Broadford and Portree) on Skye.

We couldn't decide should we leave at about 6 pm and just head for a campsite at Glen Nevis but even that would mean we would only get there at 10 pm - so that's that:  we are looking FORWARD to leaving early tomorrow morning for the start of an adventure:  and adventure because so much is unpredictable, but we know Who looks after us!

Last phone call to families and then - DV on the road to Skye........with thankful hearts.

The bed is half-way made!

Reading about the Telegraph's Top Ten Walks in Skye - the map is spread out on our little lounge floor and we have a rough idea how we hope and trust we will get there and possibilities towards the North after that.  It feels a bit like a blank to us with a few shadowy A and B roads!  Gordon has his last Christianity Explored this evening, but the sponge is now clad in a duvet cover and the sleeping bags and pillows and liners are in.

We've been carrying things up and down the steps to our flat to see how they would fit.  We HAVE to visualise how things are packed while we are driving and how things will be packed while we are sleeping in the back of the Hammy.

Also getting a bit jittery about NOT getting bedding and the inside of the car wet and making plans as to how we could prevent that!

So the Pork Belly is now a roasted Pork belly and probably our last cooking in an oven for a while

Three teenagers walked past while Gordon was covering our tailor-cut foam mattress with a duvet. The girl jumped in back when we invited her to do so - but no shoes touching!

Walkhighlands is a great website to visit!

What a relief to find the storage box with the small cooler boxes and few other must-haves.  I think we are getting there.  Exciting!

Hands-On Preparation of Hammy on the Inside

So!
We crawled around on our knees inside the Hammy after having smoothed out an old curtain. We quickly gave up drawing a template for a mattress and cut the curtain along the correct edges.  It was important to be careful and as is I cut one corner too tightly but we relied on the correct corner, which Gordon marked with a big tick and "correct".  Then to the foam shop, we went for the cheapest option which was still more than adequate for our sleeping comfort.
In the rough and ready shop, the owner moved up his extra foams, had a look at the curtain-template,
returned with the shape we  wanted.  So over the busy road (South of Edinburgh city) with the foam.  And - wow! - it fit really perfectly and snugly.  We test-drove the mattress in the back of Hammy in the busy street by lying down - and yes - just right!  Just then we remembered before driving off, praying a prayer that the Lord would help us and we feel this is JUST RIGHT - and we are thankful!

Oh yes Gordon's fold-up bike fits into the bike-bag - what a relief.  Plus after ditching some ideas and sagging dividers between the front seat and the rest of the Hammy, we've still managed to go for what we already owned.  In this case our 15-year old tartan picnic blankets with the waterproof on one side.  Our plan to double up with the washing line and the thingymegee on which to hang the  divider was a flop: too long and too floppy!   So bulb-light moment for Gordon and we got a luggage tidy-up with two plastic coated hooks and just the right length between the two front roof handle bars.  So the  one picnic blanket could be pegged up here without any unnecessary folds and would serve well as black-out of light too and probably insulation.  OK it remains to be seen what the gap is going to be between roof and elastic.  The second old tartan picnic blanket is generous enough to cover the passenger front seat and to protect agains the bicycle in the bike-bag leaning on it.  What a relief that all of that plus extra bits of saddle and carrier would fit in the well in the front.

The final test will be when everything is packed and we are definitely trying to balance simplicity/minimal with maximum comfort!   The plan is to leave the driver's seat completely uncluttered just in case there is a need........to get away quickly!!!

Back to the mattress: the plan is to slip it into a single duvet cover and then build our bed with sleeping bags lined with......yep - sleeping bag liners.  Quite possibly an extra duvet.  This is the thing we have no idea how hot or how cold it would be inside the Hammy.  We have a thin roll of silver insulation to possible stick up with press stick on the windows if we need extra protection.

So.....with our 2 fairly narrow planks placed horizontally just underneath the luggage cover we have suddenly seen more storage possibilities but have to keep thinking through the logistics.  Maybe we can use some of our own plastic storage to place on the two planks and still have a little vacant place to possibly work with food.   At night the bike in the front - the storage on the planks and - we have made sure - we can manage to sleep under the suspended storage and still turn around in our Hammy-bed without making all the stuff fly.  During the day:  the bike in the back (on one side) leaving enough room for at least one of us to have a dozy-doze in the back - or just to lie down and read.  We would also have to take the storage down during the day, especially while we are mobile as - once again things will go flying.

We have still a way to go to see where/if we can find room for 2 small chairs and of course our clothing and laptop bags.  The only way we would know is by actually packing in and out and thinking of details such as where are we going to have our rubbish bin and bottles of water and cooking ring.

Much to do, but much done and discovered today!

Exciting!!!

Bless the Lord o my soul and forget not all His benefits, or any of His benefits:  first and foremost the greatest gift, out of His great love, the giving of His one and only Son:  forgiveness!, justification! adoption! an imperishable inheritance! bright hope!
The blessings of those we love and who love us: our family - all of them!  Our friends over many years and our present church family.
And all the extra's like a comfy mattress!

Hammy's here!

We feel so blessed - yes it's lovely to have a new car, but......what is more exciting than to know nothing can separate us from God's love?  That He communicates with us sinful people, that He makes Himself known, encourages us, let us know who we are in Him and accommodates our uncertainties and entrusts us with the gospel.  We need, love and trust Him and want to be used by Him and have near our hearts - not only on our lips!

Well here's Hammy!

What a sigh of relief that we remember him bigger than he is in reality.  Our plans for sleeping in the back will be easier executed if our car does not look like a motor-home or a van, but more ordinary.

I kept on looking out of the window to see Gordon's return in Hammy.  It was an amazing feeling getting in the front with Gordon and starting to get the feel. Wonderful!  Gordon folded the two rows of seats at the back down in no time.  I ran upstairs to get some curtaining material to see if we could hang a divider curtain:  our latest decision is to try to use the washing line.
Then we had a good look at the boot cover, which cannot take too much weight and wondering if we could add two narrow "shelves" to support it and give slightly extra packing space.  This would be above our feet when we sleep at night.  We are reluctant to cut to size or thin under mattress so are thinking of having a foam mattress cut for the back.
After a fair bit of discussion we both agreed that 2 bicycles would be just be not possible.  So we are still trying to work out how we could put one bike on the front seats at night without damaging the upholstery.  Maybe put it in a bike bag which we have and then stand it on an old double duvet to give protection and during the day we could lay the duvet out on our bed to save space.

We hope to take 2 small chairs and possibly a small table, but we will have to carry those downstairs and see how they fit in.  Gordon had a good idea to stand the panier bags (which we will use for clothing and also on the bicycle) against the tinted back windows for privacy and insulation.

Gordon also got an inverter with a 3-point plug so we could use and charge the laptop and the  camera battery charger (at different times).

There's still much to ponder and do - but all exciting and all adventure!  We haven't even opened a map-book yet!

It's time to go to sleep now!

Our hearts are full of thanks.

Good-bye to t he Citroen today!

Goodbye Citroen - a blessing of a car that gave us many miles and few headaches over the last 14 years. But the time has come.....from now on it would've only become more and more expensive. We love the easiness of an old car: central locking kaput, a scrape here and upholstery finished there. Maybe a new chapter on Saturday. Jehovah Jireh our Provider!

Today we  have also given thought to cotton and fleece sleeping bag liners and agreed on aiming for comfy sleeps.  Maybe we should go and test Hammy out for indoors heat - down at Cramond Shore one night soon?

We  are very thankful and know this is nothing of our deserving.