Living in a box
If you didn’t read the title and sing “Living in a box, living in a cardboard box” in your head, I’m not sure we can be friends!
A quick intro to who I am and what my blog is about.
I am 56 and I love 80’s music. I’m a mum, stepmum, sister, daughter, wife and granny and spent most of my career as an Insurance claims handler (yawn). However my CV also includes being a massage therapist, reflexologist, yoga teacher and Slimming World Consultant. I read, write, knit and enjoy macrame. Also, I’m dyspraxic, so attempts at crocheting are a disaster.
I love to keep fit – it is a natural part of my life. I grew up riding horses and cycling to the yard. I have been a runner, completing one marathon and a few half marathons, tried every type of gym class and loved pole fitness.
Currently, I don’t work and am lucky enough to travel with my husband, Neil, in our campervan – our little box on wheels.We walk a lot and, although my knees have insisted I give up running, I carry weights and resistance bands in the van and, using a plan my son, @adw.training, drew up for me and @nourishmovelove on Youtube, I manage to workout wherever we are.
Personally I am quite vain, so going grey is not an option, which can be challenging living the way we do. I also carry a wax pot and, luckily, we have a great power set up and can use a hairdryer and straighteners.
I miss my family and friends when we are travelling, but balance that with periods of time spent at “home”, which is in Hampshire. This life also enables us to visit family and friends in the UK and Ireland for longer periods of time.
I like my own space and love spending time on my own, which is definitely a challenge living in a Citróen Relay with my husband. Space and privacy are not in great supply and bickering is a normal part of our life. Recently, staying with friends in Germany, mum and baby had to go out as they had a prior commitment and her partner took Neil to the pub. This meant I had their apartment to myself for 3 hours. It was bliss!
Neil is 64, and he didn’t want to wait until I retired, before we went travelling. My lovely mum died very unexpectedly at the end of 2019, just 71 years old. She was looking after her horses one day, in hospital the next, and never came home. We have lost some friends far too soon so, as life is not guaranteed, we decided to make the leap into Vanlife.
I will let him guest blog on occasion. I plan to do a blog on the annoyances of living in such a small space with another person, and it would only be fair to let him have his say too. Although I’m pretty perfect, so he won’t have much to moan about ?
On Instagram we are @unwashedwanderers where you can find pictures and videos from our travels. Why “unwashedwanderers”? – well it’s definitely not a shower everyday kind of lifestyle. Remember when we were little and you had a big wash most days and a bath once a week? It’s a bit more like that. Our children struggle with the idea, having grown up in a time when a daily shower is not a luxury. My oldest granddaughter, 10, would not contemplate this life, having told me, “Granny, I just like my toilet to have plumbing”. My youngest granddaughter, 3, loves the novelty, and always wants to use granny’s toilet in the van. I love that she always calls it granny’s van, never grandads.
We love this life, despite the challenges and my blog will about:
- the challenges;
- the places we have been and will continue to travel to;
- how we fund the lifestyle and try to make some money on the road
- and everything else which springs to mind.
I am happy to answer any questions and cover any topics which might be of interest. Just let me know. I am not shy, so I will answer even the most personal questions. Neil is more of a private person, but I will answer for him!
Leave a Reply