Yesterday we arrived at our barge Moondance. We were both excited and nervous as we were not quite sure what to expect. During the previous week we had been notified by someone claiming to be the owner of the harbour where Moondance is staying, that
Our good friends Ruud and Petra were coming up with us, and Sophie lent us her car, so our little convoy stopped off at Ikea on the way to pick up mattress, pillows, doonas etc. so that we could sleep in our new cabin the first night. A bit disappointing that our first choice mattress wasn’t available in such a small Ikea (it looked pretty big to me). But we finally made our choice and set off again. With all our purchases from recent days and our luggage we had quite a lot when we arrived at the boat. At the boat I was surprised to fine Erik (carpenter) and Rob (plumber), doing some work. But it was nice to have them there as they could show us how a few of the new systems work. The new refit looks lovely – we are very happy, although there are a few things (as always), that are not quite finished. The shower screen was too tall, so they will now order one which will take 2-3 weeks. And Erik will return next week to fit the blind for our pigeon hatch. The painters have obviously not returned as the kitchen is full of their gear. And the downstairs living room (salon) was packed with all the stuff from the back room (where the refit was being done) and the kitchen (galley). Henk (the steel guy), came by in the afternoon as we have problems with the central heating. Apparently, a filter needing replacing. This is now done so everything works. Except the thermostat which will get replaced next week. We found that even with the temperature set on 7 degrees, the heating was still on – so we turned it off completely. Erik will replace the thermostat next week. Henk also had a look at our engine and said he will go away and see what he can do. Howard spent some time with the plumber to understand how the new plumbing all works. The toilet now uses water from outside, so we will have to clean a filter each week or so – it is located under our wardrobe. Howard will need to give me a lesson later. I haven’t yet been down in the engine room but Howard says they have improved the lighting as well as the cabling and that everything looks very good down there. The four of us worked hard all afternoon to get the boat in some sort of order. We cleaned up our bedroom, which was quite dusty, and hung the curtains that I have mostly made (just need hemming), we set up the bed and put on our brand new sheets, and unpacked our suitcases. Petra cleaned up the kitchen, and found the coffee maker. Which was put to good use. Howard and Rudd headed for the shops for supplies, including a temporary shower curtain. We took the bikes out of the salon, and we moved the freezer into the bathroom where it will now live – a perfect fit. So then we could get to the guest bedroom. We brought up the small fold up table – kept under the guest’s bed - which we usually use for outside, and set this up in the kitchen, with 4 dining room chairs, so we do have a table to use. With all the painters gear there, there isn’t room for our dining room table to be reassembled. We also put our 2 deck chairs on the back deck. The lighting in the guest bedroom is a problem at the moment. The globe in the overhead light has blown and the very old bedside lights tripped the electrical system. The good news is that after a few moments in the dark, the system automatically reset itself. How cool is that? As expected there is quite a lot of shopping to be done. Today we plan to go to Lelystat for shopping. And there are a few things that we might ask Erik to do for us – a couple of extra shelves. All-in-all it was a great day. We went to the harbor restaurant for dinner, and had an early night. There is still a lot to be done, but I think it feels like home already.
10 Comments
Rachel
8/4/2017 01:18:47 pm
Good to see you settling in. Hope all the work is finished soon so the adventures can really kick off!
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Richard Switzky
8/4/2017 04:28:22 pm
What an incredible adventure. Thanks for sharing it. I'm sure with your capabilities you'll get everything sorted as quickly as possible. Have fun!
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Hilary
8/4/2017 07:38:12 pm
Hi Deb
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bruce munro
8/4/2017 10:03:41 pm
wonderful news, great that you have made it a home so quickly, love Moondance and she will love you back.
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andy deamer
8/4/2017 10:43:01 pm
thank you for sharing your adventure look forward to hearing more in the coming weeks
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Gillian
9/4/2017 07:55:04 am
All looking very nice. Like the soo a cover😃
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Sue and Pete
9/4/2017 12:05:40 pm
It's looking good - so fresh - hope you had a great first night's sleep on her. X
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Pamela
9/4/2017 01:02:48 pm
Yeh. There at last.. see you on October!!! Can't wait!
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Judy Finn
10/4/2017 01:53:42 am
Congrats Deb and Howard! How fantastic to see your dream coming to life before your eyes. We shall look forward to following your adventures from afar x
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Karen M
10/4/2017 09:22:37 am
She's a BEAUTY! I'm so happy for you both! Wonderful progress!
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