How to spend $1000 without even trying

Our caravan Maggie is an old girl and is doing very well for her age but there are some things that do need to be replaced.

The annex is worn and the last time we took it out and unfurled it, there were quite big patches coming off it and so we decided to replace it.

The annex was around $500 and then we had a couple of the struts replaced as well in the pop up bit.

We are all set, now have a calendar with days to go and all the things that we want or need to do before we leave.

I think we got $22 change out of  a thousand bucks.

Nanowrimo is going well 45759 words so far, five days to go.

A camping recipe

As we are doing the "Big Lap" next year, I have been following some caravan and camping blogs and FB groups.

A few weeks ago someone posted an idea of using mince in a difference way. There was no actual recipe but a picture and an explanation of cooking it/them in an open fire or camp oven.

I decided to try it at home. I used a packet of mince, I divide our mince into 200 gms lots for the freezer. So I started with about 200 gms of mince and added some tomato and mustard sauce and some rolled oats and mixed together, put into the fridge while I prepared the onion. I only used one, peeled it and then sliced down the middle and carefully put the layers off.

Fill one half in a mold of mince and then place the other half on, once there is a ball, wrap in foil and bake in the oven. I had sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin to roast as well. When vegetables are cooked, so were the mince balls. Could be served with gravy if liked.

Quite easy to do and a little different, the mince mixture also made two small burgers which we used to make hamburgers the next day.

I will certainly be making these again and especially when we are travelling, Maggie our caravan doesnt have a stove or a microwave but we do have a small toaster oven which would cook these just fine.

Heavens to Betsy!

We were off! Our first move in the caravan nicknamed Maggie. I will buy a plate with the name on it, not sure if it will be an actual number plate or just a wall hanging type thing. Number plates cost upwards of $400 and as I am a cheap skate the jury is definitely still out on that that, Warren says no way that we are spending that type of money when it already has a number plate, we will see!

The name is to compliment our Daughter and Son-in-laws caravan, they bought one and named it Dennis and as we will be travelling with them next year, Maggie is/was Dennis the Menace's friend/cohort, so next year Dennis and Maggie will head out into the great outdoor and follow the black tarmac.

Anyway we hitched the Jeep up to Maggie and surprise surprise everything worked except for one side light which Warren took the cover off and cleaned it, it was a bit (a lot) corroded!

We drove it slowly out the road and it towed well, mirrors needed a bit of adjustment and we went around the big block about eight kms. Then the problem was getting Maggie back into the back yard. Doesn't help that we live on a corner but luckily its not a busy road.

My job was to watch the gate and the side of the house and the eaves.

Only needed a couple of up and backs, the driveway is not that wide. The ladder was in place as Warren had washed the top of Maggie before we took her out.

Ha, now to pack it and take it up the road a couple of hours away and really test her out and see what we have forgotten.