Since COVID, everything's come in the post. I forget what it's like to shop in an actual store. I like it. I never liked shopping - the parking, the saccharine shop assistants, the traipsing all about town with sore feet, the waste of a day. These days, you read a heap of reviews and get what you want. For bigger items I create a 'may by' - a bank I use has a clever saver whereby you enter the URL of the item you want, how much you can afford to pay each week, over how many weeks - and it just sits there and accumulates and even earns interest. When you reach the desire amount, it sends you to the online store whereby you order the item. The beauty of it is that it saves impulse buys as well - Zippay and Afterpay and Pay in 4 are great, but you can still end up overstretched.

So it was this week that my Alton hammock arrived. Totally jumping the gun, of course - the Defender camper is no where near finished, and it'll be a long while before I can tie one rope to the bull bar and one rope to a tree and actually chill for a change. I'm happy - it's super small, and Australia made - a very well thought out and quality bit of kit. Other things arrived this week too - hoses for the Defender, some paintable wallpaper for an upcycle project, and some stackable pans with a click on handle for the camper - good quality, but uses up a lot less space.

So when Hive account@galenkp's engagement question asks what item you'd like to come in the post, I struggled to think of something - unless it was a million bucks in a suitcase, I think we have everything covered. I'm not a possessions person, not really. WE try to be minimalist - most stuff we have delivered is stuff we need. And I'm not sure I want to fantasise about the good looking pool boy with a shovel, that'll actually dig us the pool too - I don't think any courier would deliver that kind of thing.

But then there is the disaster, which I haven't told you about yet.

You know that lovely green 130 Defender project I've been updating you on? The one we're making into a camper? THe one of a kind stretch panelvan? Our pride and joy? The one Jamie did a whole nut and bolt restoration on? This one?

Well, the head is - um, broke. It's an AMC head and they aren't meant to do that. But we discovered fuel in the coolant, which is not good at all. Luckily, Jamie's mechanic skills mean it's not quite a write off - if anyone else has a head issue, it'll cost them a bomb at the mechanics, and might even mean they just scrap the car. But Jamie's capable, and all he needs to do is order a new head from the UK, and put it on.

We've been hoping beyond hope that it's not the head, and we already have a brand new set of coolant hoses that arrived today as of course the old ones need replacing, given they have diesel in them.

But of course, the postage from the UK, where we have to order the head from, is slow and expensive. So we're plodding away making the back of the camper, and crying just a little that the engine is no shape for an adventure just yet.

Thus, if we could wish for anything to arrive in the post, it's that. A brand new AMC head, ready to put on, so our Defender 130 is something to be super proud of. Of course, it would be better if it arrived all expenses paid, too.....

With Love,

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