Been in the "Highlands" of #Lithuania today, looking at a homestead near Utena, with direct access to a lake and river (complete with dam building beavers and the obligatory stork's nest).

The location was amazing, the house had a new roof and insulated windows but sadly also an infestation of wood boring beetles and the laser level revealed that the foundation was slowly sliding down the hill, so that's a nope.

But the area sure is pretty! We might be back 😉

#HouseSearch #Landlubbering

This particular homestead in the Ignalinos region (yup, the one with the shut down RBMK reactor) isn't on our radar, but look at how pretty the location is!

#Homestead #Lithuania #HouseSearch #Landlubbering

One of the options we're looking at is buying an old log house and fixing it up.

Here's a good example of what that would look like. This one's from 1953, taken back to the bare bones inside, new double-glazed windows fitted, floors dug out and sewage pipes installed, ready for a new floor.

These usually have few structural interior walls, so you can change the layout with relative freedom. This example has one.

Photos from a sales listing.

#LogHouse #HouseSearch #Lithuania #Landlubbering

Cooked some chicken food. Old, manky potatoes and apples. Also carrot and potato peels (the best part). Water to not quite cover everything.

Boiled for a couple hours in a big pot on the outdoor wood stove, let it cool down, pour into a bucket and mash with an ancient chicken slop tool, a sort of large, coarse potato masher.

First time I did the entire process. The chickens seem to approve of my cooking, and they're literally picky eaters 😏

#Chicken #VillageLife #Landlubbering

Shashlikh time!

#BBQ #Food #Grill #Landlubbering #VillageLife

Car registered at last. Had to wait a good while at the Regitra office because the poor guy in front of the queue was getting his lorry confiscated.

From what we could piece together, he showed up for the technical inspection (TA/MOT/TÜV), they discovered mismatching VINs on different parts of the vehicle, some of which matched a stolen lorry. :blobcatpolice:

Also struggled through finding and acquiring car insurance. Great way to improve my vocabulary!

#Car #Lithuania #Regitra #Landlubbering

The other problem with the roof: An apple tree has grown too big and is rubbing on it.

So I did some mid summer tree pruning, chopped the logs for BBQ wood (yum, fruit tree flavour) and since we don't have a shredder, I spread the twigs and leaves around the lawn and then shredded them with the freshly sharpened lawn mower, which worked well enough, although it was a lot of work.

#DIY #Gardening #TreePruning #Landlubbering #VillageLife

Viewing property ads for cheap, old houses to fix up sometimes gives you a glimpse how some people still live here in #Lithuania.

#Poverty #Housing #Landlubbering

@vaviurka Found the paint code sticker. Opel calls the colour (in various languages):

Mahagonibraun
Mahagoni Braun
Mahogany
Macadamia

I think we'll stick with 🍆 Melanzana though.

Unfortunately there's a problem where we have to schlepp ourselves to the registration office in person instead of the normal online process, because I'm a filthy foreigner. The earliest possible appointment is in 10 days 😞

#Landlubbering #Lithuania #Immigrant #Regitra

#UsedCar search took us to Kaunas today. Looked at cloning the Škoda Octavia we arrived in, but the clone was inferior: Some bad rust around the windscreen, leaky injector, rear shocks dodgy and something was moo-ing when engaging 5th gear.

Had a coffee and thought why not call this other car in Kaunas. Opel Astra from 2012, undefinable colour. Much better condition. No winter tyres, but a tow hook! Took it home. Let's hope it turns out well 🤞

#Landlubbering #Car #Opel #Vauxhall

Used car search is dragging on.

Looked at a Toyota Auris from 2016 today, reviewed well online, but the car didn't convince us. Clunky doors, not too many kilometers, but all city ones. Brakes didn't work well despite new pads, so probably needs at least a fluid change or worse. Terrible dashboard visibility, only one set of rims and winter tyres well past replacement time. As was the engine oil 😞

We declined - too much money for not enough value. Too new!

#Landlubbering #UsedCar

Fun chicken facts:

- Chickens only have one butthole (cloaca), for everything: pooping, peeing, mating and laying eggs
- Cocks have no ... cock. Only another cloaca
- Mating happens by squeezing their cloacas together briefly and squirting some sperm over
- Sperm is viable at body temperature, therefore no need for external testicles
- And it stays viable inside the chickens body after mating for up to two weeks

#VillageLife #Landlubbering #Chicken #AnimalHusbandry

Visited a nearby plot for sale, just to get some house shopping experience. It didn't look great on the ad and a look in person quickly confirmed this. But it was super close, so worth it just for practice!

Also, it was on a hilltop, which is nice for never flooding, but not so great for well depth and getting up the hill in winter.

#Lithuania #Landlubbering

Mhmm, fresh mint tea from the garden.

Landlubbering does have some benefits.

#Tea #Mint #Landlubbering

Time to order some Schuko to UK adapters as we leave our UK to Schuko adapters behind.

#EU #Electricity #Landlubbering

Last night a van arrived and we've spent an hour in the dark, lugging our lifetime belongings off the boat and sending them onto a 3500km journey across Europe. Hope they get there safely!

The boat now floats so high it's kinda difficult to step on the bow ladder! 😆

A few days to relax (living squeezed between boxes wasn't very fun), clean one last time and if all goes well, we're off to new adventures in a week.

Mixed feelings, tending to positive.

#Moving #CruisingLife #Landlubbering

Still packing up the boat. Turns out we've been a cargo ship all along. It's astonishing how much stuff we managed to cram into our little 40 footer.

Hope it all fits in the van and the rear axle doesn't snap in half the moment it leaves the marina.

Self-sufficiency means hauling around half a chandlery, a workshop, rigger, sewing studio, plumbing warehouse and tons of random supplies and materials. In addition to clothing, food, cookware and electronics.

#Moving #CruisingLife #Landlubbering

In case you always dreamt of opening a pub in an old windmill, Lithuania can offer this:

https://en.aruodas.lt/namai-rokiskyje-obeliu-priemiescio-k-rokiskio-g-parduodamas-senovinis-vejo-malunas-esantis-2-1502560/

#Lithuania #Landlubbering