To be fed up with derogatory comments about my floating paradise...

[boatwitch]

I live on a narrowboat with my 7mnth ds, and Im constantly being asked Isnt it damp?I point out that I live on the water and not in it.Ive been unlucky this winter and suffered several colds and the like,only to be asked on several occasions..could it be because you live on a boat?Well no..why should it be!!!Surely that implies that my home is somehow inferior? I have doors and windows which open and close,a fully functional kitchen and bathroom [with full size bath] a washing machine,tumble dryer,solid fuel stove..I could go on..I will..a garden,with chickens [fresh eggs every day] and a very happy healthy ds!My hospital notes referred to me as a boat dwellerwhich I know isnt exactly derogatory,but it needn`t have been mentioned,and sounded a bit,well,tree dwellerish.Am I being over sensitive?

Wowee! This is one of my life's ambitions (my others are: to learn to do a cartwheel, to stay in a static caravan and to play the piano).

Your lifestyle sounds amazing! Other people are just envious.

I wouldnt ask if it was damp! I would ask if I could come and visit!!!! It sounds wonderful to me

I agree boat dweller is rather offensive

YANBU

Your home sounds better equipped than mine [bmsile]

Actually, I think "boat-dweller" sounds rather wonderful; but then I also daydream about living in a treehouse or a gypsy wagon. A proper one, you know, with a gaily painted exterior, gingham curtains fluttering in the breeze, and an enticing smell of Irish stew drifting out over the autumn fields. And I'd have shaggy grey lurchers wandering about, and a small piebald pony.

Sigh.

It sounds lovely, you are definitely NBU.

FlorenceDaphne - you should get cracking with that cartwheel thing. Is there someone who can teach you? I've been an accomplished cartwheeler since I was about six, but trying one recently left me with impossibly painful thighs, and a bit of a wobbly head. (OK, that could have been the wine.) I'm 27, and don't anticipate my cartwheeling improving...

Agree with Florence and Yurt.

I would love to love on a boat with chickens etc.. sounds delightful.

Don't worry yourself with other peoples questions. Answer them and turn their ignorance into education, and then enjoy your happy life on your boat.

Am very at the whole boat thing. I want one.

Goodness knows what they would write if I really did live in a yurt!!

Florence, can I live there with you?

Re: The Cartwheel. I'm 29. I've been trying since I was a wee thing. Many people have tried to teach me. The problem is, I'm fundamentally frightened. I'd love to go merrily cartwheeling along.

I think boat dweller sounds fabulous!! You are so so lucky, living the life!

And I'd have shiny horse brasses hanging on the walls, and carefully crocheted granny blankets. I'd be weathered but wise and I'd sit out in the evenings with a shawl around my shoulders, listening to nightingales sing.

How on earth can boat dweller be offensive if your dwelling is a boat?

Domicile is relevant for mobility, mainly. So third floor flat, no lift - or boat dweller, wobbly gangplank - is extremely important if crutches/wheelchairs/slings/new DCs are involved.

FFS, and people say that the NHS isn't interested in the holistic aproach...

Missing "p", please report to the thread.

I'm very tempted to comment that I live in an oak and what EXACTLY do you mean by 'a bit tree dwellerish'?

Hm, hospital notes so they can remind the HV to ask you about whether your DS has a lifejacket when he gets mobile, rather than the usual boring stair-gate stuff?

My parents have a narrowboat which is completely only lacks a washing machine to be fully suited for living aboard (they're off for six weeks in the summer, to the disruption of my childcare plans, sigh). It is a much nicer and healthier dwelling than many places I've lived in the past!

It is my DHs dream to sell our house and buy a narrowboat!!

Do remember The Magic Faraway Tree? And Moonface's round house? Oh, how I covetted that round house, with a slide to get downstairs!

I want to live in a Gypsy caravan With a whistling kettle & antique lace curtains. And patchwork quilts

Yes, LadyScoffle, that's the spirit! Do you want to place your wagon in a neighbouring field to mine? I'll barter you some vinatge lace for a crocheted cushion. We could swap hedgehog recipes.

Florence - wine is the answer.

When I got my trampoline I was scared of trying to do a somersault, even though I knew I used to be able to do it. Three fairly large glasses of wine later and I was somersaulting away like a pro (ok, maybe not a pro, more like a drunken fool, but I was doing it!).

I love my trampoline.

Swap you this 5 bed house with all mod cons and a conservatory and a deck and off street parking and a porch for muddy wellies for your narrowboat.
I'm sure you will get used to living in this crummy south south London 'burb with its dog shit strewn streets, murders round the corner, stabbing of the bus drivers, and incessant flytipping.
Go on, you know you want to...
Sounds like you and your ds have a far better quality of life than me. I'm sure my records describe me as a 'slum-dweller'.
Sit on your narrowboat and giggle in a smug manner.

i want a narrowboat

I have the whistling kettle, does that count

I want a narrowboat too!!