Ruminations upon Tuesday August 6, 2024 in Kingston Upon Thames, England
About twenty minutes after we arrived at our houseboat, our host, who will now be known as Mr. A, arrived and showed us around. The houseboat was long and narrow. The “living room” was lined with a bed and small couch on one side, and on the other side a storage chest, a huge emergency axe, and a love seat. This space morphed right into the kitchen which included two bar stools, a small peninsula, a small gas stove that only sort of worked, a fridge that barely kept our food cold (goodbye Milk!), and a small sink. Next was a space that was divided into a loft bed with an oversized mattress that fell over the edge of the space allotted and a storage closet on the bottom filled with items, including a cow hide covered stool to get onto the loft bed. Three steps along the now very narrow hallway was the door to the bathroom.
The bathroom was one room with a sink, toilet, and shower without any dividers. No problem, we can totally make this work I thought. Then, in small handwriting on the wall behind the toilet was a sign that read, “Don’t throw toilet paper in toilet.” Oh no. I worried but kept it to myself. When the boys heard they had to throw their toilet paper into the trash, they weren’t phased at all. I was glad I had kept my thoughts to myself. Exiting right out of the bathroom and three more steps along the narrow corridor was the main bedroom. Ok, really, it was a dresser and the main bed. Opposite the main bed was another entrance to the boat and the engine closet.
Mr. A made it seem like it was fairly straightforward to take care of the houseboat. I trusted him. What did I know? That is until I saw him turning some dials back and forth and saying, “well, this should be fine. I think it’s fine. I’m not really sure. Just leave it on this and it should be fine.” This did not inspire the confidence I needed to feel secure in our decision. Nonetheless, I decided it would all be fine, and I shouldn’t worry. Chaim always figures things out when they break at home so I was sure it would be the same here. After Mr. A left, we walked 100 feet along the riverside to an all-vegetarian restaurant with dishes inspired by Sir Lanka. It was delicious and perfectly timed because we were all famished. Bellies full and excited about our new mini-adventure, we headed back to the boat to go to sleep. Following some small disputes over who got to sleep where, I ended up sleeping between our twins in a bed fit for twoish people with my arms above my head all night feeling slightly itchy, while Chaim slept on the twin bed that was really too small for him.
