First month.

Well we've done it. The long awaited dream of a few acres and a much simpler lifestyle has materialised! I  loved my other house and its wonderful memories in each and every room but we had out-grown that life and it was time to move on. The last month has bought momentous change - saying goodbye to our neighbours was very difficult. They're family and as much as we will stay in touch it's not the same as chatting at the letterbox or waving to the kids walking back from school. Another of our children has moved out as well. That was a wrench. As much as I was excited for him to be doing his own thing (I remember what it was like to be in my own place when I was young!) it's the end of an era that takes a little getting use to.

The house is lovely and the gounds are perfect for what we want. The first day we found we had inherited 2 chickens and a very large black rooster. A fine looking rooster to be sure, but whose behaviour was disturbing enough to be nick-named Adolph. A visit to the local feed store was our first introduction to the intricacies of keeping chooks. Do you know how many different types of food you can get for the little blighters??? We finally bought a bag with a picture of a chicken firing an egg into the catchers mitt of another chicken waiting behind. It appealed to our sense of humour; there was nothing scientific about our choice! A few weeks down the line and Adolph has been moved on to a lovely chook lady who is partial to loud roosters. It was a marathon effort that involved a squeegie mop, extra large welding gloves, a cargo net and a box. Suffice to say I don't miss being woken at 3.30am and the girls, Cackles and Lala, are very happy in their new digs and have produced 4 eggs in 2 days.



Apart from the chickens there have been a few adjustments. I've never lived anywhere where there wasn't street lights and I just can't believe how dark it gets!!!! The first night we were here I looked out the bedroom window and literally couldn't see a thing. Very disorientating!!


And trying to remember to pick up all that we need in one go rather than "whipping up to the shops" for every little thing. Though I've found I can drive 10 minutes to a little township that has pretty well everything I need, do my shopping, go to the bank, have a chat to the postmistress and still be on my way home in the time it would have taken me to get a car park at my old shopping centre!

We can only get two channels on the T.V. Now that does definitely have its plus side, however the technician is coming next Monday - ha! It's all to do with being tucked into the side of the mountain evidently.

So, here we are. Embarking on a journey we have been preparing for and looking forward to for a few years. A life of homemade and homegrown. A gentler simpler life with all its joys and challenges. Family, friends, a glass of decent Irish whiskey and watching the cockatoos on the lawn. Woo hoo doesn't get much better than this. :-)