Summer Staycation Is No More.

Good morning.

Today Jon has gone back to work after his annual Summer break from the saw mill. We both really wish he could always be at home and hopefully it will be that way soon. The recent couple of weeks has been a little bit of a staycation for the two us with the boys being away. Now they are back we've had some lovely family time together. Saturday and yesterday we went to the beach for the boys to swim; it was great to see boats, swimmers and paddle boarders and we might have seen a dolphin but we got there an hour too late. Harumph!

We were able to chill and it gave Jon time to slow the pace of life when he works so hard even though on holiday and we all had ice cream. Yum!

Before we went to the beach on Saturday we came across these two chairs in our favourite house clearance shop. They are PERFECT for the summer house snug project. (We have ditched the chair we previously found) It is coming along very nicely indeed and I can't WAIT to show you the end product but I'll have to wait a little longer. 

The stories I could tell you about the things Jon and I have transported on car roof racks since we have been together would make your hair curl - I know at times they have been responsible for the grey in my hair!!

Jobs around the house have continued, of course. The stable door Jon fixed for the kitchen has now been painted in duck egg blue, chalk-style paint, door furniture added and I love it. 

Just for further contrast we've painted the lovely side table that was green, which I've loved since we viewed the house. It practically sold me the house - you know when you just see something that you think is just your thing well this was that.

I've been harvesting a few things here and there and Jon I had lunch one day made up of two types of courgettes, green beans, onions, herbs and boiled potatoes. 

We have spuds coming out of our ears right now but I also took delivery of these beauties...

Charlotte Christmas spuds which are nearly all planted now, in bags so they can be moved indoors when necessary. 

In the polyhouse the last lot of climbing peas I recently sowed have come up and are now planted out - not sure how they will do but at the stage now of just giving stuff a go.

I've sown a tray of beetroot and spinach beet to grow inside along with some wild rocket in the polyhouse drainpipe and a pot of parsley to keep in there. Plus I've sown spring cabbage in trays to hopefully survive when I plant it out later on; this is my go at overwintering along with some spring onions in one of the green house raised beds.

Elsewhere in the garden I am loving my sunflower against the teal-coloured door of the polyhouse.

My tomatoes have SO many flowers on them and finally getting fruit on more than one plant.

I had a really good sized cucumber the other day...

and they are coming thick and fast....

as are the gherkins. Hope to get some radishes soon so I can make yummy fridge pickles.

I said we have spuds coming out of our ears, well the maincrop ones are looking great, too, and just starting to flower. 

I am still very upset that I have lost my cabbages and I think I'm going to take out the broccoli as nothing is really left of them, look our chooks. My swede are small and some of the leaves have been nibbled at, too, but I'm going with it as I hope it won't really affect the harvest?

Well that is where I am for now. We have Airbnb bookings for in the week and at the weekend so that it great - hope to get more for this month.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx 

Pros and Cons and Keeping Rural Living Real.

This morning I had to go and pay the mechanic who did the MOT on my car yesterday. I needed to drive 2 miles to the post office as that is the nearest place to get cash, then I drove 2 miles home to the turning from where I drove 3 miles to and from the mechanic. Some people may think this is a bit of a jaunt but that is what it takes.

In order for our boys to take part in various activities after school we need to make a 26 mile round trip to Aber but they cannot miss out just because of where they live. Sometimes we are able to take turns with journeys by sharing with other parents but not always so sometimes we have to hang around until the boys have done their thing.

Growing your own fruit and veg when you live in places like we do is something lots of people do for lots of reasons. (I have always wanted to produce and raise as much of our food as we can.)The reasons can be that you just want to know where your food comes from, you see it as a challenge or it can save you money. Now regarding the latter I have not saved us a fortune this year because I am still learning so much about GYO. However, the things I have not had to buy along with the things I have acquired, been gifted, foraged etc. mean that the money we have spent has allowed us to spend money on other things.

Most people feel that wishing to maintain a self-sufficient lifestyle, or as I prefer to call it self-reliant, as well as a different pace of life agree you need some sort of income to run alongside the other parts of that life you are trying to build. We are fortunate to have out buildings which came with the house and with the skills Jon has we are on our way to building a business. The money we have made from the first room has not been a fortune but when Jon needs to spend £40 here and there on building materials or I need to buy extra shopping when guests come it has been a real bonus. Because our nearest, proper supermarket is also a 26 mile round trip you add the cost of fuel onto the food you buy which is another good reason to grow your own. Other people chose to make an income from raising and selling meat, eggs, fruit and veg, any number of things which they are able to produce on whatever land or layout they are working with and what suits their lifestyle. 

I guess I began thinking about all of this as I drove down the hill back to the house, as part of the 10 mile journey, looking at the wonderful landscape we are so lucky to live within. I hope this isn't too much of a ramble but I suppose I was trying to find a way of saying that you have to keep things real. 

When visitors say we have the perfect set up here and you really are living the dream I am always quick to say we do not live our life wearing rose tinted glasses. It IS the perfect place for us to live and we wouldn't change it for anything but it takes work. If you have a lot of money from whatever source then you are more easily able to set things up; if you don't then there is a degree of planning for the future needed and also a certain amount of patience until you are able to get to and....

That's all I think.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

A Quote For Life.

(You may see a change here. Thanks for the inspiration Dawn)

Pinterest is not for all as time looking at baby Pandas can run away with you!! But I enjoy it for lots of reasons and looking for some words of wisdom a while ago I came across this.

I am excited about the upcoming holiday we have, but I have to be honest; if it were not for the boys we would be going NOWHERE! 

I have no real inclination to go anywhere now we are where we are. Is that us, as Jon feels the same, having an insular point of view - I think not.

We are where we are meant to be and enjoying our life beyond words so going on from this I have decided to change the name of my blog. I figure our dreams have properly turned into the reality of life, the pace of life we love, and we are now on a wonderful journey to live that life.

Therefore I decided on the new name. 

By for now.

Lou.xx

The Things I Love About Our Pace Of Life.

Recently I mentioned in a post that, as I walked back from collecting eggs, I was sooo happy where I am. Doing the same thing the other day I thought about lots of things I love about living where we are and doing what we do.

I love hearing the chooks chattering whilst I hang out the washing.

I love that somebody said our eggs are the FRESHEST they have tasted.

I love that there is so much to forage for in the hedgerows near the house in the Summer.

I love the sun comes up at the front of the house and goes down at the back, all day view.

I love that I would rather be doing something outside rather than cleaning the house!

I love the view across my veg patch and growing area.

I love that our guests have said we have a very special place here and that it is a jewel.

I love to see the Poly House benches groaning with seedlings in the Spring.

I love that I have the time and the inclination to bake my own bread.

I love that the garden is big enough for the boys to play football.

I love Jon for building the garden things we planned to have even before we came here!

I love that the boys are able to go to a small, local school and still do loads of activities.

I love that the boys have taken to the Welsh language SO well.

I love that Jon is home every night to have tea with us as a family.

I love seeing the change of season in the garden when Autumn comes.

I love that I have the kitchen I have dreamed of but never thought I would ever have.

I love that the house will give us a business meaning Jon and I can work together at home.

I love the view from the front kitchen window and ...

I love the view from the top kitchen window!

I love that we have a separate TV room. 

I love that the boys can't wait to go swimming in the river in the Summer.

I love that we enjoy spending evenings by the fire in the living room in the Winter.

I love that, if all goes to plan, I will be able to provide a lot of our fruit n veg from the garden.

**************************

I asked the boys to tell me a couple of things that could go on the list.


Alfie said he liked the garden because it is big and has lots of trees great for hide and seek.

Harry said he likes living here because there is no traffic near the house, and he likes the house because it is halfway between modern and old.

(I'm sure they could think of other things but were too busy playing ball in the conservatory  - that could probably go on the list.)

Forgot about this post until just now but  I still wanted to put it out there.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Mid-Week Musings

So the boys left with the Gramps Sunday lunchtime with Jon going back to work on Monday.

I have been keeping myself busy and on Monday...

I finally planted out ALL of the beetroot. You can look at it in one of two ways, either I sowed too many seeds in the beginning or I was cleverly thinking that I wouldn't have to grow it two years on the trot as I will have jar upon jar of it pickled! You decide!

Then I weeded around the turnips, onions and broccoli.

I had a few sugar snap peas in a drainpipe in the Poly House and have now put these in one of the tyres around a tripod; I hope they perk up as they were looking a bit poorly. I think they were a bit overshadowed by the cucumber plants; this is a close up to show said cucumbers which are growing very healthily and that there are lots to come, it seems.

I re-did the canes on the beef tomatoes and they are much more secure now.

I managed to turn over the compost heap with the help of both wheelbarrows. It is definitely coming on well but I really need to get right down to the bottom.

(I should point out that I've had to move the laptop to the other end of the kitchen table because the sun is streaming through the front kitchen window and I couldn't see a thing on the screen!)

Yesterday I gave the Poly House a really good tidy out including brushing out seed trays that are now empty ready for next season's sowing. There is not much going on in there at the moment; I'm sure there is something I could be doing but can't figure out what.

I managed to do some good work on my December Daily and finished three pages. Then domestic stuff was washing done and put outside, some ironing and clothes and bedding put away. I have the boys' school uniform washed and put aside but not doing anything with that yet as not sure how much of it will fit them by the end of the summer hols!

Jon and I went to the builders yard for supplies, more of that in a moment, after he finished work and he bought this for me. Aaah.

You can just see in the background my lettuces coming on. Decided to try growing these along with the leaves that are in the drainpipe above.

I am a little concerned about the tomatoes. I have picked some and we have eaten them, yum, but the bush ones are not turning red at the moment. I have, however, been reliably informed that when they turn red they emit a gas which helps to turn others red; maybe I just need to be a little more patient and not pick any for a while when they DO turn red. My middle name is definitley "learning all the time".

Now, regarding the trip to the builders yard. You may remember back in January I wrote THIS post, and then I wrote THIS one! The end room is really coming on and this is the bathroom. The tiles I mentioned a while back which the boys were helping to carry into the shed were used for the back wall, Jon made the frame for the mirror we had in stock as well as the duck board for the shower tray. That was another freebie; the tray was lying around at the saw mill, was a bit long so Jon shortened it, glued it back together and sanded it down and you would never know, then the toilet was from Freecycle and the door was a bargain on Ebay.

Last weekend Jon painted the living/sleeping space and we chose this fab purple for the end walls and used magnolia on the other two.

Carpet is coming in a couple of days, grouting on the shower, which is to the left of the mirror, will be finished tonight then it will be done for now. Later we need to look at curtains but we have a great side unit that was going for free, you see we love that word! which will go in later of course. So, where am I going with THIS ramble you are probably asking? 

Well, surpsingly we have changed our mind, yet again. The end room was to be a guest room and nothing more but I have a friend with a self-catering cottage down the road from us and she said we should put it on Airbnb. You may remember that I said I didn't want people in the garden, the space taken up which we had dreamed of for so long etc. etc. However, Jon and I think we can do this without too much impact on ours and the boys' lives. The other thing is the field we own down the road from the house would take a lot, and I mean a lot, of money to turn into a viable plot for camping and would take a good year or more to get done. 

Therefore we are going back to, not sure what plan X, Y or Z, where we use the field as more of a smallholding to be as self-sufficient and self-reliant as we can with our pigs, Jon's agricultural building store, his tool shed, maintenance materials, all his other manly stuff and who knows what else. He would be able to give up work then as we are not looking to be millionaires, just get the qualtiy of life we have both been looking for and want for the whole family. I pretty much do as I please and always have since we got here, and I am very lucky in that, but this would mean Jon could be at home, we would work together, have our desired pace of life for us and the boys and do what we want to do.

Another phew! We may get this first room let out in around October just to see how things go and after that Jon can look at converting the next two rooms.

Isn't life a killer? What can I say but what a ride! As it says at the bottom of my blog posts - 

It isn't love that makes the world go round, it's love that makes the ride worth while.

I can't think of anybody other than Jon that I would want to travel on this wild ride of ours.

I think that really is quite enough rambling.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Glorious Glory Days

How so very lucky we have been with how wonderful our weather has been this last week. The view from my kitchen window most mornings.

The sun is bringing out the best in the strawberries so have added extra straw around them.

In the Poly House the courgettes are in flower and looking good, although a couple of other things are a little cause for concern but I'm sure they will work out.

After Jon's dad was so helpful clearing the garden things are moving on apace regarding outside useable space. There is a lot to do but we want to be able to use the garden as the summer holidays are only six weeks away. Can you believe it - for those who it matters to.

My brother in law had some wood going spare last weekend so, never one to pass up something going free, Jon brought it home and after discussions we decided a seat around one of the trees would be great as they boys could sit and read in the shade. 

 But it is great for a bit of outside eating, too, including our lettuce leaves which are de riguer at every meal right now!

Very yellow sponge cake made with our eggs!

In addition to the tree seat we have always wanted to include an outdoor cooking and eating area in the garden; I have never wanted a conventional b-b-q so we are having a fire pit! I think eating outside is a great way of slowing down the pace of life.

This area is perfect as is near to the back door and the side door of the conservatory for getting back into the house. Jon fetched wood chippings from the saw mill yesterday and the area is lovely and spongy as we put a good few inches on it.

This is the actual pit and as I write this I can hear the chain saw as Jon is re-modelling some logs for seating. (Photos another time.)

We have also moved the slate topped table to the end of the guest room and it is a lovely spot in the shade.I can use if for potting up things, sitting at for a drink or just admiring the view. Ooh talking of the guest room, we went to Craft in Aber yesterday and bought a sink, taps and pedestal for the bathroom for £8. Get in!

Ooh, nearly forgot. When water the Poly House this morning I decided to see if some of the spring onions were ready to come up - and look see!

How exciting is that?! They will be on my lunch plate today, for sure!

One of the chickens caught a mouse the other day and one of them managed to hide when I went to put them to bed last night as I found her wandering around the enclosure when I went to feed them this morning. We have bought a childrens' fishing net so we can scoop some more of the algae off the pond a bit more easily. The love it so much they congregate in the corner when they see me with the net, instead of the sieve I used before.

Well I think that is it for today. We have had a fantastic week for the boys' half term,and are taking one more trip to Skimmer Island this afternoon. Jake has found the heat tricky; if only he would take shade from his house Jon made for him!

Take care.

Lou.xx