New Routines

Two months has passed since we moved in to a little seaside cottage to manage a farm campground. Tomorrow is officially the first day of Winter and it’s beginning to feel like it. We are seriously thinking about finding firewood and giving our chimney a sweep. The last people to use this house said they never lit the woodburner, they felt they never needed to. But I’m a bit of a cold fish so let’s hope it does work when we need it and there are no mummified possums in there!

Our Easter campers came and went (some of them rather fast as a storm blew in) and our various family members visited, pronounced it paradise and promised to be back. So now we settle into our off-season work in running this place. Which for us, means renovating the accommodations, planting and tidying of the grounds, helping with various farm works and continuing to settle in and get things the way we like them.

I had my studio pretty much set up within a week or two of moving out here, but I keep finding more boxes that have ‘studio stuff’ written on them. With each unpacking, I find more bits that I want to find space for, or more bits to send to new homes. I’m having to have grown-up, realistic conversations with myself, “Charlotte, you’ve tried English Paper Piecing lots of times. You’ve only ever finished one quilt using the method and have plenty of other things that you enjoy more. Give those pre-cut templates to someone who will ACTUALLY use them!”

Besides continuing to unpack, we’ve managed to plant a vege garden using some raised beds and topsoil we were gifted. It feels great to have some Winter greens growing, even though they won’t be ready for a while. I’ve been casting my eyes around the property for spaces to plant fruit trees, but there is the wind and salt spray to factor in. The downside of living by the sea. Plenty of seaweed and cow manure around though!

We’ve also got into a routine with getting our daughter off to school each day. She has to get on the bus at (gulp) 6.45am, but at least it stops right outside our gate. All our bedtimes have been shunted an hour earlier, and our organisational skills are increasing when it comes to combining running errands with after school sports pickups.

All in all, life feels pretty good. It especially feels good because I’ve officially retired from being a midwife. But more on that next time…..!