Post Covid

 Ten days ago, just as I came towards the end of ten weeks training,  I felt ill at afternoon break, tested positive for Covid, and pretty much checked out for the next five days.

As I surfaced, feeling slightly better, Neil came down with it. I'm back at work, blessedly having a very light schedule the end of last week, but feeling utterly shattered. Neil is getting better, but the heatwave isn't helping anyone.

Over the years we've handled hay making in a number of ways. Last year, we got no hay - the contractor we normally use left us til later and later in the year, and finally left it too late. We bought in hay but weren't keen on doing that again Financially it's not probably any great gain making our own hay - we don't own a tractor any more, so pay someone to do all of it.  However, our hay is our hay, and it's better than everyone else's !

That is to say, that we don't spray or treat it, it's a very diverse sward, and it's a rather special site. 

This year, we've changed contractor and gone very early for us.  The bales were made yesterday and Neil and I went to sit up there and eat fish and chips - a long time ago, with two little girls, we would do that after we'd physically carted 300+ bales by hand, in a little home made flat bed trailer, towed by our 4x4. This year was very different, but nevertheless it was lovely to sit by a bale at sunset. They will be brought in today.

I'm now ridiculously tired and sitting sleepily with a fan on watching the Wimbledon men's final.

Current plans involve trying to safe enough of the veg plot to give us some food over winter and then plan well ahead for next year, and working over our tiny home garden to make it a lovely place to enjoy during these hot days and evenings.

Also, since finishing training, my work hours are down to 25 so I need to reschedule my regular week to get more home and garden work done.

What Goes Around

 A circle has been navigated, and I find myself very much in a similar place to where I was when I jumped off this roundabout some years ago, so I thought I would quietly jump back onto it.

I am 62 years old, and about to begin a new work from home job, because of the cost of living situation here in the UK, after a self employed hiatus of eighteen months.

I live in a tiny, mid terrace house with my husband of a quarter of a century, and one of our two daughters, who plans to marry and leave us in October.

We rent ten acres, two miles away, and we keep sheep, goats, hens, ducks and a retired pony, and grow vegetables.

Until recently the vegetable growing was a commercial enterprise, but it was failing to provide me with an income, so it is now back to being a self sufficiency project.

My dream is to own a house (as tiny as this one is fine) on a small plot of land ( a couple of acres would be nice, but half an acre would do) which we can call our own smallholding to retire to, after so many years of tenancies and travelling between plots.

I also dream of living a slower, simpler life where we provide almost everything for ourselves, and don't trade so much of our time for the money to cover our costs. If you look back, you'll find my dreams haven't changed much over the years! We've been closer, and further, further and closer from them like a tide. 

I do my best to live the simple life, while acknowledging that in order to get there, there are still things we have to do, which we'd rather not.

I will slowly update the links, and try to keep up to date with posting.