Just Humans Being...

It was over 10 years ago that we wrote a blog post about nurturing, simplicity and  Slowing Down  and we are happy to say we still feel the same way. We enjoy helping others, being with animals and nature - somehow we have carved out this path. We can manage on a small income with enough money to do what we want...buying decent food is always our priority and  maintaining our car. We do want to go on a road trip down to our house in France and that will happen at some point soon, but for now - we continue to creep and go. We live very frugally, but always feel our world is abundant and believe as a result, we often receive wonderful gifts - things we require often show up when needed...food, clothes, wood and books are always gratefully received. The kindness of others just blows us away.  A few weeks ago we met a couple while out doggy walking. It turned out that we had a connection with this couple - the chap's mother had been the housekeeper for one of the grand p...

  We are coming to the end of our stay in Hampshire and the last 2 days have seen autumn arrive, so it sort of feels right to be thinking about leaving. A bit like Vianne and Anouk in Joanne Harris' book "Chocolat" - our work is done, though I think it's a south westerly here, rather than a north wind.   It is always a joy to be staying in this beautiful thatched cottage with our furry chum, to totally unwind and relax. The woodland walks are peaceful and we feel that we've reconnected with nature and got into a lovely rhythm.  The great thing about regular pet sits is that they feel like our very own holiday home, everything is familiar...especially the pets and with this particular sit, we have got to know the neighbours and their pets too over the years, so there is much merriment when we arrive and see everyone.     We have enjoyed our quiet morning walks, as well as the pack gatherings every afternoon with the crazy furry gang running around the big fi...

  We have been in the Exe Valley for a week, on one of our regular pet sits and apart from venturing out to the farmer's market in Dulverton, we are very content to be here on the farm. Have to say, we met lots of lovely folks in Dulverton and spent a very pleasant afternoon chatting and purchasing a few bits and bobs...delicious home made preserves from The Selworthy Pantry,  Pain du Campagne from Lucho Bakes and we couldn't resist sampling some vegan beers from the Cottage Beer Project. Sime was also told that he should visit the music shop...Oggies Music and although it had closed for the day when we arrived at the door, a family turned up and said we can actually ring the bell and they were right...the friendly owner greeted and welcomed us all in. A wonderful shop full of second hand instruments, books and records. It is always a joy to be back here with all the animals, walking on the land, through fields and woods. In this truly peaceful place, we embrace the remote qui...

Taming some of the wilderness! We have started clearing little areas and putting in a variety of plants we have very gratefully received. (Thank you Sadie and Amy!) We haven't pruned the raspberries, but Sime was eager to get them tied up. We are using some scraps of recycled fabric as ties...I think seams and cuffs from our friend, Kath who makes fabulous patchwork quilts and all sorts of beautiful fabric art from recycled material.  Compost Corner. Inside our bin...we started this one 7 months ago and we are already getting some lovely compost. We only put in raw vegetable and fruit waste, which we layer with brown paper, newspaper and cardboard. Garden waste is put into a separate open heap and seems to rot down pretty fast. Making progress in what will become our hybrid greenhouse/polytunnel... We have the side panels and hoops ready to go on and the roof will be made from the old polytunnel plastic sheet - just need the supporting posts to hold it all together. Some views from...

There are several growing areas on our plot, so we have decided that the veg bed directly outside the cabin will eventually become a flower bed and picnic area.  The kitties love this space and we have the bird feeders here too.  Our French windows need fixing and then they will open out on to what we hope will be a pretty little space for us all to chill out. We think the bin lid may make a nice bird bath, which Sime wants to set up on a plinth. Our plan for the old polytunnel space is to make a greenhouse, using recycled panels. We are a bit late with getting our seeds going, but so far we have tomatoes which will go into the greenhouse plot and leeks which we plan to put amongst the rather overgrown plot of raspberries and assortment of greens... We are spending a lot of time away at the moment; caring for one of our clients; giving his family a break...it's not quite how we imagined this year to be, but as always, we go with the flow - the garden isn't going anywhere and w...

We have been in the cabin for 4 months and it is wonderful to think that we are just a few weeks away from spring, not that we are wishing our lives away - because we absolutely love this cosy little place and as serial hibernators, we are very happy to be warm and snug. Choosing to live simply has exceeded our expectations and we have been on this journey since leaving Meadowcroft 4 years ago.  Our time at Cotna Eco Retreat  gave us a great grounding and enabled us to start preparing for this...outdoor facilities, mud and nature!  Simple rural living can be a challenge in the winter, but we are strong and more resilient than ever, which feels so good. We are doing exactly what we have dreamed of for many years... One of many lovely messages left behind by the previous cabin dwellers. Here we keep our recipe and natural health books...we are very passionate about food and nutrition, as you may know and seeing this message everyday has probably had quite an impact on us....

Our cabin looking cosy from outside. It has been stormy all day today and right now we have gale force winds and the torrential rain continues, but we are experts at Hygge and feel so happy and grateful to be indoors, to be dry, warm and snug.. We have a pot of lentil dhal bubbling on the stove... And both kitties are snoozing. Floobs is on the kitchen worktop tonight... While Tiky is sticking with the table! The woodburner is crackling away and we have plenty of dry wood. Hope you too are keeping warm, dry and grateful for everything you have. Lots of love, Kay and Sime xx  

  It’s 3 weeks since we finally moved into the cabin. We are still upside down...well that’s not quite true, there is now some space and order to where our things live and we are gradually making the cabin our home. We are also getting closer to realising a dream we first had over 30 years ago - to live off-grid and have our own power supply. At the moment, we are reliant on mains electricity for our fridge, lighting, radio and a few kitchen appliances...blenders, grinders, etc, as well as charging devices. We don’t have internet and thought we’d see how we get on without it in the cabin and instead just continue to use a communal area on the farm to catch up with the outside world. We don’t have a phone signal in or outside the cabin either, which means we do feel a bit cut off, but pleasantly so. I’m pretty sure we have written before on the blog about our desire to live off-grid...we are planning to have solar panels and I’m pushing for a small wind turbine. The cabin ...

For some strange reason Blogger has decided to censor this lovely quote from James Allen... If anyone out there can tell us why, we would be very grateful.   Cherish your visions;  Cherish your ideals;  Cherish the music that stirs in your heart,  The beauty that forms in your mind,  The loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts,  For out of them will grow all delightful conditions,  All heavenly environment;  O f t hese, if you but remain true to them,  Your world will at last be built. ~ James Allen ~ We have written many posts about how we have always spent time together "scheming an' a dreaming". We still have the book we wrote our list of 101 goals from over 10 years ago and we are always pleasantly surprised when we dig it out that we can tick off a few more! Amongst the completed goals we have: Live by the sea  Own a house in France Live on a mountain Live in a wooden house Grow our own vegetables Recently, we thought again abo...

Less traffic in the air and on the roads is making for a much more peaceful life. This area of Cornwall is already pretty quiet and now we are really noticing the difference... Trips to the outside compost toilet can be quite eerie - especially in the evening, but we do admit to loving it...Peace and quiet, clear skies and an increase in birdsong. Last year, we stayed in rural Hampshire near the border of Berkshire and we were genuinely shocked at how noisy it was each and every day. The constant hum of traffic and planes flying over. We wondered whether the lack of quiet was the cause of many people seeming stressed and impatient. This trait we usually see in city people, but it was intriguing to see in the countryside. It is amazing how quickly we become immune to what is going on around us, but do we still feel it subconsciously? The life we lead would not suit most people, but we love it. We were never cut out for life in a city or town and living on a housing estate ...