One Year On......

[tootles]

Exactly one year age we sold the house in England, put most of our wordly goods into storage, packed the rest into the car and trailer and came here. We lived in a caravan for six months. Myself, Mr T, three crazed children and the dog - it was a squeeze!! We didn't have running water for 4 weeks and had to wheel a container to the meter every day. Electricity was a solar panel on the roof and the children showered in the garden solar shower. We have cleared the garden which was waist high in jungle, we have felled A LOT of trees and (most importantly) created a vegetable garden. We have now moved into the rear of the house - the front still being a ruin. We all share one bedroom but at least we have a bathroom, hot water and a "kitchen". We have repalced all of the floors in this bit - including the beams. The roof needs replacing (some needs creating!) and we have to dodge the buckets when it rains. BUT we have the most incredible view, we have no neighbours for nearly 1km on all sides and the garden is an old vineyard. We live down a dirt track which has no more than 3 cars a day! We are even on the tourist trail - a noddy train drives past three times a day in the summer hols, and we are in the commentary!!
We are doing all of the work ourselves and it is the most glorious adventure.
I have a greenhouse and various beds which are terraced and everything is growing beautifully. This time next year we hope to have a whole house and I can concentrate on the garden when the lorries stop delivering in it!
I love it here and wouldn't rather be anywhere else.

Just thought I'd let you know what we've been up to!!
One whole year....

Tx

[scarey55]

Good ere innit

[Claire72]

Sounds absolutely ideal, really living the rural ideal.
My home is almost my ideal, next door neighbours a bit of a pain, and wish I had the money to give up work altogether and spend much longer on my garden etc, but otherwise, it is perfect.

[smallblueplanet]

Now tootles its time for you to post some pictures! Try using ImageShack® - Image Hosting to host copies of your pictures and it will provide you with the 'link address' to post on here, to let us see them.

[Alice]

As long as you're happy Tootles - that's all that counts.

[squashysu]

wow - i take my hat off to you, what a wonderful place, now you just need to get Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs and we can see you on tv xx

[smallblueplanet]

Wow! what a fab place. Do take some piccies of the views for your blog.

This looks a bit of a big crack?



Nice looking doorway/frontage?



Envy doesn't begin to describe the feelings! Lucky you.

[jackie j]

I would love to move to France but OH doesnt want to so I guess I will stay in sunny Devon.
I think he doesnt want to move because he was born in Bombay and moved to Kenya where his brother was born before his parents moved back to England and moved a couple of times before settling in Devon.