Finally!

At long, long last the day has been decided.  We are finally moving to the Windy Hill.  It’s taken us years longer than we thought it would, and it’s not at all what we originally planned, but I think we are going to love it!

First some background:

Long story short – we were planning an architect designed home.  Not a common step for people, well, as common as we are, but why not give it a go?  *Cue Grand Designs theme song*  We started the process 3 years ago.  We were naive.  We thought it would be quick and simple.  Nope. *Cue much angst and worry*  We deliberately kept the design simple, nothing fancy, nothing expensive. We were told it would be all done and dusted quickly… Uh huh… No.  While we do finally have a completed design, and all sorts of reports and surveys have been done, and approvals in place etc, etc,  we still don’t have the home we planned.  There are all sorts of reasons, all very valid, but it has taken much, much longer than the original projections, and that has been expensive. Very expensive. So, we decided to jump before we were pushed.

We still intend to go ahead with the house, but we have to get our finances back into order.  And that has meant finding a way to get over to the new block, which had no house, and selling our old house, all while keeping the bank sweet.  From these dank and tangled beginnings arose…

The Plan

 

Much earlier in the process, I decided to amuse myself totting up what this architect designed, bridging loaned stuff was going to cost us.  Answer, even within the timelines we had been given, was A Lot.  Ever budget conscious, I decided to compare that to the cost of some sort of accommodation on site.  After much research, answer was that I could find something that was not going to provide much savings, if any, but for the same money would give us an asset at the end. Normally that would get The Mr on board, but not this time. Even though I pointed out that if there was a time over-run we’d be better off.  Nope.  It takes two to tango, and The Mr was far more focused on the difficulties involved, than any possible any return on investment, so I reluctantly shelved my research.

After many, many, many months – and some snotty phone calls from the bank – I brought the research out again, and it developed into a fully fledged Plan.  (So much for long-story-short, eh?  Feel my pain.)

In a nutshell, we decided to put two conjoined log-cabin style granny flats on our block, and kit it out in a cut-down version of the off-grid home we were planning. This has brought it’s own difficulties, and also came with unexpected delays, and unexpected costs, but we are finally almost there. Close enough to finally, at long, long last, appoint a Moving Day.

Ready or not, we are moving next weekend.

Next weekend.

At the moment we have a log cabin with no operable toilet, no water, no electricity and no kitchen. And we couldn’t be more excited!

Let me repeat, because I just can’t say it enough: In 7 days we are moving to The Cottage on Windy Hill.

Next week a water tank is due to be delivered. Before then our brand new composting toilet should be installed, and my brand new water pump should arrive  We are spending nights cobbling together a plan for what we hope will be a working solar electricity work-around to keep water pumping and a fridge running.  Let me tell you, I am thoroughly sick of amps, kilowatts, kilowatt hours, and volts.  Anderson plugs, MC4 cables and deep-cycle batteries haunt my lithium-ion laced nightmares.  Literally: Last night I dozed off mid-google.  It was not pretty.  Luckily The Mr removed the laptop before it slid of my lap… or I threw it in a somnambulic fit at some solar energy based phantasm.

We will have no hot water, no flick-a-switch-and-forget-about-it lighting, no stove, no TV, limited computer, no phone and – gasp – no internet. We can’t wait!

 

Me, next week.

Seedlings and Pumpkins

There hasn’t been anything much happening here lately.  I have sunflower seedlings sprouting on my windowsill, and the seed potatoes on the kitchen bench are ready and rearing to go, but I still haven’t gotten around to planting anything in the veg patch.  Just the daily drudge of feeding and cleaning up after the family and worrying about paying bills has consumed most of my time lately!

The Cottage is still plodding away.  The local council has approved our plans, and the architect is now preparing detailed construction plans and looking for a builder. In my ‘spare time’ (hah! does any mother have such a thing?) am struggling away trying to choose fixtures and fittings.  Who knew it could be so hard to choose a kitchen tap, for goodness sake?!  I am trying to strike a balance between looks, functionality and affordability…. And find something both The Mr and I like!  …And I am trying to do it all via the internet – I don’t have the time to wander hither and thither through countless showrooms.  Toilets and tubs are the bane of my existence right now.  WELS ratings, freestanding, wall mounted, stone, acrylic, ceramic… Argh!

To maintain some shreds of sanity, in stolen minutes here and there I am re-reading Jackie French’s book about growing and eating pumpkins – “The Pumpkin Book”. Yes indeed, I read about pumpkins for fun!

I love pumpkin, but I have yet to successfully grow some.  I am brilliant at getting seeds to sprout, but I never manage to get them to the garden in time! I’ll probably plant some seeds later this week in yet another attempt! I have some lovely Jap pumpkin seeds around somewhere, saved from a delicious specimen, but I’m undecided on risking them…. Pumpkins take so long to grow and ripen up properly – I don’t want to risk moving out before I can harvest them! Realistically I know that it’s not likely an entire house could be built in the time it takes a pumpkin to grow and mature, but a girl can dream..!

Jap pumpkins are an interesting veg.  When I was a kid you could always buy a good Jap, but not so much now. It seems that Japs are pretty hard to identify, and in my local area you are likely to see identical pumpkins labeled ‘Jarrahdale’ one week and ‘Jap’ the next. That is why saving seed is so important! Better no pumpkin at all than an insipid one! Want to know the secret to rich, sweet pumpkin?  Age. Buy your pumpkin whole and then let it lounge around on the kitchen bench for at least 3-4 weeks, longer if you can.  Keep it cool and dry, and check it every now and then for signs of damage or readiness-for-eating. If you buy cut pumpkin, get the most orange-fleshed you can find.  If it’s pale, or worse, more yellow than orange don’t waste your money – it won’t taste any good.

And speaking of pumpkins…I wonder if the local shops have any carving pumpkins available yet?  They seemed to be everywhere last year, over priced, of course.  I ended up buying some little Golden Nuggets for the kids to carve.  Easier for them to manage, and easier on the wallet.  Halloween isn’t a big thing here (is it anywhere in Australia?), but it’s a great excuse to get into some fun activities with the kids!

So, who am I, and what is all this about a cottage on a windy hill?

It’s been a good 10 months since I created this blog, yet, until today I haven’t actually posted anything.  I think an introduction is well over due, don’t you?!

So, who am I?  Good question! A daydreamer wrapped in layers of contradictions probably covers it, although that’s bit non-specific for a proper introduction….  But proper introductions are pretty hard, which is why I generally avoid them at all costs.  I’m kind of a hermit, you see. Not real good at the social chit chat, me.  But, since I want you to keep reading my blog, I suppose I had better find some way of describing myself!  Hmmm.  I’m a mother.  I have 3 kids, currently aged 8,5 and almost 3. I’m staring down the barrel of 40 years old.  (My kids currently like to torment me by making me play dough birthday cakes  and telling me I’m 40.  The seem to find it hilarious when I exclaim that “I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!”  Weird kids.) Hmmm… I used to have an identity all of my own before I had kids, but they have this insidious way of getting into the cracks of your life, and influencing everything. Like mould, really….    I guess the nitty gritty is that I am an armchair gardener who is interested in the environment, I don’t like city living, although, man, I do love the conveniences. I love sewing, but never have the chance to do it (see previous comment re: mouldy kids).   Ummm… what other defining features do I have….?  I own chickens and cows but I am not a farmer….What else..?   Oh, yeah I love British comedy. That’s a thoroughly unsatisfying introduction, I know, but read on, all will be revealed in future posts…

And now, what is all this about a cottage on a windy hill?

Well.. the cottage doesn’t actually exist yet, although we have found our windy hill.  We currently live on 5 1/2 acres in SE Qld.  It was a bit of a push to get my hubby to agree to moving to acreage when we decided to buy a house 15ish years ago, but since he’s just as much of a hermit-at-heart as me, it’s where we ended up.  Very happily, I might add.  Neither of us ever want to move back to the city, which is why we are now going further bush!  We have found a nice windy hill in the middle of 54 acres, which is still not too far away for The Mr to drive to his job in the city.

We plan to move to the hill sometime next year, if all the stars align.  We decided to do it properly this time, since the layout of our current house drives us crazy, and have engaged an architect to design a house suited to the way we live.  (Not sure what we’ll use as an excuse for having a messy house when we can’t blame the house itself, but I’m sure we’ll think of something!) So, the ‘cottage’ is currently being tweaked.  It’s turned out exactly as I described what I didn’t want: basically a single-level rectangle.  And I love it!  I am still harbouring dreams of pristine designer interiors,  but given our tiny budget (and aforementioned insidious  kids), I know realistically it won’t look like that.  But I honestly can’t picture it any other way.  Even our current furniture looks new and dent-free in my imaginings! Dust free too, which is just as much of a fantasy!

The new house will be fairly modest, hence my ‘cottage’ label, and will be self sufficient  – we are going off grid, and we will harvest rain water to supply all our needs. I am planning an ambitious garden for veggies and herbs, and have a terrible longing for my own fruit orchard.  The veg and orchard are what I always wanted to have in our current place, but despite several attempts they’ve never really happened.  I’d love to be almost totally self-sufficient, but, although I am an omnivore, my family are a fussy bunch – they are not likely to agree to eat only what is in season, and in the garden! That’s not going to stop me from trying though!

I’m hoping that moving to the cottage on windy hill is going to result in a less stressful life for me and my family.  More organised, healthier, less cluttered, more time to live, and relax and be happy, and worry less. More time to garden and sew and just be present for my kids.   That is more or less what the blog is going to be about: setting up and living a self sufficient, solar powered lifestyle.

Wanna join me for the ride?