Living In Paradise

I think I will write something about what I feel about this new life that we are living up here.

I have been thinking lately about just how different my life is up here compared to just a couple of months ago and frankly I just marvel at how different those two worlds really are. The productivity that I have engaged with since moving up here makes me feel like a superhero again...... (I think I had been so caught up in my city life that I think my creativity was being stifled)

Every day I bound out of bed between 4am to 5am and I am just loving those mornings where it is toasty warm inside and the fire that was on the night before is still burning when you wake up. There is almost always fog outside at the moment and it sometimes closes us in and then slowly as the sun starts to rise, it opens up to reveal the splendour of the views from almost any window here in the house.

I like to make some hot drink and walk outside where the temperature differential goes from about 26 Degrees inside thanks to the fire... to around 5 degrees outside so it is really crisp..... and then watch lots of different birds waking up too and going about cleaning themselves or looking for their breakfast. Its amazing how many different birds like to hang out here.... I cant want to see their excitement when we start to plant trees in the hundreds!!!!!. Then I walk over to the cows if they happen to be close to the back fence and they all crowd around as if there is a very important meeting about to start and then say nothing. I check out the compost pile and see it steaming in the cold morning (it is usually around 60 degrees and hotter inside..... beautiful stuff) Then I walk around the gardens and think about things I want to see changed or created or built........ its a great time of the morning cause I am almost always first out of bed.....

Then back inside for a shower....or my favourite.... a big hot bath (I should be more conservative with water but we are now able to store 75,000 litres of water which is pretty exciting really (and that's before I even turn on our pump down at the river where we have certified pumping rights to irrigate till our hearts desire..... my mind boggles with the future plans for the lower paddocks)

By about 7.30am, I have had breakfast and on weekdays, I am straight into administration and sales mode for a few hours in front of the computer.....and on weekends I am straight out the door to work on the farm outside.... Its a great life that makes you feel more alive than you thought possible and where almost every action you take is connected to a bigger purpose and is valuable and in most cases sustainable (or moving in that direction)

10.30 or thereabouts is coffee break and I can say that our coffee machine has been taking a battering with all the tradespeople and friends and family coming and going... but you just cant beat a great coffee. I have really enjoyed the fact that I could stay focused on my work during the day while many people are working together as a team to move all of the projects forward.... I love it when a plan really comes together and where everyone knows what they are doing.

Work continues from 11am-1pm whether its indoors on the phone or writing to people or outside on the land... its all systems go till lunchtime and siesta for about 90 minutes. (I really enjoy this time to eat a healthy lunch and see Jasper and Tomoko and even have a rest before getting back into work from 2.30 onwards) This is something I will definitely miss when my work starts at the NAB on the 1st July and I will then essentially be off-site primarily during business hours Monday - Friday..... but its all part of the master plan.

Between 2.30pm and sundown... its valuable time... if its business, people are back from lunch and ready to talk..... if its outdoor work its time to go hard till clean up time at 5.30pm when its time to light the fire, get warm, pour a good glass of red wine and cook something so beautiful it should be served on white tablecloths and the good silver.

In the evenings its family time and it is just so special being here as a little threesome... it really gives us the opportunity to make our bond even tighter. Jasper is just incredible every minute, he is so alive and bursting with energy 24/7 and hanging round with other very polite and kind local kids he has gone from being polite and sweet to being SUPER POLITE, helpful, kind, considerate and also very funny, his personality is just so unique and we are proud to see him develop into such a wonderful person. So, Jasper gets his stories from either Dadda or Mamma (He chooses one of us each night) and then goes to sleep like a little champion.

After that, its special time for me and Tomoko, and we use it differently every day......

It is going to take some time to further develop our routines so that we can be flexible within some sort of structure that will ensure we are always fulfilling more of our plans and dreams while enjoying every day to its fullest.

By the time we go to sleep, its like turning out a light..... and when we look at the clock just before closing our eyes, thinking that it feels like midnight.... its always great to realize that its only 9pm......

I love country life.