Drifting Along

We've been living in this regional town for eight months now. Eek, even writing that is a surprise, I thought it was more like six months. We came here because we needed to make a change, life in our little house on a dusty country road was just not right for us. And it was a good change. It has allowed us to live more simply, to drive the car less, to look after a smaller piece of land and enjoy the benefits of town living. I am most grateful for this, being at home with a young child. But we definitely miss our space and quiet, and we wonder how to find our way back to more rural living once again.

We didn't have much of a plan as to how long to stay here, in this town. And we find ourselves constantly back and forth now in indecision. Do we stay here longer term? Do we stay here short term then go somewhere else, somewhere that might suit us better? And if we're going to do that, then maybe we should just go somewhere else, right now? And the reality of life provides our checks and balances; the places we consider for the future are beyond our budget at this point in time. And we circle around in our thoughts again. Perhaps here is where we're meant to be. It is good, right now, just here.

And we lament about property prices in Australia, and how the family home is now a commodity, an investment, a means to an end rather than an end in itself. And we question a world where two incomes are required in most areas if a home is to be affordable - but at what cost? I am adamant that I want to be at home with my child, rather than put him in day care. My husband is fully supportive in this regard. This is a very touchy subject and I in no way want to open the working mum vs stay at home mum can of worms. Each to their own. But I do think there is something wrong when there is no choice, when two incomes are needed, where one is not enough.  

And then we think, well, here in this town, one income is enough. And we are happy here, and we have a lifestyle we enjoy. It doesn't have the one thing I would love most, and that is a Steiner school for our son to attend in a few years. And if we were to move close enough to a Steiner school, well, we'd be needing the two incomes again, and that would defeat the purpose of our chosen way to bring up this boy. So home schooling is most definitely on the agenda. We would need a network though, a community of other home schoolers. A way for our son to interact, make friends of his own, build his own community. 

I do miss the working world sometimes. I miss having a professional role in life. But the value I place on being present, not just physically but in mind and in spirit, far, far outweighs this. And all the while, we dig in the garden, and work on and in the house, and make connections in the community here. And I know I need to switch off the mental functions thinking too much about the future, and just enjoy where we are right now. Perhaps this is the place for us after all.

I do think capitalism is a most flawed system though. The fundamental flaw being the assumption that people are logical and rational. I did an economics degree back in the late 1990's/early 2000's. I was too young to question much of what I was taught back then, I just accepted it. But now I question it. I question a lot of things we are led to believe are for our best interests, when clearly they are not. Thoughts for another post, another time. For now, we are happily drifting along in our indecision. Who knows where it will take us. Maybe all the way back to here, after all.  

Cars

My preferred mode of transport.

I've been pondering lately whether our little family could possibly go car-free. Since moving back into town, we've been walking a lot - husband walks to work, baby and I take the pram for trips to the library or the shops or for errands, whenever we can. We still use one car, on rainy days or for a big shop, or trips out of town.

All the walking everywhere makes me so conscious on the impact of cars. For starters, they are so very loud. Walking next to a road with cars stopping and starting and zipping along, the noise of cars is so intrusive and unpleasant. But such a 'normal' background noise to our modern life. Can you imagine a world without cars? It would be quiet and the air would be cleaner.

Then there is the busyness aspect. It seems as if everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. Taking off fast, driving fast along house-lined streets, barely slowing down for corners, tailgating if someone in front is driving to slow. Rush rush rush, hurry hurry hurry. And the cars and semi-trailers on the bigger [and not so much bigger] roads. Scary fast. Couldn't-stop-if-they-had-to fast.

I know a lot of people don't have a car for whatever reason. Of course it can be done. If we were to go car-free, it would mean big lifestyle changes for us. We wouldn't be visiting people out of town much. We would need to rely on public transport for trips to bigger towns or to the city [actually a good option anyway]. We would buy things we could carry. We would think more about what we buy.

One day we hope to buy some land out of town, which would really necessitate having a car. But at this point in time, we could realistically [or not] get away with not having a car. I don't know that we'll actually do it, maybe we will or maybe we won't. But the simple fact of pondering the question has me thinking about every car trip we take, and every walk we go on. 

If we didn't have a car, would I be doing this? 

If it was raining, would we still go on this walk? 

If we didn't have a car, would I buy that heavy watermelon [and then carry it home]? 

If we didn't have a car, how would we get bales of bedding straw for the chooks, or pea straw for the garden? How would we even get to the nursery?

So many questions. But worth pondering. 

Do you have a car, or live car-free? How do you go with it?

Chicken Update: The New Girls

We've had some ups and downs in the chicken department lately. We lost our favourite little chook, Gloria, which was quite upsetting for all of us. She was a good little chicken and we/I had become quite attached to her. I don't know exactly what happened, she certainly wasn't her usual self and hadn't been pretty much since we moved. But I also wouldn't rule out foul play by a cat either. Possibly a combination of both. Anyway it left poor little Frankie all on her own, not to mention losing her mum.

So we thought we'd best get some new feathered friends for Frankie, can't have just one chook all on it's own. Off to market we went, and sure enough, there were the chickens for sale. We decided on two little 8 week olds. We figured Frankie would be big enough to be the top chook, and two littles in with her would be better than one [in case Frankie gave it/them a hard time]. After only a couple of days they had all come to terms with each other and now they happily roam around as a gang of three. 

The whole ordeal was enough to break Frankie out of her broodiness, so she's up and about again and has now started laying again [seriously, she started laying then went broody a week or so later, so we only got a handful of eggs to start with!]. Still a little way off the new girls laying but they're settling in nicely, and as it turns out, are quite boisterous little ladies. I just hope they stay being little ladies and we don't end up with another accidental rooster. We are not going through all that again!

So this is them. Beryl, the white one, and Audrey, the speckled black and white. And our dear little Frankie. They've got a lovely new enclosure that contains their chook house and which gives them room to roam a bit and scratch around in. We also let them out for a wander in the garden in the afternoons, but I have to stay close by and supervise to make sure they stay out of the vegie garden. Yes, that old problem, still. They're pretty good though. It's lovely to see them all looking happy out there.

Audrey, Beryl and Frankie in the background.

Bossy Beryl.

Audrey's bum.

Our lovely little Frankie. Sweet little chicken.

Feeling the Squeeze

It was always going to happen. There was always going to be a point where I started to miss our little house in the tiny country town. I mean, in hindsight, it was always going to happen. And now it's happening. 

The sun dial moved house with us; I think it needs pride of place in our small backyard now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about where we're at now. It's just so very different, is all. There is the buzz of town life here; people, cars, shops, people, people, people. The energy is in the air. It's more difficult to create the calm and the quiet that we're used to. In some ways, the buzz is good for us. But I need to be very mindful of it's existence. 

Town life is busy. Cars and people zip here and zip there. The pace is faster. We are used to the pace of sheep in paddocks and farmers slowly driving their utes around, and ducking across to get milk at the general store that takes way longer than it needs to because you have to chat to the shopkeeper. I realise now how much I grew to like the country pace. 

Last time I lived in this town I thought it was pretty quiet. Ha! Now I fully understand what a quiet life is. Simply that - quiet. Without the noise, the buzz, the blur of people and all the energy they carry. For now, I will strive to create the quiet in our house. By decluttering, by creating calm space, by being mindful of what we bring into here.

I think the first thing we need to do is put some prayer flags up around the house. Somehow, they always instill in me a sense of calm and peace. So that when we walk through the front door gate, we can leave the buzz of town busyness behind and step into our quiet life once again. I cannot even fathom what it would be like to live in a city again. 

I saw a quote a few weeks ago that is coming to the front of my mind right now: the grass is always greener where you water it [not sure where it came from, somewhere on the internet]. I like this. I am not pining for what we had, but thinking about how to create what we need, where we are now. But I realise now how much I miss our little house on the dusty country road.

Small Town Life

Well, I write this now sitting in a little house on a street in a country town. Not a teeny tiny town like where we were before. A country town, complete with supermarkets and a Target Country and numerous op shops and parks and plenty of takeaway food joints. And a library, and a pool, and a selection of gyms now [could have done with this kind of choice last time I lived here..]. Our backyard is small, but manageable. On Saturday morning, I mowed the backyard - all of it - in about 20 minutes, while William sat in his Daddy's arms watching with interest. Already there is the change. Our old backyard took hours to mow. Hours. So it's fair to say we have downsized significantly. 

It's an adjustment for all of us, no doubt. I think Pepper cat is probably the worst affected, she roamed far and wide through the paddocks before. Now she has a small backyard to call her own [well, her and Motlety cat have to share]. She already brought us a mouse offering, clever girl. The chickens look happy, insofar as chickens can look happy. Just Frankie and Gloria are here, the other three going off to a new happy home. They have a little chook house to sleep in, and roam the backyard during the days. We still need to build them a permanent chicken enclosure. Amongst many other things. The dogs are fine; they don't care where we are as long as they're with me.

As for us humans, well, life is easier. The house is easier to care for a baby in. I guess it must be the layout, it is more open. But beyond that, I don't feel alone. I mean there were people around in our old tiny town, but here, I know my husband is only 5 minutes away at work. And I know my mum is only 10 minutes away if I was desperate. There are more activities to do with a little baby, and I'm happier at home with the baby. It's not perfect by any means, but what is? It's good for me. It's good for my husband - a new job, a change that was well needed to breathe fresh life into his work days. And we walk everywhere! I walk to town, he walks to work, we walk the dogs, there is very little need for the car. This is one of the things we really wanted out of life, and in the week that we've been here, we've already seen that change.

Downsizing. I don't know how long we'll stay here for but I'm not keen to move again anytime soon. When we decided to have a year of consolidating, we didn't envisage a move, but here we are, and we are going to make the best of it. I have some major decluttering ahead of me too, there is nothing like moving house to highlight how much excess 'stuff' you have. How much I have, anyway. A few big steps in the direction of a simpler life, again. What is interesting is how much I have changed since we were last here. We both have. Our teeny tiny town life was good for us, even if it did lead us back to... here? I wouldn't have picked it. Life hey.