Thursday, December 20, 2012

Big changes...

So... since the last real installment back in Aug 2012 there have been big changes for us. We made the decision to move to Great Barrier Island permanently. The older Terri got the more urgent it became for us.
We made a pact to either buy a home or start building a new home on Tom's section by the end of 2011 ... and then things eventually started falling into place for us. The 'perfect' property for us came along. We negotiated a private sale so there were no agents involved (therefore no comission and fees). The house is large, comfortable, water tight (mostly) and has an outstanding view out towards Kaitoke Beach on the east coast. Our closest beach is a 2 minute drive down to Blind Bay on the west coast. We found a few established fruit trees on the back of the section and an abandoned chook run.
We installed solar panels so that we didn't have to rely solely on generator for power then we moved out here at the end of October 2011.
It's been over a year now and we are slowly making our mark on the section. We got ourselves 3 chickens and are eagerly awaiting our first eggs. Slowly we are establishing food crops on a very small scale, mostly in pots and containers at the moment but bit by bit we are building up the soil to a point where we can have a few dedicated food plots. I have tomatoes growing in pots that would give any triffid a run for their money, a few herbs in, rhubbarb, black/boysen/raspberry bushes all in the ground, we've planted citrus trees and have just started eating Tom's first crop of spuds.
When I think about it we have acheived rather a lot :)
Terri is thriving out here. She attends the local playcentre and loves the beach, fishing, and outdoors in general. It's a great place to raise kids.
We are living the good life!!

Last post Aug 30 2010

Wow... it's been a while to say the least. I wasn't even sure whether I'd ever be back but over the years I've been an on and off 'journaller' so maybe that's how my blogging goes too...
...
lets see how long I last this time...