Seth and Polly

I can't tell you how good it feels to me to be home again doing "normal" things. I thought that going away for a couple of nights would be sort of semi-exciting, how wrong I was. When I was out, I was in the middle of a large and extremely busy city; when I was "home" I was in a hotel, cut off from nature with air-conditioning, thick walls and a little glass door that lead out to a very un-natural pebble courtyard. I couldn't hear anything when I was in the room, it was just me and the TV. I took a book to read but I went to sleep when I tried to read it. In the end I watched the "live" cricket beaming in from India. What a strange world we live in.

When I got home we had to deal with the problem of Seth's incessant crowing at 3 o'clock in the morning. The neighbours do not like it, neither does Hanno. Eep! I knew we'd have a problem giving him away, so many roosters are given away and end up in the soup pot, and I didn't want that for him. So I put a free advert on the farm stock online site for a pair of Sussex chooks and low and behold, we had people ringing up and emailing hoping to be given them. In the end, he and one of his silver Sussex ladies - Polly , went to a farm about ten minutes away. He would have been miserable without her and I hope they live a happy life there. The woman who took them wants to breed light Sussex. She came over with her husband who is a bee keeper. A lovely couple and I'm sure they'll look after Seth and Polly.

Seth - caught in the act.

I was hoping to have time yesterday to cook up these beetroot pulled from the garden a couple of days ago, but they're still uncooked. Hanno and I spent yesterday afternoon at the Centre where I hosted a Sunday lunch for the volunteers, committee and a couple of people from the local relocalisation group, who we auspice. It was a lovely lunch, we all brought food to share, and we sat - about 25 of us - under the shade of some very old conifer trees at the Centre. When we came home again, the people arrived to pick up Seth and Polly, so not much else was done. I had a long sleep last night, almost 11 hours, but I'm still a bit weary this morning. I'm going to work but I think I'll be a bit slow today.

I miss being at home, doing those things that usually make up my day. It might seem boring to some but I was bored in the middle of the city and wishing I was home again baking bread and eating real food. There was a time in my life when nothing could have kept me out of the city and all the excitement of it. Now it just exhausts me, now I have found a better place and I am fulfilled by pottering around my home. I think I'll settle back in fully by writing about knitting tomorrow. Thinking about that today will settle my mind and distance me from where I've been.

On the left is a flowering cactus that is growing on our front verandah and in the bush house. I'm not sure of the name of it, I grew it from cuttings I got from my DIL, but it flowers like this every Spring and hangs down from its container in long strands of pink. It's a real beauty.

I hope you're all well and happy and working steadily on your small steps to a simpler life. Oh, and I have to tell you, I really missed this blog and all of you while I was away.

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