The plan was ...

Hanno at the produce store. He's pointing out a little chicken tractor.

The plan was to go out for lunch at the surf club and to pick up a couple of odds and ends at Bunnings and the chemist. We also needed a new chicken feeder. I was going to take photos along the way to show our local area and to give my northern hemisphere friends a glimpse of sunshine and the south Pacific Ocean. The plan worked well at the Little Mountain produce store. I snapped Hanno walking into the store, put the camera in my bag and there it stayed until just now when I downloaded that one photo to the computer.  Oh well. My intentions were good.

The chickens will be here next Tuesday. I can hardly wait. They will be a group of Wyandottes, blue Australorpes, Isa x Faverolles, Frizzles, and splash Pekins. Kate, from Beautiful Chickens will bring them up and help settle them into the new chook B&B. The little house is ready out there. Hanno finished painting the exterior and soon, before it gets too hot, I'll go out and add the finishing touches, lay down some straw, fluff up the nests and install their feeder and water container. Just between you and me, I also have fairy lights and bunting. :- )  Shhhhh.

I'm so proud of Hanno. He did the renovations with as many recycled materials as he could find.  The floor is made up of cement pavers, bought new, but almost all of the rest, the corrugated iron sheeting, timbers and wire, were recycled. Oh, there is a new latch. Now we'll be able to separate the chickens properly and keep smaller or sick chickens in a quiet area. It also provides double the space for them when it's raining. Hanno still has to make a small run off the side of the coop but that can go up in the next week or so. It needs to have a roof and be completely enclosed - I've seen goannas (large lizards) climb up over the old wire fence in the past.

Here is my seed station (and morning tea). I work out what I'm about to plant here, then write up the labels and start planting in the bush house. Those three seed packets near the cup were brought over from Korea when Sunny's mum came over last September. I have Korean seeds for hollyhocks, salvia, dahlias and pansies. 

The seeds sown two weeks ago have germinated - with the exception of kale and daikon - and have now been moved out into the sunshine. A second planting happened two days ago and this afternoon, I'll sow more seeds. We want to eat the freshest food and the only way we can do that is to grow it ourselves. There is optimistic anticipation at this time of the year when we prepare for our annual vegetable planting. From 1 March, it will be full steam ahead and this year, I'm more motivated than ever before to make the most of the climate and the rich soil we've built up over the years. What we don't eat fresh will be shared, frozen or preserved in some way. Nothing will be wasted. Whether you have a garden like we do or a collection of pots, I hope you garden along with me so we can share photos of our fresh food. I'll have a Pinterest page up soon so we can do that.

I'm enjoying doing more in my home again. Many people would think I'm crazy saying that but it fills me with a feeling of satisfaction knowing I'm making the most of what we have. We have a wonderful life and it doesn't just happen by chance. We identify what we want and what we need to do, plans are made and then the day-to-day work carried out to make our plans happen.  And it is in the deliberate action of daily chores and what comes from them, that gives me that feeling of continuous contentment.

I've received the first typeset file of my new book and have to read it tomorrow to send back for printing on Friday.  Later this morning I'll settle in on the front verandah with a cup of tea to do that. When I send the manuscript back to Penguin, I'll do some writing for the new ebooks, then craft work - either sew on the embroidered pocket on my new apron or finish off a dishcloth, and finish of the decorating in the new chook house.

Apple and walnut cake

Before I go I want to thank everyone who took the time to tell me their thoughts about the ebooks I'm writing. That information is invaluable and I thank you sincerely for helping. I've made up my mind about the subject now and as soon as I made the decision, it was clear to me immediately that it was the right choice. More on that later. I'll go through all the other subjects and make a list of the suggestions. Over the next month or so, I'll write posts about as many of those subjects as I can. Hopefully that will sharpen me up a bit and help you move forward in your simple life.  Have a beautiful day, my friends.