Settling in

We've been living in Wales for a month now. The boxes are unpacked, the dust has settled and with Alessi back at school, we are starting to form new routines.

The cottage is a dream. An old and quirky dream. 

• The windows upstairs are sky lights so we've been using towels as make shift curtains. This was supposed to be for a few days, but we're still yet to buy blinds for them. Whoops.
• I've been waking up early most mornings with the dawn chorus. This is in equal parts beautiful (come on, it's birdsong) and annoying (it's birdsong at 5.00am).
• Internet access is sloooow and sometimes disappears entirely. 
• We have no phone signal whatsoever so calls and texts are received by way of a phone app and wifi. Although to be honest, I'm not finding that very reliable either. The up side is that it's forced me off my phone and I can often be found searching the house for it because I'll have put it down somewhere and forgotten about it. It literally never left my side in Bath.
• The house is full of spiders. I'm usually a 'pop them outside' kind of girl, but I must confess I've resorted to the hoover a few times now. DON'T JUDGE ME THEY ARE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE.
• Other wildlife who currently share the house with us are ants, moths and a couple of jackdaws who are nesting on top of the chimney. I can deal with the birds, but the moths and ants need to go.

• The chickens are loving their new surroundings. Well two of them are. Sadly Titch died last week so it's just Tufty Sue and Snowball loving the freedom and the orchard now. We have to be careful when the kites are out hunting though so they can't be left out unsupervised. One kite in particular, (whom Alessi has named, Flappy) hunts very close to the cottage and has clocked the chickens a couple of times. 
• Unless the weather is gloriously sunny, the bathroom is freezing. We have to brace ourselves each time we need the loo and baths are only attempted once we've heated the room up first with the aid of a small electric heater at the end of an extension lead. Fun times.
• There aren't many plug sockets in the cottage. We did however inherit a large amount of extension cables. 
• We've bought smoke detectors for almost every room
• After years of trying (with little to no success) to coax birds in to our old garden I am finally living somewhere that's over run with them and I can see them right outside my window. The two most unusual sightings so far have been a Pied Flycatcher and a Redstart. Now my problem is trying to keep up with the amount they're eating. I know what you're thinking, where did you put that tiny violin?

• There's a steam train that runs through the valley. Alessi is obsessed with it and will shout at us to come and watch every. single. time.
• There are brambles everywhere. I've made a start, but taming this thorny beast behind the house and in the orchard will be a work in progress.
• That's right. There's a freaking orchard! Once the brambles are tamed it will be our garden for the duration of our stay and I've already discovered my new 'spot' along with some raspberries, apple trees and an abandoned greenhouse full of grapevines. 
• There are also woods at the back of this space. If you ever can't find Alessi, this is where she will be. Looking for cuckoos.

• I'd forgotten about the fighter jets that practice in the area. They come out of nowhere and the sound can be immense. We're getting used to the low rumbling sound they make as they approach now so know when to expect most of them. That said we've been caught out by a couple of low flying ones which results in a lot of swearing and laughing at each other. You have to make your own amusement out in the sticks!

So there you have it. It was a huge leap to leave everything in Bath behind, but there are no regrets. Alessi settled in to her new school straight away which was a massive relief. She came home the other day and sang a song she'd learnt in Welsh which made my heart explode.

I don't know what the future holds for us here. Renting feels weird as it prevents us from putting down permanent roots so I don't feel 100% settled. It's always at the back of my mind that it's someone else's property and that we will have to move again at some point or that they could ask us to leave at any time.
Instead of worrying though I know in my heart of hearts that right now we are exactly where we are supposed to be. And I am certain that whatever the future has in store for us, it's going to be fine. In fact if we can continue to make choices true to ourselves the way we have done these past few months, we'll be more than fine.