Changes

Wow! What a few weeks it has been.

Mr Homespun was unable to work for several weeks due to a cave in at the mine he was working at. During that time off he developed numbness and loss of strength in his hands so it was off to the doctor's, then the neurologist's and finally the surgeon. As a result he had surgery to one hand a couple of weeks ago and will have surgery on the other sometime down the track. And of course, right when he had the surgery was when work was to go back.

In the meantime our long time wish of buying acreage was back on our minds, driving a large part of the region searching for the perfect property (something we do on and off but never find anything). We found a fantastic block in a sleepy little village not far from Miss 14's school and made an offer. Unfortunately the vendor wanted a ridiculous amount and wasn't prepared to budge. So we let it go.

And what happened three days later?

THE perfect property went on the market. It is even closer than the last one, twice the size, and already has a liveable house on it. And did I mention it was cheaper? No? Well what about three doors from Mr Homespun's sister (who also happens to be my bestie)?

So the last few weeks have been full of sleepless nights and appointments to try and secure it. Until finally just this week... it is all ours!

Now we are dreaming of big vegie gardens and orchards. More chooks. Cousins close by for the kids to play with. Extensions to the existing house and all that comes with that. Maybe a roadside stall later down the track.

What started as a far away dream all those years ago has come to fruition.

And we are terribly excited.

xoxo

Springtime!

It's been a while, but I haven't had much to say. Lots of things going on as is the norm at this time of the year, with dance concerts and drama performances along with school exams. And lots of other things that I may share later down the track (don't want to jinx myself).

After many months with little to no rain the last few weeks have brought many downpours and storms. As a result the gardens are flourishing.

So in just 6 weeks our vegie garden has gone from this:

to this:

And the silverbeet in the photo now looks like this:

possibly the biggest silverbeet we have ever grown! Monstrous!

Love spring!

xoxo

Happenings

I know I haven't been around much lately, but here's a little of what we have been up to:

• Having the front lawn relaid - this meant digging up the old (which we got someone to do) and then shovelling 28 tonnes of dirt and spreading it out evenly, done with shovels and wheelbarrows. In just 2 days. Did I mention shovels? Yes? Well did I mention blisters?

• School holidays - just the usual dentists appointments, trips to the cinemas and the odd One Direction concert (that last bit is whispered because if they hear me say it they might start screaming, yes I have a teen and a tween!).

• Working (not much) on my Etsy shop and considering (a lot) whether to change to Zibbet after the recent announcements by Etsy. And after realising that Zibbet is an Australian company I am even more convinced that this could be the best option for me.

• Getting the summer veges started in the greenhouse.

• Buying new bedroom furniture for Miss 14 who is growing way too quickly in her mama's opinion.

• And celebrating Mr Homespun's birthday and our wedding anniversary.

What have you been up to?

xoxo

Life is so much better in stereo

Because now I can hear!! With my left ear that is. My right ear can hear just fine, but it's quite amazing how many sounds I can now hear that I couldn't before.

Admittedly I can't hear perfectly, we are still tweaking the settings and I'm not sure we will ever get it 'perfect', but it's still enough to put a smile on my face each morning when I pop it in.

xoxo

91 hours

Romeo spent last week resting and, well, not much else really. Except for a paralysis tick scare and subsequently another trip to the vet for some tick serum. On a side note did you know the tick serum is meant for dogs and can kill cats? Apparently there is nothing for cats, just another injection to help prevent the reactions common in cats.

The vet was worried because Romeo had hardly eaten since the previous vet visit and warned if he hadn't started eating normally by the next day he would need to be admitted to hospital. Thankfully the injection that prevents reactions to the tick serum also improves the appetite so Romeo had a lovely meal of chicken that night and a little the next morning, but very little on Friday night so we were prepared to have to take him back on Saturday.

Until he scampered.

Down a drain.

And didn't come back.

There were lots of tears, some from the girls but most from me. Lots of calling down the drain (what the neighbours thought of us, I don't know). And soon we were resigned to the idea that perhaps he took off because he knew his time was up. The vet had warned the internal damage may have been worse than originally suspected.

And then at 1 am on Wednesday morning came a noise outside. Not a Romeo sounding noise, but I had been up a gazillion times every night since he disappeared so I got up again expecting to be disappointed yet again.

But there he was, looking extremely scrawny and tired. Tears again but this time of relief.

So Romeo spent last night at the vet's, it appears with the accident, the tick and the running away his poor little kidneys are a little stressed. Understandably, I think.

Cheeky little bugger!

xoxo

An unpleasant surprise

In all the excitement (of the bad kind) of Romeo's accident it's been easy to put something else that occurred on Monday to the back of my mind. And whilst I am still worried about Romeo, the other is starting to occupy my thoughts a little more. You see on Monday I also had a hearing test, knowing I have had difficulty hearing with my left ear for a few years due to otosclerosis. I also had a test around 3 years ago but wasn't too bothered by the results.

My bad.

Because it turns out that the 'hearing difficulty' is actually full on hearing loss.

Profound hearing loss.

Yep, I am almost totally deaf in the left ear. Anything quieter than a rock concert is beyond my ability to hear. So much so, that there was only one hearing aid that gives me any chance of keeping up with what will no doubt be a further deterioration in what little hearing I have left.

So next Monday I will go and try out the aid, and my fingers are tightly crossed that it works. I kind of thought of a hearing aid as my safety net, something that I would get later down the track when my hearing got really bad. Little did I know, I almost missed that completely.

The whole thing has left me quite shattered. Still, I'm sure it won't be long until my inner optimist kicks back in and I'll be back to my happy self.

xoxo

One unhappy kitty...

Sunday night Romeo wasn't home for dinner.

So I called.

And called.

And finally he turned up, limping and looking sorry for himself.

So off to the vet we went yesterday, only to find Mr Romeo had got himself hit by a car or some other trauma. He has a broken foot and bleeding around the lungs and heart. We picked him up yesterday afternoon, with a large cast on his leg. And he is seriously cheesed off.

According to the vet the bleeding will take care of itself. I certainly hope so.

xoxo