Our little mud brick cottage

Our little mud brick cottage is lovely - very rugged and basic, but nice in a really rustic way. The setting is beautiful, remote and peaceful. The glen is stunning and already I am beginning to recognise its moods through the day. It is stunning shrouded in early morning mist when we get up, before seven, to get the kids off to school, but as the mist clears and burns off, the views are splendid. It reminds me a lot of where Andre and I lived in Italy, in Northern Umbria - the rolling hills, the variety of trees, the distance to the nearest village and the colours. It was early winter when we first arrived there and the autumn colours surrounded us just as they do here. We also enjoyed the wonderfully warming winter sun, out of the wind, in a protected spot and lazing around like cats reading, as we do here. As the day moves on often we have clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine. It gets very cold at night, but the cottage warms up nicely. Although the other morning we awoke to find that Jack Frost had been and the ground was white and the windscreens frozen solid. Tal and Rennie were very impressed! Not something you see in Melbourne too often. Once again it is the birds that are the most accessible wildlife around us and we are getting to know our feathered friends well. There are a family of butcherbirds that keep a close eye on us and never miss a chance for something to eat. They are very inquisitive and show no fear of us what so ever. Each morning as we start our day, I greet them outside the kitchen window, all fluffed up against the cold morning chill. Recently Andre has caught me chatting to them. They are already friends. Then there are the rosellas and lorikeets that are in the trees chattering in the mornings and evenings, and the sole black cockatoo who flies over daily calling as he goes and bringing his friends occasionally. The rest of the time the air is filled with the calls and chatter of so many other birds, but unfortunately we don’t get to see them all and therefore identify them. We have also seen quite a few wallabies on the road. Most alive and some dead. Now that we are stopped for a while it provides me with an opportunity to tackle many of the tasks that are on the ‘to do” list, and of course the domestic chores have increased. More cleaning, tidying, vacuuming, packed lunch making – all the things I haven’t missed! So, despite missing the kids when they go off for the day, I still find my days quite full. We both look forward to hearing their news when they return at the end of the day. After having been with them 24/7 for the past few months, it is both strange and good to have some time on our own. Both Tal & Rennie have settled in well to the new school situation and it reassures me once again that they are strong, resilient children that cope well with what we throw at them. Rennie has friends keeping her seat on the bus each day and has been getting up so much better in the mornings than back in Melbourne. I thought Jarra would have missed the older kids more than he has. Apart from the first morning he now waves them off happily and welcomes them home heartily, but enjoys mum/dad/gran’s attention during the day. He is talking so much better these days. Stringing words together to make short sentences and starting to refer to himself as “I” or “me”. This has decreased the frustration he was feeling when he couldn’t make himself understood. Maybe because he is the third child, we deal with things better/differently or he is of a more relaxed disposition, but suffice to say that so far we have had few tantrums. Having said that he is a very cheeky little fella and often gets up to stuff he shouldn’t. Those blond curls and beautiful, brown eyes help him get the best from everyone he meets and occasionally away with stuff that he shouldn’t. Another benefit to being in one place is that our family and friends have been able to phone here on a landline, so it is good to hear their voices again and catch up on all our news. At times like this I am so glad that we have done the blog and it is great to know that they are able to follow our travels and adventures. When we talk on the phone I have time to hear their news and feelings, rather than try to catch up on so much stuff that we have been up to. Hearing how everyone else is going is so important. I have always realised that as soon as you stop doing this, then the connection is broken and relationships begin to suffer. One starts to feel less connected and it is hard to know where their life is going. Well for now my life is going to take me for a nice cup of chai and a relaxing read in a cosy corner of the cottage, before Jarra wakes up and it is all systems go once again. BFN! H