Happy August! July kicked my ass!

Sorry, that’s probably not the best way to start this monthly review but that’s what you’re getting.

July seriously, seriously took it out of me.

We moved house July 1st, so the last 4 weeks have been a flurry of all the super fun (AKA mentally and physically draining) stuff that comes with that.

I was able to take the first two weeks of July off for the move, which was incredibly helpful, but moving house transcends far above my ability to cope, to be quite honest.

I spent the first week in a state of absolute panic, because this is the first (and hopefully only) house I’ve ever owned and I suddenly realised I’m, ya know, actually responsible for… everything.

No property manager to email when something breaks, no landlord covering gardening and other maintenance… Nope, it’s all on me.

So naturally I cried myself to sleep every night for pretty much our entire first week because I was so worried I’d bitten off more I could chew.

THANKFULLY that was also the week we had one of our handymen here and he was a wealth of knowledge and reassurance.

Any time I found another problem I didn’t know how to solve, I would mention it to him and he’d be like; “Nah you’re all good mate, I can fix that.” Or he’d just know someone who could.

He also organised a firewood delivery for us (since the house is heated by one singular wood heater and we were quickly working our way through the firewood my dad had given us) and he was also incredibly reassuring.

I made him a cuppa one afternoon and while we were chatting, I mentioned I’d been feeling just an itty bitty overwhelmed.

His response was to nod sagely and tell me that was normal but that actually I should be very proud of myself. That I had definitely done the right thing buying the house and he could tell I was quick learner.

And honestly? That eased a significant amount of my overwhelm.

In combination with support from my family and friends (big shout out to Leonie and Tam for their wisdom and stories which hugely soothed my worried soul), I’m finally starting to feel settled!

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If you’d like to see some of the work that’s been done on the house so far, click HERE! I wrote up a giant overview, complete with before and after photos.

I also compiled my favourite photos from the first month of living here, which have some beautiful shots of the land I’m lucky enough to be living on.

Of course, this means July’s overview is a little more text heavy but honestly that’s okay by me.

I also didn’t read any books in July either (the horror!) but now that I have a bit more space in the ol’ head, I’ve nearly finished one library book and plan on finishing two more this week.

Here’s a list of other things I did in July:

• Got a new oven installed
• Returned the keys to the rental (thank you for a lovely 18 months, old house!)
• Had dinner with Dad, who helped us immensely while moving
• Celebrated Mikasa’s 7th birthday
• Got satellite internet installed
• Had dinner with my sister and helped her with some coursework
• Went into another lockdown
• Had an appointment with my accountant and organised all my documents to do my tax return
• Went to a live show (online) that involved slam poetry about cryptids, by ATWWD
• Met my delightful neighbours (they run an orchard!)
• Went to a neighbouring town with my housemate Bilv once lockdown was over and bought a whole heap of supplies (including wellington boots AND a delightful op shop haul)
• Got sick from being rundown and burnt out (but am feeling much better now)

I’ll be doing another op shop haul post soon (you can read my first one HERE!) but I really got some treasures this time.

I ALSO made lemon curd from my very own lemons!

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I ended up making 4 jars – gave one to dad, one to the handyman and kept two for meeee.

It was utterly scrumptious and you can bet I’m gonna make some more this month.

And that’s about it really!

I still have oodles and oodles of chores to do, things to buy, errands to run, jobs to organise… The list goes on and on but I’m just taking it one day at a time.

Because there’s no rush. The house is completely liveable, I have everything I need.

And most importantly?

I have all the time in the world.

💜

P.S. Oh! By the way! I have a mailing list! I don’t send too many emails (usually one or two a month), but it’s great way to keep up with everything I’m doing!

Pop your deets in below and we can be penpals!

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