More than we bargained for...

It's not often we get a genuinely warm and sunny bank holiday here in good old Blighty, so when we do we have to be good at making the most of it. The lovely weather meant that we were able to enjoy the 'floating market' that arrived on our part of the canal and the treats that the vendors there had to offer - namely the seriously delicious home-made cake from the 'Molly' boat.

It felt like spring was in full flourish and the promise of summer was hanging in the air. All of the waterfowl were showing off this year's offspring and watching them go about their daily business was a real joy - even the swans that hiss at you as you crane your neck to get a look at their little grey babies were delightful in their own way. What really made the day a real soul-lifter though, was the people we met and sense of community they bought to the place. Whether you were buying what they were selling or not they were more than happy to talk to you and encourage your interest in their way of life. I got chatting to a lady that had a host of honey products for sale and explained that we had just bought a house on the canal and intend to have atleast one hive of bees working on the local area. She was very enthusiastic and was happy to show me what I could make from, not just the honey, but the wax and comb too.

The 'Molly' boat, with it's glorious cake, was home to a little boy who wanted nothing more than to know all about us and tell us all about him. He was a fantastic example of how home-schooling and 'real life learning' can be as good if not better than conventional education - he was better in conversation than a lot of adults I know!

I felt in that one day, a stronger sense of being a part of something than I have for a very long time. When we bought The Keep we knew we wanted a certain way of life, we just hadn't assumed there would be others so close that wanted lots of the same things too. Sometimes it's the things you hadn't bargained for that end up being the most pleasant of surprises.

We had my mum in tow this weekend and the extra pair of hands definitely helped. More gardening and wall stripping commenced, finding my mum, D and I exhausted and longing for our beds at the end of the day. I definitely get my 'airy-fairy' side from my mum and it was nice to have her come and agree with the dreamer in me about how fabulous all of the old, broken down and scary bits of our new home are.

We've started making headway with general purchases for the house. I put a deposit down on a new sofa - this will be our very first new sofa as all of it's predecessors were hand-me-downs - and we have picked out our kitchen units. The house has even started to recoup some of the money we've spent on it all by itself (sort of) - the old fireplace was sold for £40 and the wood from the conifer we chopped down is nicely stowed away in the wood store waiting to save me money come the cold winter months.

It has been a weekend full of promise for the future. I'd like to thank every duck and hissing swan and butterfly and narrow boat - dwelling person that made me realise all over again how much I'm going to love living by the canal. I want to say thank you to my back-yard chickens, that keep churning out eggs even in their temporary half-way-house, for being so patient in waiting for their new abode. To my dogs I'd say 'don't worry guys, this park that you have fallen in love with will be right on our doorstep in a couple of months'. And to every pair of hands that has helped us so far I am so grateful because I just cannot wait to share it with all of you. We are tired but so inspired - The Keep and, in turn The Chook Hook, can and will be the amazing project two very ordinary, city-sick, wannabe good-lifers dreamt it could be.

This week will see piping moved, builders scheduled in and the last of the wallpaper stripped. There is a definite feeling of 'big stuff' about to happen.

Bring it on because come rain or shine, it'll still be mine.

G