Times they are a-changin'

Our year in the country is nearly at an end...We shift to the big city in just over a week! 

I have had such mixed emotions about the move.  A side of me adores the solitude of living with just the birds and New Zealand wildlife as neighbours, only sheep and the greenest of hills on the horizon...pumping river water up to the house, climbing the (steep!) hill to visit the chooks, foraging for fir cones and branches of gum for the fire, watching vehicles meander through the valley and wondering if the campers' occupants might be from Britain...And feeling so lucky that I live here - right here - in this little spot of 'not-quite' paradise.  But almost!

Then there is another side that knows (and now accepts) that I need to be a little nearer to the chatter and laughter of others.  It is so easy, too easy, for me to stay here and rarely venture out into the wider world.  Our youngster needs to be able to jump on a bike and visit friends, walk along paved roads, visit the library or the museums and galleries without those trips being planned expeditions, to be able to explore the possibilities that our city might offer. 

And so we are moving.