Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - A little bit about where we live - Allen's Rivulet, Tasmania

Allen's Rivulet is about 25 minutes drive south of Hobart, Tasmania's capital city (more like a very large country town!). It's in an area which was once mainly used for apple and pear orchards, for domestic and export sale.

Our home was one of the original farmhouses of the area, and on our property we have a large original wooden shed used for packing and storing apples. We're near the Huon Valley- one of Tasmania's key fruit producing areas.

Tasmania (or Tassie as we call it locally) has a fairly cool temperate climate - in fact last year we even got snow in August! It's a beautiful island - takes about 4 hours to drive from one side to the other - lots of natural beauty - including gorgeous white sandy beaches, very impressive coastal cliff formations, rainforest, and mountains too big for the likes of unfit me to climb. I love it here! One of my favourite things to do is head up the East Coast of Tasmania - it's breathtaking... We think it is a lovely place for our children to grow up!

Thanks for the comment & the welcome 'spinninggrandma' - would love some advice re blog ettiquette - for example - do you respond directly to anyone who makes a comment? Or do you post a comment on you blog?

Monday, March 13, 2006 - The Dream

Hi, I'm a mum of two cheeky and delightful two year old boys who is enjoying (most of the time!) the challenges of juggling self employment  in my own business (3 days a week max), maintaining and renovating our home on 4 acres in rural Tasmania, creating a garden to feed and nourish my family, as well as having a home which is welcoming for us, our friends and our family.

I'm keen to learn more about developing a lifestyle which creates a sense of real adundance in our lives which is not reliant on our ability to buy 'stuff'. I guess I'm looking for balance in what we do, and to know that we are going to leave this place better than we found it - is that naive?

Luckily my hubby shares many of these goals - and he's a real man of action so in the last 15 months since we moved here he has moved mountains (almost literally!), and we are well on the way to making our dreams reality. Today my mum visited - and watching her fill the boot of her car with pumpkins, cucumbers and home-made jam made my day - knowing I could create gifts for others out of my surplus and still have more than enough for my immediate family (and I might get some of her yummy pumpkin soup back!)

Saturday, March 11, 2006 - Our home at Allen's Rivulet - probably during the 1920/1930's