Before we knew it the good old days of sleeping in until 8am, pottering around the house at our own pace and finding interesting places to visit in our new town were over. We had gone from being people of leisure to officially busy in the blink of an eye and it was a shock to the system! Looking back, we realised we never had taken full advantage of the times when we had no responsibilities and the only baggage, was the two suitcases carrying our worldly belongings. During those days worry about being able to find a home, fitting in, finding employment and our fast-depleting savings would often take…

As you the reader will remember we had our fingers burnt on our last project, in fact our fingers were still raw and stinging from the (ongoing saga) roof painting catastrophe and understandably we were reluctant and apprehensive to start something new. However, there were some big projects scheduled for the next couple of months, so we had no choice but to wipe the slate clean, put the issue with the roofs on the back burner and jump right back into the fray. By this point I was at work full time so we had planned for Martin to start looking for work closer to fall which would allow him…

Picture the scene, come on humor me … close your eyes and recall an image of the villains in your favourite spaghetti western, faces covered with bandanas not because of the arid land and the dust blowing through the empty street. No, these bandanas are to conceal their identity. Envisage them moving stealthily away from the bank that they have just robbed, their arms laden with saddle bags full of the proceeds of their crime as they make their way to the horses tied to a post at the rear of the general store. With their ill-gotten gains safely secured they mount their horses and ride off into the desert…

In true Carroll fashion we got straight into the house renovations, most sane people would allow the dust to settle and take some time to rest but no, not us, because we were gluttons for punishment, and we obviously had not learnt any lessons from the years of renovating our house in NZ. That being said there were so many things that we really needed to get started sooner rather than later because the long days of summer would soon end, and the cold, wet, windy, and snowy (mostly all in one day from what we hear) weather was fast approaching and contractors would be hard to come by or…

For those who have been following our story you will know that it has been four months since we have seen our three little meowsers outside of a cattery or travel crate, and whilst we have missed them dearly we have been comforted by the knowledge that they were healthy and safe and well cared for at the Kitty Care Inn, but that separation was at an end and we were ready to bring them home. We woke up bright and early on the first morning in our new house to find the main living area bathed in light and the promise of summer, it felt magical to fling open…

The beginning of May was to herald many exciting events like picking up the keys to our new home and surprisingly sprummer (Spring and summer mixed) which arrived with much fanfare and arm waving (on account of all the deer fly… more on that later). We met with Claire from Viewpoint the morning after settlement for the exchanging of the key’s ceremony and boy what a morning it was! Winter had finally let go and left sweltering temperatures behind, we had ditched our jackets and jumpers and our deodorant was now being put through its paces. We all walked into the house and didn’t make it past the kitchen for…