If there is one thing I am right now, then that's grateful. You see, I've been given a fantastic opportunity for a fresh start by moving house. Thanks to my parents I now live in a beautiful little oak beamed cottage in a village just outside Milton Keynes ...
There's been a number of Combine Harvesters and Tractors trundling up and down the lane this past few weeks. I've got used to them now.
When I go to bed at night all I can hear through my bedroom window is the sound of the Ash tree rustling in the wind behind my cottage and, occasionally, a solitary owl hooting in the distance. When I wake in the morning, apart from an early tractor trundling up the lane, I hear nothing but birds. The view from my bedroom window is full of the trees and fields at the end of my garden.
The cottage was in such good condition when I moved in that it'll only need a freshen up coat of paint although my bedroom will need some horrendous wallpaper stripping at some point! I've decided to go for a neutral hessian colour and then add strong colours to each room using fabrics. Will make it a lot easier to change in future.
So Mum, Dad and I have a plan for improvements over the coming months though my real interest lies in the garden. It's about allotment size and apart from a huge shed at the end and a reasonable patio by the building itself, it's all laid to grass and is pretty bare.
That is going to change over the next 12 months. I'm going to plant it with a combination of edible and medicinal planting and apart from filling my freezer with homegrown produce, I'm going to start my own personal apothecary.
One side of the garden is always in shade due to the angle of the garden and the huge fence put up by my neighbours. The other side gets a lot of sunshine for most of the day, so I'm going to have to split my planting between shade loving leafy plants and sun-loving flowers. I will mix them all up though; I'm not into straight lines. Going to see if I can work in a little wildlife pond as well.
Running my own company, I'm immersed in technology every day and I feel that the creative side of me is losing out. I used to be a photographer in my spare time but now I'm in my new home, I'm feeling the call of Mother Nature and she's telling me to get some soil under my fingernails and start growing some herbs.
It's funny how life changes, isn't it? It's never interested me before but my grandparents were avid gardeners and my parents grow their own as well. I wonder if it's genetic? Am I just a 'late onset' gardener?
The most important part of this new chapter of my life is that I get to put all the crap of the last 18 months completely behind me. Yes, I was really ill last year and nearly died; yes, I had to fight for the very survival of my company and yes, I sacrificed everything I had to keep it going. But I'm still here aren't I? So is sblogit.com and I'm very proud of that.
Personally, I've researched, I've learned, I've understood, I've accepted and I've forgiven. I've built new ties with my family and now have a secure base to build my future from, knowing my folks have got my back.
I lie on my sofa with the french windows open. I can smell the faint aroma of manure that local farmers are spreading on the fields right now and I smile at the happy antics of two black cats rolling around on the patio in the sunshine.
When there's no heavy farm equipment trundling about, it's really quiet and peaceful here.
Love, light and logic ...
STEFFI LEWIS
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More about Steffi Lewis ...
Foodie, sci-fi nut, cat lover, brain aneurysm & cancer survivor, countryside dweller, SaaS entrepreneur, developer and networker.
Published my first website in 1993 for the Open University and am highly experienced with Windows Servers, SQL Server, HTML, Classic ASP, JavaScript, and CSS.
I've also worked as a professional photographer in Los Angeles, USA and been a vision mixer and producer for live television in my time.
I live in a village north of Milton Keynes with my two cats, Baggins and Gimley, and a large planted aquarium full of unruly tropical fish.
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