Celebrating Three Years of Farm Life

🎉Happy 3 Year Anniversary house! Three Years of Farm Life!

🥂Today 3 years ago we moved to the farm. The farm and house were a crap hole. Everyone shook their heads and tried to be positive. I could literally see the shock in their eyes when they saw how awful the house was. It’s a well-known fact my mother stayed as long as it took to eat a chicken roll on her first visit. Then she ran like the clappers. It seems this post has become a tradition since moving to the farm. And I’m so happy to say we’re celebrating three years of farm life this week. It’s been an exhausting, exhilarating and wonderful time of our lives.

🥂BUT we saw the potential (and the need for a bottomless pit of money or tree growing notes).

🍻We survived rats eating our shoes, possums falling through the ceiling, no heating and a stove so far on a lean I had to hold the pot on so it wouldn’t fall off while cooking. The floor had holes and there was a plastic shower cubicle I refused to clean. When it rained there was a swimming pool in the hall. Oh, and let’s not forget the chipboard path where the verandah should have been.

🍹We had a room filled with rubbish and poo that became the pantry, a living room with 7 doors and a spiral staircase that needed a bomb to remove it. (The wardrobes are still trapped in the attic). The previous owners left so much rubbish!!! It would have taken thousands to remove it. In the end, we took some of the junk to the tip and burnt the rest in a ceremonial bonfire.

So here is how the farm changed in the last year. . .

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Farm Life in 2020: The House

I think it’s safe to say farm life in 2020 was like no other. Okay, life was pretty manic for the world, in general, and continues to be so. Mr GGF was stuck in Western Australia because of COVID so I honed my carpentry skills. I did a makeover of one of the attic rooms. The attic is still not finished. We have had so many projects outdoors. It is very cosy though and I love my office.

The outdoor area did not have a table for quite a while. I managed to snag a bargain on Gumtree and refurbished it. The table is my favourite outdoor project. I also really enjoyed making ruffled pillowcases for our Spring bedroom refresh. I’ve gone a bit crazy sewing pillow and cushion covers in the last year. But I find them to be such a quick way to change how a room looks. It is cost-effective to make them myself. All that sewing reignited my love of the craft. (I got back into sewing clothes in the January holiday. I used to love it and have found that passion again)

Hands down, the painted floors are what made the biggest impact in the interior of the farmhouse. Painted floors are controversial. I got quite a lot of feedback over my decision to paint the floors. But I do not regret it. The look is fresh and the upkeep easier than when the floor was dark. I’m currently finishing the floor in the walk in robe and then plan to paint the hall too.

Above are pictures of some of my favourite indoor projects this year. The one that made the most impact (and was the riskiest) was painting the floors white. I love this look and would do it again in a heartbeat.

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The Garden in 2020

Things did not change much outdoors during winter last year. The garden is Gavin’s love and I did nothing other than a bit of weeding. However, when he arrived home at the end of September and decided not to go back to work EVER, the garden took on a new life. It’s really shining now.

After Gavin came home, we revamped the vegetable garden by introducing raised beds. Recycled water tanks were cut to create the beds outside the kitchen window. We reused old timber from our roof battens to make fencing. We added more plants to the ornamental garden bed and completed the post and rail fencing around the perimeter of the garden, constructed a compost bin and added higher fencing to the chicken coop area. There was a lot of YouTube inspiration! The trellis and fence we made from old mesh we found under the trees in the paddock is my part of the garden now. It’s functional, rustic and beautiful.

Of course, our animal farm increased this year, too. Daphne and Lily the goats came to live with us. Scarlett and Maggie gave birth to Stan and Ruby. And soon, our little lamb Terry is going to be a dad!

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Farm Life In the Kitchen

Things have certainly changed a lot in the kitchen this year. And I don’t mean decor-wise. I’ve started to cook and enjoy it! I know a lot of people went sourdough crazy during the lockdown. For us, staying at home offered the chance to begin eating more simply and from our garden. I began baking more too. I’m sure my grandmothers would be proud of my chutney and scones. I know they’d love the apricot jam I made this season. I can honestly say I never thought I’d be trying my hand at foraging and using elderflowers to infuse gin. Farm life has changed that. Pickling and preserving may be a fad, but I don’t think they are. My feeling is, I’ll only keep at it getting better with every try and discovering new ways to eat the food we grow.