I like living here. I look out the window and see rolling hills and green grass. There is a forest and in the mornings the fog creeps along and makes everything look romantic. We can see Geeveston in the valley, and at night the lights sparkle like a fairy town.

My washing takes ages to dry. The ground, where the previous owners cut the site for their home, is always muddy at this time of year. There is wallaby poo everywhere. When there is a frost, all the poo freezes.

The cabin is small. Sometimes I go crazy in its smallness. There are three rooms: bathroom/laundry, kids’ room and the main room, where we have the kitchen, table and our bed. And lots of shelving. Sometimes I go crazy and sometimes I just love this cosy cabin. When the fire is on and we all sit on the bed to watch a film, or when the children are asleep and I am crocheting, it is cosy. I drink my tea and listen to cows mooing. It feels perfect.

But sometimes I DO go crazy. It is times like that when I walk up to the house site and scream at the world. I walk back down to the cabin, ignoring the bus (which I loathe, but for which I am grateful because it stores lots of stuff) and clean up.

Monte does everything he can to make me happy. Apart from coffees every morning, and lighting the fire, he works on the cabin to make our stay here more pleasant. He built shelves at my instruction, and has made the kids’ room much nicer, with a big window. He even promises more renovations whilst I am away next month.

So, you see, it sometimes sucks living in this cabin, but mostly it is wonderful. We have astonished ourselves with what we can do without. I have astonished myself with what I can cope with. Monte has made me proud; he is the best handyman I’ve ever known. He can do everything!

I think our stay in this cabin will be ok. Winter might be testing, but soon we will have a new house that will feel like a castle (How ’bout the serenity) compared to this, with its vast living space and huge kitchen and 5 bedrooms. What will we do with the space? I don’t know. But I can’t wait to find out!

Georgia and d’Art in the foreground, with the cabin in the centre