Just Humans Being...

We have realised that although we love the idea of being minimalists, we doubt it will ever happen. Living simply is not the same...even though we only ever buy stuff we absolutely need, have far fewer things than we did 10 years ago and have readily adapted to living with less.  Originally, this idea grew from a desire to reduce our "carbon footprint" - to live sustainably and ethically. We've been on an intentional and frugal path since the 90s. Now here we are - living in the smallest of homes; the tiny home dream from so many years ago has become reality.   It suits the way we are living right now as we only ever seem to be here for a couple of weeks at a time before heading off again on another pet sit.  Minimalism requires discipline which is one trait neither of us really possesses. Yes, we have a business - we are responsible and reliable, but we also embrace being idle. We can both have moments of wanting to have a neat and tidy space, but it doesn't really ...

We are feeling a little discombobulated at the moment - going from one pet sit to another. We took a long assignment in Surrey over Christmas and it catapulted us into this whole new world of noise. The constant hum of traffic from the M25 and M3, the planes continually flying to and from Heathrow, the busyness everywhere...so many people and so many dogs. There are no quiet retreats, unless you get lucky in the Surrey Hills maybe on a wet day in January. It was a shock to the system and we both felt it. The energy of the place just doesn't feel good. Woodland car parks are dogging hangouts and each time we thought we'd found a place off the beaten track - it would soon dawn on us that the same guys are turning up.  The young pooch we were with also struggled when walks were busy, so we were constantly trying to find nice places to visit. On our last day we ventured into the Surrey Hills on a recommendation and discovered the Albury Estate and it was perfect for all of us. Tree...