On the move

After seven years in Spain we are returning to Ireland, we always thought we would and had in fact planed to put our house on the market next year, however, through chance, a helper who knew people who were wanting to move to Galicia things have moved forward somewhat. Having had no plans for a move this year, our pets, nine cats and three dogs did not have their pet passports so we have had to start from scratch,they will be able to move the middle of July, in the meantime we just have to be patient waiting for the day that we can go. On the whole we have enjoyed our stay in Spain but it is an alien country, the language has always been a problem, first Catalan and now Gallego and the way of life is very different from either the UK or Ireland'
So, what will we be doing in the future? Well being selfsufficient is our way of life so nothing will change there, renovation? Never again, it is quicker and cheaper to build from scratch. We have learnt a few things living in Spain, never take water or electricity for granted, and you can never have enough insulation.
So what are we moving to? A typical Irish country cottage with two acres of land, we have learnt here that it is quite possible to grow all you need on very little land, one acre will be used for planting a woodland for coppicing, the other acre will be for the veg, fruit,poultry and rabbits.The cottage is in an area that we knew as it was on our delivery round and we have friends and an organic net work to work with close by.
In the meantime we will try to help the new owners of this house with the animals and give them guidance on growing their own food, and hope that they learn to enjoy it as we have.