Happiness is an elusive emotion, what society says should make us happy....status, money, sought-after possessions..... often produce a short-lived emotional high before our greedy inner drive spurs us on to crave ever more dazzling ways to sate that gnawing feeling of unfulfillment or under achievement.  That's why I prefer to seek contentment rather than 'happiness' as it signifies a deep satisfaction with where you are and what you have in life at the present time.


So, here we are in Cornwall just as we've wanted to be for some time and we can't quite believe our luck.  We're living off one very modest income, we don't own our house, we have an dunger of a car (for clarification: dunger = Kiwi for an old decrepit car) and don't know anyone within a 30 mile radius, but it's quite simply awesome.


Never mind high flying champagne lifestyles filled with glamour, been there done that, got the hangovers and a wardrobe full of too high shoes....these days what really makes me delirious with excitement is having a brand new vacuum cleaner that actually works and a £19 sewing machine that I'm not licensed to drive yet.


All those things that I have been putting off for years because the circumstances weren't right and we didn't have a space of our own, now have a pretty good chance of being done.  Since moving in 2 weeks ago, I've cooked and baked like never before purely because the kitchen is huge and all ours to use and on the same floor as our living area, I'm sure the novelty will wear off but I'm getting my domestic goddess points stacked up in the mean time.


Baking Beer Bread


 

My latent mid 30's gardening gene has also kicked in and without a clue what I'm doing, I've dug up a hideous alpine rockery type arrangement and established a herb garden in the course of a day; which like the old ballad, contains 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'....and Basil and Mint.  These have been circled in fire ashes as a natural slug repellant, so I'm keeping a close eye to make sure it works.  Both my parents are outstanding gardeners, so I reckon I should have inherited some sort of super-natural green fingers but thus far in my life I have struggled to keep potplants alive, but then perhaps these powers increase in intensity the closer you get to 40 so I'll expect some pretty awesome results in the next few years.  My next plan is to create a section of aromatic plants such as Lavender, Lemon Balm, Jasmine and whatever else I can find at the garden centre although my timing's probably off on this one.

Herb Garden


Aside from this, I've started my long intended decoupage project which is to be the first of many depending on how I get on, so far I've managed to navigate the hardware store unaided and purchase the right sandpaper and spent a sunny afternoon outside banishing the ugly varnish with the assistance of the Squigglet who thought it looked like a fun activity, we both got covered in dust.  Io is a little wary as I have been eyeing up every piece of wooden furniture we own as prospective decoupage fodder and I think he has visions of patterned madness all over the house, he might not be far off the mark but I'll try to contain myself, a little.  It will take me weeks if not months to decide on and actually commit to purchasing some fabric or paper to use for this, so don't hold your breath for the finished product, it's a labour of love.


In between all this house and garden foolery we've been exploring the county at every opportunity and I know without a doubt we have a found home.  Somewhere that as slightly nomadic adults, we have been searching for a long while but nowhere seemed to quite fit the bill.  Every new village or seaside town I explore is more quaint and beautiful than the next, I don't think I'll ever get tired of sitting on an old stone quay lulled by the musical lapping of waves and fresh with salty breeze.

Mevagissey harbour boats

Also, the ice cream is amazing! I may have mentioned that in my previous post and it's not as if I eat the stuff that often but who could resist a cone of ginger and dark chocolate on a warm summers day?  Ditto for the seafood, which stands to reason as fishing was once the mainstay of the food industry down here and still plays a signficant role in many coastal communities. Fresh crab seems to be on the menu everywhere at the moment and peering over the harbour wall and along the beaches there seems to be enough of them to cater for demand.

Lunch at Porthtowan



Our village is about 2 miles from the famed Eden Project so I'm viewing that as our extended playground, especially when they've got a year-round calendar of events for families with 'The Lorax' themed activities, Den Building, live music and No Fit State circus all on this summer.  Annual membership tickets cost the same as day passes so it makes sense to go as often as you like, even just to pass the time in their scrummy cafe's or one of the biomes. Also nearby is the Pinetum Gardens, which have beautifully maintained woodland and themed gardens, we stopped by today and discovered a kids play day was in full swing with craft making, games and an ingenious makeshift 'water-play' area comprising a series of paddling pools and half pipes. Squigglet was in heaven.


Our plan is to visit a new beach/village every weekend so I'll let you know what we discover and if we become surfing addicts in the process, although I think given my complete lack of coordination, I may stick to boogie boarding or sea kayaking - easier to manoeuvre and less risk of plowing into innocent swimmers.


So am I content? Absolutely.  Will this burst of productivity and satisfaction last?  I certainly hope so. We've had a tough time getting here, but here we are, at last.