Happy daze

I have had a remarkable 48 hrs. First and most importantly - I have a home. I arrived to find a lovely note from my new flattie, a little bunch of flowers in my room and a very warm and friendly "goldfish" (ginger cat, who was happily lounging on my bed when I arrived). The cottage is small but sweet and Margaretha has lots of flowers and plants around. It's not at all flash but genuinely cosy with very lovely arty touches. My room will be a wonderful place to write and the house and the neighbourhood I live in mostly smells of roses and gypsophila with a mixture of truely rustic and highly cultivated gardens. The smells remind me of holidays in Central Otago and nana's house (which always smelt of some flower or another). It has also been incredibly warm here (around 23 but really humid).

The B&B I stayed in was full of people transitioning or changing their lives - or at least those were the ones I met. Everyone I chatted to was optimistic, full of enthusiasm for the day and all genuinely interested in each others success. I met a woman from NY who has spent years in marketing/sales/advertising and has come to SC to see if she wants to stay. Like me she has been on the move for several months and also doesn't want to go back to her corporate life. It's very inspiring to meet other people who have also stepped outside their comfort zone to discover new things. Even as people told their stories no one needed nor wanted to dwell on anything other that the optimism of their choices..........there's a book in there! Everyone was very enthusiastic about my book and I am going to start a data base of people (okay so I have two names) and invite them on the journey with me.........hopefully they will also want to read the book. I think too I will start a separate blog that is simply about the book.

The other big marker of the day is that we have sold all the houses. I have such a sense of relief. Managing things from afar and having to ask friends/family to do most of the leg work for me isn't ideal. Still I can't believe how my life has changed in the last 9 months and that I have arrived at this point; full of hope, optimism, excitment and possibility.