It seems hard to believe, but just over six months into the smallholding’s eco-makeover, the excellent builders had stuck to both the timetable and the budget and we were ready to move in.

So after lots of internal finishing in September, and a disappointing lack of readily available Triple A rated energy efficient appliances, we finally booked the removal van for the start of October, worried only by the alarming amount of stuff we had to pack up.

Now safely in, we are starting to work through the inevitably long list of snagging issues, top of which on day one was the alarmingly absent manhole for the bathroom sewer!

There are of course also some major items still to work through too. The beautiful Woodburning stove was fitted a few days after we moved in, along with installation of the recycled kitchen (more on which another day). But mostly now our attention is turning to the outside landscaping required, which includes a SUDs drive. So watch this space.

And just maybe, by early next year, our Good Life in the garden really can begin!