downshiftme.com Podcast Feed: Recent Episodes
Matt and AJ
www.downshiftme.com - the website of Matt and AJ and the story of our change from city life in Leeds, UK to a simpler country life in Nova Scotia, Canada. Hopefully there will also be something for those who also wish to downshift for a simpler more natural lifestyle. This is the podcast only feed.
This will be our last post to downshiftme.com.2012 has been an amazing year and it in many ways draws the final curtain to the journey that this website describes.The next act (if I continue the metaphor) has begun but will play out with no audience.Last week Adrian and I became Canadian citizens. In June on our 21st anniversary Adrian and I got married in our vineyard at the back of the house. This was our full legal equality marriage to tidy up any loose ends there may have been due to the lack of clarity about the status of our Civil Partnership from the UK in Canada.These in themselves would be good reasons to remember 2012 as quite the year. However, for us these really are secondary to the major thing that happened this year. In August, we became Dads.After a couple of years of hard work, training, being assessed, being checked medically and legally we finally became the adoptive parents of two lovely boys.To respect and protect their privacy we will be taking down this site in the next few months. I do not want to talk about ages or names but want to share with you this picture below.Last Sunday it was windy and we flew kites. Here the boys are running around joyfully in our back garden with the kite, Lotte running along behind. Although we didn't know it when we started the journey to move to Canada, these boys have completed what we set out to do.
Sometimes I feel like the luckiest man alive.Thank you for sharing this journey with us – your support and messages have meant a lot. A number of you have become real life friends as you completed a similar journey.Final words – please do not waste the short time we have on earth – do what you want to do – if you are not happy – change it. However, do LOTS of research and make sure you are running tosomething not away from something.If you are working at a job you hate to buy sh#t you don't need (the Fight Club quote that summed up this journey for us at the beginning) – change it.Much Love,Matt and AJxxx
Just a quick update to let you know we are still doing ok and to answer some questions which Louise asked us by email.
How long has it been since you relocated?
Has it met your expectations?
What would you do differently if you were just now starting to plan your move?
What was the biggest disappointment?
What has been the best reward?
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
Recorded outside so apologies for the noises when the wind got up.
Chicken update
duck – lame duck
chicks appearing – natural rearing with their mothers/surrogates
LotteLotte
Produce update - 3rd summer
- tomatoes
- garlic
- onions
- potatoes
- carrots
- peppers
- beans
- peas
- zucchini (courgette)
- berries
- grape vines
- water tank
Some of the harvest
AJ visit to England
Work on house
Mortgage (short), good interest rates, buffer against future disasters
Envirofoam – basement insulation
Ecowater – water softener
New windows (energystar rated)
Non-house things things (which will not add value to it) too
New sofas and other furniture
2 new netbooks after various laptop disasters
Future works
New roof, skylights, verandah restoration, kitchen door, carpet, flooring, bathrooms, closets, insulation and dry walling. Work on wiring happening in next few weeks. But probably not solar panels for now.
Bad things AJ – his father's death
Matt – the economy
Good things
AJ – Lotte and turning 40
Matt – Skype, white woodwork, clean water, lots of produce, rainwater harvesting.