How has it already been a month?
Honestly, I don’t know where it’s gone.
It feels like we were unloading the van five minutes ago, but at the same time, I can’t really remember living anywhere else.
Isn’t that strange?
I still catch myself looking out of the window and smiling.
Not because anything exciting is happening.
Just because this is our view now.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
Every day, the hills look different. Some mornings they’re bright green, other days they’re hidden behind mist, and every evening the light seems to change them all over again.
I know people say you stop noticing things after a while.
I really hope I don’t.
One thing I have got used to is the sounds.
Or maybe I should say… the lack of them.
There’s no traffic.
No constant background noise. No neighbours rowing.
Instead, it’s sheep, cows, swallows flying overhead, and owls once it gets dark.
Now and again, an RAF jet flies over and disappears as quickly as it came.
Sometimes the farmer is out ploughing the field.
It’s funny how even that feels normal now.
The loudest noise most days is the kids in the paddling pool, the gentle thud of a football, or the squeak of a bike.
And I wouldn’t change that for the world.
I don’t think I realised quite how much I wanted a garden until we had one.
Not for gardening.
Let’s be honest, I’m not suddenly growing prize-winning roses.
Just for living.
For sitting outside with a coffee.
For eating dinner in the sunshine.
For watching the dogs mooch around while the kids play.
For hanging out the washing.
It sounds so ordinary when I write it down.
But that’s exactly what makes it special.
Life feels slower.
In the best possible way.
The house still doesn’t quite feel real.
I still walk downstairs in the morning and think, I love this house.
I walk into the kitchen and think, I love this house.
Every single room.
I know that probably sounds ridiculous.
It’s just a house, isn’t it?
Except it isn’t.
Not really.
It’s the place we have been dreaming about for years.
The place we hoped we would end up one day.
And somehow, we’re actually here.
We’ve been really lucky with our neighbours too.
We have had more than our fair share of nightmare neighbours.
Noisy neighbours.
People who never speak.
We’ve had the complete opposite.
Everyone has been so friendly.
People wave.
They stop for a chat.
We all moved in on the same day.
We are all rapidly becoming friends.
One of my favourite days this month was the Llanrwst Rural Show.
I’d never been before and absolutely loved it.
It wasn’t flashy.
It didn’t need to be.
It was just full of local people, animals, food, crafts, and that lovely community feeling that seems harder to find these days.
It was one of those days where nobody seemed to be in a rush.
I came home thinking, this is exactly why we moved here.
And then there’s the weather.
I know…
Talking about the weather is the most British thing I could possibly do.
But it’s been gorgeous.
The sunshine has made everything feel even more magical.
Long evenings.
Blue skies.
The doors open.
Fresh air blowing through the house.
It’s the sort of summer I hoped we’d have here.
A month ago, this was just a house.
Now it’s home.
Not because everything is done.
There is still plenty we need to do.
But because it feels like us.
It feels peaceful.
It feels safe.
It feels like we’ve found where we’re supposed to be.
And honestly…
I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.
