A new farm adventure

In late July we moved to Hof Woerme, in the Luenebergerheide, a beautiful region in northern Germany, just south of Hamburg.  We had been searching and waiting for three months for an apprenticeship position for Ulf in Biodynamic Farming. And on 1st August 2014 his two year apprenticeship officially began!

We really enjoyed our time living with Ulf's parents in Wehrendorf, but we knew that it was not forever.  We needed to find our own place here - home, work, friends, etc - that fit for us.

During our 'test week' in early July at Hof Woerme, we felt peace that this was the place for us.  All the little details were not clear, but we were sure this was right for us.

So we took the plunge and moved into a little 2nd storey apartment, with large south-facing windows in the lounge room, and a loft bedroom on top.  We share the bathroom with others living on our floor, but we have our own kitchen, and a little bedroom that will eventually be Nahlia's own!

 

 Collecting the eggs together... 

 Emerging from the forest.....  we went a-walking!

 Buried in the sandpit

 In the cow paddock (beef cattle).

 The beautiful clear stream

Nahlia drawing ferociously

 Trying to pat the pigs, who are always awaiting food!

 The new family of piglets.. 12 in all.

Letting the chickens out with Nahlia.  We do this every morning at 9am together.

My egg-collecting buddy enjoying some homemade choc-spread on her bread.  We collect the eggs together every morning at 11am; Ulf collects them again at 4pm.

Ulf sorting the eggs, ready for packing and later delivery to customers.

 Saying hello to the cows and trying to find the newborn calf

 Heide.... the beautiful little shrub that covers the hillsides in large open areas, blooms every August.

We love our new home in the 'Heide'!  It's very different to what we've known before, but we're adjusting to our new family routine and rhythm, different food, new people, new tasks, lots of new info, ... with lots of little precious family moments splashed in between. 

We don't have the internet at home, so we check our emails whenever we visit Ulf's parents in Wehrendorf.  Ulf's theory schooling should start in the next week or two, which means one whole day per week at a school in Lueneberg.  At the farm he learns all the practical aspects, but he still needs to learn theory and sit exams to complete his apprenticeship and get his 'piece of paper' at the end.  Ulf works from 6am to 6pm every day, with a decent break for breakfast and lunch.  We eat all our meals together - breakfast and lunch with the other farm workers and dinner we eat alone in our apartment.  I work a bit in the morning, and a little in the afternoon, not full days, so I have time for Nahlia and housework and everything else...  All our food is provided for.  Ulf receives a wage and I work for my food and accommodation. 

Nahlia has started to make new friends, but most of them so far have only been at the farm on holidays, which means they go away again... Thankfully we have found a couple of children nearby who live here.  Nahlia loves running and climbing; painting; cutting and pasting; playing 'baby'; helping Mummy cook in the kitchen; learning to cut fruit with a knife; washing up; playing in the sandpit; sultanas; stealing plums from the Farm shop; visiting the baby chickens and ducks; patting the goats and Nancy the horse; eating noodles with her hands; learning German; hanging off door handles; and doing things all by herself - "I'll do it, I'll do it."  She also is not wanting to take day naps anymore and has graduated from Mummy's milk bar.

There is much to do on the farm and it's easy to get swept away in the hustle and bustle of it all.  But I've found much reassurance, encouragement and peace from one dear family who live next door.  I am so thankful for them.  Christine is lovely and is always willing to watch Nahlia for a little while if she's not busy, which gives me a much-needed break.  It's also helpful to have someone with similar values around, so that I can keep things in perspective and not feel pressured by the work happening around me.  I am gradually finding my oasis in the midst of work and a business place which is now our home.

Ulf really enjoys his work.  He works long hours; his days are very full, but it doesn't drain him internally.  He is learning a lot in a short space of time and is loving it.  It just makes sense to give one's strength, time and effort to such things.  The physical exertion has immediate, tangible rewards.... pigs get fat, food is made from them, we eat well..... man works with the land, with nature, to produce a harvest, food is made, we eat well .... and whatever we don't eat returns to the animals or the land.  We are nurtured and the animals and the land are nurtured as well.  We can't imagine anything better to give our strength to.  It is satisfying work.

10 years...

30th June 2014 saw us celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary!!  We went away for the weekend, without our little bundle of joy for the first time.... that was lovely!

Looking to the horizon..... waiting for the next chapter to begin...

Starting to feel at home...

 Climbing cousin Elisabeth's chair... hmmm..

 One of the last days of our family Easter time.

 ANZAC biscuits, German style - Zuckerruebensirup instead of golden syrup, which gives a malty flavour.

 Walking in the forest.

 Making playdough worms and other creations.

 A 'new' doona cover and pillow case set for Nahlia, made out of an old single bed doona cover.

 Green Soup - spinach, peas and smoked ham.  Nahlia didn't like it as she thought it was green smoothie, but naturally it tasted nothing like that!

 Playing horsey on the trampoline.

Our latest batch of sauerkraut - one red cabbage and three white.  I'm hoping for pink-kraut, but it looks more like it will become purple-kraut!

 The pumpkins are sprouting!!  I planted out a mix of three Australian varieties - Jap (Japora), Queensland Blue, and a mysterious unknown one.  I'm excited to see how productive they will be here, given the limited growing months.

 Playing 'cubby house'.

 Reading 'Benjamin Blumchen' with Oma.

And so life goes on....  

When we arrived we had lots of ideas in our heads, and hearts, about what we wanted to do here/ how we wanted to live / what kind of job Ulf wanted to do, etc.  But as we started 'knocking on the doors' that would give us those dreams, we found door after door closed solid.  Ulf wanted to become a Waldorf teacher, but it doesn't seem possible for Ulf to study anything here full-time.  He's above the age-limit for financial assistance while studying, and we wouldn't be able to live without it.  If he worked full-time for a year or two to save the money needed to study, it would take that much longer to complete his study and start working as a teacher.   So now he's looking in other directions, such as an apprenticeship, which would give us an income to live on while he learned a trade.

In the meantime, Ulf has been looking for a job locally to provide for us until he begins whatever it is he decides to begin.  Ha ha.  But again, nothing has opened up for him yet.  He's also been using his time in his parent's garden, helping his father with whatever needs doing, repairing little bits and pieces around the house, being a Dad, helping with the care of his grandparents a little, and helping in the neighbours garden as well.

We have managed to work our way through our mountain of paperwork, which I mentioned previously.  All we have left to do is apply for my visa.  Yee-ha!

Nahlia has been having fun making new friends - last week we visited Ulf's cousin and their three girls, we met a family with two boys and a girl, and next week we'll start going to a Mother's Group.  She's also enjoying seeing her cousin Elisabeth and her baby sister Linn almost every week.  Nahlia loves going shopping with Oma (without Mummy!), and she's starting to repeat German words after Oma.  She also has three out of four of the her last set of baby molars through!  Yay!  Only one to go!

As for me, I'm finally finding my feet again; with my kitchen and household tasks in order, time for a little sewing, gardening a bit, and now starting to knit cotton dish cloths as well... don't worry, I'm not planning to knit myself a jumper any time soon!  I went to Tabita last week to help sort secondhand clothes which are shipped overseas to poor countries and missionaries working there.  It was nice to get out of the house and focus on something else for a while.  I'm also cooking for the whole family now and then - 6 adult plus Nahlia - which is a big help to Ulf's mother.

Ulf and I had our first date alone yesterday since Nahlia was about 9 months old.  We went to a cafe at an old castle - THAT was a lovely treat!

And for mother's day, I slept in while Ulf helped Nahlia paint me a card, and make me pancakes for breakfast! Yum.  :-)

"Begin difficult things while they are easy, do great things when they are small.  The difficult things of the world must once have been easy, the great things must have once been small.  A thousand mile journey begins with one step." - Lao Tsu.

Our first German Easter

 Robin and Lanis (Nahlia's cousins), practicing throwing their boomerangs.

 Lanis on a go-cart, while Nahlia gets out of the way!

 Robin, Lanis, and Oma.

 Another trip to the zoo - oh yes!  And this time she got the royal treatment he he!

 A polar bear - brown bear cross.... poor thing looked bored in there.  :(

 Nahlia loves 'brellas' :)

...and shopping!

 Making shapes with 'zopf' dough (plaited bread).

 And our creations for breakfast the next morning :)

 Nahlia's first Easter egg hunt!!

 First she found the real eggs....

 Then we went looking for the chocolate eggs .... she caught on fast!  The first shiny wrapped chocolate egg that we found, she said was a beetle... which is fair enough because no-one would expect to find chocolate under shiny green foil lying in the grass.

And that was Easter.... a very busy week and a half with Ulf's oldest brother Bjoern and his family and his youngest brother Gunnar, as well as the three of us and his parents, all in the one house!  On Easter Sunday Emma nicked off after the Easter egg hunt and got a few bargains at a local flea market.  Nahlia loved having her cousins around and still talks about them now....   For now we're happily enjoying a quiet household, once again.

Nahlia's 2nd Birthday!!

 Unwrapping her present.... the fabric butterfly 'wrapping paper' later became her birthday dress! :)

 A special treat - Nahlia's been asking for strawberries a lot lately, so we had strawberries and creme fraiche in the park for her.  (Strawberries are acidic, so we normally avoid them as they cause reflux for Nahlia.)

 Climbing climbing climbing.... having fun at the playground...

 Her birthday party!!  With her cousin Elisabeth, and a new friend Kawika.... and their parents of course.

 Nahlia received a family annual pass to the local zoo, so we had a fun day out with the animals!

Adding something beautiful to our 'family canvas', a birthday tradition.