Finding Enough

Bluebells, seedlings and a difficult decision

findingenoughwombat

1st Jun 2026

It seems to be a very good year for bluebells

Although we took time out to complete our Finding Enough monthly financial review as usual at the start of May, I am horribly late in turning it into a post. I’ll save May’s musings for the next instalment (which will hopefully be less tardy) but sufficed to say, it’s been a busy spring in our little corner of the world – and its difficult to get motivated to write indoors when its sunny outside.

April is when the daffodils start to be overtaken by bluebells, and this year seems like an incredible year for them, with carpets of blue in places I’d never noticed them before. The bees must be having a busy time. It seemed like a very busy month for the humans too, but when I look back, I am not quite sure what we were doing, as the renovation didn’t move forwards much, and the visitors hadn’t arrived yet.

Spring in SW Scotland: Daffodils, hail storms and a red squirrel

findingenoughwombat

2 comments

22nd Apr 2026

The red squirrel we’ve been seeing in the garden for the last few months finally found the feeder

March saw the snowdrops give way to daffodils in the garden, and we are fortunate that a previous owner planted a LOT of them. I have no idea how many varieties, but there are quite a few, so the flowering period is spread over weeks. They are such cheerful flowers and they come up all along the track to our house to welcome us home. Some welcome spring weather allowed us to get on in the garden this month too, and the solar panels started earning their keep.

Snowdrops, frogspawn and a bittern, February update

findingenoughwombat

no comments

21st Mar 2026

Part of the amazing display of snowdrops in the garden in February

The birds are starting to sing, so they must be noticing the lighter evenings and snowdrops too. February brought an occasional glimpse of sunshine and slowly but surely, slightly lighter evenings. A bit of sunshine on your face suddenly makes you realise you’ve been feeling a bit flat. Maybe that’s normal for January, and it didn’t seem depressing at the time, but a hint of spring has definitely lifted my mood.

A new year, more decorating and a sheep invasion, January Update

findingenoughwombat

no comments

20th Feb 2026

One of the few highlights of long winter nights – glimpses of the aurora borealis (between the clouds!)

It was difficult to get motivated in January. After a chilly bright start to the year, short days were made to feel even shorter by seemingly endless cloud and rain. It didn’t help that the jobs that needed doing were not ones I was looking forward to tackling.

2025 Financial Journey: Financial Independence (FIRE) Success Story

findingenoughwombat

4 comments

6th Feb 2026

The biggest adventure of 2025 was spending a month in California – definitely a contrast from SW Scotland!

2025 definitely didn’t turn out as planned for a number of reasons, good and bad, but our freedom fund had a great year with no active tinkering whatsoever. One of my greatest fears when finally taking the plunge and quitting the 9-5 was large falls in the market in the first few years that we were relying on it for an income. Whilst we are probably not out of the danger zone yet, after 3 full years of early retirement (and not having a large side income from anywhere else), things are looking very healthy so far. While we were dealing with the ups and downs of life, the freedom fund finished 2025 with stellar gains on a year earlier.

Decorating, kitchen rebuilding and a first Christmas at home, December update

findingenoughwombat

2 comments

11th Jan 2026

Tired of plain emulsion, I got a bit creative in the dressing room / Christmas spare bedroom

Despite having moved into our cottage in SW Scotland in 2023, we hadn’t yet spent a Christmas here. Much to the disappointment of certain family members, we decided to have a quiet one at home this year. When an old school friend asked if she could come and stay for a few days while her kids were with her ex, it seemed a good excuse to keep things relaxed and simple. It also meant there was a little pressure to get a spare bedroom habitable and make the kitchen a bit more functional…….

A LOT of rain, and a horrendous train journey, November Update

findingenoughwombat

no comments

29th Dec 2025

One of many rainbows in November. This one was captured in Dorset on a very brief visit.

A lot of rain means no shortage of rainbows, and apart from a brief cold spell, there was a lot of rain in November! The update is very late this month, despite starting it on time. We seem to be juggling lots of minor things and I’d forgotten how much time walking a dog takes out of the day – especially when the daylight hours are so short at this time of year. Then there’s all the fun of the self assessment I have been putting off. The great news is that we finally managed to move back into the house towards the end of the month after the plastering was finally completed, dried and we could decorate. It was about time, as the novelty of sleeping in the shepherd’s hut in the garden had well and truly worn off – especially with all that rain and mud.

A trip to Transylvania and a new furry family member, October update

findingenoughwombat

no comments

10th Nov 2025

October started with a long anticipated trip and proceeded in stop start fashion when it came to completing the energy efficiency work. I am finally starting to catch my breath and feel a little more in control of what is going on around me. At the time of writing we are still sleeping in the shepherd’s hut in the garden, but we now have use of the kitchen and living room, albeit in slightly utilitarian fashion. As we completed the last of our planned travel, we welcomed a new furry family member.

Contractor chaos and a week in the Lake District, September update

findingenoughwombat

no comments

24th Oct 2025

The vans that would fit in the courtyard behind the house – the rest are nose to tail down the track.

The 1st September brought 6 vans full of 9 contractors to start work on our energy efficiency improvements. By day 2 we were up to 8 vans, and I have no idea how many people. The cacophony of SDS drills, impact drivers and slamming van doors was a bit overwhelming. You couldn’t go anywhere without getting in someone’s way, so I mainly hid out in the shepherd’s hut. Mr Wombat became a kind of default foreman, as although the individual trades were competent, the plumbers didn’t really collaborate with the electricians and the guys doing the insulation didn’t plan work with anyone else. Also, no one really seemed to grasp the implications of having a pump in a well feeding the house and therefore limiting the way pumps could be installed downstream if they removed the header tank as they originally planned. They did eventually concede that he probably knew what he was talking about, and there was less rework from that point on.

Visiting family and destroying our house some more, August Update

findingenoughwombat

1 comment

23rd Sep 2025

Some of this years competitors at the local agricultural show

A very tardy update this month, as September has turned out to be very eventful (in a good way), but more about that next month – or in a couple of weeks.

August started in fairly unremarkable fashion. I carried on with the cement stripping and re-pointing the gable end of the house, we spent a lot of time outside with the vegetable garden in full flow after a slow start to the year, and it was time for the local agricultural show again. This year I volunteered to help out on the beekeepers association stand, so I got in for free, wore a bee suit all day and talked to a lot of people about bees, but saw less of the rest of the show.