Sardinia or Blighty? That was the choice my husband and I had to come to after the Covid Pandemic followed quickly on the heels of Brexit.
We had moved to Sardinia in 2009 and been living happily there enjoying the beauty of the island and the blue skies. After 12 years of living there we had created a network of wonderful friends and enjoyed a successful lifestyle running a Yurt Glamping site and running Yoga and Meditation Retreats. We even finally tied the knot while we were there.
Then Brexit happened and with it came more paperwork, more obstacles to such simple things as just sending birthday and Christmas presents. Then came along Covid which pretty much put a hold on all our lives, and tourism came to a virtual standstill and family couldn’t visit anymore.
So to cut a long story a lot shorter, after 18 months of not seeing grandchildren and family we decided to take an offer we had received for the Yurt Retreat and move back to the Uk.
Some people think we are mad to come back to the UK weather, but honestly we have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of blue skies and good weather we have enjoyed since being back. Instead of heat baked ground and wilting plants, we now have a green garden again. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely loved our time out in Sardinia, the people are so kind and generous, the island is just full to the brim of wild, untamed natural beauty. We regret nothing! It was a wonderful period of our lives. But I for one, don’t regret coming back home either.
After 12 years away, working for yourself, what do you do when you get back though? Easy choice for my husband, he is totally going to enjoy his well earned retirement. I on the other hand have a few years before I get my pension! What to do? Go and work in an office job…rejoin the rat race? Well, that was a big “hell, no!” from me. So after finding where to live, finding our new UK home and moving in, it is now time to launch my new project.
This Christmas, I made some of my family some vegan chocolates. I posted them on social media as I was pretty pleased with the results. And the likes and comments went mad! There were so many people saying such wonderful things and encouraging me to make them to sell. The seed was sown and Ahimsa Handmade Gifts will be launched on January 22 2022.
I really would like to create gifts around the theme of Ahimsa, the yogic principle of non-violence. I love to paint too, so along with the vegan sweet treats, I will also be hand painting glass and themed gifts for those that share my passion for compassion. I will be launching my Etsy shop soon and will be continue to blog about my story, share meditations and other content with my subscribers.
I hope you like what you see and please stay connected!
Nonna Ahimsa 