Moving

Moving! Seriously is there anything worse? If you missed the facebook and instagram updates I’ll bring you up to speed – we moved! It was a bittersweet move we adored our unit – its proximity to the beach (we are talking 700m walk here), the abundance of natural light, the convenience to Darby St (Newcastle’s cafe strip essentially) and the easy stroll from the foreshore after nights out. Not to mention I could walk/ride to all but my swim triathlon training sessions. However, the laundry was separate and downstairs, there was no garage, it was noisy as and even my lady’s 2 year old Godson noticed the ‘hill’s’ throughout the unit. The cruncher for moving however came as part of our find-a-family assessment – they wouldn’t recommend us to take a sibling group as they felt it was too small (It was a 3 bedroom unit I should add) so we started looking. 2 months! That is how long it took for us to get a new place – it was stressful and frustrating but eventually we found and were approved for a new place only 5km away. So we started packing up. In those last days at the old place I managed to snap this picture of my 2 favourite people before closing the door on yet another home in our nearly 6 years together (we have moved 6 times now)!

The move took weeks. Yes, WEEKS! And if it wasn’t for the help of our awesome friends and family I have no idea how we would have got it done. They were there in the rain, the heat and when suffering their own loss. They carried things, lent us things and fixed things. They made sure we ate and helped pack and unpack boxes after boxes. They even stored things for us and got us the boxes in the first instance. They were in one word AWESOME! Even the 2 little people helped out – one pillowcase at a time. And through all the moving my lady worked 10 straight shifts, completed 2 uni assignments and packed, unpacked and cleaned like a crazy lady! She is definitely awesome too! So what does the new place have – 3 bedrooms plus a sewing room (I’m super excited about this) a garage and a backyard plus the usual house stuff. There is no neighbours down stairs and no gym across the road. We can walk to the shops and it is closer to the lady’s work. It is very much a home and we adore it and hope we can stay put for awhile. It has been approved by Barnardos (they had to look beyond the boxes lol) for sibling groups (though we as carers have not since we don’t have at least 5 figures in savings – if we did would we be renting?).

 

Ok moving on. Before I share a couple of phone snapped pics of our move I have to show you the kitchen in our new place.

Nice and bright in the afternoon sun, old school for sure with lovely slate tiles but with 2 definite quirks – see that blank space to the right? Well apparently that is where the fridge goes. Seriously whose fridge only comes up to their shoulder? Needless to say our fridge had to go somewhere else to live. Lucky for us this is only one side of the kitchen (it’s huge) and fridge is against the wall that is behind me in this photo. I’m thinking a chest freezer to fill the space hmmmm. Second quirk – the height of the bench tops. They are low, way low. If you look closely at the stove you can see the height difference. Crazy huh? I can report you do actually get use to the lower bench tops, though washing up is a dead set pain – literally!!! Ok. Here we go random snaps of the move! More exciting posts to come soon I promise!

 

Time

Time is funny thing. It can feel like it moves oh so very slow at times and other times you blink and a new day is upon you. In just a moment it can stand still and a moment later change you forever. It heals wounds and makes memories. It is always moving and never stops, even if you want it to. It defines your first and last breath and ages you before you know it. It is a constant in everyone and everything’s lives. To some it seems meaningless but to others they would do anything to stop it, go back or fast forward through it. Time is so many things but ultimately it is nothing more than a measuring tool. Something that defines how long or short something or someone is here or there or everywhere. So why talk about time? 4month, 13 days. That is how long it has being since I posted here. I have wanted to, I really have. There has been so much I have wanted to share with you, teach you and experience with you. But things have got in the way. There is always a way to use time more wisely I know, but I didn’t have it in me. For 4 months I didn’t want to add something else to the day, when there was just days of wanting to get by and nothing more. I know this makes it sound like 4 months of sadness, but it hasn’t been. It has been awesome at times, plenty to celebrate and rejoice in, but there was sadness, much sadness.

 

In this post I mentioned a tiny little fighter. She was so strong and fought so hard but at 3 months her little body grew tired and she never got to go home. She was a gorgeous and cheeky little one who has left a massive footprint on this Earth. These were the hardest and some of the most beautiful days I have ever been part of. There were tears and hints of laughter, there was reflection and reminders of how fragile we really are. But most of all there was support. We supported each other and our friends and held out our hands for her parents. Parents who will never stop grieving and know all to well how time does not discriminate.

 

There were happier times though. My lady secured another ghost writing gig (I will reveal about the 1st ghost writing gig real soon I promise), which came with an all expenses paid trip to Bendigo, VIC. I wasn’t keen on being left behind so I tagged along as I really wanted to go to the Bendigo Woollen Mills. I have only been once before but this is like yarn Mecca! So worth the trip. While she spent her days interviewing and writing I took in the town – the architecture, the parks and of course the Mills (no pic sorry). 

 

   

Another big time consumer was I participated in my 1st, 2nd and 3rd triathlons and joined an awesome local training group. Doing a triathlon was always something on my bucket list but I never felt I had the “body” for it. Now I have never really suffered from body image issues but having only seen women running along in swimmers competing in triathlons I always thought “I would knock myself out within 5 metres of running in just swimmers”. But upon doing more research sports bra under swimmers is the done thing so when my friend asked if I would compete in one I was quick to jump at the chance. Result? I’m hooked! These are the pics from my last triathlon, the first the lady was able to attend. She wasn’t too pleased about the 5am wake up but she took awesome pics – she even spotted me swimming the harbour – that’s me in the centre on my own! I having another one coming up in just under 3 weeks and can’t wait! (Oh check out the man in front of me in the 2nd pic – his swimmers are inside out. It cracked me up the whole way to the swim start lol)

 

       

Last but not least. Master B’s parents have gone their separate ways. My lady has been a tower of strength to her best friend and I have looked after Master B so she was able to return to work. He is such a funny kid and though not yet 2 (almost) he natters away to you in full sentences, counts to ten and will point out his colours. I am loving the time I am spending with him and when it comes to nap times at “Nomi’s” house he gets to sleep on the big bed. He gets pretty excited lol.

 

So these are the big things (there is one more thing but it will get a post on its own shortly) which took away time but there was also a few other things along the way. Before I go any further – MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Better late than never right? lol.

 

In brief -

• I gave it an earnest go at trying to get full time work. No joy there.
• The lady’s grandma passed away. While unexpected at the time she had been unwell for sometime.
• I took the lady to her first live cricket game in Sydney.
• I had a pressure test done on my calves for compartment syndrome which all came back negative.
• A trip to Coffs Harbour for a week.
• Sewing, knitting and crochet which I’m giving its own post shortly.

 

Lastly, I want to say a huge thank you to a lovely lady who emailed me to ask how I was and if I was going to revive this blog. I was in two minds about whether I was going to not because I didn’t want to, but more so I wasn’t sure people actually read it. So thank you. I am really excited for what’s to come and time is no longer going to be an excuse I need this blog. It is my connection to a world of awesome people who don’t live nearby.

A Perfect Day

 

 

           

On Saturday we took a road trip. This had been weeks if not months in the planning. Every time we said we were going to go circumstances changed. But on Saturday we got away, I had a bye for hockey, the girl’s uni was finished for the semester, there were no parties booked in and for just a day the book my partner is editing was put on hold.

 

I packed a picnic lunch, grabbed the winter woolies and we set off up the Bucketts Way to Gloucester.
We ohh’d and ahh’d at how green it was, dreamt of a day when we would own property and editing is the girl’s only job with me doing the admin side of running our own business and talked and talked about everything and anything as long as it wasn’t trains, the book or the disappointment of not been able to go on the holiday we so carefully planned.
I packed my camera and happily snapped away at old buildings, gorgeous rivers, yellow Smurf villages, my girl, lunch, roadside alpacas and the change of season.

 

As we meandered our way home the girl caught forty winks as the sun slowly set over the mountains. We drove past the beach home and as the last light of the day dropped over the horizon we pulled into the driveway. Dinner was already made and just needed to be heated and we had no pressing activities for the night. It was a day that was everything I hoped it would be and the wait made it even more blissful.

 

It truly was a perfect day. 

Where did the colour go?

Sometimes the most simple of photos look best with no colour. That is, the original photo medium, black and white. I love shooting in black and white, however, time and experience has taught me shoot in colour, change to black and white later. Black and white photos set a mood, transport the viewer to a place, whether it be dark and grim or light and happy. So drain the colour from your photos and see what emerges.