I still feel like every missive is simply a continuation of the ones that've gone before. It's that way when it comes to conversations with my beloveds as well, where the punctuation of "hi" and "bye" seems extraneous though communication may be irregular. It was definitely that way with my late brother, too.
That's probably a long winded way of saying hi, and I love you, even though it has been months, MONTHS! since I last blogged. There has been so much going on and it's all coming to an end. New beginnings are just over the hump, at the end of this week coming.
What's more I have said finally said farewell to my dilapidated, limping, 2013 computer and replaced it with a refurbished 2022 model - smaller and zippier, for sure - through Reebelo* from whom we have begun to get all our "new" tech.
You see a couple of days ago, I had the pleasure of painting a picture one pre-dawn morning which Folktails Pets asked me to turn into a fabric design for use in their upcoming summer collection. I was delighted although a wee part of my heart sank, because it meant plugging in my computer (ugh) the one that has no battery life and entering a struggle, nay battle. The trackpad is totally worn out so to go through the creative steps necessary to turn a picture into a fabric design means the whole catastrophe becomes painful and worse, much more time consuming than necessary. And without a doubt I exhausted my whole dictionary of swear words and damnations in that six hour session. A session that should have taken two hours, tops. Had we horses, I would've scared them too.
That was the wake up call I needed to take the step of prioritising
my ability to work efficiently and happily
updating my website
communications, and not the very least
my sanity.
So I took a wee but significant chunk from the proceeds of the sale of the house and invested in this new, refurbished device, and now, this morning, I couldn't be more glad. Especially since, when I didn't want to look at it last night while my team pounded the football arena (and lost), the kid spent hours on Photoshop creating kooky mashup pictures and teaching himself all manner of things that I will be able to have him teach me down the track.
So that's that. Closing the old computer door and opening the new.
Back in February we sold our big suburban house on Porter Street (where we have lived since 2010) and from which we are moving in just six days. I bought us a new and very different type of home for a new and very different type of life. The first and most major aspect of difference is that my mum won't be living with me anymore. Mum has just turned 80 and truly desires an autonomous life, close to her friends, in familiar, comfortable and manageable environs. Porter Street is unwieldy due to its massive size and all the stairs. It has to be acknowledged, too, that living with us and the romping pups is a challenge her life will be more peaceful without. So Mum is moving closer to town into a spanking new apartment which is well on the way to completion. In the meantime she will stay with friends, holiday in Queensland during the depths of the Melbourne winter and generally regroup before she undertakes the final push to set up her new and hopefully last home.
Our new home is rural. An hour and a half to the north west of Melbourne, it is a postage stamp sized shack, situated on just over 13 acres of delicious, gently undulating parkland with a big old dam which we will populate with native fish and develop as a wetland. The property itself is bordered on two sides by a state forest where kangaroos, wallabies and wombats, a cavalcade of native birds and very excitingly lots of endangered and precious native flora and fauna dwell. Becoming the custodians of this parcel of land is a dream for myself and my boy.
There will of course be challenges and our shack does need freshening up and some alteration to ensure we are comfortable and able to turn it into everything we need, but we are up for the challenge.
And I knew from the moment I sat at the end of the driveway, waiting to go in - with a long line of other keen prospective purchasers queuing behind me - that this place of wonder would be everything I need to inspire me in my creative life, whilst also providing the space and opportunity for the boy to thrive.
We are very, very excited.
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*This is not a sponsored post although I can't help but wish it was.