Home's

I went to see Bill yesterday. With all the rain we have been having lately, he's been a bit like the Scarlet Pimpernel and very hard to find! I had some goodies from my readers to deliver.

Leah sent Bill some beautiful pencils, textas and crayons...

..... and Elaine made Bill a personalised case for his pastels.

Bill was delighted and so touched by your generosity and said to say thank you. 

We sat for ages in the shade of the trees, looking out at the river, discussing life. The birds, that are Bill's friends, were so tame, they sat on my feet. He feeds them well. He has a deal with the local nut supplier...cereal for Bill and seeds for the birds. I said I would try to pop by each week, every Friday if I can. He's going to have a folio of photos for me to look at next week. A local photographer put it together and won first prize for it in something or other. They're all photos of how Bill lives.... with commentary.... a sort of story of his current life. I hope the iPhone captures the photos, as I would like to share the folio with you. I have seen it before. It's very moving.

After Bill, I went and commiserated with the locals that I wasn't a local anymore. Justine's was full of all my favourites. Fridays seem to be the day. I didn't get much work done until they all left. 

The day ended on a happy note... my shed flood insurance payout came through so I can now replace my stock and finish my online facility thingy. I am not into selling things I don't have on hand. Learnt the hard way. This industry is not for the fainted hearted when it comes to supply. My philosophy now is, 'if it's in stock, buy all of it'. Hence the shed.

We're off to explore our new surroundings on our bikes today. There's a bike track starting right at the end of our street. We're going to try to make it to our nearest shopping centre for some sushi. Then we're off to the soccer at Suncorp stadium tonight. Big day.

Happy Saturday!

The gorgeous old homes.

Our bike rides into the city.

 Justine's 'Haloumi Special'.

Posto, Boundary St, West End.

Something was always happening.

The flood made sure of that.

James.

Bill.

What Bill taught my boys about life.

The sunrises from my deck.

The cute little streets.

The unexpected...

... every day...

...only in West End!

Bill's artwork.

'Duck' 

RIP... he was cut loose by vandals and floated out to sea.

The view from my bedroom.

The view from Justine's coffee shop..... my 'office'.

The western sun in my living room.

Our walks along the river.

Our groovy apartment.

The river.

The food.

My early morning runs...rain, fog and shine.

The sunsets.

This is where home is though.

Happy Monday!

We're movin'.

...on my morning run (hello 'happy house!)....

...and in my inbox: 

Seth stops me in my tracks every time. 

Happy Wednesday! 

Look how beautiful it was here in Brisbane on Wednesday. It was a gooood day. Mild temperatures, gentle breeze. Positive outcomes.

I knew there was something in the air as soon as a few of my readers messaged me, saying that they felt I was going to find a place in which to live that very day!

I did! We're leaving West End...... and moving a little further out of the city... to live in a house and to enjoy some green space and lots of bike tracks.... while I look for some land and get the next house started. My boys are very happy with our decision. Little one was quietly whispering to me, as we were inspecting the new place, "please, please". Easy decision. He had me at "please". 

In the meantime, we plan to seriously treasure our last few weeks here. 

I am going to miss watching the sun come up over the river....

... and watching it set.

I am going to miss having my coffee on my deck....

... and feeling safe in my little 'concrete bunker' on rainy, stormy days.

I am going to miss the beautiful view....

... and the warming western sun in my kitchen.

I am going to miss my daily runs through all the little streets...

... and all the little daily surprises.

I am going to miss being able to ride into town for my errands.

I am going to miss Justine's coffee shop.... which became my morning office workspace.

I am going to miss Bill....

... and James.

West End, I have enjoyed you and I will carry my West End experiences (good, bad and seriously tragic) with me in my heart always. I am grateful to have called you home, even for a short time.

On the packing front, I do have this 'packing thing' mastered. It takes me no time to pack up a house these days! I think our poor piano finally will deserve a tune after this move. It will have been moved 7 times without a tune #howslackami. Big son informed me that it is a whole tone out now. It sounds woeful!

Righto, deep breaths. Time to start sorting, decluttering and packing.....aaaaand loving it!

Happy Friday!