Well It's Been A While, Hasn't It?

I'm so happy to be back to this little spot, it was a place I loved to come and dream. Well my life has been very full til now with kiddies and all the busyness that comes with them. But now they're grown. 3 in college, 1 senior at high school, 2 in middle school this year and my baby will start 3rd grade this year! I don't know when that all happened, we were running, and playing, and all of a sudden I turned my head and they were all grown up. It's a sad but happy time.

Happiest because I get my life back lol. And I've been planning, new dreams, new adventures! I just came back from Australia a couple of months ago and I have decided to move back permanently. It was so wonderful to be back, to breathe the fresh clean air, to get out into the bush. I didn't miss the hustle and bustle at all!

So I've decided to go small, and movable. I'm getting ideas for a little house, but I don't know yet where I will be situated as my parents are trying their hardest to continue their lives on their own, but that will not be for much longer, so I will stay in Sydney and work a little and be there when they need me. It will give me time to get my roots down again and plan my next steps.

I have been very inspired by this lovely lady and her temporary dwelling. I am planning on building a small dwelling but I thought something like this would suffice until I work out where I want to be, or where will work for me.

Lost in a Wilderness

I could get very lost in this place.

Kuranda - Favourite Places in Australia

I'm going to start logging my travelling journeys...this is the first in the series.

In 1980, after a year of working, I left Sydney to travel Australia. We travelled by motorbike stopping every 100 miles or so to spend around 1 month, visiting the surrounding areas. In those days, and I'm sure even today, many young people coming from Europe and the UK to backpack around Australia, usually having spent some time trekking thru Asia first. It's quite common to meet up with 'new friends' from town to town during your travels.

Kuranda Railway Station

Kuranda is a small town in Far North Queensland adjoining the Barron Gorge National Park. As it is located very close to Cairns and the journey is scenic, it is an extremely popular day trip: the village is overflowing with visitors during the middle of each day. The reason? I would rate it as the most beautiful railway station I've been to. This is just a fraction of the plants and ferns covering the station.

I spent 1 month camping up in the bush above this station. We would climb down the embankment and cross the tracks to get to barron falls to bathe each day. I remember the first couple of nights we were there I would hear scratching in the bush, and what sounded like a women crying 'help'. Rather scary. I would strain my ear trying to discern whether or not I was hearing correctly. Relieved, we found out from the locals they were bush turkeys.

My Dad's Factory

This was an email from my Mum. The pictures are of my father's factory he owned and worked out of.  I remember it as a montrous brick warehouse my brother and I played in, with up to a foot of sawdust on the floors and many loud machines. Bricks, wood benches, machines, sawdust, a 10ft clock ticking in the silent sunstreamed air, the smell of cut timber and polish - it was a world of its own.

"Our old factory is on the market again, and below is a link, it is being auctioned on Wednesday so have a look soon as they might take it off if it sells.

Col and his Dad were cabinetmakers and did only custom built work. They also did work for all the top Decorators in Sydney, as well as specialised work for Churches and companies.

We sold it in 1992 and it is hoped it will now bring up to 4 million dollars!!! The guy who purchased it was from Germany, and spent quite a lot on renovating it into commercial offices for his Advertising company, also put a couple of small mezzanine floors in as Council would not let them put a full third floor on it. We went down to have another look at it a month ago. They did a good job renovating it and had a party to celebrate the opening of it, and we were invited. They had fireworks along the top of the factory, and Col and I were the first people into the building, it was quite a night.

Col's father built it in 1936 and we were quite chuffed to hear that it has been HERITAGE LISTED, means they cannot alter the original structure or demolish it."

Stunning Warehouse / Ideal Residential Conversion• Designed by Villa Massimo award winning European architect - Unique factory building offering inspirational work spaces over three levels.

• Building area 552sqm (approx) plus 3 - 4 car spaces, 2 balconies and a courtyard.

• Zoned Residential F under North Sydney Council LEP 2001 with existing commercial use rights. Possible residential converstion.

• Sydney Harbour and city views. Northern aspect overlooking adjoining park.

• Quality construction - sandstone & timber flooring, column free upper levels, extremely high ceilings, abundant natural light.