Status Report 1
Don't think we don't have a plan!
We may both be a little bit unconventional, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put together a plan - especially when there’s an eternity of serenity on the line.
So in the spirit of sharing. This is where we’re at:
Clear out
A theatre, yoga studio, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym, an aquaponics bay (like Star Trek!) and a coffee roasting facility. These were some of the ideas we’ve had for our beautifully constructed shed in the last few years. None of them however were as valuable to us as a place to keep our… stuff!
The beauty of having a 96sqm shed is that it’s so much fun filling it up. Before we decided on this course of action we were looking at extensions and renovations to our current house. We collected glass doors, timber, fencing, corrugate and all sorts of brackets fixtures and fittings. Along with all the fun furniture from FB marketplace picked up for free.
Stuff is heading out the door though! Our amazing friends (who built their own beautiful strawbale house round the corner from us and were instrumental in inspiring our dream of creating our own home), are taking a lot of the windows and materials for their own fun projects. I will miss our IBC built ice bath/hot tub - only got a few uses but would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking to give one a go - easy to fill and drain and a good size.
Our lovely 25 year old Camry ‘Stella’ has also been taken away now so we’re left with our spring chicken of a car, a 2004 Kluger named ‘Blanche’ - (if Tennessee Williams named cars).
Our first goal is to get everything we’re not taking with us gone so we can start fresh and collect new… stuff!
Renovations
Modern thinking is to just sell homes as they are, even if they need work. Because people want to do their own renovations. So if you can’t make it high spec then you’re better off not doing anything. We don’t agree.
There are a few things we would like to do for the home so that we pass it on a little better to the new owners. We were lucky enough to buy privately and still speak with the couple we bought our first home from. We’ve even visited them in their new home. While buying a home is always a stressful situation, the feeling of going through all the processes and paperwork privately seemed like the right way to do it.
On the day we came up to get the keys the previous owners were here doing last minute touches, and their parents were in the garden cutting back bushes and clearing out cupboards. We had lovely chats and found a little funnel-web spider to rehome over the road in the bush. Good wholesome times. That was our first home buying experience.
So we are doing some light work and fix ups before we sell. We would love to have the same private treaty experience again - even in leaving this place we want to think it’s going to make a great home for someone else.
Travel
At the time of writing I am feeling sorry for myself with some kind of covid adjacent illness. So I put on a couple of my favourite films to get me through… up first, the 1984 Ralph Macchio classic The Karate Kid. The film starts with a Daniel and his mum (Mrs. Larusso) driving from Jersey to California. My curiosity kicked in and I checked the driving time between Jersey and LA. Turns out to be only one hour less than Sydney to Perth! Woah! 1d 16 hours according to Google maps.
For us this will be a longer journey, because we will be doing it with about 150kilos of canines. But I’ll be playing Mrs Larusso’s coast to coast positivity in my head, and think about the sun setting over the ocean all the way there.
Our plan is to use a small caravan and get a Ford Falcon to tow it. The Falcon’s legendary boot space and low height will be good for the dogs to get in and out - as we’ll need to take more frequent wee breaks for them. Then a little caravan to keep everyone locked up safe at night. So… we’re in the market for a caravan… and a falcon. Are there better vehicles and rigs for the job? Maybe, but we can’t afford them so this is the best plan we have right now.
Oh, and a salesman tried to get us into a Commodore Wagon, and before anyone else suggests it - the boot just don’t cut it for the size of floofs we have, and it gives up 200kgs towing capacity to the Falcon.
I think it’s about time to meet our animals… full intros coming up soon. With photos of course! If you’re not an animal lover I won’t judge you for skipping the next post.
I'm loving the plan already! Looking forward to the animals segment too. :) cheers
Susan