Month: January 2015

All in…

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It’s happened we have moved! We now live in Bulli! I am commuting into the fine city of Sydney and Chris starts his fine furniture making course at Sturt School for Wood next week!

Last trip
The last trip – just collecting the little bits?!

The move was mammoth, a sweaty four day marathon of moving far too much stuff down far too many stairs and cleaning! Thanks Sydney for the boiling hot weather – just what you need when moving house! Never mind… Everyone and everything survived! Even the washing machine which I swear jumped off the trolley when we were unloading it off the truck. It’s got the battle scars you would expect from leaping into the air and landing face down but amazingly it works!! The door required some not so gentle encouragement to reopen but hey! We got lucky!! We are not fully unpacked but that’s ok. We kind of know where the important things are for now!

Anyways before we get into actually sharing with you the learning about furniture making and all that goes with it, I realise you know a little about the new adventure – but not much about the journey so far?

us at a wedding
Introducing us…

We have been together almost 16 years… We are not married. I will just let that sink in for a bit as usually people marvel at this fact for a little while. The marvelling is usually accompanied by incredulous gasps and further questioning….We like to say its because we don’t want to rush in to anything or perhaps that we want to be sure but actually it’s kind of because we don’t feel the need and we spend our money on doing other things! We met when I was 17 and Chris was 18! It was Chris’ general aura of cool and his sideburns that did it and still do it to this day! That and he is of course handsome and hilarious although I am pretty funny too! (Well I like to think I am?!)

We have done the long distance thing. We have travelled to many places near and far. We have encouraged each other and mocked each other incessantly! We have sulked together (and separately on this one)! We have shared our oldest friends and made new friends together. We have spent months on the road together. We have muddled on and supported each other through thick and thin and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We balance each other out. We are a team!

I don’t want to bore you with a tedious timeline or be overly soppy (hoping the above doesn’t qualify as that) but happy to answer questions – random or otherwise. So what else do you want to know about the journey so far or maybe the journey ahead? Ask away!

All in…

Price shavings, heirlooms and good news!

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It’s a rainy Sunday and this week we have made some exciting progress but before I tell you about that I want to stop and appreciate the fine tool purveyors we have had the pleasure of dealing with so far. Armed with a spreadsheet, painstakingly researched and cross-checked, detailing must and good to have’s Chris has purchased what is needed for his first term of his course from two companies which I can only assume are going to be like a home away from home from now on. The first being Carbatec where the guy greeted the news that Chris would be studying next year with glee. Carbatec’s Price Shavings magazine is little short of awesome! (WARNING – I am a big fan of puns, dad jokes and one-liners and don’t hold it against me but I work in Marketing!) I was won over immediately by the ‘shavings/savings’ situation but looking inside its full of advertising gold!

Shavings … wood related savings! Nice!
Price shavings on actual shaving items!
It’s in da hood!
Nice coffee table – thanks Carbatec
I do believe there are 2 in the picture! Get up Susan -stop being lazy!

Also want to appreciate the fine services of Henry Eckert – importers of the Lie-Nielsen heirloom quality tools. These tools are beautiful – I have no idea what some of them do but they say they will last a lifetime – I look forward to them being part of our journey and perhaps even creating things that also last for our lifetimes and beyond! So… good news! We have found a house to rent… I haven’t seen it in person yet but it looks great. We went from nothing to sorted in three days flat even though apparently it was a very competitive process (who knows whether what the property people tell you is true or not!). By the end of Wednesday we were the chosen ones! Bulli here we come!

new house
A new house to make a home!

It will be a big change from apartment living and being in busy Bondi with its hipsters, glamourati, backpackers, coach tours and ever loyal locals. What are we looking forward to most…

  • enjoying the sound of nothing other than perhaps some over enthusiastic birds rather than waking up to the sound of horns and angry drivers at the roundabout or some crazy backpackers
  • being able to get out of the house without stepping over a fellow building resident passed out drunk in the corridor
  • if we forget something on the way out, not having to climb 2 flights of stairs to go and get it
  • having an outside space … an actual genuine garden
  • being able to hang washing out in said garden! (Sad or what!)
  • feeling like we are on holidays even if it’s just the weekend in the much more sedate Bulli!

We will miss Bondi I think but looking forward to a change. Not looking forward to the actual move so much! Best get my muscles warmed up!

Image

Career Change – A Work in Progress

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So no matter who you are, the words ‘career change’ followed by ‘going back to school’ sound pretty daunting. This is starting again, it is not a ‘this will look great on my cv’ type occasion, keeping up appearances or trying to get ahead with something extra – all this is of course hard work but ‘this’ – quitting work as Chris has known it for the last 15 years to study a course in fine furniture making – is putting what he has done, up to this point, aside and starting again! School starts at the beginning of Feb so the count down is on!

Were/are there doubts that this is the right thing to do? Naturally! But if a positive change (and hopefully happiness) hangs on a decision which is in your power to make and if no change was going to perpetuate the downward spiral of job loathing and depression then no matter how nerve wracking wouldn’t you choose to change something?

Making the decision to actually commit to change and embark on this journey seemed like the hardest thing to do but I have no doubt that the hard work is yet to come!! I am sure I don’t need to tell you life in general is expensive, learning is challenging and achieving success – whatever that looks like for you – the ultimate and elusive goal!

We are however doing it… well, Chris is doing it really but I am here to cheer him on and share the journey with all of you in the hope that one day you will perhaps see some fine wooden furniture made by Chris and know the story behind it!

Illawarra coastline
Welcome to the Illawarra – Looking for a new home and a fresh start in a new neighbourhood!

PS Once Chris starts his course we hope to share all kinds of woodworking updates including showing off all his hard work! Watch this space!

Career Change – A Work in Progress

Happy New Year!

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So this is the year – the year we quite literally start a fresh! Top of the list of things to do is move house! Relocate from sunny Bondi to perhaps an even sunnier Thirroul or Bulli!! I am a little nervous seeing as we have yet to find a house and we need to be out of our current place by the 29th. It’s not for the lack of trying but apparently there are not so many to choose from down that neck of the woods! There is potential of course that we are being too fussy… But let’s say for now that’s not the case and the perfect property will come up in the next two weeks!

Whilst we are busily denying the shortness of time on the moving front chris has been on a tool shopping spree – I have made it sound spontaneous but it was far from it!!! It was like a second Christmas last night with wrappings flying everywhere, Chris proudly setting out some of his brand new tools on display (before wrapping them all up once more… just for now… there’s still a whole month before school starts and a move to survive!)

Looking very shiny and new
The long awaited packages arrive!

At this point I want to thank both sets of our parents! We would not be able to embark on this new start without them despite our best attempts to save everything we can! We are budgeting pro’s but with tools, materials and school fees this new start was never going to come easy! You would think that once your children pass the age of thirty you can rest easy and enjoy the low maintenance phase of parenting! Oh dear – sorry guys! We do try not to be a burden but for your help with our new adventure (and for all that you have ever done for us) we are eternally grateful!

Happy New Year!