Music!

Well, THIS happened over the last weekend.  My, this little town can put on a party!  Possibly the thing I love most about this (and after two and a half years living here, the novelty hasn't worn off yet), is that so much is local, homegrown talent.  On the last night, I danced for longer than I can remember dancing, ever, all to local musos, then tottered (and I mean tottered, my knees were NOT happy by then) on to the Festival club to catch the final fling, with local (as in, here in this town), sort of local (as in, here in this state) and national artists of widely differing styles.  Heaven on a stick!  And this year, I was in it, in a trio (called 'Widdershin') with two lovely friends!  A small, nervous start, but we've got plans!  Three years ago, I would never have dreamed it possible.

First day of winter....

So long, so very long since I last wrote here.  Lots has been going on, but much of it has been of the practical, everyday sort; moving house, getting children settled in to the new school year, trips up to Perth and back again bringing belongings that have been sitting in boxes at my parents' house.  And turning over a new year, my half century.  Gosh, where did the time go?

And it is interesting too, that I find that much of what I'm doing down here in this beautiful little corner of the world, is about being out and involved in the world, not so much being a hermit hiding in my little studio and making pretty things to show and tell.  Being part of a community full of such wonderful people and art and music making, has given me delusions of grandeur I think.  Floating dreams and vague ideas that once had no chance of ever seeing the light of day seem now to be...possible.  For example, this weekend I am performing in a trio at our local annual Denmark Festival of Voice.  An event that I used to come all the way down from Perth to SEE, and day dream about being up there singing on stage like all those REAL singers and REAL musicians.  And this year, I'm IN it, with two lovely, lovely friends.  And it's not because I've suddenly become an amazing, professional musician, because I haven't...but rather because this sort of thing is happening all around me in this little town, and it's easy here to just put up your hand and say, hey, I could give that a go.  Something I would never have done up in the big smoke.  So how we'll do, I don't know, all three of us are a bit nervous, but we're having a go.  Which is the most important bit, isn't it?

But on to the moving house.  We are in our 'shed', though truly, it is a house really, with a shed attached!  Cosy and comfy and, once I have a kitchen anyway, will be a lovely home.  We have lots to do, but we love it already.

View OF front

View FROM front.

Panorama of inside downstairs (this makes it look huge, it isn't really!)

Panorama of inside upstairs before painting the floor and end wall

Front door

Munchkin helping paint the floor upstairs

Upstairs BEFORE munchkins put all their stuff in

Upstairs AFTER.  

View from front door.  Note missing kitchen sink/cupboards (but at least I have a stove).

There's the back wall.  The 'shed' half is through the door.

Bit messy...still moving in.

Back round to front door again.

The 'office'.