Before another year passes...
We've moved out of the flat and into the new house. No renovation required. Bliss.
Still have old house in Goulburn. Renovation has stopped. It's mostly empty. Needs a spot of painting and regular garden maintenance but will be on the market soon. Mostly dependent on funds being available but that should change imminently.
Wedding on 23rd August. We are loving each other and our lives together.
New house meant backyard and so the chooks came home along with a new friend. So now there's The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and Abigail. Fang and Bluetooth the budgies, Ruby and Bandit the dogs along with the chooks, give us regular daily chores but they're worth it. A life without animals in it would be dull indeed. Spence is a lovely area to walk dogs in too. It comes chock full of greenways, which are a Canberra staple. Hidden behind the houses are walkways and bikepaths that converge on small parks set at the end of the innumerable cul-de-sacs in this city. Spence is older than some other suburbs and has managed to keep this tradition. This means one can walk the dogs for many kilometres before encountering a road. The ball gets thrown in the parks and then another random exit is taken to see where the path takes us.
Autumn has enhanced these walks. Even the locals are saying it's one of the most beautiful leaf turns they've seen here. Brilliant colours everywhere you look. Might have something to do with months of non stop rain followed by this extensive warm spell. It's chilly but not cold yet.
We're broke due to my taking a private workshop with Susannah Blaxill (google her botanical illustration work) in Mittagong. I get paid monthly and casually and had to miss a day's pay. The course wasn't cheap but well worth it. School holidays meant the school closed down for a couple of weeks for which I also don't get paid. This month had the opposite work trend with long 12hour days at the beginning of both the school term and the trimester on which our junior classes operate. We'll be flush next week but B's public service job appears to be secure post Budget announcements, for which we're both rather grateful!
Rant. It's been playing on my mind and taking over my workbench. Have made a decision not to take on any more jewellery repairs. They're banking up already again. I generally don't charge friends and I don't mind doing them now and then, but they can easily take over what spare time I have to work on my own projects. I also need to make stuff to sell to supplement the part time job. Ergo, no more repairs. Am contemplating offering the 'advice' to fix broken bits, or to come over and work under supervision. It's amazing how quickly things rack up and take over. I try to imagine the reaction if I gave just one of competent sewing friends all of my busted buttons, hems and other sewing jobs. Jewellery work is specialised and people don't feel the need to learn how to fix their own bits and bobs. Also, I've quoted on a large livery chain for a jousting event happening in September. If I get it then everything will fall to the wayside whilst I concentrate my efforts on getting it done. Prefer to start with a clear conscience!
SCA wise, my heraldry and name have been registered. Love my new arms and made a patch for Ruby's jacket to test it out. Have started a new facebook group called Bejewelled History to take over from Lochac Metallum as the old Yahoo group died as social media useage changed. It's reinvigorating my interest in that department.
Making a basket backpack with the help of Rachel. Have always wanted one as they're not only medieval but extremely practical freeing up both arms at events. Did a bunch of silkscreening 50 or so pennants with B's badge - yellow sun eclipsed in the centre with blue (A sun Or, eclipsed azure). Working on a bunch of projects and trying to maintain the emptying and fixing of the Goulburn house.
Life is still good :)