Cass has gone "full Aussie" and is visiting Bunnings (with her Mum) to "get a few things". I never thought I'd see the day when she would voluntarily venture out specifically to the great monolith of all things hardware and handy: it should be me!
We've been certainly getting more settled here lately and have even dared to speak about the great Australian dream of upgrading the real estate. It usually takes one of two forms: to upgrade the abode by selling and buying a newer greater pile of bricks either close to home or elsewhere (somewhere more desirable, preferably) OR people enter the fraught, frightening world of home renovation!
The latter appeals to us after assessing the upsides and downsides of our current apartment, which of each there are many. Basically, we couldn't tear ourselves away from our view and position and it seems the possibility of finding something similar nearby that is even vaguely affordable is zero. So, we need to fix the downsides as best as we can. Our first step was to install new wardrobe fit outs and doors on two wardrobes and get a brand new one built. Cass has now got her dream shoe cupboard, and she's managed to just about fill it with 50 odd pairs of shoes and various other indispensable products....photos next time!
I've also painted a few walls, some in preparation for the new wardrobes and another to mask and revamp a quite ugly mustard yellow "feature" wall from 20 years ago, when that colour must have been de riguer. We've bought a new fridge, a new hot water system, bedside tables and of course installed with great delight our "cubes" as side-tables and nests in our lounge and dining rooms. These gorgeous, solid wood, delightfully hand-crafted pieces are from Macro Maison in Taipei and we included them in our shipping. We've also ditched the two single beds in the back room in favour of a beautiful 2.5 seater tan leather lounge which transforms quite magically into a comfortable sofa bed with a single action!
We're committed to our apartment, so now we just have to begin the real work of finding someone to oversee the numerous tradesman who will need to be here at different times. We're conscious, too, of the possibility we won't be able to source the required tradesmen at the times we want, as they all seem to be incredibly busy: is everyone spending their overseas holiday savings on home renovations? Perhaps!
We haven't quite taken the leap required, although we do have a couple of names to start us out or refer us to others. We both have a fairly firm idea of what we want as well, and hope this will help things go a little more smoothly. Anyway, watch this space...
Our blissful, languid existence has been rolling along quite pleasantly for the last month (or is it six weeks since I last wrote a blog entry? ...quelle horreur...the days are bleeding into one another quite easily and quickly!) We do our daily walk most days, and average between 30 and 40 km of solid hiking/walking on varying gradients each week. Cass pumps her iron and tones her biceps and triceps often, and I keep to my routine of push-ups and pullups with a daily body surf. We feel that despite the "lazy" industry of our days we are physically stronger and fitter than we've been for decades, and of course our mental health has improved tenfold. We loved our careers, but we like being finished with them even more!
I'm all too aware of the fact that I used to scoff about retired people who seemed desperate to go on holidays. I used to think to myself, "Isn't your whole life a holiday?" Well, I need to eat a generous slice of humble pie! While not desperate to get away, a little change of scenery might be nice after 7 months camped in our apartment for the main, so we're investigating a few days away that we can motorbike to without too much effort. Should be fun!
We've both been reading a lot. I'll catch on Cassy's full quota next time, but I know she's currently reading Zadie Smith's "Grand Union" after completing "Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee" by Casey Cep. This is, of course, after reading all three books in Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy consecutively: a feat for which she deserved some kind of literary endurance medal (Cromwell would have been proud)! I've read "Marlborough Man" by Alan Carter and "The Law of Innocence" by Michael Connelly recently while currently I'm ploughing through Trent Dalton's vaunted new tome "All Our Shimmering Skies". I have to admit I'm not feeling it half as much as his debut novel, "Boy Swallows Universe"...I'll persevere!