Looking For a New Home

I love the way the colour of this red gum stands out against the grey clouds. 





Quote from "Old Age and Villainy":  ...a mixture of humour, grumpiness and downright cantankerousness (if there's such a word).  










From the title you may have correctly guessed that I'll be moving sometime in the not too distant future.  Oh, the fun of looking for a place!  As yet, I haven't found anything suitable but I do have a little time.

It all came about because my daughter had the ideal place fall into her lap...literally.  So...that meant I needed to find something, too.  The current place is a house which she and her three children occupiy while I have the attached granny flat.  However, two of the three kids have left home so she, one kid and the dog are all rattling around upstairs in the huge house.  I suggested they use their mobile phones to contact each other instead of going from one end of the place to the other if they want to talk about anything!  For some reason my suggestion fell flat...

Back to my search.  It's been interesting what people regard as a spacious and comfortable place.  One I went to see was in a beautiful location...just across the road from the Broadwater and I envisaged myself going for walks along the beach every morning.  The flat had two bedrooms, which were not much bigger than my current bathroom.  One of the front windows had a crack which I pointed out but was told it was "safe" and had been there for years.  I wasn't about to take anyone's word on that so politely said thanks but no thanks and left.

Another I looked at yesterday was a block back from the Broadwater, with a doctor's surgery just across and slightly down the road, in a quiet area...but had no back entrance (one way in and out...what happened if there was a fire!), one washing line between eight flats and no covered carparking.  Again, I politely declined.

I have one to look at on Tuesday within walking distance of Australia Fair, the library (bliss) and the Broadwater, another to look at a week later, both pet friendly, and two where the landlords are trying to make a time with the current tenants for me to view.  As I say, it's been interesting.  However, something will come along when the time's right.

In the meantime, I'm cleaning the inside of the windows and sliding doors, giving the cupboards a good clean so they'll only need a wipe over (not that they're filthy, but I feel better giving the shelves a good clean) and packing things I don't use.  

My daughter used to work in the removal industry so she's made use of her contacts and we've got a removalist for $25 per hour, which is an excellent rate (the one I used to move here was $100 per hour and that was considered reasonable).  My granddaughter works for our telco and as our contract has only a few weeks left to run, she's organised free us from that at a nominal rate.  Basically all that is needed is for me to find somewhere to live.

I want to be on a bus route as I can use public transport for free between 9.00 am and 3.30 pm plus the light rail network will be up and running next year so I can use that too.  As mentioned, I want to be close to the Broadwater to be able to go for walks in the morning without having to drive there first as I do now.  The whole point of living close to amenities is to cut down on the use of the car. 

So that's what I've been doing over the last couple of weeks and of course, Old Age and Villainy is on the backburner for the moment, although I've sent out about four submissions to publishers in Australia and the US.  However, it's a three month wait to see if I hear back so moving house is keeping me from dwelling on it.

Also, with Christmas just around the corner, I've got a few invitations here and there.  Next Saturday is our writers' group Christmas do...a pool party at the home of one of our members (it was at my place last year).  The day before that I have a traditional German afternoon tea to attend which is being put on by a friend of mine and I have an evening function to attend on the 18th...all good fun.  It's not called the Silly Season for nothing.

The weather is lovely and hot at the moment...although there was snow on the Great Dividing Range in Victoria earlier this week which was rather unseasonal and I had the impression from somewhere there had been snow in Tasmania too, but I'm not sure how true that was.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and may you have a day of love and laughter with friends and family.  If you're driving, stay safe, especially my US and UK friends with the wintery conditions there.  If you're in Australia and plan on going to the beach remember, swim between the red and yellow flags.