The Changing Seasons – Travels with Ali

~ March Reflections: Downsizing and Decluttering Adventures ~

During March we made the difficult decision that it was time to downsize. Although we have No. 1 Daughter and the two munchkins living with us now we all needed to have our own space.

First up was engaging estate agents, which No. 1 son did for us. Working in property gives him the edge and able to convey succinctly what we wanted. Two agents quickly came and went. Before they had even given proposals I knew I was more comfortable around the first one, Susan. From here on was where I became overwhelmed and began having restless nights.

It was the decluttering that was beginning to take over my thoughts. We had a go at the dreaded “tool cupboard” in the garage that has long been the bane of my existence. We being my dear hubby and me. We managed one shelf in two hours and I gave up when he lovingly held a decade old ball of string and said “this is good is twine, we might need it”. Most just got moved onto another shelf.

I asked him also to remove a can of paint that had become stuck. Disaster struck as he pierced the bottom and paint quickly started spreading. He came to me and said “I’ve just made an unholy mess”. At this moment Susan’s assistant rang to say she had arranged 6 tradesman to come around the following week for quotes. I said we need the painter now to help us with this mess. She came to my rescue and sent around a handyman, who cleared up within minutes.

During March No. 1 daughter backed her car into the moving electric gate and knocked it off its tracks. Fortunately we have a wonderful neighbour who came around and fixed the problem. The next day after coming out of an appointment she saw her car being towed away! Not having read the parking sign properly. The car was returned but not without a fine.

We were told that to obtain the best price it was better to engage a stylist to showcase the house to look its best. This lady turned up along with six tradesman. I didn’t know if I was Arthur or Martha at that point, it was bedlam. We then found out there was a serious leak in one of the bathrooms so this is first on the list to be taken care off.

Believe it or not I did have some lovely moments in March. Laurence and Maddy came for a weekend and we had such a great time. We spent a morning at the beach and the water was perfect.

I also went to see two films. The much hyped up and talked about “Wuthering Heights”. Quite an eye opener but on the whole I enjoyed this version. The second was a Matthew McConaughey film called The Rivals of Amziah King. This was such a good film which we all loved.

I had a night out at an outdoor venue, called The Quarry. It is situated in an old quarry and the seating is in tiers. We took a picnic and watched three tribute bands, Santana, Little River Band and Fleetwood Mac. Beautiful balmy evening underneath the stars.

Having a much needed break at our local Indian. The table behind had 22 guests so was a tad noisy!

If you managed to read to the end of all my rants, thank you indeed. Some of you will have been through similar in your lifetime and know the stresses and strains of decluttering and moving. I have read so many articles on the different ways to declutter and I’m still none the wiser. On that note I wish you a happy Easter.

He came to join me this morning while I was having my morning coffee. How cute is he?

Joining Natalie for Weekend Coffee Share and Brian/Ju-Lyn @ The Changing Season (a tad early).

~ Taking it Easy – Perth, February 2025 ~

The Summer school holidays finally came to an end here in Perth. Master Lachie would be starting year 2 and Miss Rosie would be entering kindergarten. Time for new shoes. I took both munchkins to our local shopping centre to have their feet measured up for new shoes. Everything is so sophisticated these days, and feet are measured electronically. Back in the day your foot was put into a wooden contraption with a slide bar.

Rosie was going two and three days a week, so I can still have my days with her.

Out shopping for her favourite toys.

We had some extensive tree cutting and bush pruning performed by professionals. Although my dear hubby said he would do it all – eventually – it’s the removal of all the debris that is a problem. Now I have an empty flower bed to replant, which I’ll be getting advice about.

I’m looking forward to discussing ideas with a lady I found locally.

The weather is turning slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings which is a relief. I’ve been able to sit out in the mornings with my coffee. This little guy has been visiting every morning and having a morning feed. Luckily Zac and Rufus didn’t notice.

Hubby and I had a lovely lunch in Fremantle last week. We tried a place that was new to us but I’d heard good reviews. It was such a beautiful day, we managed to get a table outside.

A couple of sculptures caught my eye. The dog is so cute.

Say hello to Dwert (noongar for dingo). Created by sculptor – Martin Jaine.

The above is a life size sculpture of a memorial to the migrant children. Between 1947 and 1953 over 3,000 children (many unaccompanied) from UK and Malta migrated to Western Australia. They went to voluntary and religious organisations. Many of these children we now know were little more than unpaid workers. They suffered untold abuse which has only come to light in the last ten years or so. The children were told they were orphans. Some of them were. Others had mothers who, due to extreme hardship, had no choice but to let them go.

We stopped at a local delicatessen to pick up some goodies and this exotic lady was posing in the middle of the shop.

Please don’t touch. I am very fragile. My name is Caffe’tina. I was made in 12 days. Arrived 8th January 2023. Multicycling in Brazil.
Coffee beans used on me __ kilo ___ grams.

I thought this was so clever and must have taken ages to put together. I wonder what the answers were?

Well that’s February done and dusted already. Have a lovely March everyone.

I’m joining in with a few challenges.
The Changing Season hosted by Brian and Ju-Lyn
and also Dan’s CFFC – Blue and…
PPAC by Natalie

~ The Changing Seasons – November 2024 ~

It’s been a fairly quiet month here in Perth for me. Many outings with Rosie of course, including one to the zoo. A few dinner dates, a concert in the park and a trip to the cinema. The weather has been very changeable, with a few hot days, extremely windy ones and too many cold ones!

On the day we went to the zoo it was slightly overcast and a few rain clouds about. Ideal for walking. I thought I had arrived early enough to find a carpark near the entrance, but not early enough as it was full. We drove around up and down the side streets and eventually found one, around ten minutes walk. Rosie seemed happy to walk. We hired a stroller once inside, but I ended up pushing it mostly empty! We had a lovely few hours checking out all the animals.

From here it all went downhill pretty fast. We walked back the allotted ten minutes and I said to Rosie, “hmm, I don’t remember walking past this building”. Well, after dragging Rosie up and down for almost 40 minutes, I called my daughter. I said, “Sorry, but you will have to come and pick us up. I’ve lost the car.” This was supposed to be her day to herself. We had to wait another 20 minutes but I was glad of the rest. Anyway, of course we found the car pretty quickly, I had missed a turning. Needless to say, the zoo is off the list for a while.