Good bye 2011 Hello 2012

As 2011 comes to a close, I find myself today not exactly where I wanted to be.  We started the year with great expectations and ideas, we were going to get Number 3 finished and registered, and we were going to be living in it, and have taken it out for a few week end trips around Tasmania by now.  Well, unfortunately, that hasn't happened.  Looking back at the photos of where we were when we started, we realise we have accomplished a lot really, but unfortunately there were times when we just had to come to a stand still.  Terry being injured and having to take 2 months off work really made things difficult for us.  You see, Terry is a casual, and if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid, so for 2 months we were living on just my wage. That really put a strain on our finances, we still had a mortgage to pay, as well as all the usual living expenses, and on top of that, it was winter, so we had to have the heaters on in the house to keep the children that I look after warm.  So the electricity bill went from about $300 for the quarter to about $700, but we made it through that patch and once Terry was well enough he went back to work and we were able to continue with our dream.

This is what Number 3 looked like in January 2011

2011 had many ups and downs.  One of Terry's brothers spent most of the year in hospital, every time we thought he would go home, another infection hit, and would send him right back to square one. It was difficult for us, because he lives in Brisbane and we just couldn't afford to go up there and spend time with him, so we called him daily, and that became difficult, there is only so much a person who is confined to bed can talk about.  We ended up talking about the weather and the hospital food, so then we decided to make them weekly phone calls.  That was better, but still hard to find things to talk about.  You know how you usually ask, so what have you been up to, well "lying in bed" doesn't exactly make for stimulating conversation.  He did manage to go home a couple of time through out the year, and I think at one stage he was even home for 3 weeks before he had a fall and broke his leg and ended up back there.  I must point out that Terry's brother has diabetes, and gets some very nasty infections.  He was also fitted with a pacemaker earlier this year, and managed to get a really bad infection from that and in the end they had to remove the pacemaker.   We are happy to report that he is home now, and hopefully, will stay there for a long time.   My mother also had a few health scares this year and was in hospital twice.  She lives near us, so we were able to visit her often while she was in hospital and make sure she was alright when she came home.  She is still not 100% but is getting there.  Other family members have had minor health issues, but nothing really serious.
To be quite honest, I can't wait for 2011 to be over.  It has been a tough year for me, and one I will not look back on and say wow, what a great year, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that made it like this.  Sure we have had money issues, but on the whole things haven't been that bad.  I haven't lost anyone, we still have our house, our bus is coming along nicely and my family is healthy and settled.  I have made some fantastic friends this year, both on Facebook and in person, and have had some great times with them.  I have caught up with old school friends whom I haven't spoken to in 30 years, and look forward to catching up with them when we start travelling.

We were planning on spending the week between Christmas and New Year doing the plumbing on the bus, but unfortunately we didn't put the order in on time, and we missed the Christmas deadline.  That means we have to wait till the middle of January before the company opens again, and we get our order, so instead, we decided to clean out the garage.  Boy what a job that turned out to be.  I wish I had thought to take some before photos, because the transformation is amazing.  We can actually walk around in there now, and there is plenty of room.  We absolutely filled the ute up and took a heap of rubbish to the tip.  Most of it went to the recycle shop really, because it was all stuff we were keeping in case we needed it later.  I bet they were happy to see Terry pull up and empty the ute out.  

The shed,  I haven't seen it this tidy for a long time.

 There was a lot of good stuff in there and a lot of it was new, but there comes a time when you just have to say, get rid of it, and that's exactly what we did.

My next project is emptying out and sorting through all the stuff that is in what I loosely describe as "My Office"  The whole time we have been living here, I was going to use that room as an office/craft room.  I did put my desk and a couple of bookshelves with books and craft stuff in there, but then we kept putting more things in there, because we had no where to store them.  We moved from a bigger house with heaps of storage, to this place which is much smaller and there is virtually no where to put anything, which explains why the shed, which used to be a carport until we closed it off, and my office became our dumping ground.  I sold the book cases a few weeks ago, and so everything that was in them ended up on the floor, on my desk and anywhere else I could put it.  We also had a garage sale a few weeks ago and my sisters and niece brought some of their things over to sell.  What didn't sell ended up in there as well.  I have spent the last some time in there during the week sorting through stuff, and I have made a big dent in it, but there is still so much to do.  It has got to the stage where I just want to back the ute up to the gate and throw everything into it and say "to the tip".

My office after a week of sorting out.

Yes I am getting brutal, I have been throwing out a lot of things that only a few weeks ago I would have kept, I really think that's the only way to do it.  When we come back here, are we really going to want mouldy old bits of paper, I think not.  I really wanted this room empty by now, so my sister could start moving her things in and storing them here, but well, things never go to plan do they.  So  you see, this is why I am not too happy with the way my life is at the moment.  I feel very unsettled.  I really wanted to be at the next stage by now, instead I seem to be stuck in this state of confusion and clutter.  I am looking forward to the moment where we can say good bye to this life and start our new life in our bus.  As that moment gets closer, I am finding it easier to throw away things I thought I would never part with, because I realise my memories are inside me, not in or on something.  I am looking forward to moving into the bus, and only taking what we really need and leaving the rest behind.  I have come to realise that yes the bus might be 40 foot long, and there are only 2 of us, but there really is only limited room in there, and I just cannot take everything I thought I treasured. The person I really do treasure will be with me, and that is my husband Terry.  Apart from that I will be taking memories of my family and friends and know that I can still keep in contact with everyone through the wonders of technology.

This is the bus on 31/12/11

So as I sit here saying good bye to 2011 and hello to 2012,  I hope that the new year starts off better than the old one.  I don't make new years resolutions, but I am going to make a promise to myself and that is to laugh more, try not to worry so much and relax and enjoy life.  We are here for such a short time, and I am going to try to make the most of the time I have left.  So with less than an hour and a half left to 2011, I will sign off with a  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY.  Take care and stay safe.

Christmas 2011

I have approached Christmas with mixed feelings this year.  The bus is nearly finished and we are excited to finally be moving into it, but at the same time, the nerves are starting to set in.  Are we doing the right thing?  Will we be able to find work once we leave here and are on the road?  How will we cope with the heat on the mainland?  I have been reading posts on Facebook and people are commenting of the heat, we are lucky where we live, the climate is very temperate and it's never really that hot. (although, trust me, 22 degrees here can feel like 30 on the mainland).  Yes, we are getting nervous, but at the same time, we are also excited about our departure.  Along with those comments about the heat, we are also seeing some fabulous photos that other travellers are posting, and we hope to be able to post some equally fabulous photos ourselves soon.
We have spent the last couple of weeks getting quotes for water tanks and fittings for number 3.  Unfortunately, we left our run a bit late, and we wont have them until the middle of January at the earliest. We really wanted to get it all fitted during the 10 days Terry had off over Christmas.  Never mind, there's still plenty of other things we can do.  Once we get the water connected, we can take the bus to be weighed and hopefully registered, then we can move into it.
I put the tree up later than usual this year.  I wasn't even going to bother actually, for some reason, it just didn't feel like Christmas, but when you have children in the house (I do family day care),  who are excited by it all, you really need to go with the flow.

Our tree

 I thought putting the tree up would help me get in the mood, but it didn't really.  I was a bit sad because this will be our last Christmas in this house for who knows how many years.  It will be the last Christmas with my family, and I don't know, but it could be the last Christmas we will all be together.  Well, all except for my oldest brother and his wife who live in Queensland.  I know we can always fly home for Christmas, but that's not the same, and we ARE looking forward to having Christmas on the road, catching up with fellow travellers and sharing stories and experiences, but there is something inside of me that is just a little apprehensive.
Christmas day turned out to be a fabulous day.  We went to my niece and her boyfriends place.  They just bought their first house and only got the key the Friday before.  They spent the weekend painting, then moved all the furniture in during the week, put the tree up and the place looked lovely on Christmas day.  You would never have believed they had only just moved in.  They did a great job getting it ready.

Waiting patiently

Unwrapping some presents

Handing out the presents

We spent most of boxing day cleaning out the shed.  We got a bit lazy this year, and just threw things in wherever, and it was getting really hard to move around in there.  That took most of the day, but it was well worth it.  Now we know exactly what else we have to put in the bus, and what we are leaving behind.  Problem is, I think we want to take far more than what will actually fit.  I think we are going to need a bigger bus.

WHAT WE NEED VERSUS WHAT WE WANT.

As the work progresses on Number 3, I am starting to seriously think about the little things I want to take.  Not things like clothes or anything, that is going to be yet another challenge, and I am not really ready to tackle that one yet, but things like cutlery, crockery and kitchen appliances.  As you may have noticed, Number 3 doesn't have a stove.  I rarely use an oven at home, I have a convection microwave, and I'll have one of those in the bus.  I also plan on using my little camping cooker, and I have an induction hot plate.  At home I use the slow cooker and rice cooker a lot, so thought I would take them along too.  All of a sudden, the cupboards in the bus are full and I haven't even put plates, cups and glasses in there.  I have been told that melamine plates are better because they are light and don't break, and I can understand that, but, I really like using china plates.  How much extra weight can 2 plates add really.  But do I get 2 plates, or 4, what if we have a few people over for tea, they will need a plate unless I ask them to bring their own. Yes, the joys of having to cut back on things we take for granted has really hit me.  I had a Christmas get together the other night, and we sat around and had a few drinks, and I realised  I got rid of most of my glasses when we moved into this house, so I only have my everyday water glasses and 4 wine glasses, which don't even match, so I'm ok there, I have 2 white wine(un  matching) glasses and 2 red wine glasses, and I do like to use them, on the odd occasion I drink wine that is.  So I guess I'm right there, but I have struck a problem with my cutlery.  I bought a Stanley Rogers Cutlery set really cheap some years ago, and I love it.  However, there are more pieces to it than we will ever need.  It's an 8 place setting, and it has 2 knives, 2 forks 2 spoons and a teaspoon for each setting.  Really, what is that all about.  I just open the drawer and grab one. Soup spoon dessert spoon who cares really as long as it does the job it's meant to do and that is take the food from my plate to my mouth.  Mind you, I think some of them have holes in them, because they seem to manage to leak on our clothes.  But on the whole, they work fine.  Problem I am facing with this cutlery set is, I don't want to split it up, but there is far more there than 2 people really need.  See, it's the silly little things I worry about.  I managed to go through most of the things I had filling 2 bookshelves to overflowing capacity and sell or throw out nearly everything in them, but cant decide what I am going to do with extra cutlery.

I have the linen under control.  2 sets of sheets and 2 doona covers.  That was easy.  I have about half a dozen different sets of each at home, but I am not taking any of them.  Going from a king size to queen size bed solved that problem for me.  I doubt I would have been able to decide which ones to take, so I just got new ones and that was that.  Towels are causing a bit more of a problem.  How many towels will we actually need.  We always use our towels a few times before washing them.  I just don't have time to wash towels every day, and I don't like wet washing in the washing basket, so we aren't going to have a problem using the same towel for a few days, it's how many will I need.  I seem to use the same 6 here all the time.  Shower towels, and one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.  I wash two and replace them with 2 from the cupboard, when I get the first 2 off the line, I was the other 2.  So will six towels be enough.  Are we likely to get stuck somewhere where it is raining for a week and I wont be able to get anything dry.  Will there be a dryer somewhere I can use.  If anyone can offer a suggestion, please do.  I am more than willing to listen.

Since I started writing this, I have been thinking about my clothes.  I have taken note of what I wear every day, and have come to the conclusion that, even though I have enough clothes to clothe a small country, I really only wear the same few things.  I tend to either wear jeans, shorts or track pants and t shirts and a jacket if it's cold.  Well how hard can it be to get rid of the rest of my clothes.  Well the conversation with myself went something like this.  "I might take that, what if we go anywhere where I need to dress up."  "Seriously girl, when was the last time you dressed up"  "Well there was the wedding a few weeks ago" "Ok I'll pay that, but before that"  "Well there was the wedding last year"  "and before that"  "um not sure, but I'm sure something will come to me"  Yes folks, I must be going mad, I do not only talk to myself, I answer myself too.  Looks like perhaps the only thing I will be wearing soon will be a lovely white jacket with very long sleeves.  Ok so to cut a very long conversation with myself short, I have decided to take jeans, shorts tops, a couple of track pants, and my 2 good skirt suits.  That way, I will have something to wear at home and at work and if I happen to get a job where I need to wear a skirt or a dress, well, I'm sure there are op shops or even shops nearby where I could buy one or two.  Too easy, well now anyway.  It did take about a week or arguing with myself before I narrowed it down to just that.  Terry on the other hand is easy.  He wears shorts and polo shirts every day, and has a good pair of long black pants and 2 good shirts.  He also owns a track suit and a couple of pairs of jeans and flannelette shirts for when it gets cold.  Somehow, I think that seeing how the jeans and flannelette shirts don't see the light of day that often here in Tasmania, they are not going to get a lot of use on the mainland either, so perhaps he can cut down to just 2 pairs of jeans.

 I remember someone once telling me that when we empty the bus to get it weighed, to only put back 1/8th of what we took out.  Seriously, that is going to hurt.