A lot has happened in the last 12 months

Too numerous to list the ups and lots of downs but I survived another year without my soul mate.

I have been trying to hone my new founded self taught skills the best I could but sometimes a helping hand can make such a difference. I took up wood turning.. volunteering at the Wondai Visitor Information Centre.. and have very much enjoyed it and the talented people I am learning from. These are some of my turning projects I have done.

I have also done a lot of property maintenance/improvements, although not real professional they are functional.... lots and lots and lots of mowing/slashing...

Hand/shovel dug a fire pit and improvised the seating..

... and it was appreciated...

...revamped guest quarters...

... built a wood working area..

.. built more wood storage for winter ...

.. a few renovations...

... car and tractor maintenance and lots lots more but not enough space to put everything...

thanks for reading and sharing my solo journey

1 year ago today

Suddenly I was awake.. what woke me.. its still dark outside.. everything is quiet.. I laid there for a little while wondering why I cant go back to sleep... and then I looked at the the clock.. it was 4am.
4am 1 year ago today (25th March) was the last time we were able to look into each others eyes with meaning... you were unable to speak but I told you how much I love you and how much your family loves you and thanked you for your love, kindness and tenderness in the time we had together. It wasnt a long moment, but it was a moment, and you drifted off again. Then at 9.05am as I held your face in my hands you took your last breath.. escaping this world but hopefully hearing my words of love and comfort as you went. I wanted to be selfish and ask you to stay longer.... I didnt want you to go.. I didnt want to lose your love, your friendship, your strong arms around me, your beautiful smile and those smouldering eyes.. but you had been in great pain for too long and I had to be strong and let you go... finally pain free... So at 4am you woke me didnt you.. to let me know you are still here in spirit and remember our last times together.. thank you so much for giving me your love and being my best friend for almost 17 years. I still cannot believe its been a year already... it only seems like yesterday.. I will always love you xxxxxxx

My NEW Adventure - Part 6

More sorting and moving items around the property was needed so I started on cleaning up behind the shed.. there were some steel shelves that have been there for 15 years with steel and wood on them and I dragged them all out to sort through.. the wood was riddled with termites so another fire was required.. kept the part eaten ones that had none left in it to use for firewood and burned the infested pieces and there was a lot of that... took me hours.

 

while that was burning away I went to this area to sort it out

 burning and stacking and everything done

Looks a bit more tidier doesnt it. A well earned hot shower and i had trouble getting the black spots off my arms and legs until I realised they were bruises !! not dirt. Should sleep well tonight.

My NEW Adventure - Part 5

Well now the roof is up I had to organise underneath.. we had acquired a lot of plastic flooring from the local dump about 12 months previous and I used them to cover the area as much as possible. They dont look the best up close but they are functional and thats all I need. Also erecting some fencing to stop the peacocks from using the area as a thoroughfare was also needed.

Then with a few plants and some fencing repositioned it was all coming together.

Unfortunately the peacocks then thought it was an even better place to go visit.. arrghh so I made an adjustment and added a gate to the front as well.
Then as winter was approaching rapidly I thought a clean out of the firewood stack would be good.. so many termites amongst it all I had to get fresh supplies cut up with my trusty chainsaw

I soo love my wood fire in winter.. its lovely to just sit and watch the fire at night.. cuddled up with your loved one...
Next was the sorting of under the carport at front of storage shed.. soo much stuff we had accumulated for when we built our house

There was even a kitchen in there that we got 2nd hand.. but once I started moving things out I found the termites beat me to it.. so up in flames the kitchen went

I finally cleared it all out and then restacked the storage... I was exhausted.. was a huge day for me.

Hmmm now what shall I tackle tomorrow

My NEW Adventure - Part 4

Well for those of you who have visited us in the past would know of the building we built as an entertainment area when we had visitors.. there was a gap between that and the caravan as our initial plans were to eventually move the caravan and build our house in that spot and then join it to the room by way of a deck down the side. Garry had put up plastic to try and keep the weather off the area but this gap was hot in the summer and cold/wet in the winter so had to do something about it... my home wasnt going to be built now as we had planned.. those wonderful plans died with him... so I needed to put some sort of cover over that area.... Luckily I kept all the "good scrap" and had a lot of building materials that could be used. I pulled down the plastic sheeting and this is what I came up with...

so what do you think?  

The peacocks loved it.. in fact they loved it so much they decided to spend most of the day under there.. and that had to change !!

My NEW Adventure - Part 3

Next it was tackle the inside of the workshop.. well to a degree where I could walk around and find things

 not that I know one motorbike part from another.. but at least all my hose fittings etc are easily found

My NEW Adventure - Part 2

I had my lovely friend Roz come and visit over Easter and family came also to lend a hand for a day. It took a long time to clean up eventually but I took one day at a time.. the physcial work was the worse as I am not a strong woman in muscle sense and I suffer many bruises and gashes and even a broken toe.. after everyone was gone I just wished I had an extra 2 arms as 4 hands were needed for a lot of the jobs but I had to make do on my own... it got done (slowly) much to the detriment on my poor aching body LOL

Then slowly I had to sell some of the bigger items like the excavator and bobcat .. to help pay the bills that were mounting..

MY NEW ADVENTURE - Part 1

It all happened so fast.. diagnosis Cancer.. treatment NONE.. too far gone.. so 20 days later he left this world.. albeit pain free now.. what do I do now? I just lost the love of my life, my best friend, my soul mate. I was only 57.. expected to grow old with this special man.. life can be so cruel at times.. even when you have never done anything wrong.

So I threw myself into our property.. 1. because it needed a bit of a clean up from hoards of stash that had built up since 1999 when we bought the property.. and 2. because I needed the distraction.

First things first.. this had to be cleaned up

So 2 friends come and stay a week and they helped me sort through some of this stuff and put aside what needed to go to the scrap yard...  Then it was back to myself and after more sorting and 5 truck
 loads later.. 7 car bodies and scrap metal all gone to another home.

Its with much Sadness

Its with much sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Garry to terminal cancer only 20 days after initial diagnosis

He was such a wonderful man, kind, giving, and treated me like a queen for the nearly 17 years we were together

Always in my heart babe

Happy Australia Day

Australia "home" there is no place I'd rather be!
We all manage to come together and battle through her harsh climate of fire, floods and drought, it brings out our Aussie Spirit and that's what it's all about.
Today we celebrate with pride that we are the people of a wonderful land, 

where a beer and barbie go hand in hand.
Known as the lucky country no matter where your from, 

lets hope we can keep it that way for generations to come.
Happy Australia Day !!!!!!

This weekend....

Had a lovely weekend away catching up with close friends.. took these moon shots from their backyard at Poona, Queensland

Tawney Frogmouth Owl

This gorgeous owl found a place to sleep at our home for the day.. and it didnt mind me taking photos

Peacock Chicks.. chillin'

These two were sitting at my door this morning

Peacock Chicks

5 peahens layed their eggs this year and 2 hens have hatched theirs...

 1 hen has hers hatching today.. so 2 more on eggs to go.

Here is a photo for you

Australian Weather

We can suffer extreme conditions at any time... last week it was extreme heats and wildfires down the road  and this week it was remnants of a cyclonic weather system with tornados and a deluge of rain.

Here are a couple of videos I took showing our dry creek next to our house flowing fast with wet stuff lol

Our poor dam wall has an even bigger hole in it with the rushing waters

And my pet goat BART didnt like the rain at all

Willy Wagtail Babies

A Willy Wagtail made a small nest in the top of our vege garden enclosure

These are their babies... looking all cramped in there LOL

Remember Marge had her twins?

Look at them now

Local Kangaroos

I visited my neighbour recently and the kangaroos were around looking for treats, had my tablet with me so grabbed a short video (I deleted the sound due to too many people speaking loud in the background and also because my voice sounded horrible lol)
Hope you enjoy it.

Twin Lambs born Today

Our Damara Ewe gave birth today and she had TWINS !!!

I missed the first birth by minutes but captured the second birth on video and here it is

Peach Tree

It is the middle of winter here and has been very cold at night but my peach tree must be loving the weather as it is covered with buds and has even started flowering