This is a very old photo of me - maybe 30 years ago. I was at a family get together and my smartarse brother was taking photos of me to prove I was 'argumentative' and not as nice as people seemed to think. Well hell I could have told them that myself. Anyway - this was taken when I used to drink alcohol and cared enough to try and look a bit more glamorous than I care to now.
Because I work in a prison I am very protective of my anonymity. Although I would say 'hi' to them on the 'outside', I don't want ex-criminal-students knowing where I live. You won't find out much about me on Facebook and I cancelled my LinkedIn account because it seemed an obvious way to allow people to steal my identity. This group of photos has been carefully selected - no photos of the shed we live in or anything that could identify the property - but hopefully enough to give my blog friends some insight into my small life.
When we were building our current home we stayed on a 6 acre property in a tiny cottage with a caravan parked alongside to provide the kitchen. It was a lovely time. The landlady was horse mad and we became good friends.
This was taken on the inside of the small cottage. Our little black poodle is watching the news broadcast.
But she likes watching cartoons too. This was taken in the new place.
Eventually we put the old caravan up for sale and couldn't believe the response! Who knew 'retro caravans' (this one was a 1970s vintage) were such a thing? Apparently they are very sought after and my partner was juggling many interested parties until some guy drove all the way from Esperance (about 800km away) to pay cash, sight unseen. It was a bit sad to see it go but the sale funded the shipping container we bought to use as a shed.
Watching the bobcat smash down small trees and bush on our new block was traumatic. I was in tears. But the fire guidelines are very strict in this country - especially since we've had wildfires on the east coast.
This was taken last summer and I am dreading this year's fire season.
Our first job on the new block was to bury our little dog Hamish. He was Mynee's brother. I hoped like hell he could hang on until we took ownership of the property. It was touch and go because he was very sick but he died shortly after we got the deeds. There was no way I was going to leave him behind or bury him on someone else's land. I still remember the day we loaded up the wheelbarrow (there were no pathways or roads in) with his limp little body on his bed, his favourite toys and the shovel and marched them along the firebreak to the spot I had chosen.
We got the main structure done by the builder and fitted it out in plywood like this ourselves. We had a limited budget because we didn't want to borrow from the bank - both of us are too old for mortgages and my job is too insecure.
This is the room I fitted out myself. It's my room and I love it. I bought the retro wardrobe for $30, built it in and added the storage area above. I also did all the wall frames and lining for the room, the floor and built the floor to ceiling bookcase. We kept costs down by doing things ourselves and recycling, but we didn't skimp on things like double-glazing which has made such a difference to heating the place in winter.
The owner of the property we stayed on while we were building was doing a lot of clearing and reno so we salvaged things like these really old bricks and jarrah fence posts - which I spent hours digging out.
Even the interior was furnished with recycled things like the table ($15) and glasses from the Op Shop and Tip Shop. I always wanted to use artificial grass instead of carpet (which I think is very unhealthy) and you can see it here. It looks rough but it works and if it gets grubby - I can take it outside and hose it down.
I hate the look of modern electrical appliances so much I found this old TV casing at the Tip Shop for $30, bought a new, small flat screen TV and combined the 2. My friend thinks I'm insane but I love it - especially as the old TV was used in the Aussie surfing, coming of age movie 'Breath' before it was dumped at the tip.
I loved the TV and my room so much I did a drawing of them.
Next time I will share a few remaining photos I had intended to include here but think the post would be too long.
I love that you shared these photos and the story of how you got there. You and your partner have created such a lovely hand-made home. Roger and I have both in our earlier days built our own homes. I think if we were younger we would try it again.
ReplyDeleteIt was so loving and thoughtful of you to bury Hamish there.
I forgot to write how much I love that photo of you when you were young, and I LOVE that new TV in the old TV casing. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Robin. I like that photo of me because it shows a bit of attitude (haha).
DeleteYes we built most of our last home too (from floor level up) but it was bigger and a lot of work. 11 years older we decided to get the builder to get us to lock up this time. It reduced our stress so we could actually enjoy the process (most of the time). We were almost too old to do it - lots of aches and pains - ladders being the worst of course. The TV is a bit mad but I enjoy looking at it so much more like that.
My mum and dad had that exact coffee table when I was growing up, I bet it's still in their house somewhere cos they dont throw anything away. What a blast from the past!
ReplyDeleteI envy you the ability to build and so on, it's a great way to save a lot of money and it means the place is truly your own.
Your young self doesn't look anything at all the way I would have imagined but then what would I know!
The dress and neat hair is a rarity Kylie. I would have been wearing stubbies and singlets or equivalent winter clothes the rest of the time. I moved between short spikey hair to long like this. I'm in transition again - from short to long (eventually). I always saw myself as a long grey haired older woman and now that I am starting to get some grey (yay!) I am going feral again.
DeleteHello from a fellow blogger who is a first-time visitor here. I have seen your comments on Robin's blog so being the rather curious (nosey) person I am, here I be. Actually I admit to being somewhat of a blog troll who is always on the lookout for new-to-me blogs to read that are also interesting. To tell the truth, many are quite frankly, not so much. I do understand your need for anonymity and it's also "why" when we started our blog, years ago we selected aliases which have remained, although long-time readers do know our names which I have shared. So by way of introducing myself, I am Dorothy aka Beatrice and I do not nor have I ever owned a small dog or lived in Kansas or even been there. The story of how you built your current home was interesting to read and as former homeowners, not mill apt dwellers, furnishing with unusual and found items is understandable and doable. I loiked the retru tv look too.
ReplyDeleteHi Dorothy. Welcome and thanks for stopping by.
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