Sunday, January 22, 2012

Swaps, Moving and Navel Gazing

Here's the deal-
BP is moving to Brisbane. She applied for entrance into tertiary courses last year and found out a couple of weeks ago that she was accepted into her first preference.

I'm so proud of her and very happy for her too.

BUT, I'm going to miss her.....a lot!
It's been just the two of us for quite some time now, so it's going to be very very weird not having her around to annoy talk to me everyday. Fortunately we found a solution that fits us perfectly.

I have been contemplating moving back to Brisbane for quite some time now. With that in mind, I went house/apartment hunting in Brisbane, somewhere for BP to live while studying and somewhere that I could escape to every so often.  I found a fabulous place which stretched the budget somewhat, but is just perfect, a secure place for her and a great place very close to the city for me to get my city fix!

We have been slowly moving BP's stuff down to the apartment and setting it up. It's taken a fair chunk of my time. It's about an hour and a half drive away. Plus all the sorting of things that she needs down there. We spent last week there, finalising everything.  It's finally set up and she is about to move there permanently this week.

The only thing is, I love it so much I want to move there NOW, not eventually.  I'm already wondering how I can move BP out so I can move in permanently.
I've lived in the same house for 13 years. I bought it originally as a temporary place, somewhere to renovate and then sell after a couple of years. 13 years is not what I would call temporary.

The decision has been made, I WILL sell this house, probably not straight away as the real estate market is not fabulous right now, but I'm already doing a major de clutter and getting the house organised for when I'm ready to sell.

So that's where my head has been for the last couple of months, why blogging has been sporadic and why I haven't exactly been sewing up a storm.

Having said that, I'm trying to make sure I will be very very busy, too busy to constantly worry about BP or spend every spare minute in Brisbane, after all she does need her space.

So I've put my name down for two swaps so far. The first the Mouthy Stitches Swap. I've just found out who my partner will be and I'm very excited, I'm also crapping myself, because I hope I can make a zippered pouch that she will love. Heck I'm just hoping I can make a zippered pouch, having never made one before. I've been ordering in supplies, some zippers from Zippit on Etsy and some fabric. In the meantime I'll be practising zippered pouches this week.

The second swap I've signed up for is the Name Game Swap run by Anorina at Samelia's Mum. I've put up my mosaic and found out who my partner is. At least no zips in this one. I have a few ideas already for this and have put together some fabrics on flickr that I hope my partner will like.




1. mini quilt swap, 2. finished pouch, 3. For the Love of Solids Swap, 4. Oh, 5. custom order, 6. Entrance and hall, 7. Dining/sewing table, 8. Scrappy Pincushion Swap--Round 2, 9. Doll Quilt swap 10 Finished, 10. Gerberas, 11. Dining/living room, 12. Monday - washing day, 13. Pillow Swap Round 4 Pillow Finished, 14. MT swap sent, 15. For the Birds, 16. Better shot - Finished MMM bookshelf mini-quilt

I took some hand sewing to work on while I was in Brisbane and thanks to some intensive hours of sewing, now have a finished quilt, the first for 2012 and quite a bit of progress (for me) on some other projects. I'll share with you next time.


22 comments:

  1. How exciting! Good luck for the future move :-)

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  2. Congrats to BP on getting into the tertiary course! And to both of you for finding the perfect place for her to stay and you to visit ~ until you make it permanent.

    As one who has moved 3 times in a year, I feel your pain! But it's exciting too. And yes, the quilting does suffer, but that's okay. :-)

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  3. Sounds like you've got Brisbane planned out. What is the draw in Brisbane vs where you are now? How long do you think it will be before you can move?

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  4. Exciting times Marg! And look at you with all the swapping. Gosh. I bet you'll be totally fine with the zipper. More than happy to help if you want. xx

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  5. Moving! Three house moves in three years just about did my head in. I now firmly state (to anyone who will listen) that I am not moving until it is into somewere we own. Wishful thinking for the most part but a girl can dream! Well done to BP and I bet she is having a blast. Soon you will be too!

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  6. Well Marg, sounds like you are going to be fairly busy. All those swaps, selling a house, shutteling back and forth between brisbane and your place. This will be one exciting year. Good luck to the two of you!

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  7. Good for you Marg!!! You must be happy to have made a decision!!I got the feeling you'd decide to move by the way you talked about Brisbane. The swaps sound fun! I've never done a zippered pouch.. but I know you'll be whipping up beauties in no time!

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  8. Oooh! Good luck with the house hunting and sale! You will be busy! I also need to get practising my zipper pouches too!

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  9. what a decision....well done to you for making it....after all you only really regret things you didn't do

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  10. Congratulations to you and your daughter, Marg!
    Can't wait to hear all of the updates....when does school start?
    You should totally contact house hunters international!!!!!! We could all watch you find your next house. What do you think?

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  11. Good for you. I've been in my house 12 years and wonder how that happened! I never intended to stay this long. Its hard and stressful, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

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  12. Congrats to BP for getting into the course she wanted! Such an exciting time for her.

    Exciting for you too that you have decided to move. Maybe visiting every few weeks will give you enough of a fix while you work out the rest of the logistics.

    My older daughter is in Chicago at school and I would SO love to get a place there too. But, it is definitely not in the budget so I'll just have to content myself with hotel visits for now.

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  13. How exciting! I know how you feel about BP leaving - my daughter has been in Australia for almost two years and that's a long way from UK! I haven't even been able to visit so Brisbane seems near to me!! It sounds a perfect solution you have there space and independence for her, city fix for you and an eventual home for you when she completely flies the nest. Brilliant - wishing you all the best and hope it all works out well for both of you.

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  14. My son finished year 12 last year and is starting uni this year in Darwin....he scared the pants off me when when he said he wanted to go to uni in Melbourne! It wasn't even on my radar :( Its thousands of kms from Darwin and we don't know anyone there....at this stage I seem to have bought another three years whilst he does his degree before he flys the coup....this growing up business seems to take a long time, then all of a sudden it's here ! Good luck with this year's adventure!

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  15. Well thats fantastic news Marg and exciting too! Good idea to keep yourself busy so as not to worry about your girl, im sure she will be fine and will probably be missing her mum just as much ( probably more!) Have fun in the swaps, you will have no worries with the zippered pouches!

    x

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  16. You have been sorely missed Marg, but I am glad to hear your exciting news. A change is as good as a feast any day....but wont you miss paradise....I have been away from the coast for a bit over 20 years and I still miss it. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could.

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  17. Glad you have sorted out your navel, it's frustrating being in limbo and trying to decide the best way forward. Good luck.

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  18. Sounds like you have it all figured out well to me.... but it will get harder and harder to stay up there I suppose unless BP decides she misses the coast too much and travels back up there to see you ( and the beach ?/?). She'll probably end up bringing friends with her and you'll find yourself appreciating the quiet when they all go back down to lectures after a weekend.
    Cheers

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  19. Exciting times, to be sure! Sounds like you have it pretty well sorted, you just have to wait for the right time. I'm sure it'll all go well.
    Keeping your hands full is the way to go - my hubby's away a lot during the week so I get lots done when he's away to try and make the time go faster. Those swaps should keep you out of trouble and you get nice pressies in return. Bonus!

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  20. Congrats to BP! And to you for deciding on a new course, that's always the hard part, the deciding.

    Let me know on how well your strategy works on cutting down on the worry. I'm going to need a good strategy when DT goes off to school in a few years.

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  21. Wow Marg - sounds like a whole new adventure ahead for you and BP. Well done to BP getting on the course she wanted and regarding the swaps... well, if I can make a zippered pouch then I have no doubts whatsoever that you'll find it a doddle and have zippered pouches coming out of your ears before long. The very best of luck with all your future plans, bet it feels both exciting and nerve-wracking to have made a decision.

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  22. Nice that you were able to secure a place in Bris. I love Brissy too. Sounds like you have some happy times and big decisions coming up. Good luck. From Di

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