September Update ....

So glad I didn't make any wild statements of promising to blog on a more regular basis!

Hornsby has been the start of our adventure for about four months now .... would we have sold the house when we did if we'd known how long finishing the trailer would take?  Probably not!  But we'd probably be even further behind as Stephen would have to keep working to keep up with mortgage payments etc - so all in all it has all worked out well.

August marked two years since this wild and crazy camper trailer design all began.  Out in the back of Broken Hill discussions started on a design that would suit the six of us, to be fully off road, less canvas than a conventional camper trailer and provide solid beds for us all.  Hand drawings began, which led to engineering designs on the computer and the start of the build in September 2011.  A year after the first weld we are ALMOST finished!  It has been a HUGE effort and AMAZING engineering and creativity from both Stephen and our family friend Bill Carver.

In our first week in Hornsby I managed to be behind the wheel of the vehicle as it overheated and damaged the motor beyond repair  - like how I worded that :-) ?!  Four months later the head has cracked.  Was it dodgy in the first place?   Could it be our turbo, the injectors?  More than likely a dodgy head, but once you fit an after market turbo, which we have had on our vehicle for many years the warranty is void....bummer.  So we are off the road again, have a little canvas work to finish off, a rather large, highly engineered hinge to fit, some minor fit outs and then we can hit the track for our adventure.  Starting close to home at Mount White while we check out everything, pack up all our things and last preparations to get the show on the road.

 

Tool box area

Tool boxes with multiple access doors

Helping Dad

Fitting the arms that hold our beds

one arm with side closed

Before top bunks ... testing the new arms.

Bunks will go about here ....

Top bunks fitted

Canvas over the beds

Frame for the door

Stabilising leg

Side Canvas Bag

The Last Month ...

My blogging regularity is very poor!  I tell myself I'll attempt a weekly blog and then I don't even get a monthly blog in ... so I won't promise anything - you will just have to take them as they come.

Our house is SOLD, settled, cleaned and vacated.  A VERY big step in the beginning of our journey.   Although, when does a journey really begin?  I believe life is one total journey and there aren't any real beginnings - just lots of turns, tracks and paths.  Our family, our businesses, de-cluttering our home, selling is all integrated in being a part of the next phase in our lives.  As is where we are living now ... my parents in Hornsby Heights.

We have been in Hornsby for a month, in a medium sized, three bedroom home.  Eight people co-habitating together and surprisingly or not - quite peacefully!  I have to say I think generational living is how it was meant to be.  Raising a family in the traditional way with hubby at work all day and mum at home with the children can be quite draining, stressful and tiring, but with the help of the grandparents full time it has been so much easier as we share jobs and responsibilities.  It is not only more helpful for me (the mother) but also a great experience for the children, to bond further with their grandparents and enjoy each others company.

Vivid Sydney

What have we been doing this last month?  I've been acquainting myself with Hornsby Westfield (quite a maze of a shopping centre), our eldest with Hornsby Library and the younger three with the park at the top of our street.  We took a trip to Sydney for Vivid Sydney and battled the crowds, we're finishing off reading the Narnia series books so we can take a visit to the Power House Museum for the Narnia Exhibition - trying to make the most of being in Sydney.  

We've also caught up with a few friends up the coast and I should mention here I also managed to totally cook our engine on one of those journeys.  Therefore Stephen as spent his time building our trailer AND fitting a reconditioned engine to the patrol this time adding an "engine watch dog"(keeps an accurate watch on the engine temperature and has an alarm when too hot).  And yes, as everyone has mentioned - better now than later - having it happen while we are out in the sticks somewhere.  I think Stephen would have preferred it didn't happen at all - but we carry on, build on and hopefully SOON we start our new path on our journey and head north to Cape York before the wet season begins.

   

You don't need it all ....

Trailer returning home ...

Well it's been a while ... maybe they've already gone bush some of you maybe thinking.  No - been busy busy busy!

The trailer had the sheet metal work done just before Christmas and is in our back yard with all the intricate work happening to it.  Water tanks fitted, floor mounted, storage boxes over the wheel arches fitted, wiring run through, hoses and fittings being installed.  With Christmas in the middle it probably slowed down a few things - but the ball is definitely rolling at full speed again!

The house will be going on the market in the next week or so.  The MAJOR clearing out has continued - utilising our local freecycle, council clean ups, neighbours bins (hush they don't know), gumtree and passing things onto friends.  I think some of my daughters friends may not be allowed to visit anymore as their children leave with many "new" things to stock up their bedrooms with!

It's been a tiring but rewarding experience.  Finding lost items and most of all actually knowing what is in the house and exactly where it is is such a time saver!!!  The garage is still a work in progress and it didn't help that the real estate agent did suggest that the state of the garage didn't really matter at this point - oh well it will be empty one day!

Something that most of us know but never really try out fully - you really don't need all the "stuff".  I have not missed for anything.  Just two days ago I gave away my rolling pin and boar, which I seldom use.  The next day I decide to make cinnamon scrolls and needed to roll out the dough.  Hmmm no rolling pin - on the bench was a kilo of honey that had just been dropped in by a friend - perfect rolling pin!  You can always make do and really it's not that you "just make do" you actually do completely fine ... it isn't all necessary at all.  As I've started working with Destiny Rescue I notice more and more how precious life, family, health and safety are and not my house or address and what I fill it!  It doesn't really add any lasting value to my life at all.

You can check out the wonderful work of Destiny Rescue on their website here:
http://www.destinyrescue.org/aus/
My roll with them is a jewellery consultant - selling jewellery that is hand made by the girls they rescue to raise money for the running of the safe homes and pay (double the award) to the girls.

small selection of Destiny Rescue jewellery