Wind it up

This is the final diary-style entry in this blog. I will post one more update next month listing links to our other web sites and new projects.
I have enjoyed keeping a public diary of our last 3 years' worth of life changes: Moving to a new country and a new climate, moving from the city to the countryside, changing careers, having our first child, starting our little company, becoming part of the convoluted (but incredibly awesome) social scene in and around Nimbin town, and best of all, making a whole new set of (incredibly awesome but I would say that wouldn't I 'cause too many of them now read this blog) friends.
Our little family now feels settled in Australia, and embedded (if oddly) in the Nimbin/Brisbane axis of queasle.
This feels like the right time to draw a line under this diary, as we move into the next phase of our life down under; there will be new (hopefully exciting) online projects, some within a few weeks - I will post links from this blog if appropriate.
If anyone has tracked me down here but does not have any other way to contact/find me, you can reach me using jay [dot] stephens [at] gmail [dot] com.

C's mum Rose has immigrated from Lancashire (smart move) and is moving this weekend to a flat in Iluka, the spare bedroom of which will be much abused as our beachside home-from-home this coming Summer, I suspect.





C is pregnant with what will be our second Australian in the family (the due date is January 6, 2011). As when she was pregnant with K, C has combined getting pregnant with starting a contract in Brisbane (with immaculate timing, given that we were both trying for a baby, and also trying to find her a good contract for over seven months) so for the next 5 months she is living and working in Brisbane's CBD (her contract this time is with Brisbane City Council) and we're currently seeing each other 3-4 days a week, depending on our schedules. And yes - I'm the one looking after K midweek!

Having promised that this entry would be diaristic, I better deliver.
I have learnt how to cook pavlova that doesn't suck (between that and getting the Don Bradman question right on the citzenship test, I reckon I'm a shoo-in for a blue passport now!) C has moved back in to the rental with Marina in Brisbane's West End (midweek) but this time she's downstairs - it's a fairly dark and primitive space (think something between "grungy squat" and "rumpus room") but it's incredibly central to Brisbane CBD and 1 minute's walk from the funky cafe/nightlife scene in West End, and also an absolutely gigantic space (2 huge bedrooms, a massive loungespace, separate french doors onto the back garden, plus own bathroom). This makes it practical for me to come to Brisbane for the weekend with K sometimes, rather than C coming back down to Nimbin every week, and allows it to work for us as a poor man's pied à terre when we have time off together. Not trivially, it also means C is within striking distance of nutritious food when she's eating for two and too tired to cook.
We have been to the Lismore Lantern parade (which was awesome compared to last year - no mud, and a great - tho scary for toddlers - contribution from the dinosaur exhibition that was in town the same week).

we have been on a steam train, we have walked along the waterfront at Grafton, we have paddled at the beach at Iluka, we have spent half a day at Out Of The Box, we have cycled along Brisbane's riverfront and drunk mochaccino in the sunshine by Eagle Street Pier's vintage paddle-steamers, and we made it to the first Blue Knob Farmers Market and purchased awesome fruit loaf, local sheeps milk brie, and insanely delicious local peperberry mustard.

Nimbin has two new shops on Cullen Street - the mechanic's workshop (NRMA) has relocated behind the servo, off the main drag, and all manner of colourful wares now spill out across what used to be the mechanic's forecourt. This has filled in what was a bit of a dead spot along Cullen Street, especially combined with the old bank building on the far side being transformed into retail space, the chemists opening an embedded cafe, and the e-bar making use of the off-street outdoor patio area for their tables.