THE CARDINAL NEST

 

Greetings from the Red Cardinal nest..

Four months have flown by since we returned from our gorgeous Musical tour in Europe...

Four months during which we made a decision to downsize from our beloved home of 21 years, high on a hill on the Western fringe of Brisbane.

It is a large home, and we have filled every corner of it with our collections of books, art, collectibles, and memories of our lives, our family and our travels.

The 'Garden of Neglect' has always been a particular pleasure and challenge, but the time has come to find a less challenging place.

We have gradually worked our way through every part of our house, and via the usual downsizing methods, have donated, sold, given away or otherwise disposed of a large portion of our possessions.

I have had to cull, then pack, my collections of fabric and general haberdashery, and sold off a couple of sewing machines.  My art and journal supplies and all my sheet music have been edited considerably in size, and are packed in moving boxes.  We still have too many photos, but we are working on that.

About 50 boxes have been packed to come with us, and there will be many more.  

We have worked at it every waking moment that we can, while maintaining our normal commitments in the community.

As well, we have been searching for a suitable new home.

I have taken hardly any photos over the months: too busy!  These views were taken by a professional photographer.

Half of our furniture has now gone into storage, and what remains has been professionally styled for sale.  It no longer looks like our old Red Cardinal nest.  It is chic, but impersonal, as is the requirement for sale these days.

Everything personal has been secreted away...

And this weekend, we had our first Open House as our property went onto the market for sale.

A lot of people came, and we are looking forward to feedback from our agent.

Every day since May I have spent 30-40 minutes going through real estate websites of houses for sale in our preferred areas.  It is a soul-destroying exercise after a few months...

Most weekends we have been to several carefully chosen Open Houses, only to find some insurmountable obstacle when we see them.

Nothing seemed to beckon us as suitable.

But we did eventually find out about a special house, which was being prepared for sale.

Finally, last week, we were able to see it.

It was The One!

Perfect on the important levels, charming and inviting, and within walking distance of my church, local shops, and many friends in the area.  

Reader, we made an offer immediately!

And after a bit of negotiation, our offer was accepted.

Legals have been worked on this week, and all is well.

We just need to find a keen buyer for our lovely old house.

Hope you are all well, and I hope I can get back to more blogging when the pressure is off a bit.

Love from The Red Cardinal