No time to think: we're in the thick of it.

Hello!

It's been 14 weeks since we began the project of building our new house and we can't quite believe how far we've come.

Through the very hot and dry month of February we saw the trusses, roof, fascia and guttering go on. Last week the windows and door frames were installed and the Scyon boards were put onto the front of the house. The bricks were delivered, and after a last-minute change of mind about mortar colour, the bricklayers will start a few days early tomorrow.

The action has pulled lots of tradespeople to the site already, and even a few curious and furry macropods, by the look of the footprints.

This would all be very exciting, apart from the fact that it puts lots of pressure on my dear electrician who is finding himself doing his dayjob and then going off to his sidegig wiring the house until very late nearly every night.

This is the time of the build when everything is in motion, there's barely time for thinking, only for doing. Any decisions not already made need to be made. Already.

In only a couple of weeks we'll be talking to plasterers and tilers. It's thrilling and terrifying all at once. C'est formidable, the French might say.

It's also not been without some niggles on small details with our builders, or without some concessions on  details or many hours of debating bathroom sink shapes and how to balance work, family and new house demands. It wouldn't be a genuine housebuild without it's share of stress.

But we will get through this. the more I see our house grow and spend time walking the land and feeling a part of it, the more I feel connected to what we are creating. And it will be worth it.

Welcome.

You found me! And I found you. It's great to meet you and I hope we can be friends.

Here's the backstory:

I'm a girl from a town in Northeast Victoria, Australia. After finishing school, I left my hometown for the big smoke, spent some years at uni and enjoy my singlehood, finally settled down with a good job, bought a flat and met a top bloke. Eventually we found a house together in a great part of Melbourne and got married. Then we knocked the house down and built a new one. It was an exciting experience and we ended up with a lovely house to call home.

Then we were blessed with a little boy, and a few years later, a little girl. Life was good. When we were given the opportunity to live in a beautiful part of the Pacific Ocean for a few years we thought all our dreams had come true. It didn't take much to convince us that we wanted an adventure to grow and test ourselves, plus the excuse to learn a bit of French, so off to New Caledonia we went.

After more than 3 fantastic years of living the expat life, it was time to return to Australia. And here we are, 45 minutes from my hometown, on the border of Victoria and New South Wales.

It's been a couple of years since our return from New Caledonia. For a long time I felt like we were just on an extended family visit, about to return to our sleepy ville in Provence Nord. But now, wistfully, I've come to realise that the French tropical chapter of our lives is over, fading into the past, but bound to us through with a pile of photos, unique memories and a group of extremely special friends who I will never forget.

Last year we bought a little plot of land outside our new town. It is on the side of a small hill and overlooks the local town. The view stretches across the Murray River and into the majestic hills of New South Wales. We have trees, grass, lots of birds, echidnas and kangaroos and more space than we've ever had before. Soon we will build a house there. It will be the official roots that we finally put down in our new community. It will be our spot to say hello from. 

Our Hill of Hello.