Living the Australian Dream

I just finished watching the final of the first series of The Next Great Baker with Buddy Valastro, and the final challenge was for the two contestants to make their own cakes representing their American Dream.

Marissa's winning cake showed her journey from her home and family in New Jersey through school to her baking job, and experience on The Next Great Baker, to her success as the winner.

And this got me thinking, what is my Australian Dream? Traditionally, I know the Great Australian Dream is home ownership, but has that dream changed for Australians? Is it enough?

I asked my son, what he thought was the Australian Dream, and he said, travelling around Australia, which I agree seems to be as important to people as owning a home, and is definitely on our agenda of things that need to be done. I get a thrill about seeing the iconic landscapes and structures that are the stuff of postcards:

Uluru

Sydney Harbour Bridge

We've really only seen WA and Tassie, and some of the capital cities, so we've got a lot of travelling to do!

Another dream of ours is overseas travel, which is a pretty general dream of Aussies. I would LOVE to see France, England, Italy, European castles, New York, Canada and New Zealand. Of course, I want to see even more than that, but these are the places I would go first.

 (I guess I like cities that glow, and very tall mountains!)

When I was younger I had a dream to get married and  have children. Well, I did both of those, for which I am very grateful! I couldn't imagine life without my boys and love them dearly.

We had a dream to build our own home and we did that, and I love our home! (Just to be clear, we didn't actually do the building of the house, but you know what I mean.)

It would be nice to have something a bit bigger, and a bit flasher. Right now, with the proximity of work and school, our home is where we need to be. And, anyway, we can't decide where else would be better! (Although I saw this house the other day, and thought it was my dream home - not a bad location either! Sorry reader, if it's your house, I got the pic from Google maps. And, by the way, do you wanna sell??)

Another dream of mine is to have the ultimate job. Teaching is pretty good, it's way up there, and I love it!
But it feels like there could be something else. I'm thinking, for many Australians, the dream is to be your own boss.

In the back of my mind, if money was not an option, my dream would be to throw myself into my own creative business and for it to be a success. Something crafty, or artistic, or to write books.

I guess if I was compelled to do those things I would have done them by now, but unfortunately I am a procrastinator when it comes to risk. I like the idea of owning a bookshop, a newsagency, a postoffice, or a gift shop (with stock of my own design), even a chocolate shop, but I worry about the economy and about the time commitment.

The safety of teaching and the joy of children is what keeps me there.

(Which teacher today wasn't inspired by Laura Ingalls in their childhood?)

Our other major dream is to spend time with our extended family, which we do pretty well, although I feel for my hubby that his Dad is in Tassie and we don't see him much. That is a great frustration for us. But what can you do, when your families are on opposite sides of the country?

So, what is your Australian Dream, and are you living it? I'm thinking we are halfway there. I guess the dream is to continue to achieve it; and even when you achieve all you've aimed for, there is always something more!

Tell me your Australian dream...

xx

Extreme Backyard Makeover

We have lived in our house for 14 years now, and just before Christmas we (meaning my husband)
 finished our backyard! It was such an exciting moment!

All those years we had bits and pieces done, then changed them, changed them again, but basically saved and saved to get each section done. Included in the total reno was, installing a small shed, installing a large shed, installing a side patio, a back patio, paving all around the sides and back of the house (this was done in 4 sections), putting down roll-on lawn, installing a cubby, a sandpit, brick walls, garden bed, vege patch, rendering a very long wall, painting that same wall, building a limestone wall base for the side fence, then having a Colourbond fence installed, selecting and planting plants, installing and painting a water tank, having an electrician install outdoor lights...and a lot of finer details to keep it all maintained.

Whew, my hubby has worked hard! The difference between how our block was when we first bought it and how it is now, is so dramatically different, let me tell you!

In fact, let me show you...

Patio area now:

Before:

Wall and garden bed-
temporary rock wall, bluestone walkway and starting to render wall:

Next stage -

Rendered and painted wall, dug out blue stone, starting to build limestone wall:

Complete!

Wall and garden bed from other end:

Complete!

Other side of yard (when the house was first built):

Removing the grass

No grass:

Install shed, paving and side fence:

Complete!

Outdoor lights:

New dining setting:

All in all, we love the transformation,
and it is our own little piece of paradise!

I'm playing along with the Love it, Like it, Link it Blog party at The Organised Housewife.
xx

A Do-er-upper!

Not far on from the Pink lake at Port Gregory was a little place called Lynton, where a convict depot was built from 1853 -1856. We walked up the steep hill to have a look at the ruins of the once stately residence, Sanford's House, originally inhabited by Captain Henry Sanford, the Superintendent of the depot. I fell in love with the house and wished it had been restored, because we could only look through the windows. The views from the balcony were glorious!

This area is well known for its windswept trees. Many of them look like this one!

Judith's Magical House

While in Tassie, we went to visit our friend Judith. Her home sits at the top of a hill overlooking the Tamar river. It is a majestic house; everything is on a grand scale, and it is filled with wonderful antiques and furniture. The gardens, too, are spectacular.

These photos are just from one room, so imagine the rest of the house!