Peggy and I bought our home in October 2005, and moved in to it one week before Christmas. Spending our first Christmas together in our new home was an unexpected bonus.
I had lived in my unit in Hawthorn for just over 12 years, and I was very comfortable there. It's in a great area, and very close to all of the amenities of both Hawthorn and Camberwell. Peggy lived with me after we were married, but it was a bit of a squeeze for the two of us. It was definitely time to move on.
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Myself, after selling my flat.
Fortunately, the buyer offered the price I wanted and was willing to settle early. We were able to move in to our new home in time for Christmas. |
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Everyone hates moving house. Now I know why... |
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It's exhausting! |
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But it was worth it when we started to unpack at our new address. |
Our house is in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton, about 15 km from the centre of the city. It's one of Melbourne's older suburbs, with many beautiful but older-style houses in leafy green streets. Considering it's so close to the city it's also very quiet.
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Our house from the front. |
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Our front yard, from just outside the fence.
The fence encloses the entire front yard, which makes the house very private. |
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The front of the house, seen from the side. |
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The front corner of the house, showing our patio. We cleaned up the weeds a bit, and have some big plans for a deck here. |
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Looking down the side of the house, toward the garage at the rear. |
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The side of the house looking towards the front. |
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The rear of the house. |
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The rear of the garage, with our washing line (never had one before) and the door to the bloke's toilet at the rear of the garage. |
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Our garden!
Neither Peggy nor I have ever had a garden before, so we have had to learn something about gardening to keep it all alive through summer. |
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We have managed to produce some great flowers, though.
More by good luck than anything, I must admit. |
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Our kitchen.
It was lucky that my refrigerator fitted the space in the wall. |
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Our meals area.
This is a great place to sit and contemplate the garden. |