2026 Life Update
After 17 years, more than 1500 blog posts and 2 years travelling around Australia our time between posts dramatically increased. We finished our lap and returned to ‘normal’ life, and got on with a whole heap of things you can read about in our initial life update.
You could say we got busy, and this blog took a back seat. Today though, I’d like to give you another update, with the intention of reviving the blog, and putting more time and effort in again in the future!
What’s been happening?
Well, a lot, and not much at the same time. My full time job has been occupying the majority of my time and mental capacity, and the rest of it divided between our family, working in the garden and trying to get a granny flat approved for my mother in law to finally get a ‘forever place. It’s been a hard slog, with the balance not always quite right, but for the most part we’ve been enjoying ourselves, but thoroughly worn out at the end of each week.
A trip to Thailand
A while back we took our kids on their first real, overseas trip. Oliver went to Bali when he was 18 months old but doesn’t remember it. We went with a whole heap of family, and stayed in Khao Lak and then near Phuket for nearly a week each. It was eye opening for our kids, and we had some pretty incredible times with our extended family that we don’t always get to see.
I resigned
The most recent change though, is I’m changing jobs. It was somewhat unexpected, but I was offered a role much closer to home, with far less hours (and much less travel time) which I’m hoping will open up some new opportunities. You wouldn’t believe it too – I was asked to go for Jury Duty in the last week of employment, which I’ve deferred due to commitments and the new role. I start the new role in a couple of weeks, and am looking forward to another challenge.
Our garden and Granny Flat
Sarah and I have spent a ridiculous amount of time, and even more effort in turning our garden from a sandy, unproductive and relatively unkept one to more fruit and vegetables than you can poke a stick at. Since moving in, we’ve hand moved easily 100 cubic metres of fresh mulch. Its safe to say our wheelbarrow has earnt its keep, with thousands of loads moved around the property, and a ridiculous amount of soil and grass all done by hand.
The soil has changed dramatically and we’re starting to see some pretty amazing changes, with plenty of vegetables, and even some fruit starting to roll in too. Our chickens are back on the lay, and we’ve got lots of fresh eggs as well, along with a heap of frogs that have moved into our new ponds.
We’ve been working on converting the back part of our shed into a Granny flat for a long time now, with a lengthily battle with council over a whole range of red tape. It’s been quite frustrating, and will end up costing a lot more than what we initially expected, but it will be amazing when complete.
The kids
Oliver and Cooper have been at their school for a almost 2 years now, and have settled in well. They’re both very different, but thoroughly enjoy our larger block to roam and play on.
The Dmax and Camper
As I write this, we’re camped at the Denmark Ocean Beach Caravan park, with rain pouring down. We haven’t done nearly as much camping and 4WDing lately because we’ve been so busy. It’s been a big step backwards in the camping department, but we really like the Cub Camper, and intend on keeping it long term. We finally had the ATM upgrade completed, which allows us to carry more gear without breaking any laws.
The Dmax is probably getting to the age where it will start to need some more major work, and I’m very tentatively treading this pathway, as I know if we leave it too late, it is a slippery slope.
Our MG EV
Our MG ZS EV LR has just clocked up 22,000km, and to be honest, for a daily driver I’d never go back to a petrol or diesel vehicle. This was about the cheapest EV you could buy, and was far cheaper than even a second hand petrol vehicle with a novated lease, and its a real pleasure to drive.
It’s quick, torquey, quiet, safe and has all the bells and whistles we’ll ever need. I can’t say I was ever sold on EV’s, and still don’t agree with a lot of the marketing that they’re being sold around, but they are certainly an incredible technology advancement that works perfectly for us. We took it down to Busselton the other weekend and used the public charging network for the first time, and I’d comfortably do it again.
This blog
Finally, and probably most importantly for those reading on is we simply ran out of time to do almost anything on the blog since returning to Perth from our Big Lap of Australia. Between my job, family and work around the house I had nothing more to give.
With the new role starting soon, and a decent break I’m quietly hoping to start posting more here and on social media, and giving the blog the attention it needs.
What have you been up to? What else do you want to know? What do you want to see from us?
