Time for some good news. i’ve just been reading Pitchfork Design .. where Sam talks of a new project up near Swan Hill; and her inspiration is this amazing tale of greening the desert in Jordan.

This video is so worth watching, from desert to fruit trees and oasis: “You can solve the problems of the world in a garden,” says Geoff Lawton the permaculture artist behind the project.

3years later they’ve revisited the system to see what’s happened:

and here’s Geoff Lawton talking more about the project:

.. and read up on Sam’s projects too, she’s doing amazing work rebuilding the gardens in schools around Victoria. go Sam!

Lucky me to have such wonderful friends and colleagues helping me out !!!

Annie the angel comes over and completely re-organises the garage sale, so that it looks like useful things rather than a pile of junk; and then spends all day over here packing boxes for me. What a darling.

Tim brings croissants for breakfast. Ooo yum what could be better. Not only that, but then he packs up all my telephone and internet gadgets neatly into a box. Plus, he’s going to take away the fish and his tank. Yay Tim.

Jude and jody-Lee go mad on the council rubbish collection pile. Just keep piling they say.

Lovely Czek offers me a room even though he really doesn’t want or need a housemate.

Will and Jodie lend me their van on two separate days, meaning they have to get all thinkie on their schedules. So sweet!

Margot spends hours packing up all of the precious ceramic art, and then takes it back to her place for storage.

Amarina lets me store a mountain of boxes in her huge Land Rover called Keith. Plus, she brings up so many coffees for Louise and me, when our kitchen is not functioning. Am is a very generous and wonderful woman, so kind.

Lou does such an amazing job on the kitchen, cleaning it like it hasn’t been cleaned before (well, since Jude and Jody lived in the house, and Jude scrubbed every last bit of it.)

Then plenty of people – Ben, Maggie, Daryl, Deb, Zoe, Libby, Amarina – send across possible ideas for rooms or houses.

Fraser asks every time he sees me, and offers cardboard boxes in case i have to live under a bridge. Later i find out he’s been asking Syl, “Can michael use that space under the cupboard?”

Some days i feel like i’m surrounded by angels.
thank you all .. so much !

May the universe bless you all with this kindness and more.

So, the final party was a bit wild and messy.

One of the neighbours (overlooking from James St) came up and said, “i don’t usually complain about your parties .. because you’re finished by one or two .. but last Saturday was just too much”.

“i agree,” i replied, “it was awful”.

Kept going ’til dawn; people thrashing away in the music room and chattering drunkenly. We imagine that there’s a cone of silence around our little rustic village castle, because people never complain. But no.

“oh, if it was your swansong .. i guess it’s okay,” said the neighbour when i told her we were moving out. And got back on her bike.

Now i have temporary housing in Barkly St Coburg (phew!)…
will start looking again when i can muster the energy.

Thanks so much to all who came along, much appreciated!!

Normally you expect titles like “When only the best will do” and “Perfect position” etc.

Here’s a sensational effort from some real estate agent in the northern suburbs:

“When Anything Will Do”

oh yeah, spell it out for me.

.. ‘ideal shared student accommodation’ etc

in Glenroy.

Don’t know what’s going on with the Rental Market, but when i heard Ju-Yuen and her partner were given notice – for the second time in a year – i sighed with despair.

Two weeks ago, David came into work looking depressed, and told us that with his partner and child he’d been given notice. Four years they’ve lived in this place, and they’re not looking forward to the idea of having to find somewhere else.

Rohan at work is telling stories of boarding houses in West Heidelberg that fit whole families into a room (for under $200 a week). The Four Corners episode on Debt – a month ago – was horribly depressing. Apparently the number of mortgage repossessions by banks in the last twelve months is higher than during the entire early nineties recession (in Australia i think).

So .. anyway.

Fingers crossed, eh ?!

i read today that Melbourne is growing at a furious rate. 1500 people moving here every week. Nice to be so popular.

(News check: “Supreme Court files show lenders claiming a record 57 homes a week, triple the level of five years ago.” from the Hun, feb ’08. )