Well,
anyone who didn’t know we moved house this year must be hard of hearing, because
it’s been broadcast far and wide.
We
sold the house at Lower Templestowe and ‘downsized’ to a smaller place in
Watsonia, although we are extending as I write. We built a self-contained
bungalow/granny flat in the backyard for Miles, and we lost one of the original
bedrooms in gutting the house for a larger meals area and bathroom, so we are
building on another bedroom and outdoor decking, bringing it back to three
bedrooms. This will all be more or less under the same roofline.
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| Miles' bungalow, during building |
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| The back extension in progress |
The
renovations are long and arduous, so we will still be living in rubble into
2015. We will both be happy to get it all finished and finally be able to
unpack the rest of our things and stop having to move our stuff around as areas
are renovated. Jeanette will be happy to get her garage back too, as that’s
where many of our possessions still remain.
Roy
retired last year so he is enjoying his freedom with more line dancing,
gardening, socialising, and sometimes helping with the renovations. Roy still
keeps in touch with the folk at Croydon SDS. He is quick to down tools to join
Amy walking her dogs or to pop around to Duane’s place at Noraccom, to visit or
help with things that come up.
Liz
continues to work at La Trobe University at the Olga Tennison Autism Research
Centre, three days a week. She is happy to continue her watercolour painting at
U3A on Mondays, and enjoys catching up with old friends from former workplaces.
She is involved in a community art project with Carers Victoria, that will take
place in Melbourne in May 2015, so stay tuned.
Duane
started working at HiCity Industries at the beginning of 2014. His previous
employer (VATMI) was unable to offer enough work and Duane had been struggling
to keep himself occupied with work only 2 days a week. He is now working
full-time and much happier. In the past few months he received funding to
access some outreach activities, which he is using to attend a local gym and do
other physical pastimes to increase his stamina and lose some weight. We are
hoping this funding will be renewed when the current funding runs out in March
2015.
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| Duane, cunningly disguised as a ninja turtle. |
Miles
loves his bungalow and his new independence. As his parents it is a delight to
see him happily using his vacuum cleaner (a SHARK) and hanging up his washing
and washing his dishes etc. At the latest state election he took himself to the
polling booth and voted unassisted - a new milestone. Miles has had great
success with his paintings this year. He exhibited in numerous exhibitions,
including the Melbourne Art Fair, where he sold all nine works he had
exhibited, and also was invited to have a solo exhibition at a mainstream
gallery in Melbourne in May 2015. Invitations to this event will be sent when
details are confirmed. We are all excited at the prospect. He has had success
in photography also and loves seeing his photos at exhibitions. Miles still
loves trains and sharks.
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| Miles in front of some of his paintings at the Melbourne Art Fair 2014 |
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| Displaying his medals at the Special Olympics National Games. |
Amy
and Craig have not learned from our renovation experiences and will be
extending their house next year, more than doubling their floor space. Their
two dogs, Charlie and Mittsie, and Austin, the cat, will be happy to have more
space. It is lovely to have Amy and Craig living a ten-minute walk away. Amy
changed jobs during the year and now works for a firm of accountants in East
Ivanhoe, 20 minutes from home. She is much happier now.
Liz
and Amy have set up a tradition of ‘Girl Time’ where they share high teas.
Every month or so they can be found sipping tea and eating scones in various
establishments around Melbourne. The quality has been high and the enjoyment
has been evident.
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| One of our high tea excursions in 2014. |
In
January 2014 Liz, Roy, Duane and Miles enjoyed a two-week cruise from Sydney,
via Hobart, to New Zealand. Duane and Miles loved shipboard life and soon got
their ‘sea legs’. We’re sure they would be happy to cruise again. We sailed up
the east coast of NZ stopping at delightful spots along the way, including an enjoyable day in Wellington with Jan and Kent Atkinson, and ending in
Auckland and flying back to Melbourne. Liz will write blog posts about this
trip, and the renovations, in the near future.
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| NZ photos taken by Miles |
Now
that all five Wilkses are residing in Watsonia we feel quite at home. It is
great to be able to walk to the shops, the station, the library and visit other
members of the family. It is just a 40-minute train ride to the centre of
Melbourne. Liz can drive to work in about 10 minutes, and we can be drinking
cups of tea at Jeanette’s kitchen table in about 15 minutes.
Well, that is the Wilks’ news
for another year. We hope you have had a satisfactory year and are healthy and
enjoying life. We wish you the compliments of the season and hope you will join
us for a ‘coldie’ on our outdoor decking when the renovations are finally
finished! (… Or before that!)
Love from
Liz & Roy Wilks.
XXXXXX
(Let Christmas 2014
begin!)
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