We decided to keep ourselves busy and I had invested in a few fun little projects including a feature windmill for our front garden and the collection of vintage bear figurines called ‘Cherished Teddies.’ Dave focused on cleaning the shed in a hope to finally get stuck into his International fire truck that had sat in the same spot since the day we bought it home five years ago. I had also achieved my goal of painting the final coat on the walls of the kitchen by the end of the year and had started attacking the ceiling.
The windmill hunting was fun while it lasted, we drove around looking and seeking appropriate-sized or damaged windmills, before attempting to contact the property owners. I’ve heard the saying ‘Tight Farmers’ being described as tight as a duck’s arse, and that being water tight, but my god! Some of the conversations I had or the ones that didn’t even return my call was honestly just rude. I could understand them saying no, that wasn’t the worry, it was the expectation that we would offer thousands of dollars on top of doing all the work ourselves! Or the windmills that were just lying on the ground and left to rust away, they honestly just had no respect for the historical beauty of the land.
We ended up finding one at Ballarat at a place that made a business out of collecting rustic and vintage items. The three of us enjoyed the drive together and getting out the house for the day. The windmill itself needs a bit of work so that will become another one of Dave’s projects, including the eventual re-mounting to the stand. I can’t wait for it to be finished to put on display for all to view as they drive-by – it would be a bit of a ‘up yours’ to all the farmers whose windmills are still standing in their paddocks losing money – haha.
Since losing Louis I had been on the lookout for some kind of figurine to place at the cemetery. I pictured a small blue bear, dog or tractor but had yet to find the perfect piece. I had started to search second-hand online and I came across ‘Cherished Teddies’ and I fell in love! They were so beautiful and I just wanted them all! And I was so excited when I found my very first one at the local opportunity shop. It was attached to a candle holder and I was confused because it really did look like one, but it didn’t have the stamp on the bottom – odd. Then I decided someone might have glued the statue to the candle holder and maybe that was where the stamp was hidden? Without researching first, I broke the figurine off the candle holder and started to sand away at the bottom – but there was nothing there either and I was so confused! Then I reverse google searched a photo and there it was, a very similar ‘Cherished Terries’ figurine, only the bear was standing instead of sitting as the one I had brought home. The bear’s name was ‘Leah’ and she was made in 2003. From further research I discovered that the piece I had brought home was a part of the collection, only it was a membership piece – but know I had broken it! Oops! Anyway, lesson learned and good story for my very first ‘Cherished Teddies’ collection.
Dave and I spent the New Year watching the fireworks at Nathalia from our tank tower at home (another one of our projects from 2023). It was just us and I’m sure both our thoughts were with Louis and the hope for a better year in 2025. Hope was all we had left – Hope of another baby – Hope for an earthside sibling for Charlie – Hope for health – Hope for a new start – Hope for healing – God please, hope for an easier year! Maybe, next New Year’s Eve Charlie might be up the tank tower to bring in the New Year with us, or maybe I’ll be in the nursery feeding his newborn sibling.
'Our Little Louis' 