For several years, I have been carting around with me, a rather large suitcase full of photos that were taken of me, my family and the endless trips overseas that I have taken. One trip that I went on to Europe, I did not have a digital camera, but a conventional camera, and I shot over sixteen rolls of film. These photos were then developed and for some reason or another, I never did get to catalogue them or even mark them. So, I have decided that I must do it, and soon. I was astute enough, I think to write a notebook and keep it with the photos all numbered in the packets, so that I could distinguish them again one day.

My daughter helped me sort them out, and we did have a jolly time throwing out the blurred photos, the photos that just did not come out right, and also have a section of photos for reprinting, as she cannot do without some of them herself.

The question that I ask myself is this.....do I want to cart around this suitcase full of albums, or should I just scan them, catalogue them and put them all on disk and get rid of all the hard copies. That way, I would save a lot of room. Or should I keep them all, get some nicer albums for them and continue to shove them into whatever space I can find for them.

Different parts of my life are well documented, whilst others are not. I am at a loss as to why there are gaps. Perhaps it is just because we get too busy to document our lives with visual records at different times. But we have the memories, be they good or not so good.

Over the past few years, all my photos were taken by digital camera, and then stored on disks, so I am thinking that I should really change to having them all with the space saving devices. It certainly would cut down on the clutter.

I have even found in my hard copies of photos, a lot of documenting of earlier felting days and other events when I was first learning about the art. People in these photos I remember and I have not seen for years, and looking at them brings back happy thoughts of the times and fellowship that we all shared at the Retreats attended, and even of smaller demonstrations and shows.

Previously I was a full time worker, but now I have secured a much easier and less demanding part time job, which will keep me happy because it will allow me the time that I need to persue all the many other interests in my daily life. I can now attack my Feltmaking once more, with a fervour that I have not been able to when working and travelling to that workplace for the total of a twelve hour stint per day. When coupled with time out to relax and time for sleeping, plus all the other necessary demands on time, one did not have much time at all for the passion. But all that has changed now, and it can now be attained once more.

Moving on!

As the title suggests, moving on has been a priority in my life of late.

First of all, with the economic downturn in the country, it has meant that my late employer had to make some cut backs, and unfortunately, myself and several others bore the brunt of it. Retrenchment is such an ugly word. But it has bought about changes in my life that are not all bad.

For years I have hated living in the metropolitan area, and even though it was in the southern suburbs of Perth, it was still too busy, too noisy, and very limiting for me. Certain concessions had to be considered and although I would have liked to have had a lot more time to think about it, a decision was made, and I am now relocated back to my old home town of Busselton, where there are a lot of advantages to be enjoyed.

Theadvantage is that I get to enjoy the clean air and a lot of physical pleasures that an outside life without all the smog and pollution that a city provides, can offer me.....such as riding my pushbike everywhere (especially when it is not raining and cold), walking downtown every day without fear of being mugged, and in general, enjoying the beautiful coastline that Busselton has to offer.

The third advantage is that I get to see my family more, because they also live down here, apart from my parents, that is, and that in itself is the only disadvantage. But due to the wonders of modern technology, I can keep in touch very regularly.

I have the advantage of being able to get to and indulge my passion for feltmaking. Just as soon as I sort out the studio, and find the necessary items that I will require to do just that. I left that project for the last on the agenda, because of the fact that I wanted to take my time over it and get the studio in an order that I would be happy with.

So to that end, I say to the world, and myself....."Bring it on".