Jo-an-Ray Update

In the post of 9 September last year about my parent's house, I promised to give an update on the progress of the two new houses which were being built on their block of land.  You may recall how it was once a humble, small two-bedroomed house that, over time, had undergone a couple of renovations to accommodate a growing family and also suffered extensive damage by two devastating floods. 

This was the family home - my childhood house - that I decided to cross-stitch for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary - the house that they had spent all their married life in.  It was sold after the 2011 flood and demolished to make way for two very contemporary styled houses.

Well today my Mum and I were in the area and drove past the newly finished houses and were wonderfully surprised.  We realise the whole suburb is undergoing a demographic change with very modern houses being built and squeezed onto smaller blocks against the much older and characteristic Queenslander styled houses on larger blocks and for the most part it all works well together.  

These houses might stand out against the older smaller houses close by, but are really beautiful in design and presentation.

Visiting the site today made me realise how very pleased I am that all those years ago I made the effort to stitch a keepsake of the family home that once occupied that block of land as there is absolutely nothing remaining (trees, fence, driveway, etc.) as a reminder.  But when I took my Mum back home to her retirement unit, the framed cross-stitch of the family home on the wall greeted us ... and it was a wonderfully warm feeling.

Ros

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" -Ralph Waldo Emerson