On not being home and painting a Cockatoo in Watercolour

It's raining today in Sydney and I can't hear it on the roof. That's one of the things I don't like about living in Sydney. I can't hear the rain when I'm inside. Another is the traffic. The relentless bumper to bumper battle whenever you want to go anywhere in your car. I'm a country girl and this city living is starting to grind me down.

Sixteen years ago Dom and I built our home on 25 acres in regional NSW. We love the peace and quiet, the space, and the birds that visit our garden. Our home is surrounded by state forest and beautiful beaches are 15 minutes away by car. It is an incredible privilege to live there.

In 2014 Dom decided to take a job in Sydney to further his career. We were excited and we thought moving temporarily to the big smoke would be fun. We'd be able to see some shows and visit the Art Gallery whenever we wanted! I knew shopping would be much better even though I loathe it. So, without a lot of thought, we left our two adult sons to look after the house and we headed for Sydney. We rented an apartment not far from his new job for the first year but when his contract was renewed for a second year we thought it made sense to buy somewhere in Sydney rather than waste more money on rent. 

We bought a brand new two bedroom apartment about a 30 minute train ride away from the CBD. We thought we'd either sell it when we went back home or keep it and rent it out.

The apartment is comfortable but it is so tiny! It's much smaller than what we are used to. We went from having 25 acres of grass to having a teeny tiny balcony. We traded waking to the calls of Bower Birds and Lorikeets for the sound of sirens and babies crying in nearby apartments.

We go home once a month to check on the boys and help with the grass mowing. Dom puts his ear phones in his ears and loses himself in his skeptic podcasts while he slashes with the tractor. I tidy up inside and clean windows and sweep away cobwebs.  Needles to say, living in Sydney has really made us appreciate our home. 

Not long after we moved into our apartment the developers had an Open Day where all the new residents could meet and greet. They had some stalls and different activities for children including pony rides and some farmyard animals. Dom and I wandered over to have a look and of course I didn't make it much further than the farmyard animals. 

Among the chickens and ducks I found a very friendly Sulphur Crested Cockatoo who took a liking to my necklace. 

This cocky (we call them cocky's in Oz) was very curious and after I managed to get my camera lens cap back off him I put him in a tree and took a few photos. 

He ended up on my painting board last week and I decided to title the painting 'Hang in There' because that is what we are doing. We are hanging in there until we can return to our much loved country life.