Anybody that knows me for more than 5 minutes knows I've been working for a long time to get the old farm house in Knoxville fixed up. Early in life it started as some vague intuition - I think I wanted a better bathroom and A/C in the upstairs bedroom.In 2005 I took a solo trip to Australia. I didn't know exactly where I wanted to settle down; I was trying to "find myself" and figure out what was important. I'd actually taken a serious look at immigrating to Australia. The appeal of wide open spaces, laid back attitude - I thought I wanted that. After a week of traveling around Sydney and Victoria, I was riding a bus from the Twelve Apostles to Melbourne in the early evening and contemplating the question "Can I really live here? Is Australia right for me?" I thought about places that I had been comfortable, and it hit me - the farm was home. That's where I always felt comfortable. I always felt a connection to the people, the land, the history. That's me.
The last four years have been a lot of work to get to this point. I have to thank my family for putting up with me, and then for ultimately giving me the opportunity to start this project. It's a big responsibility. Sure hope that everybody enjoys it when it's finished.
Cousin John e-mailed me yesterday that Chris and some guys showed up that day and were starting work. This week they are removing all the old doors and light fixtures and cleaning up the interior.
Wow. It hasn't set in that they've started; probably won't until I see it in person in another week.
