Flora and Fauna
Quick read before you start the visit
Our house is located on a hill in Footscray. It is a single fronted semi-detached house. A single wall separates our house from the one on the (right as you enter). Trucks drive past from morning to evening. In the distance, you can hear a freight train. Take two steps through the gate into the small overgrown front yard. There are numerous flowering plants and weeds. A wooden bench is located under the front window. The neighbour’s black cat likes to sit there in the afternoons. She gave birth under our house last October and has been a regular visitor since.
Go up the 3 small steps to the front door that needs to be painted. Climb the stairs, open the door and take a step inside. This room used to be the verandah but is now an enclosed sun room. We kept two of the kittens that were born under our house and this is now their room, filled with their things.
Take another step through the open door into the hallway. Two small dogs at the end of the hall are barking at you. The trimmings are black and all the doors are bright red. Walk 10 steps straight down the hall and you’ll pass two bedrooms on your left. The entrance to the second bedroom is now directly on your left. You see a coloured glass chandelier on the ceiling. The door had been turned around so the lock is one the outside. Our neighbours told us, before we moved in, they could sometimes hear screaming in the middle of the night and we imagined someone might have been locked in that room.
Take another 5 steps forward through a pet gate and you are in the living room. Light comes from a small window. There are numerous artworks along the walls, most of them made by friends and acquaintances. On your left, the dogs are on the sofa. One is looking suspiciously at you, and the other hopeful of treats. Take 5 steps to the end of the room. There are shelves on your far left and right filled with books plants, wedding gifts, photos and souvenirs from our travels. I burn incense in front of family photos as my mother did when I was young.
Take another 2 steps into the kitchen. One of the cats is sitting on the small table on your left looking at you. There are plants on the windowsill and outside you can see the passionfruit vine climbing the temporary fencing (click here to see the view; upload here what you see in your space). On the opposite wall in front of you is a door to the bathroom/laundry and the back door.
Take two steps left, then turn right and take 5 steps forward. Look diagonally forward-right, you can see inside the bathroom/laundry. The other cat is on the sink, watching birds (click
here
to see the view; upload
here
what you see in your space). Take another step forward and out the back door into our small paved yard. There are some pot plants in front of you waiting for us to fill them and grow our Spring garden. Our old sports car is also parked in the yard. As Winter comes to an end, we look forward to spending more time out here. This has been our home for four years. We’ve often talked about moving and having a fresh start. But this is the home we moved into when we got married and started our lives together and will always be a special place. We hope you enjoyed visiting us and our furry family.
AUTHOR DETAILS:
Christie Widiarto
check Christie’s art practice here
ALTERNATE VIEWS (images uploaded by visitors)
View 1
View 2
