Felicity Banks

Big House Idea Update

February 14, 2020 at 10:17 am (Entries that matter)

So I haven’t given up on the idea from the last blog entry.

I’ve learned many things since then, the most notable of which is that major refugee agencies recommend charging a normal amount of rent… which means this ‘big house’ idea is no longer pure charity, but a genuine investment.

I’ve also gained one large piece of the financial puzzle: I have a building designer who liked the idea and will design the house for free.

And on the down side, it’s looking very unlikely I’ll get a large insurance payout, as I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia rather than rheumatoid arthritis.

We have had a tenant in our house for 1 and a quarter years, as we continue to struggle financially. I’ve been doing pretty badly brain-wise for the last couple of years so we had the tenant move out and we got our master bedroom back (the only room big enough that there is enough space to walk around both sides of a queen bed). Louisette was pretty happy sharing the converted garage with Chris (his study) so we left her there, and the “spare” room is mine… sort of. Some of the kids’ toys are in there, one wall is all bookshelves, and there’s a bed. The bed is a miniature version of one part of the ‘big house’ idea—it means we can shelter at least one person if they need to evacuate due to fire/smoke. (Only people we already know who have personalities that can mesh well with ours for a few days in cramped quarters.)

I’ve also begun spreading the word that I’m offering free English lessons for Indonesian speakers, although there are no takers yet.

And I spent quite a quite a while designing house plans, deciding the house should look like a castle, with square towers on each corner (two of which would hold large disability-friendly lifts).

So it’s not the ‘big house’ idea any more, it’s the ‘Castle’ idea.

Things are progressing slowly because, well, I’m chronically ill. I hope to find a large organisation to fund and own the castle and/or a government grant.

So that’s where things are at the moment.

Here’s a cat pic, featuring the newly-painted (by us!) wall of ‘my’ room.