30 days of gratitude : 21

My first car - a 1978 Triumph. Total cost: $200.

A mint green beauty with a big engine and a big heart. She was so great to drive, purring along - no radio, no air-con...just vinyl seats, a huge steering wheel and great character. She didn't cope well in the rain - the windows would fog up, the wind-screen wipers were pretty useless and there was a leak - my right foot would always end up soaking wet. She was 6 years older than me. I loved her. Other Triumph drivers would wave if they passed me on the road.

I miss her terribly. I had to bid her farewell when a new clutch sent the whole engine out-of-whack. That was not long after this photo was taken.

There I am sitting on the verandah railing of the first house Daniel and I lived in together. A beach shack that was so so tiny and only had a linen cupboard for storage. We had hardly any furniture - a mattress on the floor, a day-bed, some floor cushions. I fell in love as soon as I saw it. Daniel hated it and tried to tell me it was too small, there is no storage, you can only fit one person in the kitchen. I saw incense burning, books piled high, fresh blooms and a little place to call home.

A few months in and I learnt the difference between romanticism and practicality...and the importance of both. Sure the books, the music, the home-made meals, the walk to the beach were great but no cupboards means you can't hide anything away and that became a problem. Throw into the equation a baby-on-the-way and I quickly began searching for a house with floor-to-ceiling cupboards, more than one bedroom and a kitchen that was big enough for our fridge.

When I stumbled upon this photo today, taken with our holga, I smiled. Such great memories. The car that took me from beach, to friends, to nighttime dancing...the house that Daniel and I moved into only 15 weeks after meeting each other and the place where Ché's little life began.

Gratitude today for the mint-green car named Willow and the beach shack that changed everything.