Well it's about time I hear you say!!!

Sorry folks it has been some time since my last confession (blog) ... where has the time gone - where do I start??

I feel like I'm back at the beginning of our journey - as again all the leaves on the trees are almost gone and winter is already upon us ... but much has also happened in 12 months!

We have decided to make Walcha our home for the time being - almost a year to the day. We've bought our house (well almost, we settle on Tuesday) and already dreaming of the changes and updates it requires ... The girls are back at school - Ella enjoying her first year - and school work (where does that come from???) Miss G enjoying all the social activities school brings her way .... and a bit of school work here and there (only a bit though!)




Autumn has come and gone - the leaves on the tree's which were beautiful when green, and magical when yellow and red, are now littering the floor, brown and dry, a couple of inches thick and the bane of my existence ... bloody leaves .... no really, they've been lovely - but there is SOOOOOOO bloody many of them! Shit! I'm over raking .....

Animal info

Charlie (the cow) ... is very wooly but bit lonely in our neighbours paddock. He still likes the occasional banana (who doesn't) - but happy being a 'real' cow and ignoring us ....

Lola (the lamb's) location ... is well  .. mmmm ... perhaps on the dinner table ??? .... Fairly early on in the piece, Lola escaped our paddock to join Charlie, some cows, and a flock of sheep ... which was a silly thing really, let's just say she got "absorbed" into the fold and even though our neighbour assured us "he knew which one she was" - it would seem that the flock has moved to greener pastures??!!??

Chickens ....
Chickens I hear you say?? Yes Graham (uncle) turned up in March with a incubator and 6 eggs in it.  2 eventually hatch - Mish and I nearly divorced in the first week of chicken rearing - it was intense .... The first chicken to hatch was sadly fairly "physically challenged" ("a complete and total mongy" would be a better term but probably not very PC) - he had turned in feet and a crooked neck - not a good look... Things had looked promising at the start but he deteriorated fairly rapidly ... Mish "helped him" out of his misery - not sure how (and don't want to know) - but with a few tears and the last of the flowers in our garden (picked by Ella) we wished him/her farewell ....

The trauma of the rearing, and our marriage on the line, we sort help .... where do you ask? from a mumma hen (sourced from the classified section of the local newspaper) ... Thanking the lordy, "Lotta" (lot'a'eggs) joined the clan and took over rearing duties ... Clancy (chick 2)  continually pecks "Lotta" and she tolerates it - god know why??!? The 2 make an usual pair - Lotta is red and passive, Clancy, who is going through an ugly teenage stage (her b/w feather are half chick / half adult), darts around like she's on speed/cocaine and uppers all at once .. and yes 'she' is a girl or that is what we (and she) is praying for - because life is a lot more "lengthy" if you aren't a rooster!! Knowing our luck ... yep ... she's a he.

Some of you have already had news of our latest architectural addition's. Firstly, a new double sink and lovely new dishwasher was installed by Nige and Mish - many thanks for this - who would have thought that such a simple improvement would have profound effects!   Secondly was a architecturally designed and constructed chicken coupe - named the "Egg Factory" ... Whilst Dad, Nguyen and Claudia have been here from Thailand - Dad went about constructing a permanent chicken abode. 2 levels of the finest egg laying accommodation ever seen in Walcha. Painted black and white in tribute to the first of our chickens. It sits proudly on top of our defunct veggy patch awaiting more arrivals. 4 of which arrived on wednesday .... another mother and 3 chicks. We have named her "Jimmy"" in honour of my great uncle Jim who sadly passed away on wednesday too. "Jimmy" the chicken, like her name sake, is white in appearence with a lovely qwoff of white feathers on top - not dissimilar to Jims white qwoff too. Although "Jimmy" is obviously a girl - it was well known that Jim was not adverse to a bit of cross dressing at the Oak Park races -so we decided he wouldn't mind giving his name up to a "lady". The other 3 chicks are yet to be named - will keep you posted. The chicken lady has also conned us into another mother and her 2 chicks - who might join the clan next week - will keep you posted on this also.

We'll that's it for now - the fire is burning brightly keeping the cold outside at bay. Mish is off acting in his debut performance tonight ... what I hear you say! Acting??? Ahhh but that is a tale for another blog - watch this space!

Animal Antics ...

"Lola" the lamb has joined our clan ...
She arrived here about 3 weeks ago as her mother sadly couldn't produce enough milk. No, she didn't come from the Hosegood's as suggested - She came from the same place Charlie (the calf) did - our landlords ... (Mish and I think it's a ploy from the owners to make us stay and buy the place - and yes, I think it may be working!!!)
Anyway .... She, defiantly from the start, refused to drink any milk (much to the annoyance of Mish and I, and bewilderment of Charlie - who can't get enough of the stuff!)

.... so after a few days of practically force feeding only about 20-30mls down her throat, we gave up and let her concentrate on a field of green pasture she seemed to enjoy so much more .. to be honest, it wasn't looking very good for Lola for a while, she ended up getting a stomach bug and then having the runs (and the flies) for days - not a pretty sight - especially with her tail in the process of falling off (almost as attractive as Mish trying to wash it (the poo) off - obviously failing, so then trying to clip it off !! needless to say - not very successful ... sparking brilliance - we decided to maintain a regular upkeep of aeroguard instead - can you imagine!! again spot the townies  ) ... Anyway Dr Mish has been injecting her with antibiotics for the last couple of days ... so her humor, and clearly (and seriously more importantly) her arse has improved tenfold! So fingers crossed for Lola - she's not out of the woods yet - but it's looking a little brighter in that princess tent!

Sadly Charlie has given up his palatial digs (Oh our boy's growing up) ... and Princess Lola moved straight in - making it more her own place.
(Following para - ghost written by Mish - I can't type laughing too much)
"It seems Kate is not the only member of the family brushing up on her art skills. Lola's pallet had been covered with some old cardboard that Ella had once painted a sky, a sun and some pretty flowers on. Ms Lola has managed to add the image of a giraffe to the landscape, using only her bottom. Ella was most distressed by this, and although she was too distraught to verbalise, she thought it was shit, and she was correct."

.... Charlie's joined the crew next door (stupidly as - they're the ones destined for market). We gave up luring him back into our paddocks with bananas (yes you heard right - bananas (and who doesn't like a banana milkshake???)) after he'd jump through the fence repeatedly, decided the sensible thing to do was to open the gate between the neighbours and ours ... so presently we have about 10 weeners/heifers and 30 sheep grazing in our paddocks ... Charlie bought some pals over for tea last night (see below pic) - they can't understand his need for the 'white stuff' ......

Other Updates .....
Wet and cool here today - much needed rain - but lovely to now have all the trees covered in leaves !!! FINALLY!!! who would have thought something so simple could bring such pleasure .... The garden if now full of irises, rose buds and I even have a peony growing (very excited!) 

Had an indulgent day in Armidale yesterday - went and did an art class which took up the whole day - bliss ... arrived with a couple of blank canvases - unsure of what to expect - only to find everyone working on their own work - but in a communal environment ..  so starring unknowingly at whiteness and unsqueezed paints tubes - decided on a small familiar gracemere scene, and a re'think' a pic of I did of the walcha surrounds ... sorry not great photos ... but its a start! Watch this space .....

Art in Walcha
Nothing like having the "Sparks" to inspire some art (and beverage consumption) ...
We christened the 'shed' while they were here and gave it an artistic workout - much enjoyed by all!

"Compost" by Miss Lotty

"My Garden" by Miss Bella

"Table, Jug and Elephant V1- (Matisse Inspired)" by Miss Peach

"Table, Jug and Elephant V2- (Matisse Inspired)" by Miss Peach

"Table, Jug and ... Butterfly?!?" by Ms P

"Jug, no Table" by the original Jugs

(Clearly trying too hard ...)

"Jug, Table, Elephant and a Table Cloth?!!" by KD

(does the table look familiar Ruth/Pad??)

Charlie update ...
Prince Charlie (to be exact) who lives in a royal tent ....


Charlie, thus far, has survived falling off the back of a moving Ute on route to us ... being eyed and annoyed by many visitors and family members ... being lost (well too to be fair, Mish and I thought he'd gone missing and spent an hour or so traipsing all over our paddocks - screaming "Charlie, Charlie" - me ranting about having to call the Police to see if they had had any reports of newly found cows (can you imagine!) ... he (Charlie) must have thought we were behaving quite strangely as he was exactly where he should have been (thanks John), in his paddock all along - just hidden ... He's also survived the most ridiculously cold weather last week with snow, sleet and rain - thank god for the 'Cinderella' tent ... Mish made it more secure and made sure he had a good supply of purple hessian (in keeping with the colour scheme) high on a wooden pallet to keep his little tosh dry - shame he's not potty trained though .... He's also survived been ogled over by the other cows in the next paddock - they must also thought him equally strange - smelling quite differently - then, even more bizarrely (to the cows), he happily bound back up to Mish when he heard his named called  (thinking, no doubt, there might be more of that delicious ivory liquid on tap) ... and, because he loves it so much (and he was so little when he arrived) we couldn't help ourselves .... we give him a sneaky feed at about 10:30pm (apparently not the done thing!!) ... bad Luracks I know .... One cold night last week as we fed him dotingly, Mish commented that Charlie is not only the only cow in Walcha having a sneaky feed - but he'd be the ONLY cow in Walcha that resides in a princess tent!

It been a while sorry!
Hello from a slightly warmer Walcha ... spring is in the air!

Yes it's been a busy time ...
A quick recount ... promise it will be brief ....
We've had a first communion - much to our surprise ...
We've had visitor's - plenty of visitor's - keep them coming! We now have digs set up - so no need for anymore bed shuffling ...
Sadly some close family have passed away since my last blog - very missed but definitely not forgotten...
But we've had birth's .. many births (not including a bumper year for sheep and cattle - I'm told) - anyway well done to you all! Thankfully no TV/power blackouts here - so nothing to report - for those who are wondering ....
.. and finally fires - we've had loads of fires ... and doesn't look like stopping anytime soon ... and a few frost or 20 .....

We had some snow too ... makes the cold almost seem worthwhile.

But thankfully now the garden is coming to life - which is a wonderful ... Lovely to watch bulbs poping up here and there - without having to go in the fridge for a year or 2 ... (Mish has commented that in Walcha you open your fridge for some warm air ....)

We also had a new addition to our clan ... Charlie the Potty Calf (and yes he's named Charlie because of a certain young man who is very missed by Miss E ... and yes for the record it would have been called Sophie had she been a girl ... again missed ....) Poor Charlie the cow doesn't get a moments peace - should he stay/survive with us I suspect he'll have a charmed existence - going off to market will not be an option! He might need a friend ... or two ... or three ... (will send pic soon)

Thankfully only a few more days of 'school horrordays' ... why do they take sooooo long!!!
 XX

A little Frosty

I thought we'd already had a frost or 2 .... um no ... spot the townie novice
This morning we all leapt of out bed - running late (of course) - and jumped into the shower only to find NO (I repeat) NO cold water to mix with our (incredibly) hot water ... yes the pipes had officially frozen ....
Let just say my body went into shock - nude and cold (I'm glad we didn't have any early morning visitors! -  A nude Kate in front of the fire shivering ...... what a look!)
Apparently down to -4 last night ... expecting -9 on sunday night! Whoohoo!

Also (for those of you interested) Fire alight - all night - thanky the loorrd! (really Mish)

Some frosty pics from Mish ...

Wow, what a crazy few months! I still pinch myself to see if we are really in Walcha - um yes, I'm wearing 3 jumpers, 2 pairs of trackie pants, my much worn uggies, the fires are blazing and I’m still cold …. Yep we’re in Walcha! 

 

To begin …

Leaving the Farnell house was a mammoth task – we really couldn’t have done it without the help of ‘Move to Walcha taskforce’ – Thank you to all that helped, we all really appreciated it.

Monday 4^th of June started for me at 2.30am with the stress of moving keeping me up … finally retreated back to bed about 5am for a couple of hours of restless sleep – Mish replacing my ‘human awake in the house’ spot not long after that.

The Movers were meant to arrive at 10 – didn’t arrive till 12 – assured us prior to the move that the entire contents of our house would fit into their trucks … surprise surprise it didn’t! So at 6pm that night in the cold darkness of hunters hill – the trucks pulled out leaving the farnell house far from empty … shit …. What to do … We still had to be in Walcha for a key collection at 9.30am the next morning, our moving man had assured us he would be in Walcha for 10:30 arrival. So we decided we had to go regardless and that Mish would return to Sydney with a van and collect our remaining valuable possessions (aka crap) the following day – poor Mish …

So hitting the road after 8pm we pulled up stumps for the night just outside Newcastle at 10:30pm … aahhh bed … not for long ….

Up at 6:30am and back on the road – next stop Walcha …

Day 1 ...

First impressions of our dreamy utopia were quickly dashed by the absence of the leafy trees hiding our private oasis. The cold harsh starkness of a wintery Walcha, was further reinforced when we opened the car door and realized fairly quickly that we were all vastly under dressed (even in coats and thermals) … we have heard since that Tuesday 5th of June, was Walcha coldest day this year (snow forecast) – yes just our luck …. We spotted Danny (Mum) and Nige in the warmth of their car in Fitzroy street (rather fitting Rocky reference), and all we could do was just laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation (I think it had just started to sleet too). So armed with the keys to our future we travel back down Thunderbolts way to an overly exposed house. It still looked lovely, but a little overwhelming (Mish did wonder how much it may cost to get the removals to turn around and head straight back to Sydney!)

Anyway, we waited, and waited for the removalist to arrive … again 4hrs later than promised, and lost to the extent that Mish had to go and locate them in town and pilot them to the house.  In the freezing cold, rain and sleet we all began unpacking our past … it took hours and hours .. at about 6pm (in the dark again) they started the slow process of moving my beloved piano into the house (Mish commented later that the only way it would be leaving again was up the chimney!) finally finished – and out of our lives – well almost - they managed to get bogged twice … idiots … Exhausted - we fell into bed (electric blankets on high)

Day 2 ...
In Walcha … feeling exhausted and apprehensive …

Fire out over night – took forever to relight (hopefully we’ll improve??)

Went to Georgia’s new school for her interview – they were really lovely and made us feel very welcome. We spent more time with the new principal then the sum total of all contact with Georgia’s teachers since day 1 of school/preschool and day care.  Perhaps a bit more catholic than Mish would prefer – but the good vibes of it all outweighed any of our concerns for the moment … Off to Armidale that afternoon to get school uniforms – as Poor Mish headed back to Sydney for the final clean up – depositing our life amongst various unsuspecting hosts – to be collected at a later date (Thank you in advance). Managed to keep the fire alight (mainly due to Nigel’s vigilance) and began the lengthy process of unpacking (well enough to get started) – Of course I had a whole lot of graphic jobs which had to get done as well – always the way, when you don’t want to be busy – you are! Started to look about and get artistic inspiration – the elm trees are very spectacular – even in their bareness. When you look closely the grey garden is hiding some much anticipated bright green bulbs, slowly popping their heads up throughout the garden – I suspect spring will be spectacular!

Day 3 … 

Feeling slightly less nervous – well a bit …

Fire out … shit

First frosty morning. Woke up early and went for a wander about.

Really quiet beautiful, but cold cold cold …

By the time Mum and Nige had arrived to take Georgia to school the fog had risen – it promised to be a glorious day (if not cold).

Miss G had a great first day – by all accounts she was made to feel very welcome – even made a few friends – so far so good …

Day 4 … 

Fire out again … f@#k …
Our first visitor – BAJ (Beautiful Aunt Jennifer) for the night. Mum potted about creating her magic here and there – even created beautiful floral arrangements – seemly out of nothing, but instantly made the house feel more homely. After another busy day, we chatted, watered, and ate a delicious roast – and sent Mum and Nige back to their digs for the night. While comatose (by silent witness and a warm fire) experienced an earthquake – it felt like 1000 possums running down the roof – I wasn’t sure what had happened (Jenny didn’t even notice it – how surprising), only the next day did Nige fill us in on what had occurred – Mum commented that the “earth had moved for Nige”!

BAJ slaving away in the kitchen

Window Dressings!

BAJ still in the kitchen ...

Day 5 …

Awake to find fire still burning … yah!

More visitors, our closest neighbours, the Hosegood’s (2hrs away), arriving with a truck load of lovely firewood – Graham sniggering at me at every opportunity …. Mish, Grace and Sam also arrived – nice to have a full house.

And on and on .....

As warm as it gets!

Now I’m not going to bore you all with day by day accounts – but needless to say – it would appear that we’re settling into our new adventure. Ella has started at preschool and seems to think its OK – although still missing her friends.

Georgia has remained positive about her catholic education … she proudly showed her father her latest visual routine (much to his horror)… “The father, the son and the holy spirit – Amen” …….

We are still predominantly “boxed in”, but slowly we’re unpacking. Managing to keep the fire mostly on over night – well mostly - and getting use to cold cold Walcha. Mish is in the process of befriending the neighbour’s lone weaner who’s munching on the green grass in our paddock – he’s not very interested in the carrot or apple Mish took him this morning though – we’re in the process of naming him – watch this space.

We’d love to see you all up/down here at some point – perhaps when it’s a little warmer and our accommodations set up (currently a temporary storage facility). Call or text us if you’re ever passing through – the mobile has fairly crappy reception here – but we venture outside in the cold regularly to retrieve messages. You can also find our landline in the online white pages under Mish’s name.

Next exhilarating blog coming soon! Walcha on the heart …..

Aspley Falls Gals

Walcha Art by the Mish