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 4th 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”!
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| BAJ slaving away in the kitchen |
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| Window Dressings! |
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| BAJ still in the kitchen ... |
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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 .....
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| 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 …..
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| Aspley Falls Gals |
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| Walcha Art by the Mish |
