Lurack Adventures

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