Having moved house over the weekend here are some of my first impressions…
We moved in on Friday and the removalists left around 7.30pm, just as the rain arrived, after doing the slowest days work I have ever seen. They didn’t damage anything, but then they weren’t moving fast enough to bump anything either. I won’t name the business but I wouldn’t use them again. Best forgotten.
In the busyness of unloading I didn’t get around to hitching up the gas bottle so we had no hot water on Friday night. Danelle and kids heated a few ‘kettle loads’ of water, but I wanted a shower so I just jumped in and it was icy! It wasn’t one of those moments when you say ‘its ok once you’re in’. It wasn’t. So first thing Saturday morning I was out getting that one sorted.
We really enjoyed having some old friends up on Saturday and despite being half unpacked it was nice to relax and just share the ‘newness’ with them.
I was worried that we wouldn’t fit very well as the internals are smaller than our Butler home, but we managed to arrange things so they work really well. I had renovations and extensions on my mind all before the move, but I’m not sure they are so critical now.
I managed to land a disgusting cold on Saturday which has floored me up until around dinner time today. That was annoying, but we just had to soldier on with unpacking, fix ups and getting settled. Tonight the headaches and snot have decreased and I am feeling semi-human again, so I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep and starting to enjoy myself. (Although we fly out to the Gold Coast for a week tomorrow night)
Its been beautiful to wake up each morning and see the beach – and even better to watch its mood change throughout the day. I don’t think I will ever tire of that. A rainbow spanned the dark grey horizon today before the storms came and as we met to pray it was a stunning sight.
The ‘spa’ incident I wrote about last post did leave a bad taste and of course there were a few other surprises to contend with also. Nothing a toolbox and a few hours work couldn’t solve – and that was what I did today. All the ‘little things’ that would give you the irrits or that just need doing. We ended up negotiating a cash settlement with the agent and the lesson out of it all is don’t trust someone’s word. Write it all down… I knew that, but thought this time we could run without it… Should have known better and in the future even if we’re buying from our best friends we will be dotting i’s and crossing t’s. Shame you cant just trust people…
So we are settling, but not settled. While Danelle feels she’s died and gone to heaven it doesn’t quite feel like home yet to me. I need to establish some routines and find ‘my place’ in this new environment. I imagine that will take a few weeks and will come easier when I’m not sick.
We had a bloke come around today and install a TV antenna (one of the ‘suprises’ was that none of the TV points recieved a signal from the antenna. He did a great job and charged a very decent price for his time and work. He trades as the TV Doctor so if you need some work done be sure to call John and he will take care of you – even if its bucketing down with rain like it was today.
So tomorrow we head off to a niece’s wedding in Coff’s Harbour and along the way catch up with some wonderful friends who were part of our Upstream crew, but are now living in Tumbulgum northern NSW.
I haven’t lifted a shovel for a week now and I won’t be back at it until July 12th. That’s a nice feeling…
Nice to hear the move went reasonably well! Enjoy your break.
Good to hear you are all settled in. It will soon feel like home. See you soon. Love, Val and Peter