gate into vegie and fruit garden
Since this is such a pretty little town there are very few rental properties and high demand. The house we have found is a long term rental - the owner has stated he has no intentions of ever living there so we shouldn't find ourselves in the same situation we're in now.
Our new house is so different from our present one. It is on the other side of the river for a start and further to walk to the shops (I may have to go out and buy that bike I keep telling myself about). It has been designed to be ecologically friendly and passive solar so it should be more comfortable in the really hot weather. Having said that, there is also airconditioning and a gas heater so I suppose we will have to wait and see. There are two bedrooms upstairs whereas now we only have a single level home. There are two loos so there'll be no more hasty exits to make way for Little Tree. It is on a battleaxe block so it is away from the road - not that it is a busy one anyway. According to all reports the neighbours are quiet. I will not miss our domestic violent neighbours, whose arguments Little Tree is starting to mimic. Or the noise from the public swimming pool close by (lots of loud happy children, aqua aerobic classes with dreadful music, midnight swims by squealing teenagers - you get the picture). The big drawback is that it only has a postage stamp garden, albeit very private, so I'll have to be very inventive in growing herbs and vegies.
vegie garden august 2009
There are some things I am heartsore at leaving. I will miss the garden here, my vegie plot, the reserve below us and the trees beyond. All of which has been balm for my soul. I suppose I'll get used to having less space, at least I hope so, as I don't want to be moving again soon - unless it is to a house we own, then watch just how fast I can move!!! So I may well have to resort to more visits to the beach and walks in the bush to get my fix of open spaces and trees, respectively. The other thing that I don't particularly like is that there are no doors on the built in wardrobes. It looks very messy and is unhelpful feng shui. This may be quite deliberate, given the humidity we experience - with greater airflow around garments maybe there will be less mould. Still, I will be investing in some screens to keep me calm.
visitors in the reserve
The other big hassle is that our communications carrier no longer can provide service to us. It's a long story about line rentals and new cabling blah blah blah and I won't bore you with it. Suffice to say we have to transfer our phone and broadband to another carrier but keep a dialup arrangement going with our current carrier for 12 months. We may be without both phone and internet (how will I cope without blogsphere?!!!) for a couple of days over the move - thank goodnes for mobile phones.
This all sounds quite melancholy, which in part is true but I am also excited. I will have a lot of fun setting up the new house and rehabilitating the neglected garden, replacing dead herbs and putting in some flowers as well as sorting out where to place all our pot plants, which include a cumquat and a couple of frangipani trees.
We will hire a truck for the day and a number of able bodied friends have volunteered to help. In turn we will reward them with a hearty meal for lunch and a few beers at the end of the day. Not too many for us though since we'll have to go back and clean this house and I really don't fancy doing that with a hangover.
climbing rose in the courtyard
Our landlord sounds unique in that he, quite sensibly, is happy to spend money fixing things sooner rather than later. In addition, he also seems quite open to discussions about any improvements to the property. I am sorry to say that I find I'm reluctant to believe this.
Since starting this post, I've discovered that there is a community garden within walking distance, so maybe my gardening at the new house will be reduced to herbs and flowers.
Now that we know where we are moving to, I have made up a social story for Little Tree about moving with photos of the new house, a map and calendar so we can countdown to moving day. He is very anxious about it at the moment but by the time moving day comes, having read the social story everyday, hopefully he will know what is going to happen, his role in it and that everything will be alright.
coffee tree
Today we will start the process of sorting and throwing out before we start packing. I can hear the whip being cracked as I write.
2 comments:
Oh well done - despite the drawbacks of the garden, I think losing noise and ghastly neighbours will make up for that in spades, and if you can get a space in the communal garden even better. Having moved about 25 times in my life and lived in all kinds of places, I can guarantee that neighbours are one of the most important factors to consider. Good luck!
Thankyou PG for your support and good wishes. It's so good to hear positive things about the move.
Post a Comment