Gretel was right. Good neighbours make a world of difference. Our second day we were welcomed by Laura next door with delicious gluten free (yeah) chocolate brownies - yum.  Maureen is quiet and likes her privacy so we hardly see or hear her and the two young men who moved in on the other side a week after us have, so far, been so quiet I've sometimes wondered if they were home.

 

We are slowing becoming accustomed to waking up in new rooms, glasses and plates in the "wrong" cupboards, new sounds and discovering what we have growing in the corners of our garden. Gradually we are making friends with the house and it with us. I love the sound of rain on the tin roof, I love the sun pouring into my upstairs bedroom window in the morning.  I'd spend all day up there if I could - gazing across the valley over rooftops to the fields beyond.  I love the sound of the neighbour's rooster reminding me of my childhood home - even if it's 2am!!!! We have coastal casuarinas planted along the driveway so we are visited regularly by the gorgeous yellowtailed black cockatoos Calyptorhynchus funereus  whose cries herald wet weather. These huge birds are truly magnificent in flight. I love being able to walk to the growers market down the bottom of the hill and maybe meet up with friends for a chai and brunch before arranging with them to go out to Never Never Creek for a swim (brrrrr but worth it) which we did a couple of weekends ago (I wonder how much longer we'll be able to do that before autumn turns really chilly).

Do I need to say I am not missing the dysfunctional neighbours we left behind, or the rowdy swimming pool crowds, or the noise from the playing fields, or the constant traffic drone from the main road through town? No, I thought not *smile*.