End of Financial Year

Well I wish I could say we have been exploring far and wide, but we knew we were going to be Finley bound for the first 8 weeks.  I am just about set for end of financial year, balancing of the Dentist's acounting system, and hopefully, I will get it all completed in a week or 2. Then hoping to get a few days away somewhere.  I need a better routine.....work is getting in the way.

We have joined the RSL club which lets us play on their Squash courts for $5 per hour for the both of us.  Bargain! This was our first week, and we want to keep going at least twice a week.

He's doing very well for a heart patient.

Our coughs are getting better now, but we have the soccer run again on Saturday whilst Jess and Jonny are in Melbourne with Jenna who is having teeth out under a general anaesthetic. There is going to be a frost and minus 3 in Cobram where we will be playing soccer. I think I will get out my ski/snow gear.

Derek is enjoing playing soccer with the kids.

I guess it is all part of this adventure we are on...and we just need to stop and look around and say "hey, life is good".

Derek just got home from golf, and Jonny just dropped him off on our drive way....so funny, he only would have had to walk across the road.

Thanks for following..

Can the Cold give you a cold ?

Derek and I are both down with dry coughs which have lasted nearly a week.  I have almost lost my voice even though we rug up well, bought 2 heaters and have the under floor heating on. We gave up early morning walks after only 2 days and sometimes have to wait untl lunch to go out for a walk.  

We are happily unpacked and quite settled. Got foxtel to give us NSW news instead of Qld, we didn't notice for days that we were watching Qld, it just seemed normal. The kids are a treat and we see them everyday.  We did the soccer run on Saturday morning over at Cobram which was a lot of fun. The babysitting 4 days went smoothly, and we lived between the 2 houses, tripping back and forwards each day.

Today we ventured out to the shops again, to finish the last of stocking up the fridge and pantry with sauces, pickles, baking ingredients, cheese and meat. We are hoping we can just shop fortnightly as it is not a 5 minute run anymore. We have been to Bunnings 50min away, Mitre10 35min, Woolworths 35min away all in Victoria, and today we went to Coles in the opposite direction to Deniliquin -west of Finley, also 35 minutes away.  We needed a packed lunch for the long jouney.

 

You have got  to love the country, no traffic getting to Deniliquin and a park right out of the front of Coles.

 

First week summary

The cold weather is taking a bit of getting use to, but we have tried to start a morning routine of an hours walk even though today it was only 5 degrees at 7.30am, and a heavy fog.The sun appears just after 7 each day so we are finding it impossible to get up in the dark.

 

The kids are a joy, always wanting to be here with us.  Jess phones to ask if they can come over, and she stands at her front door and I stand at ours and we watch the younger ones cross the road.  Pa is Jayde's favourite, Jenna wants me to teach her to crochet, Jacey wants a new beanie making, and Jordan has set up our back yard as a soccer field and has already had Pa playing out there with him.

We are mostly unpacked and settled in, got the TV working, and I even did some baking tonight, so life is seeming a bit more normal, and also did a full days work today whilst Derek went with Jess to do some shopping in Cobram.

 It is a challenge to not think about the Sunshine Coast, its hard missing everyone, but I am sure we will settle a bit more once we can plan some small getaways.  But for this weekend we are minding the kids whilst Jess and Jonny are in Melbourne.  (This was booked in as far back as January...whether we had sold or not).

Finley

We arrived in Finley by 10amWednesday. Our house finally settled, and we had a great afternoon catch up with all the family, babysat, watched Moana, then off to bed.

Today our furniture arrived at 7am, zero degrees and frost and fog everywhere. I asked the driver to take me back to the Sunshine Coast with him.  The truck was empty by 11.30 am, and now time has come to unpack. Grrrr!

The kids spend almost every minute they can across the road at our place, helping, exploring and playing my piano.  It is cool to have such a lively home. Tonight we are freezing, no heater, can't get the under floor heating to work, wearing 3 layers of clothes to bed, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

Not quite Finley

After a freezing start in Tamworth with frost on the cars and 0 degrees at 7 am we were plagued with lengthy road works, which inturn delayed us getting to Finley, so we have pulled up at sunset  in Narrandera just over 1 1/2 hours short of Finley.

 

Coolangatta to Tamworth

Our little convoy headed south after 4 lovely days in the warm Sunshine, had a quick stop at a friends in Lismore. The plan was to do the Coffs to Armidale Great Divide Range crossing, but as we were already on the Bruxnor Hway at Lismore we continued up and over the range to Tenterfield. We measure all range crossings against the Gillies at Cairns - it being a 10, so the much maligned Bruxnor rated a 3 in our books. The van coped extemely well. We arrived in Tamworth just with the last of the daylight to an 8 degree temp.  We have a 9 hour drive to Finley tomorrow. 

Ps we are still waiting for the house to finally settle. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

 

 

Lunch was at this great lookout Derek spotted just before the climb over the range at Mallanganee

Day 1 Coolangatta

After an emotional few days saying goodbye to our friends, seeing all our worldly goods depart on the truck, camping out in the house for a few days whilst we cleaned, we said our goodbyes to our home of the last 8 1/2 years and I finally let Derek close the garage door for the last time and we drove off in 2 cars and headed south.
Not long down the road our Solicitor phoned to say we would not be settling the sale on Thursday, but the following Monday.  It was hard to leave knowing the house was empty, we had no key to get back in and it would just be sitting in limbo.
 But, after spending a lovely evening/sleepover with my brother Paul and Christine, we said more tearful goodbyes and set out for our first of four nights at Coolangatta, before we head to Finley.