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Moving to the country, gonna eat me a lot of peaches

Posted on 2 Mar 2021 | 10 comments

Once we had made the decision to build our own dream car, we had to find a location to work on her. Our lease was up at the end of February and we didn’t think it was a good idea to stay there. The garage was so low that Lara didn’t even fit inside! So we started to let people know that we were looking for a shed or large garage, as well as a place to live.

And then Robyn (thank you!!!) decided to send an email to three couples who are all very active in the communities where they live, to see if they would know someone who could help. One of those couples who received the email were Roland and Sue.

The morning after Robyn sent her email we received an email from Roland and Sue. They had a cottage on their property, a hay shed where they park their caravan and a spot next to it could become vacant as they were planning to sell their second car, as well as a small workshop – would that possibly suit?

We fell of our chairs and pinched ourselves several times. Were we dreaming? A couple we had met once about 8 years ago on a camping weekend were offering the dream solution. We called and had a brief chat and agreed we would drive over that afternoon. We finished our garage sale and had a quick lunch before we hopped into the car with a homemade banana bread, hoping that would make sure they didn’t change their minds.

We spent a lovely afternoon chatting and they gave us the tour of the property. We saw the lovely cottage, the hay shed and the huge workshop that would make any creative person / handyman (or woman) drool, but were also introduced to Ruby and Spike (their 2 gorgeous border collies), 7 chooks and a hive full of bees. Then there were also the projects like a historic water drill rig Roland wants to restore and the truck it used to sit on. It was a treasure trove full of wonderful gems.

view from the back garden – stunning!

Roland and Sue, our new neighbours, with Ruby and Spike in front of the cottage

we’ve got quite a few tree frogs in the garden

We fell in love with the little cottage, the dogs and Roland and Sue, and luckily they decided not to withdraw their amazing offer. And so, over the next few weeks we slowly moved some random possessions to our new home, consumed lots of cuppas and iced-teas and ate quite a few cakes.

We had lots of help from many friends along the way (thanks John & Ann, Tom, Mel, Ian & Moi, Jan & Jeanet, Eddie, Ingo, Josh, our old neighbours Chris & Berny and Justin, and of course our new neighbours Roland & Sue).

dropping off the fridge

Roland hard at work inside the cottage

Jon getting a sweat on

bookcase packed up, ready to go to storage

Jon loading the outdoor chairs and one of our sofas into Lara for transport to our new home

the old home, getting empty

As per last time we are renting a storage unit and had to make sure all our possessions fit inside. This time though we have a few friends who are looking after stuff for us too (thanks Todd & Jenn, Jonno & Angie and Josh & Laurene), but somehow we still managed to fill it right to the brim, and that includes the ceiling! Last time we just hung our bikes off the ceiling, this time it’s 8 dining chairs and one bike….

our storage unit, getting there…

And then, last Wednesday, two city people (that’s us) moved to the country. And apparently, as the band ‘The Presidents of the United States of America’ will tell you, “we’ll be eating a lot of peaches”…. (Haven’t seen any peaches yet, but there is a tree full of oranges right next to the cottage. We might have to substitute peaches for oranges… The tune however is stuck in our heads!)

our new home!

We moved into our cottage and from last week we call Esk home, so I guess we can now call ourselves Eskies? We’ll tell you all about our new town at some point, but hopefully we can also show you around Esk, our new cottage and progress on Lara when you visit in person!

after the last things were dropped off in Esk we had lunch with Roland, Sue, John and Ann in one of the cafes in town, it was a fantastic lunch

10 Comments

  1. Where is the guest room in your new home???? Where do I sleep when I visit you??? 😉

    • we’ve got a laundry room? or, if you ask nicely, we might let you sleep in the living room 🤪

  2. So are you two officially retired now? 🙂

    • we wish! what about you? still teaching or given up on that?

  3. Presidents of the United States of America, or POTUSA for short. Tee hee. Congrats on the new dwelling.

    • Thanks! When are you coming over to check it out in person? 🤪

  4. Fijn dat jullie weer een stekkie gevonden hebben, ziet er heel gezellig uit.
    We zijn heel benieuwd naar de plannen……..
    Je schrijft dat je nu op het platteland woont, wel beetje in de buurt van grote stad?
    Veel succes en groetjes en zou heel leuk zijn weer eens ‘in person’ bij te kletsen.
    Dini en Hans

    • Plannen zal ik binnenkort ook een blog over schrijven! Dat zit allemaal in mijn hoofd, dus ik denk dan dat iedereen toch wel weet hoe het er uit gaat zien…. 😬

      We zitten ruim een uur rijden van Brisbane, dus dat is nog goed te doen! Gaan we doen hoor, we bellen een keer met whatsapp, werkt ook hier op het platteland 🤪

  5. Jullie zijn bofbipsen!! Maaaar het zij jullie erg van harte gegund!!
    Have a wonderfull good time in Esk and lost of Lück with the Lara- works

    Ferme groeten uit Oost Souburg in een heerlijke voorjaarszon.👍☀️😎☘️❤️

    • bofbipsen, hahahahaha dat is een nieuw woord voor mij 🤣 bedankt! we gaan vandaag weer verder…. hier is het vandaag bewolkt dus wat koeler gelukkig! Geniet maar lekker van het zonnetje 😘😘😘

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