Sings: Neigh-boors. Everybody needs good Neigh-boors. (that's how my teenage self used to sing it.) My Aussie friends will recognise this catchy little jingle from the nightly soap opera that started while I was at high school and continues to this day. Granted, it was quite daggy back in the early 90's but I hear it has been dragged kicking and screaming into the present, with affairs, bombs, intrigue and more angst than I've experienced in a lifetime. I've never lived in a cul-de-sac before and I always thought the stereotype of everyone being friends with everyone was a soap opera fallacy. But I was wrong..... It started at the Open House with twitching curtains, continued with the building inspection, where the neighbours introduced themselves, kept going with the move day (more neighbours) and now this - the retaining wall. Turns out everyone is considering replacing their retaining walls across our estate. Our replacement was urgent - I pulled out a fern and out came a sleeper. Mental note: Wooden sleepers + irrigation system = BAD. So when these gorgeous slabs of concrete arrived, we had lots of visitors. There was much oohing and aahhing over them. When our landscaper started installing them, we had lots more visitors. Including one intrepid soul who arrived after dark with a torch and the wife/children. Another new friend. We thought the excitement was over, but then our landscaper pulled something unexpected out of the bag. Or the trailer, as the case may be. It was like Central Station. Remembering we are at the top of the road with no through traffic, I was stunned by how many people came. Hubby and I were supposed to be pulling out the cupboards in preparation for the painter. Instead, we were chatting to the neighbours and handing out cards for the landscaper (whose great work means we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the street).
We thought this was a nice neighbourhood and our retaining wall has confirmed it. Anyone who knows me knows I like my life to be orderly. A place for everything and everything in its place.
So moving into a renovator's dream/nightmare has given me a big reality check. This week, the bulldozer arrived. Ok, so it's not quite a bulldozer above but I don't have a photo of the other hulking piece of equipment that's in the hole that used to be the backyard. This is the dinky bobcat that's living in the front yard. Right now, it's a six foot drop down from the laundry door to the ground and the fences are gone. It wouldn't be so bad, except the painter is here as well - no lounge room/kitchen/office and no garage (everything is packed in there while he paints). Right now, we are living in our bedroom. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just us, but our lonely little pup is in here as well. She's a lightweight at 40kg, so its a bit squishy. To add to the pain, right in the middle of it all, with my resume packed in a box, I've had to apply for a job. My old job finishes when the place I work closes down in November, and there are jobs at the new site but we all have to apply. Keep your fingers crossed. Writing wise - its been a bit lean. My edits for my November release "Home for Christmas" arrived this week as well and I've just sent those off. I'm getting excited now. It's much more fun working on edits than applying for jobs. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
November 2022
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