Yeehaa!

 

From my phone in reverse order (I can never seem to get them chronological).... and ah, no I haven't had my SLR camera out since my last blog!!!! Shock horror! So they are all from my phone this time! 

Movie Time!!! 

Was there even a June? I think I missed a month! When I go back through my videos, I can tell you that there definitely was a June and it was a big one! 

So when it came to the beginning of July, it was definitely time for a time-out and a movie with Grandma and the gremlins. We watched Spirit (of course), it was pretty good! 

So allow me to go backwards through the month. I managed to get an afternoon to check out our heifers. They are looking very fat and lovely. Hopefully all very pregnant. 

Our finale bonfire at Banksia for our last evening there. 

It has been a mammoth couple of weeks of packing and cleaning and moving. Luckily the move was only 20km. Such a blessing, as I'm not too sure how we are going to manage a big move. Fingers crossed that our next move is to our new home. 

We have been very fortunate that our neighbours we able to offer their home to us to caretake for them, as they have also sold to the army, but unlike us, they have a new place to move into. 

Plus, it really does feel like home to me, as I spent a great deal of time here as a kid, growing up and always felt very at home and as a part of the family, so the transition was very smooth and made the fact that I was leaving my childhood home, much easier. 

We definitely couldn't have done the move without all the help that we had. My dear friend Sheree Zumpe came for a couple of weeks to help me with all the wall washing and cleaning of the Banksia house, which was no mean feat in a two storey home. 

The first week of the move was spent finishing off our school term, which luckily, because G man had been such a trooper earlier in the term, we were well ahead and had finished most everything apart from online lessons, before smoko time. Then we would spend the afternoons in cleaning mode, washing walls and ceiling and cleaning cupboards and packing the 10 years of accumulated stuff!!! I think I'm going to become a minimalist. 

Then in the middle of the two weeks, we had to move all the cattle. 

Sheree minded the kidlets while Lou from up the road came to help us with the preg-testing of the cattle, along with my father-in-law Eric to get all the cattle through the yards for the vet Neil Farmer to test. We had all the cattle that needed to be preg-tested, close to the yards, so that the mustering part wasn't a huge contract, we just had to draft and test them. Many hands make light work. 

 The following day, we trucked them out to their new home on some agistment that we managed to attain  right at the final hour. The morning that the trucks arrived, Justin and I, left for the yards, just before the trucks got there, only to find that the weaners that we drafted off the day before, had got mixed in with the wagyus that we were trucking, which added a little bit of stress to our morning. None the less we got them all out to spend the night in the yards at their new home. 

Then we very quickly made ourselves presentable for my brother's 40th in town. And after far too much merriment we left to be home by midnight so we could take our girls to their new paddocks.  

With Justin focussed on the outside moving with the numerous cattle feeders, timber, tick troughs, dog cages, shipping containers, tools, etc, etc and all the things required for running a cattle station, I was still focussed on the house component. Not to mention we still had a couple of days of school. 

On the Monday, we moved all our living essentials to our new home. So that we could base ourselves there and then bring the rest to follow. Mum joined us for the second week and between Sheree, mum and myself, we got some moving done!!!! As I said in a previous post, we put all the heavy furniture type stuff into the shipping container which will remain there until, we have found our new home. 

Anyhow, I will spare you the rest of the details of our move, but I am very grateful for all the help that we had and very grateful for the Olives who were able to offer their home to us. I really love it here, it has a great feel to it. I don't think I will want to leave, it's such a beautiful home, not to mention functional with lots of storage (every housewife's dream). 

Stay tuned because I will definitely be out with my camera soon, now that we have moved in. 

I found it a bit ironic that this honeysuckle has emerged now that we have left. It came up on its own, just out in the middle of the paddock where it normally would have been slashed. So very beautiful.

Our last Banksia sunset. 

I have found a few things that are essential for moving! 

1: Help!!! Lots of it!

2: Good tea and coffee

3: Chocolate, I don't even normally eat that much, but I did over this couple of weeks. 

4: An exercise regime. Sounds weird, but it has helped, not just with this last couple of weeks, but with life, if you can get out of bed a have a good achievement straight up in the morning, then even if you achieve anything else very productive for the day, then you've done that. 

5: Frozen meals! I forgot this, but it would have helped, even though it wasn't a big move geographically, the last thing you feel like doing at the end of the day is cooking food, and you need to be well fuelled. Living on toast, isn't very sustaining. 

Oh and if you are cleaning, chlorine is your friend although masks and gloves are a must. I have been suffering with some chesty cough and I'm certain that it's not from the flu, but I've just damaged my lungs from inhaling too many fumes. Selly's oven cleaner, turps and eucalyptus oil. Plus vileda mops for the walls. 

I think that's it. Oh and get a horse float from one of your beautiful friends for moving all your crap!

With all the good fortune that we have had lately, I feel as though someone has been looking out for us. Dick and Heather, arrived, just as our final week of moving was upon us and between Dick helping Justin and Heather helping me (even with her one broken arm), we would have been very lost without them. 

Not to mention the day of Peter and Mitch helping Justin with their loader to move some of our bigger items, including a silo feeder from down the paddock. 

Bit of a funny storey to go with this cake. In the midst of moving, I had been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything, with the fatigue, and enormity of everything that was going on, Justin insisted on me going to have a "day-off" in town. Which any woman from a cattle station knows that a town day is not at all a day off because there are always 101 jobs to be done.....

Anyhow, as we were leaving, Dick asked me to buy Heather a cake for her upcoming birthday. I said, "Mate, with everything you and Heather have done for us, least I do is bake a cake." So after a bit of deliberation I decided that while I might be being a bit ambition trying to bake a sponge in an unfamiliar oven, I had fresh passionfruit (from my vine that has offered its first fruit to us just in the final weeks as I was leaving), so I was going to have a crack...... 

Sooooo, just as I finished icing the four layered sponge, which I thought had turned out pretty good on the morning of Heather's birthday, Dick come to me and says, "I might have made a mistake about the cake." And I'm thinking, of bugger maybe, there's an allergy that I'm not aware of....... nope, we were early, a whole month early!!! 🙈 How funny! So we all got to enjoy some fresh "birthday cake", complete with card! Ha ha. Oh well, we won't get to see her for her birthday so it's cool that we get to have an early celebration. Unless we can con them into staying a bit longer with the pandemic getting out of hand again. 

The poor kidlets have been getting a bit neglected over the past couple of weeks, with us being so flat out with the moving process, so we tried to keep a bit of normality with some storey time at night. You can tell, because they are getting a bit ratty and wanting our attention. 

Testing out the bitumen at the front of their new home. I wonder how long it will be before there's some bark off them. Bitumen is not very forgiving. 

Frog rock has had a paint job. Kids want to come here for a picnic, we might try to have an excursion on our last week of the holidays. 

Moving the Wags to their new home. 

Nice to get out and do some cowgirling rather than house work. 

G man swallowed his tooth.... lucky that tooth fairy has some special methods for finding it, after a letter was written to explain the situation. 

Stew turned 40!!!! OMG, that means I'm half way through my thirties... I like my 30's and they are going too fast! 

Justin, G man, Kaka, Me, Hayley, Penny, Emma, Stew and Jack. 

How epic was this cake!! I think mum has missed her vocation! 

Lots of last times... last time tied to this fence. 

Last beast on the last truck. 

Last yard up.

Me and Lou, the backyard team.

One of the last sunsets. 

When we had done some of the housework, I would still try to get the kids out on their horses. Now that G man can ride Baby Blue on his own, it meant that I could lead Kaka on the Black Mare. So we could all go out for a ride together which was pretty cool. 

Kaka taking photos of mum. 

Running repairs so that our vet wouldn't get squished. 

Even Grandma got to take the kids for a ride. 

Couple of cold mornings and this sunrise really turned it on for me. 

Oh and with all the hustle, I had almost forgotten that the girls weekend that I had been hanging out for, for months finally happened. We celebrated Mango's hen's weekend. After being engaged for at least 7 years now I think, Mango and Greer are finally getting married. For which I am the photographer which I'm also very nervous about. I'm hoping to get some practise at my cousins wedding this month. 

We headed over the Kepple for the day and to be honest, winter is the only time that I really like going to the beach, so I was happy. 

Us pair of non-drinkers. I can't remember the last time that this girl and I had a kid free weekend together! Soooo good! 

Spa bathing! 

We did have to have a couple of cocktails though. 

Was such a lovely day. 

What a great bunch of ladies. I've always said that I'm very lucky to have a great little friend circle. 

While we were away, Justin had the kidlets and took this pic of Kaka which I absolutely love! My little earth child. 

Oh and G man went to his first athletics carnival!!! OMG I was so proud. I never won a sporting ribbon in my life that didn't involve my horse doing all the leg work! He got third in the 50m sprint, 2nd in shot-put and 1st!!! in his high jump! I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't be there, but next time we will do some training for it. 

Mum's lippy. 

My gorgeous cousin whom is set to pop very soon!! 

Burning the last of the logs. 

Oh and lipstick and handbags have become essential accessories to our workwear attire. 

Video:

Kaka building some confidence on her own.

Team work to pat the Black Mare

Garrett has learnt to canter..... a wild as it looks, we will work at refining this. 

"Don't buck my brother off Baby Blue, be a nice horse"

"Yeehaa"

Morning sunrise and squeaky saddle!

Grandma and Kaka.. old horse, same tricks! 

Mustering team, "Yeehaaaa, Yeehaaa"

Loading the last truck. 

Movie Time. "We're eating popcorn without you"... little toad! 

So trendsetters, that's a wrap for the past month! This week, with some luck, now that the rain has subsided, we might get to do some exploring of our new home. Maybe I might even get out with my camera 🙌.   

While it has been a bit sad leaving my childhood home, we are certain that we've made the right decision. There are always a lot of things that we would do differently with hindsight, but hindsight is never constructive. I'm looking forward to this next chapter in our lives. We have been very blessed with so many different things and I've so very grateful for those people that I've mentioned that have helped us out in so many ways and I am also very grateful for those people who have been in my life that have led me to where I am now. 

Thank you. See you again soon.