Monday, February 4

Moving Houses

This year is the 25th anniversary of our move to permanant residence in Australia.

We arrived here on 31st January, 1983.

In some respects it seems like a lifetime ago.

In others, it is just yesterday.


In our 25 years here, we have lived in 9 different 'homes'.

The very first was a rental, which was partially furnished, & just what we required at the time. A lot of our personal belongings were being shipped by container, from New Zealand. It was quite exciting to be beginning a new chapter in our lives.


I turned 40 soon after we arrived here, & though it is a milestone birthday to some people, I barely had time to register the fact! Besides, in my mind I was 30something, still, & need not trouble myself about figures. Even bodily ones. I held up reasonably well. Not fat, not thin.


Here is Gom & Daughter J, with Son B, in the first house we bought in Australia.


Here I am in between DJ & Gom. Slightly blurred image.

Does this look like a woman who cooks 2 Carrot cakes daily!

Here is DJ, a teenager in her neat bedroom! She always kept it that way, in that house!


Here is teenage Son B. A tidy bedroom! Ghoulish in parts, but very tidy & neat.



Here is Meggie with Son B, about to rush off to work in Gom's Coffee Shop. Probably transporting Carrot Cakes as I went!


Must have been the same day, as here I am at the front door of our house, with DJ. They were about to rush off to school, me to work.

Stop sniggering, it was 1983! Fashions were ... well, different then!


I have a theory about houses. This house was neat every time we inspected it. It was a 4 bedroom house, & had a blended family living there. Between them there were 5 children, yet the house always looked neat & tidy.
I will probably blog about this first home again. We have a lot of laughs to recall from that house.


Somehow it seemed to remain that way, after we bought it. We are not a tidy family. Well, we weren't then. Gom was a worst offender at 'untidy'. Now he is quite anal about all sorts of 'tidy'. HAHA !
Over the following years we lived in all sorts of differing houses. Some rented, another we purchased. The second house we purchased was my favourite, & it was perfect for teenagers, & adults who needed to live together.
All in all, it has been quite an up & down life, living her in Australia.
I regard the stint in the Hotel as the worst. Though, I suppose it was safest finacially. The price was too high though, to my mind. I suffered ill health & a great deal of stress & grief during that period.
******
We had SG here this morning. His mother had to work early, his father was at work very early, sister working also. He was so happy that we saw him in his uniform. He was so excited, he had a second breakfast here, a Peanut Butter sandwich!
I asked him to pose for a photograph. I wanted the hat & the boots, but he wanted to just sit. So here he is.

Didn't even get his boots! I will have to try again. He is still loving it, so that is good. Another wet day, & the brolly was needed. Not cold though.
"I dont need my jumper Mum!"
*********
Am I allowed to whinge? Here is a picture of my whinge. Hideous in the extreme. And the level of itch?? 4 beestings, or or.... I just don't know.

I consulted a Chemist. He suggested Antihistamines. This pic after I have taken 2 on consecutive days. Looks like a skin specialist might be the next step.
I keep thinking of that Beatles song ... what is it? "Come Together" ~ "Hold you in his armchair you can feel my his disease"?
I thought it might be claw-marks from the Black Dog.
Now I am sure it is why the Black Dog lurks.



Beatles, The Fool On The Hill.




16 comments:

Mary said...

Gee that looks similar to my exczema. I just live with mine now - nothing seems to work - including antihistamines.

I loved those photos of young Meggie and can now picture you going off with your carrot cakes!

And that dear boy - how young and innocent !!

Joyce said...

I like hearing about all your homes. We too lived in a lot of different houses and there were stories to tell about each one. We love where we are now though and I think the next move will be to the old folks' home or the grave. Lol.

CONNIE W said...

Love those photos! I do enjoy looking back and remembering too. Little grandson is TOO cute! I hope you find a solution to the skin problem and feel better.

Ragged Roses said...

Good luck with the antihistamines. 9 homes in forty years that's a lot of moving. Lovely to see the old photos (and fashions!).
Kimx

Anonymous said...

It was lovely to see those 1983 photos. It's hard to explain what it made me feel - but I suppose it made me feel that 40 is actually quite young and that many years have passed since then and you have done so much and yet you sound young still to me now. It made me feel less old somehow (I am 41!) and that - oh I dunno, that there is a lot that I should do.

Anyway, I am coming to Australia for 3 or 4 months next year - can't wait!

caramaena said...

Meggie, I won't laugh at the 1980's fashions because I'm sure I had a similar skirt! Looking back it looks a little like the netball skirts, doesn't it?

SG is adorable in his uniform. Glad he's liking school.

If the antihistamines aren't helping then see a skin specialist. That looks very uncomfortable.

Tanya Brown said...

Oh, goodness. That rash does look uncomfortable; no wonder you're being dogged by the black canine. And of course you're not whining; it's part of your life, after all, and maybe someone will have a suggestion which will help the darned thing go away.

I enjoyed your stories, of course, but the thing which impressed me was that you were forty AND had a waistline! Actually, "jealous" might be a more accurate description than "impressed".

Linda G. said...

Thanks for the peek into your past. I love the pictures of you and your family:)

If your skin problem is allergy, it may improve if you can find out what that allergy is. My Grandmother broke out from only one food, onion. If she even ate tomato that had been sliced with a knife that had sliced an onion, she broke out in a terrible rash. But she avoided onions and was fine.

I'm feeling very hungry for carrot cake..

Rosie said...

Wonderful photos of the eighties. We were allowed to have big hair then werent we? Not like today when it has to be all shiny and flat. Speaking as a curly girl, I wish the eighties fashion would come back again...

Mike said...

Great photos Meggie. I think our first house was the best one we ever had. It was always neat and clean and felt like home. No place since has felt as good.

Stomper Girl said...

Really enjoyed those photos Meggie, thankyou for them! And little SG off to school and having a good time! That is great to hear. Lovely shot of him.

fifi said...

Well I never thought I would se a school uniform even more ghastly than the one I had to wear!! your POOr daughter. well, actually, it's quite similar...

Definitely, that is a blackdogrash. Look behind you, and keep a sharp eye out. My escape plan incudes much swimming, but you may not wish to do this. Running in the rain is another, but you may not want that either.

A trip! yes, a trip somewhere nice.
You are grieving over things, that is why the dog came.You seem, however, a person who bounces back pretty quickly.

Marja said...

Wow you moved a lot and I didn't know that you are already such a long time in Ozzi.
Lovely to see al these pictures and I am amazed by the tidy teen bedrooms. I must make a picture when I get mine to do that. Now am I not the most of tidiest but my hubby spurs me on.

ancient one said...

Hope the rash clears up soon. It looks like it is hard to live with. Does it itch?

Loved the picture of your grandson and all the older pictures of your family. I'm sure I had a skirt like that before. If I looked hard enough, I might still find it around here somewhere. LOL

We've moved about 10 times in our first 10 years... but got here in 1971 and have been here ever since.

Have a good day/night!!

Christine Thresh said...

I enjoyed the pictures. You were a cute little gal.
I hate moving. We've been in the same place since 1983.

The Sagittarian said...

Great photos! We moved about abit when we were younger, I used to tell people it was because didn't pay his bills....