Living Like a Small Green Hairy Fruit

Boxing Day!

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Well today is 'B' Day - all our boxed worldly possessions would be going into one big box not to be seen again for 9 weeks.  Were we up bright and early and feeling quite sick and nervous really.  The HRTs were in about 8am to finish off the packing and do the paperwork.  The container was due about 3pm.

At 10.30am we got the call to say we'd completed on the house sale.  This came much earlier than we expected and actually that added to the stress as the last thing we wanted was the new owners sitting outside waiting to move their stuff in.  We didn't want to rush to get out of their way.  We wanted to make sure every room was clear and clean and to have the chance to just take a moment or two in each room to remember the good times and say goodbye.  It might only be bricks and mortar and it had certainly been a home of huge highs and lows but saying 'goodbye' was, I suppose, a way of closing the door on that chapter of our lives and being able to look forward to opening the door to our new life.

Surprisingly, we also received a phone call from our emigration consultant, Peter.  He and his colleague had decided to put our EOI (Expression of Interest) in to immigration for the fortnightly draw that day.  It had gone in at 10am and was drawn from the pool by 12 noon!  We were so pleased as this was the first step to getting permanent residency in New Zealand.

Our container arrives. The driver is expertly reversing it onto our rather narrow gateway. Notice how Mark is just standly looking nonchalent? That's because it's not our house anymore so he couldn't care less if the gatepost gets knocked over!

Everyone looking happy and relaxed. One of the HRTs promises us they can do magic and make it all fit, although the other HRT in the container, whose job it is to ensure it does, seems to have lost his head with the stress of it all!

 Mark's dad comes over to lend a hand ... with the standing around and drinking coffee bit!

HRT 'Look mate, I'm telling you, it won't fit' - Mark 'it bloody will! give it here, I'll make it fit...' 

'...and then we'll get this bit in too...'

'...and close the door quick!!'

And that's the last we'll see of that for a few weeks.

The last 2 photos of our old garden looking lovely and warm and sunny - and we're heading off to winter in NZ???!!!

The new owners didn't come until about 5pm. We were still cleaning up and gathering the last of our bits but we managed to get round each room to say our goodbyes.

Mark's mum and dad live across the road and they had kindly offered to put us up for the next two nights until our flights on Friday.  The kids had put you up beds in the spare room and study and Mark and I were in their caravan which is beautiful. They'd already made the bed up for us and hooked up the electric and water. There was tea, coffee etc in the kitchen and chocolates laid out on the bed! It was a real luxurious haven after the last couple of days.

It was hard though only being over the road and watching the new people move in. You couldn't help but curtain twitch to see what was going on! Still, that wasn't has hard as saying the final goodbyes.