{"id":2761,"date":"2014-03-27T07:12:09","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T07:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=2761"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T08:12:15","slug":"back-in-sydney-for-a-whole-five-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2014\/03\/27\/back-in-sydney-for-a-whole-five-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Back In Sydney For A Whole Five Months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gosh!\u00a0 Where do I start when I\u2019ve written nothing for so long?\u00a0 My right hand has been so preoccupied with writing endless lists of what needed to be done or be bought, that I had no time to write more creatively.\u00a0 With our lives so full, all hours of every day, my pen travelled with me but remained at the bottom of my bag, never getting a chance to touch my notepad.\u00a0 Occasionally I would look at them both and wish we could spend some time together again, but there were no minutes to spare and all brain cells were otherwise occupied.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0were back in Sydney, but we couldn\u2019t go home. Just like last year, Mark and Fiona were away overseas and kindly loaned us their beautiful Pyrmont apartment until we could get ourselves straight enough to start camping at Garland Road.\u00a0 Victoria returned our car and we spent every day driving over the bridge to our storage unit, or to our house.<\/p>\n

The first thing we needed to do was get a sofa ordered, as ours had been thrown out between the two sets of tenants. So, straight off the plane from London, we went to a store selling sofas and tried to remember what colour our two armchairs were; it\u2019s tricky when you haven\u2019t seen them for nearly two years.\u00a0 The salesman lent us a swatch of colours and we went to the storage unit early the next morning to try and get a good match.\u00a0 Unfortunately the chairs were completely buried at the back of the unit and there was no way of even getting a glimpse of them.\u00a0 So we checked the measurements of our lounge wall and went back to the shop to make our order, with fingers firmly crossed that the colour we chose would work.\u00a0 I begged the shop assistant to pull out all stops and get the sofa made and delivered before our first guests arrived on December 17th<\/sup>.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure they could do it “with so many Christmas orders already in” and I left the shop wondering why people order new sofas for Christmas, it seems a strange gift to me and flipping impossible to wrap up and put under a Christmas tree\u2026.! \u00a0 Ah well, we knew we had two armchairs, a bean bag, one pouff\u00e9, lots of director chairs and four friends arriving to stay with us for two weeks over Christmas, eeks!<\/p>\n

We were also going to be one bed short, having sold an old one when we packed up and left.\u00a0 So being an item that we couldn\u2019t go without for our guests ( I couldn\u2019t quite see the six of us squeezing into two beds), we decided Ikea might be the best bet, as we wouldn\u2019t be waiting for it to be made or delivered before Christmas.\u00a0 So we drove across Sydney to pick one up.\u00a0 There was only one we liked and \u201coh dear, it\u2019s out of stock, but don\u2019t worry we\u2019ll be getting more in next week\u201d\u2026.\u00a0 I can\u2019t remember how many times we drove to both branches of Ikea, or how many times I kept checking the stock list on line.\u00a0 As December 17th<\/sup> loomed closer and closer, we were starting to panic, until late one Friday night, I noticed that there were a few in the Lidcombe store.\u00a0 I spent the night tossing and turning and planned to be at the store, pre-opening, on Saturday morning.\u00a0 I had the store map with the quick access routes to the necessary pick-up bay, but then Rodney decided to go instead and managed to buy the very last one on the shelf, phew\u2026..!<\/p>\n

\"Camping
Camping at home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After a week at Mark & Fiona\u2019s, we managed to drag out a mattress and some sheets and towels from the storage unit.\u00a0 We found a saucepan and a box of crockery and with\u00a0one suitcase full of clothes each, we set up camp in our own home for a week.\u00a0 We scrubbed and cleaned, washed and wiped, polished and swept, fumigated and freshened until our home felt well-groomed again.\u00a0 Rodney fixed broken things, filled holes, repaired skirting boards, painted, and we shopped for missing\u00a0items that had walked out with the tenants.\u00a0 Our floors downstairs were sanded back, stained and resealed, which prevented us from entering the house for five days, so we scrubbed and de-moulded the laundry, set to on the garden, cutting back the jungle it had become, and replanted the herb garden.\u00a0 Our wonderful friend, Dino came round and helped with so many things, including repainting two rooms. \u00a0Kind friends fed us dinners and we ate out at local restaurants a fair bit<\/p>\n

\"Rodney
Rodney and Dino hard at work in the dining room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We’d been back in Sydney exactly two weeks and our feet, hands, backs and brains had not stopped.\u00a0 Every little bit of my fingers ached and I didn\u2019t have a single fingernail left intact.\u00a0 Every room smelled of a delicious combination of paint, floor sealant, bleach and multi-purpose cleaner.\u00a0 I tried to buy mainly lemon-scented products to co-ordinate the smells, but I have to admit I often couldn\u2019t wait to get out of the house and go somewhere to smell some roses.<\/p>\n

On November 11th, the wettest day since landing back in Australia, our moving day came around.\u00a0 Rodney met the removalists at our storage unit at 8am and after loading up the big truck, they all reached our house at 11am.\u00a0 Four burly blokes set to, at lightening speed.\u00a0 The security door and the front door were removed; the dining table and the front room wardrobe just wouldn’t squeeze through the gap, despite going out that way two years ago….? They parked the truck as close as they could to the carport, but everything still came in a little damp.\u00a0 My prayers for a dry moving day hadn’t been answered. One burly tried to put a chair through a kitchen wall, thankfully the chair and the wall survived.\u00a0 All in all it was a mightily efficient job with the truck and the gang leaving at 1pm.\u00a0 All done in half a day and amazingly, the removal company refunded us some cash because the job had been easier than they had expected….how kind.<\/p>\n

We then stood and stared, crikey it looked like a big job still ahead of us; far bigger then we had imagined.\u00a0 Most of the boxes had ended up in the correct rooms, but there seemed to be so many of them.\u00a0 So, it was on with the radio, scissors grasped and we got started straight away.\u00a0 We kept going until 7pm when Rodney called time out and played hunter gatherer…..at the fish and chip shop.\u00a0 Brilliant !\u00a0 We re-assembled and made up our bed at some point during the day; oooooh, a real bed at last!\u00a0 Finally, at 8pm, Rodney managed to find the box with the small TV in it and so with no chairs to sit on, we crawled in to our own bed to watch our own TV for the first time in 22 months.\u00a0 It’s the simple things in life……<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The study needs unpacking……..<\/p>\n

Dino came back yet again and helped us unpack and unwrap, hang pictures and generally keep us cheerful with the seemingly endless tasks involved in putting our home back together.\u00a0 The new sofa arrived within three weeks and we thanked our lucky stars for that one.\u00a0 There were other little cheery things along the way, like finding a favourite ornament that you\u2019ve missed looking at, or a nice T shirt you\u2019d forgotten. \u00a0Being able to hang sheets and towels on a washing line on a sunny day was an unexpected happy moment. Unpacking my sewing machine was a much-anticipated joy, although slogging away at making two sets of new curtains and lining another set wasn\u2019t quite so much fun.<\/p>\n

In early December we finally got our bond back to cover the unpaid rent and a tiny bit extra towards the damage and missing items in our home.\u00a0 Then Rodney took a much-needed weekend off to play golf with friends, down in the Southern Highlands.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t exactly a rest and he came back looking as tired as when he went away, but they do say a change is as good as a rest.<\/p>\n

\"Bob,
Bob, Laura, Ang, Bill and Jean near Wentworth Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

When our four friends, Bill & Ang, Bob & Jean arrived on December 17th<\/sup>, we were finally feeling on top of everything and were ready to relax.\u00a0 They had fresh clean rooms, beds to sleep on and furniture in the lounge to sit on.\u00a0 For seven weeks we had been the busiest of bees and were sick of falling asleep in front of the telly late in the evening, or moaning about aching hands, backs and legs.\u00a0 So we downed tools and got back to thoroughly enjoying being back in our favourite city.\u00a0 Though I wouldn\u2019t say the next three weeks were relaxing, more of a non-stop whirl of sightseeing and partying.<\/p>\n

\"Rodney,
Rodney, Jean, Ang, Laura, Bob and Bill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Blue
Blue Mountains sunset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Evans
Evans Lookout, Blue Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

While they were here, we spent three days in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney,\u00a0exploring waterfalls and viewpoints. We did a lot of touring around, visiting our favourite spots and re-acquainting ourselves with our home city, which was really nice for us too, after nearly two years away.\u00a0 We managed to body-board and laze on quite a few beaches\u00a0We had a party for 44 on Christmas Eve and it was certainly very handy having the extra help from our house guests.\u00a0\u00a0The sun shone almost every day, except on Christmas Day when\u00a0the sky\u00a0chucked\u00a0rain down almost non-stop.\u00a0\u00a0 So we did the English thing of getting up late, watching two movies on the telly and then going up to Rodney\u2019s brother\u2019s for a big traditional turkey dinner until late. Thank you Ivan and Rachel for another delicious Christmas meal for so many of us.\u00a0 I really wanted our guests to be able to say they had spent Christmas Day on the beach, but they had to wait till Boxing Day, when we took a picnic round to Georges Heights to watch the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race whiz past on their way out of Sydney Harbour and then we spent the afternoon snoozing and swimming at Balmoral Beach.<\/p>\n

\"Ham
Ham carving on Christmas Eve<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sydney
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We all had a brilliant time on New Year\u2019s Eve at Mark & Fiona’s\u00a0harbour view apartment in Pyrmont; our four house guests couldn\u2019t take their eyes off the view and then watching the fireworks show. We ate and drank and we didn\u2019t get home until 3am!!!<\/p>\n

For the rest of their stay with us, we went on walks, hunted for wallabies, the girls managed to squeeze in quite a few markets and a bit of shopping therapy, and they all had a day at the cricket, watching England lose again.\u00a0\u00a0With such good weather this summer, I’m sure they’ve had a good\u00a0three weeks with us and they all went home to Watton-At-Stone with suntans and smiles on their faces.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Palm
Palm Beach fun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another friend\u2019s daughter, Alison, also came to stay with us for two nights between Christmas and New Year; unfortunately, with all bedrooms now full, she had to sleep on a mattress on the lounge floor, poor thing.\u00a0 But we gave her an intensive two-day tour of Sydney and\u00a0I think she enjoyed herself.\u00a0 \u00a0I have a feeling she will be back again sometime……and I\u2019ve promised her a bed in a bedroom next time!<\/p>\n

\"Busy
Busy Bondi Beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

When all of our visitors left, our house seemed very quiet and empty.\u00a0 We missed the chatter and a full table at mealtimes.\u00a0 We carried on visiting beaches throughout the gorgeous summer in Sydney.\u00a0 Rodney had a wisdom tooth out, but don\u2019t panic he\u2019s still very wise. We carried on fixing things around the house and made a lovely sign to hang on the deck.\u00a0 I got the sewing machine out and went creatively crazy.\u00a0 I made six huge beach bags, three summer dresses, lots of lavender bags, mats for the dining room trolley, a kaftan, a handbag and a fleecy cover-up for wearing to and from my aquarobics classes. The new lounge curtains arrived and we refused to accept them, gosh I wished I had made them myself.\u00a0 The company finally corrected their shoddy work and delivered good curtains late in March; it only took them five months to earn their money and get it right!!\u00a0 We had a lot of fun one afternoon, barefoot bowling with friends at the Balmain Bowling Club.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure we played to the rules, we had no idea what the rules were, but I don\u2019t think there was any cheating involved, only alcohol.\u00a0 Lots of dinner parties, restaurants, cafes, movies and walks; these are all the things we love about being at home in Sydney.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Barefoot
Barefoot bowling at the BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our friends Deb and Tom arrived from Los Angeles to stay for a week in early March, so we were out and about again, entertaining and sightseeing.\u00a0 Then Susan Blake arrived from London to stay with us, while she worked in the Sydney office of Moodys for two weeks.\u00a0 That leaves us with only one week to get our act together, say our farewells, pack our bags and have our home ready for our friend Tim to housesit for\u00a0five months, while we tour around Spain and Portugal in Eileen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny, but when Rodney finally got around to booking our flight to England, one little wrinkle in his forehead seemed to disappear.\u00a0 He is definitely a man who needs an airline ticket in his pocket, or he gets a bit gloomy.\u00a0 So our seats were booked on the big bird to Gatwick on April 7th<\/sup> and Mr Gloomy became Mr Re-energised.\u00a0 We\u2019re on our way again\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

\"Crimson
Crimson rosella at Jenolan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gosh!\u00a0 Where do I start when I\u2019ve written nothing for so long?\u00a0 My right hand has been so preoccupied with writing endless lists of what needed to be done or be bought, that I had no time to write more creatively.\u00a0 With our lives so full, all hours of every day, my pen travelled with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8346,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/8346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}