Housewarming

Housewarming Note trellis in background. Not finished yet ...

Father Paul Blessing our new Home

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rita's Plate

I know. I know. We have been in the house for almost 5 weeks and have only just got around to our housewarming!! Well, get used to it - it is a slower pace here in Ballina, and we are loving it! We have one major addition yet to be added to our home to complete our settling in period; namely white plantation shutters made out of a lightweight, durable resin compound which come with a 20 year warranty. They should be in by the middle of April and will be fitted to the windows in all the bedrooms and our ensuite. But apart from those, we are pretty well done and dusted. In our opinion, this place is a real gem. From the front gate you would have no idea of the delights that lay beyond the brick frontage! The back patio is a popular area for us - we have a lot of our meals out there, as well as morning & afternoon tea. I was out there the other morning and took the photo of the pretty Rainbow Lorikeets feasting in the Lilly Pilly tree near the fence. We have added a lattice trellis to the existing fence so it is now 7.5' tall and in time we will have a flowering creeper growing along it to give us additional privacy and create a 'walled garden' effect. We will feel like we are in the garden of an old English cottage. Very tranquil.

For the housewarming we invited over about twenty people who we have met since we started coming to Ballina. They all knew we were looking for a house and often asked how our search was going. So now that we have found our home, we wanted them to come and celebrate with us. Most of the next door neighbours already had alternative engagements, so we will invite them over separately. One couple have already been over and spent several hours with us on the back patio. Our family and most of our friends from the Gold Coast have already visited, so we didn't include them in this get-together. We were also pleased to invite friends who have retired to the lovely county town of Alstonville about 10 mins away. He was in the Air Force with Murray and we bumped into them in Canberra a few years ago. Murray & Brendan had not seen each other for over 20 years. Another pleasant surprise was one of our guests bought along a Catholic Priest who we hadn't met before. Father Paul offered to bless our new home and so now we feel doubly blessed. Firs for finding this home in the first place, and second for the spiritual blessing bestowed on the house.

The last photo above I took of a plate of melba toast with smoked salmon to show my friend Rita in Canberra that I do use the beautiful plate she created, fired and gave me. Thanks Rita!