Also Moving

We have next door neighbours. In the valley where we live “next door” is somewhat relative compared to, say, a row of semi-detached houses Next door an be 300 or even 500 metres away. These neighbours live a short distance down the road, then turn left and follow the driveway up the hill for a slightly longer distance. I will call the neighbours Janet and John Robinson. They have three small kids who I will name Peter, Paul and Mary all in the interests of personal privacy.

A week or so ago, we moved our stuff into the extension and slept the first night in “our own” bedroom for over nine months. This weekend the Robinsons are moving into their brand-new house up the hill across the road. The move is about 150 metres as the crow flies, on the same property, from the original cottage which was part of the property which the bought about three years ago.

So, “move” is a relative term… too far to carry, say a heavy fridge or washing machine (especially considering a very steep incline gradient to be negotiated between the two dwellings), but too close and too costly to contract a professional moving company to do the move for you.

John chose the middle road by hiring a small removals truck and doing a do-it-yourself furniture removals operation. We popped across and helped load and unload the bulky and heavy stuff. I use the royal “we”, whereas it was mostly Clayton and Tyler who helped John with the heavies, I handled stuff like ironing boards and coffee grinders.

Halfway through the morning, architect Bob, who did all the drawing of plans and building specifications for the Robinson house, arrived with a house-warming bottle of something in a gift packet. Janet took him on a guided tour through he new now-half-furnished home, while the rest of us dodged each other and a myriad of kids running underfoot playing ‘catch’ games.

Bob is the same guy who did our plans – in fact, we were referred to him by the Robinsons. I looked at Bob standing in the new lounge area, a spacious open-plan area with an elevated panelled and sloping ceiling and full-height folding doors all along one wall, looking out over verdant green pastures with the Robinson flock of snow-white sheep and lambs dotted around.

I wondered what was going through Bob’s mind – He may have been able to imagine the appearance of his creation from the outside, but an important aspect of a home is the inside, and that part is hugely more difficult to visualise with furniture and decor in place. It is like looking at a cake you’ve just  baked and comparing it to the photograph in the recipe book. It would be interesting to know whether it met with his expectations, and what modifications would he make to his plans, if he’d had this visual knowledge at the time. 

Later in the day, most of the heavies now in their new locations, I sat with the others at the new dining table enjoying a hot cup of tea in the new dining room, part of the huge open-plan kitchen/ dining/ sitting/ living zone. To my right through the large panoramic windows I could see over pine forests and rolling hills across the Reikorangi valley. To my left a black cow and her calf grazing in the brilliant green paddock above the driveway leading up to the house. Tyler was standing on the “hill” created in the original excavations when the foundations were being prepared. He was shouting something about the “king of the hill.”

Here’s to happy living to the kings of the hill, the neighbouring “Family Robinson.” Enjoy your new home and watch your kids growing up in this idyllic environment.