Heavenly Beverley : Back to Normality...And Where We Belong!

We returned home to Heavenly Beverley a week ago. The dogs were ecstatic, the bird noisily cheerful and the cat remained hidden for another twenty-four hours as punishment. Since rematerialising, she has been demandingly vocal whenever she enters our presence.

Jenny and Steve were wonderful housesitters and the dogs adored them for the duration. Daizee, their black Labrador, occasionally had her nose out of joint due to Pip's incessant worshipping of their two-legged carers. I expect Daizee will be enjoying having her mum and dad to herself after Pip's relentless smooching.

Our plants were all alive and kicking, some weeding had been on their agenda and they had even swept out Michael's workshop.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we had a packed schedule from the time we arrived home. First was a thorough rip-n-tint of my eyebrows, lip and chin so I would no longer scare small children or resemble John Howard.

Friday was spent unpacking and unpacking and unpacking at home and re-acquainting myself with our Gallery. Jenny had been unable to resist the urge to move some of our art pieces around. She certainly brought a freshness to the layout, but she also placed pieces out that were not for sale or were on layby. And although we have some fluidity between the Gallery and the Giftshop, I had repetitive episodes of panic whilst I was still toiling at midnight to bring the Gallery and Giftshop back to my version of normality. Note to self - please ask housesitters not to move items in our artspaces.

On Friday afternoon, my computer also chose to shut down without permission necessitating a trip to the Big Smoke for resuscitation purposes. This was Saturday's quest - oh goody.

Saturday and Sunday in Beverley were quiet and very warm. The Gallery had been closed up so the atmosphere needed to cool and air. Michael opened on Saturday and I took over on Sunday. Even so, we had a couple of sales, which provided the tonic we needed. But the house's internal appearance was yet to improve. This was Monday's task.

First thing in the morning, insanity took over from normality. In a split second, I decided to spring clean our living areas. Kitchen, store room, dining area and our open plan lounge were all attacked with vigour. I had already begun tackling the fridges on Thursday afternoon, but I needed to remove the accumulated sticky and soupy muck from the shelves and drawers.

I hadn't finished any jobs on Monday evening. Tuesday we had a full day in Northam. The dentist for Michael, a car service for my Accent, Goldie, then four new tyres were required, immediately, as unexpected extras. Apparently, three of them could have gone BOOM at any moment. Not a pleasant option.

But the piece de resistance was Michael's face when we took delivery of our new vehicle. Her name is Lily and she is a brand spanking new 4 wheel drive, Colorado. We were able to acquire her with my inheritance from my Mum and Dad's estate. We will think of them with love every trip we take.

Michael has never owned a new vehicle for personal use. He had the pleasure of a new work ute in the last years of his professional life, but never a new car that is registered in his name. Michael's expression was priceless. As he drove home in Lily in convoy with Goldie and me, I could imagine his tremendous thrill and joy. In spite of arriving home quite late in the afternoon, Tuesday was a red-letter day for my beloved husband. As an all-around good guy, I am so happy this has finally happened for him.

Back to the grindstone on Wednesday. With growing horror, I inspected the high top of one of our units in the living room. Eewww...dust and death (of flying nasties) were the major components. I took all the dolls and teddies down, gave them a jolly good shake and a good thrashing before they took up residence on a lower unit. DVDs were rearranged back into alphabetical order, ornaments were washed and moved, floors were vacuumed and washed (twice). Did I mention I had a tiny tad of OCD?

In between the frenzy of cleaning, I had a massage with the fantastic Janet. Which was a total waste of time as I returned home to keep...cleaning. Even more stupidly, I attended Pilates in the very late afternoon and nearly died. Michael had a far more enjoyable massage. Janet had to wake him when it was over. However, a large lunch then played havoc with his reflux leaving him feeling rather ordinary.

Today, I feel back in charge. The house is clean, our bed is changed, the washing is almost up to date, the Gallery was opened, guests - Jenny and Sandy Couper and David Lillico - were welcomed and we even took a spin in Lily with me at the wheel for the very first time. And we didn't crash, which was a bonus.

Coming soon are the outside touches we have been longing to happen. The wall and brick paving go up in about three weeks. Hopefully, the carports and the rest of the paving will follow rapidly. Then we can set up all our plants and windchimes and kooky ornaments. I can hardly wait.

Station House is pretty much finished on the inside. Eight months after we moved in, we are still thrilled with our home.

I'll be at Pilates in the morning!

All is well in our world.

Just a normal week...