A remiss blogger!

Hello dear ones! Many, many apologies for dropping off the face of the earth! For those of you who follow other digital media I indulge in, you would have been following the progress of our move and the following two months we have been happily ensconced in our new pad. For those of you who haven't, let's start with the move!

Well, I'm not a fan of moving. Full stop. I have moved house so many times in my life I am no longer counting, and if it's the last time I ever have to do it, I'm a happy camper. Having said that, though, this was one of the smoothest moves we've ever done, even though I took off to Cambodia for four days beforehand (maybe that's why I was a bit more organised than usual!). We also had a LOT of help from Kaoru's parents with the clean up of the old place, for which I am forever grateful.

The moving company was amazing too. We hired the panda people and they were professional all the way. Here's some pictures of what our old house looked like during the chaos:

No wait! That's me, with my friend Ning and her daughter, Anya, in a Tuk Tuk in Phnom Penh.

THIS is the chaos. My old study, all boxed up.

Old lounge room.

Old kitchen/dining.

Hallway, with covered walls to protect them while the removalists did their thing. Tell me, do removalists do this in Australia?

Our first night in our new home was a mixture of feelings, as it turned out. We were exhausted, excited, and, of course, nervous. I was also, amazingly, a little sad to see the back of the old house. It was interesting to note that we didn't realise how small it was until all of our stuff had been removed, and we wondered how we managed to fit all of that crap in there! We threw so much stuff away, I came to conclusion that we had pretty much been living among rubbish. Goes to show you should always find excuses to cull!

Moving in.

Kaoru's Mum, Yaeko, takes care of all the blanket folding for the removalists. My job was primarily to point.

My study. Looks pretty different now!

The kitchen. We got most of those boxes unpacked that night.

First dinner - eating off boxes because the table hadn't arrived yet.

Tired, but happy!

The next day, the table arrived!

The table base and benches.

Here she comes! Our baby : )

Waiting...

It took many people to carry it in, but I'm not sure Kaoru was being so helpful there!

She makes it through the door...

She arrived! She's wonderful, beautiful and magical.

And she loves a party.

So, that was our move. Of course, since then, we've had Christmas, New Years and a few shindigs, curtains have been made, gardens ignored (it's winter, you know) and every day enjoyed. Below is a collection of photos over the last two months. They're in no particular order, but I like that! Enjoy!

A house should have many random cool things to keep you entertained.

Suryavarman II, the king Angkor Wat was built for.

Rat bags in red, Christmas Day.

Matte, Monica and Bianca, Christmas Day

Me, Christmas Day.

Our first Christmas tree. It went right up to the ceiling and was beautiful. It was the top of a large Sugi tree from a plantation forest in the mountains.

Lindsay.

Emiko and growing crowd.

Go and Shige.

L-R: My Mum (Kate), Masaaki and Mark.

Fireworks from the lounge room!

The Natsudas! NYE

Our house, New Years Day 2012.

Me, after a long walk, returning home, New Years Day, 2012.

Front door, complete with Christmas wreath (thanks to Ariana, wo made it as a house warming present for us!), New Years Day 2012.

Mum, in the kitchen.

New Years Eve sake, 2011-12.

Off to get extra material for curtains. Note kimono silk under arm! Is now our bedroom curtains, thanks to Kaoru's cousin, Naoko. Special mention to Mum (and her expletives) for Ben's curtains and my study curtains too!

The resting place.

Bathroom.

With art!

The kitchen.

This old, hand-painted bento box was given to me by Kaoru's aunt, Matsuko. I have it in pride of place, so I can look at it every day.

Before the clutter (already? Yep!)

More art. In my study.

These prints were saved by my sister many years ago, and now finally have a home.

The back kitchen bench.

New kotatsu! YES!

Ben, opening prezzies on Christmas Day. 

Sunrise from our bedroom window.

Mu brought her painting with her, which is a house warming present for us. We hung it in the stairwell, where it looks amazing! Good to have talented artists in the family, no?!

First snow in the garden. I like it - you can't see the rubble that lies beneath.

NY mochi

Mum, receiving some New Year Day sake from Kaoru's father.

Curtains in my study, made from kimono silk (thanks to eagle eye recycle shop Queen Ariana!)

I look forward to keeping this blog going over the years, especially as the garden gets underway in spring (or at least the work gets underway!). Until then, then!