Now that my future was taking shape, with a job and home decided on, it was time to head back to Australia to arrange for my household to be shipped over.  I wasn’t looking forward to flying 35 hours in each direction, but in the end I didn’t mind it too much.  It was exhausting, and fairly emotional for me, but less frustrating than it often has been.

I arrived in Adelaide, and after a recovery day, I found that my storage container was just as I left it.  No moisture, ants, or other pests had gotten inside.

I took a walk around the property and found it just as beautiful as always.  I suppose it will brown off soon enough, but it was spring, so it was lovely and green.

The sheep were in the lower paddocks for lambing, so I got to watch the babies run around while I worked.

Sustained by copious amounts of coffee and Tim Tams, I began my sorting and inventories.

I wouldn’t be able to take any electrical appliances back to the US with me because of the different power, so pulled them all out first and listed them for sale — I sold everything, but arranging pick ups continued throughout my time there.  It also wasn’t worth bringing some of my oldest furniture, so I sold or donated what I wouldn’t be taking.  What’s visible on the grass in the picture below is just about all the furniture I own now, plus a dining table.

I’d be needing professional clothes for work before this shipment arrived in the US, so I sorted through all my clothes to bring back what I’d need.  Unfortunately, mold had gotten to a few things, but the damage wasn’t major.  I also decided to leave one of my canoes behind, and to sell my sidesaddle, as I couldn’t foresee having much use for it now.

I am bringing back my solo canoe though, and was very happy to see it shining in the sun again.  I plan to have some fun with this next summer.

Unfortunately I managed to hurt my back in lifting and moving boxes, so was unable to do much for a while, but eventually pain killers and anti-inflamatories combined got me moving a bit.  I learned how to use the new tractor while I was there, so now I can handle a double clutch, yay!

I was stuck on the farm without transportation for the first few days, but then some friends offered me the loan of “Uncle Bernie,” the family loaner car that used to belong to their real Uncle Bernie, and that helped immensely, enabling me some freedom to get things done.

We had a couple of get-togethers with friends while I was there, and those involved quite a bit of wine.  Oh, so much wine…

One evening we even had a bbq and bonfire out by the dam.

I helped with the lambs a bit, including rescuing this little fellow who got through the fence and couldn’t find his way back.

The Melbourne Cup was run while I was there, and I picked the winner!  Unfortunately I didn’t BET on the winner, so I got bragging rights only..

My friend Sally had her 60th birthday while I was there, and we went to her party.  I ended up exploring their sheds and loved this old International truck.  I’m told that it ran when it was parked.

There were lots of kids at the party, and the Pied Piper of Kubota and Honda Man were giving tractor and motorbike rides.

So I had a bit of fun, but moving day was coming so I had to get serious again.  I packed up everything that was flying back with me, ready to go.

Packing day arrived, and the team did a great job of wrapping up and repacking everything for international shipment (insurance and customs requirements are quite different than for a domestic move).

We created the inventories, and labelled and listed every piece.

The next day the shipping container with the uplift team arrived, and started loading.

That’s my canoe hanging from the roof of the container.  It’s a bit like a game of Tetris fitting everything in to minimize movement.

All fitted and strapped down, it filled about 15 ft of a 20 ft container.

And then they drove it away.  It’s a strange feeling to consign everything you own to strangers… but I’ll hope to see this all when it’s delivered to my new home in a few months.  This is my fourth international move, and everything has gone well in the past.  They tell me that this will be a fast shipment, and I might get the delivery by mid-January.

I was doing paperwork just about every morning of my time there, and still had more to do after packing, but also made some time to see the city and some of my old work friends and colleagues.  Adelaide’s art has always been amusing..

Some of the old arcades in the center of the city are really classically lovely.

I met people for lunches and coffees, including afternoon coffee at the BTS cupcake café.  Mmmm… cupcake…

In the end, saying good bye was hard.  It was emotional.  I don’t know when or if I’ll see many of these people again.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be back.  Luckily I had an empty seat next to me for my two longest flights, so I had some space to breathe, and the flights were bearable.

I’ve spent most of my adult life in Australia, and I don’t really feel at home in the US now.  Mostly it feels like the right move… sometimes it all feels like a mistake.  Time will tell.  The key for me now will be to keep looking forward.  Onward and upward.  It will all work out.  I mean…. sure it will.  Right?