(Or should we say….’dream on!”
You know how as a young madly in love girl, you look dreamily into the eyes of your beloved and declare that it won’t matter where you live, or how you live, as long as you are together!?!
Hehehe
I wonder how many other wives of farmers have in their nostalgic moments recalled a moment like this as they are filling another gap to prevent the mice from running into the room or have had to choose between peeing the bed and the fear of ducking out to the outside loo? Yes – I do know of some farm dwelling where this was still the only option.
As a farmers wife, I have lived in a few different home situations. One of which was a caravan and aluminium annex! We did this for about 6 years while the girls were little. It even had a little bathroom that we put on – but the loo was a camping one that we had to ‘dispose’ of each week!
The reasons for this were pretty simple – we couldn’t really afford the rent we were paying to live off-farm.
We were always hoping and planning on moving back to the farm full time and we were quickly getting into the rent rut!
So, we found a caravan, it was a big one, about 25feet long and it had an annex with it. We hauled it back to the family far, excited for our new beginnings.
One of the things you learn really really fast as a wife of a farmer is the income that the farm brings in has most likely already been spent and house renovations/building are pretty far down the list.
I must admit, I have never felt abandoned or that we lived in a hovel – just that maybe what some people would see as an issue, I have learned to live with and perhaps even embrace.
Take for example the house we now live in. When we first came to look at this farm, we were pleased to know there were 2 homes. This meant no more caravan living for us, we would have our very own home for the very first time.
The estate agent who showed us the farm was pretty cagey when we asked to see inside this house. We had seen the other home – it was a quite lovely modernish brick residence, perfect for the in-laws. Perhaps we should have realised at when he kept skirting around the house and avoiding going in! Well, we convinced him that we needed to see things for ourselves and he reluctantly brought us to the back door!
Hahaha
I must have been one excited young farm wife that’s for sure!
The presence of a bright red painted concrete floor in one covered in verandah, fluro green venetian-type window dressings that weren’t fully still attached in another room and wallpaper up the hallway that was falling in sheets onto the floor didn’t deter me one little bit.
I even embraced the fact that the current tenant used the liquid-nailed to the floor fireplace as a stand for his bundy bottles.
All I saw was the possibilities. Good job Toni!
Even the old water tanks couldn't collect more than a foot of water due to the holes in them! They really did have to go!!!
I am pleased to say that after some pretty simple renovation solutions such as carpet removal, opening up a room, fresh paint and a really really really good clean, we have a more than liveable home.
Over the years we have managed a few simple changes but not anything that looks like a thousands of dollars renovation.
Droughts and financial hardships that last for years has meant that things like new bathrooms and kitchens are still dreams that I sometimes ponder but never worry myself over.
You see mice and dust can still get into a new kitchen space as much as an old one.
I often look at the homes some of the prospective wives are brought to on Farmer Wants a Wife and I hear myself saying….girls….learn to love that weatherboard basic home without an ensuite. He wont necessarily have the funds to improve on it for a very long time. Oh and that lack of power plugs for your hair tools --- yep – learn to do a quick ponytail!
My farmer would dearly love to renovate further but the reality is, the needs of the stock, the machinery and equipment come first. Unless there is a major catastrophe in the home, you just have to learn to love your space girls.
Want to know a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way???
· Paint is a magic tool – a little fresh paint can make any space feel fresh and new
· Buy/swap/sell – we found a great dining room table on this. As well as things like garden pots, toys for the kids, and home decorating items
· I also love a good garage sale but distance makes them hard
· Get creative in your space – there is no pantry in my kitchen. I do have a double doored storage cupboard in my mudroom/closed in verandah – this is my pantry and I have just bought shelving for the side without it to help store things like baking dishes etc. You know, the things you pull out once a year at Christmas.
· I also store all my cooking ingredients in large glass jars along the tops of the cupboards – again – this has helped with no storage
· One of our kids bedrooms has no cupboard – so we use bookshelves and dress racks to hang things – like an open dressing room
· Our bathroom was hideous – still needs work – but we painted the tiles and found a ‘seconds’ vanity for a quick spruce up
· Your renovators dream is gonna have dust – yep --- a lot of it. Unless you want to go crazy trying to battle it – get used to it – do your best – but know – you lost the battle before you even were in the game sister
· Find small ways to make it better. Remember the outdoor loo I mentioned earlier? Well our loo was actually only accessible by heading to the back verandah. So, one of the first things we looked at doing was knocking in a small access door to our now mudroom! So – our loo actually has 2 doors!
One of the first things I was invited to when we moved was a Tupperware kind of party in the home of another farmers wife with a group of farmers wives I had never met. It was nice if you like that kind of thing (I do not… but went to meet people). One of the topics of conversation was what they had asked their farmers’ to provide “after harvest”.
There was lots of giggles and smiles as the ideas ranged from cars to new kitchens.
I had no idea what this all meant! We had not come from the background of sowing/harvest style farming.
What I came to learn as the years went on and we took this on as a part of our farm practice, was that the expectation of the once a year big pay day and what the wife would receive as a part of that.
I never found out if any of those young women (they were mostly younger than me) ever received the blessings they craved. What I do know now for sure, is that the expectations of harvest time are more often than not dashed due to droughts, floods, mice, banks, repayments, stock needs and the budgets going into the following year.
You know, Ive never craved anything flashy or pristine. Maybe now that kind of gives me a little anxiety. I wouldn’t know what to do with a shiny new home! I kind of love my renovators delight and even though 18 years down the track has seen a slow burn of improvements to the old place, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Well – maybe a couple of things……….
xxx
Toni
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