Enter my dearest mother in law ... always has a brilliant suggestion or four! Following a month of indecision, she suggested we pick a name out of a hat so that is exactly what we did. This was a HUGE relief and we finally engaged a draftsman two weeks ago. I am hoping we will have preliminary plans in the next week or so. Yay! Thanks mum!
Between us I think Karl was secretly procrastinating because he wants to delay the hard work which is to come once the project is underway.
In the months since my last post (apart from the daily grind) we have been working on the gardens and started creating the veggie patch. We also stocked the dam with some Rainbow Trout and enjoy driving down every few days to feed them and watch them jump out of the water ... such simple pleasures ... priceless ...
The veggie patch was some of the hardest work I have ever had to do. What a way to spend my September holidays! I am sure neither Karl nor I want to repeat that experience in a hurry ... last time I trust a equipment hire company if they have never used the items they hire out.
It was days of backbreaking work. Well, one and a half solid days of hoeing the area with the hired rotary hoe ... yes we hired the "possessed" one. It had a mind of it's own! and then another day manually digging in mulch and reworking the area. Karl did most of the work that day but I did get tired watching him work as I rode around on the mower ... yes I was on mowing duty most of that day.
I dread us having to go back after we "zero" any remaining weeds and hope that when it comes time to dig in the compost it will be easier than the initial work ... FYI the veggie patch is some 12m x 4m. We planned on a larger area but after the work that went into this plot we decided this is large enough to feed the three of us.
The fruit trees are all growing well and have taken off. Pity we didn't get to spray the peaches and nectarines on time ... they have suffered from leaf curl. I am told this does not harm the fruit but the leaves have all fallen. I wonder if they will grow back this season or if we will have these dead looking trees for the summer? When I last looked one of the cherry trees has fruit as does the apricot.
I wish I knew where the cable to the camera is so as to upload some photo's but I have no intention of looking for it at 3am ...
In September we decided to clean the block before summer hit and make sure we had all wood burnt off before the fire restrictions hit us. Clearing the dead and fallen limbs has been 'cathartic' he he ... and I thoroughly enjoyed building the three large bonfires we ended up with. Standing there admiring them and reviewing the hard work that had gone into them we decided that instead of a plain burn off, which most people do, we would hold a bonfire party and get our friends together and make an event of it.
On the night we were a little disappointed at the last minute cancellations from some of the Melbourne crew but those that did attend found that it was better to be in Ballarat that day than back in Melbourne - the sun came out for us and the rain stopped for the weekend. It was a great night with music, food and drink. The best part was that we also finally had our first camp out on the block. This is something I have wanted us to do since last summer.
Waking up to the bird-song was amazing. It took me back to our camping holidays - which we haven't done for some time (I am not including Feb when we went down to Wilsons Prom - this is far too civilized to be considered camping). In any case we ended up spending the weekend pottering around on the block and came back home late Sunday to prepare for the week ahead. It was a great way to spend a recovery ... sunshine and a few more lazy drinks.
What else have I been doing in the meantime?
Well I have been looking for some special items for the house. We thought it would be great to see how much recylced material we could use on the build but some items will have to be new.
For example I have found a gorgeous three sided fireplace. We will be looking to design a less contemporary setting - but you get the idea .....
I am still sourcing other bits and pieces but I have also found a dream bathtub ....
We have just returned from a weekend in Hamilton with some friends. We were away for the Dunkeld races weekend. That is where I was assured that the leaf curl does not spell the end of the trees - and where I was able to stock up on the best home made quince past this side of the equator.
Everyone had a great time despite the weather. Anastasia and Karl both entered Fashions on the Field again this year. They both won last year however this year only Anastasia was able to defend her crown. Karl came in second. I don't know what the judges were thinking ... they must have been blind ... he was clearly the best dressed man on the stage. OK I am biased but he was.
There is more but I had better catch a few zzz's before I need to get up and go to work .... bye now
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