24.3.2011

BUILDING NEWS

The internal wall of the back passage is now complete. It has an arched door in the kitchen and two ordinary doors in from bedroom one and two. Edd had lots of conduits to get into this wall so progress was slower. Luckily we only had two bricklayers so we did get some time to deal with other issues. We finished off the oiling job on the doorframes and I unloaded our trailer that has sat for a year filled with scrap wood from the shed building.

Edd has also fixed up the pipes to the tank and put a bolt on the milking shed door. All the rest of the time was spent on organisation and phone calls. G is away tomorrow so we have arranged to drive the Ute down to Dandenong and pick up the hydronic system and wood stove. Never a dull moment.

I am trying to make a model of the free form shower and bath I would like to build. It is a lot bigger project than I have taken on before apart from the waterfall and ponds. I have started the scale model by sticking pipe cleaners into foam and building the model up with papier-mâché.

OTHER NEWS

We have still not found time to completely fill the winter garden bed so I have re-potted the seedlings in individual pots top keep them coping. I think I have worked out the easiest possible plan to relocate chooks and make a secure pen for young stock. I am now trying to sell the idea of having a working B as a substitute for birthday gifts etc to my off spring so that I can put my plan in action.

Our income has somewhat dwindled now neither of us is working, so once again we are having to eat our own produce for basic rations. Last weekend I swapped milk for freshly rolled oats from Heather so I have used them to make chocolate snacks. We have plenty of goat’s cheese but one can get sick of too much cheese.

I remember when we first moved here and our children were always hungry we were not at all fussy about food. All the kids were happy to slaughter a sheep and enjoy the meat. Eggs are such a good stand by. I never get sick of eggs. I can remember once wandering around looking for something to cook for the evening meal and suddenly realising that the field mushrooms had come up. I was so thrilled. It is about time now to look for mushrooms again. We got a few last year so I know that at least some of them survived the fires.