ukulele for Morren

6.5.2012

Yesterday we went into Melbourne with Al, Ti and Morren on a special trip so that Morren could choose his birthday ukulele. He took it very seriously and played every instrument in his price range for over an hour before making a choice. This was a dead serious business and he stayed totally focussed, calm and intent all the time. He spoke using an amazing vocabulary and has learnt to pick and strum. He has long flexible fingers and obvious ability so let us hope he will use his new instrument for regular practice. It is possible that we have another musician in the family.


Back on the farm the rain is still falling but we have a fire going in the new house and at last we are protected from the weather. I feel absolutely worn out and now, when I go into the donga for a shower, I wonder how I ever managed in there for the last three years. I feel very fragile and not ready to cope with any new problems just yet.


Our new neighbour, (who brought the property next door where Lynne died in the fires), came over wanting to move our boundary fence but he did not get a good reception. Basically the fence has been in that position for longer than the thirty-three years we have lived here and although it is not up to suburban garden standards we repaired it after the fires and it is an effective stock barrier. Edd told him that we do not agree to him slashing the trees etc on our property or trying to get down to our creek with his tractor in this wet weather. Oh dear. It has always been country people living here so far so we have not had these attitudes before.


As soon as possible I want to get some fencing up around the new house so that the sheep can keep the grass short around the house and on the roof. Then we can get down to the paddock next to the new neighbours and replace the electric fence that protected the tree run between the two properties. Brian, on the hill opposite planted native trees around his gates and in the last three years he has grown a beautiful dense forest so I hope we can do the same thing. The trees between Craig and us are recovering nicely. Soon we will have our privacy back on that side too. Our house faces North and the presence of our own hill plus the steep side of echo vale means that we cannot see another house in that direction. For most of the time we have lived here we have only been able to see one house light in the distance at night and I must admit I do like it that way. We have been very lucky getting such nice neighbours as Craig and Eva to our East.


4.3.2012
It is very wet and miserable, which is a shame because we have a gang of people here taking photos of the house. We all put in a herculean effort at the start of the week to get everything as ready as possible. Stevo helped us with last minute woodwork, Richard moved piles of wood and Craig and his father brought over a bobcat and a truck and straightened everything out between the house and the dam. All the piles of sand and rubbish were relocated and the piles of mulch left over from the fire clean up were spread over the mud. In the evening Al and Arden came over with take away tea and did the final touches. We put down old railway sleepers to make a bridge between the turning circle and the house entry and then balanced plants in pots at either side as and attempt at landscaping.


Craig had already moved the rocks that were in our old turning circle to the new one, but we did not get round to doing anything extra to make that look right because it was getting too dark. It was a really good thing we worked so hard because next day the weather changed and we woke to heavy rain. With out the mulch we would have been isolated in a muddy swamp! Also we have had the windows cleaned and without the gravel and mulch they would also we splashed all over with mud again. The cleaners almost did too good a job on the windows. Everyone has been forgetting they are there and walking into them!

We still have cooking problems because the wood stove needs to have the radiators adjusted so that the water can pump away excess heat and the gas stove has a problem with the oven ignition system. It is most annoying that the cheap gas stove in the dong works so well and that the expensive one I in the new house has all these problems. If we are lucky we will have gas delivered today. The cylinder is now buried underground ready to go but the gas filler truck only comes on Thursdays. At present we are managing by using the gas from Josh’s camping cylinder through a connecting devise. I have no idea how this actually works and have been too busy to worry.


India is taking her driving test today after school so I am keeping my fingers crossed for her. It may mean that she cannot come tonight when we are having a family gathering to celebrate the move into the new house.