mission accomplished

17.6.2011
BUILDING NEWS

We now have chimneys. Next step is to move the internal scaffolding and core fill the sidewalls. Geoff still thinks we should render the parapet before we add the solar buffer zone. One problem. It is still raining; this is far from ideal for the tasks just mentioned.

Al and I have discussed covering the whole top of the building with a tarp or plastic so that work can continue inside before the water proofing is done. The waterproofing needs to be put on a perfectly dry surface and the chance of getting one in the near future looks depressingly dim. If we were able to put the glass in the windows and a lid on we could be totally weather proof fairly soon. This would add extra expense but we would get a house to live in sooner which is rapidly becoming a priority.

OTHER NEWS

Edd and I got home plus tables and chairs on Wednesday evening after an easy drive home. We made a dash up to Kippa Ring (north of Brisbane) using mostly the Newel Hwy. The journey took us two whole days because it was dark about 5pm and we stopped for the night just before 8pm so that we could get an evening meal and settle into a motel.

Everywhere was pretty booked out in Kippa Ring because it was the Queens birthday weekend. Strangely lots of the restaurants were closed for the same reason. Strange policy for tourism. We found a berth in Scarborough beside the sea in a sort of automatic building. Edd collected a key and then we had to try and work our own way in through a series of locked system that would have done a top security prison proud. We totally failed to get our car into the park the first night but next day we were more awake and began to work out the systems.

On Sunday we rang up the people we were buying the furniture from and went to see them to arrange a pick up. Luckily they were friendly and helpful and the chairs were even more like the ones that I lost than they looked on the photo. I felt extremely happy about this. Edd was very impressed with the table, which was amazingly unmarked after 25 years of family use.

We then went to Bunnings to buy packing material and collect cardboard after that it was time to explore. We walked by the sea and found the most beautiful fig tree, it was enormous and many branched. I suppose as we were by Deception bay, which is part of Morton Bay that it was a Morton Bay fig. We ate Middle Eastern food at lunch and found a fascinating place serving Indian Street food for an evening meal.

By night we had decided that we had done enough in Kippa Ring area and that our best bet was to pick up the table and chairs in the morning and set off home. We brought maps and considered taking a different route back but in the end the option we chose was to take almost the same route back but do the journey in three days. This way we would get the best chance of shedding rather than gaining stress. This turned out to be wise because floods closed the coastal high way.

Our first day of travelling was beautiful with sun shine and mountains, There was a slight delay due to road works on the mountain that were repairing massive rain damage but we were going in the right direction and the biggest traffic jam was on the other side of the road. We got to Goonwindi in good time and found a fabulous Chinese restaurant and a good motel.

For me the best bit of the holiday was not having to cook in a tiny space, in fact, not cooking at all, and having bathrooms with mirrors and space. Our motel rooms had heaters and comfortable beds. We found the best deal at West Wyalong on the second night at The May Fair motel. This was by far the cheapest, but also the most spacious and best equipped of every place we stayed. It had rained all day so we chose this place because it had under cover parking and the rest was a surprise.

Our final day of travel was in sunshine again and we stopped for lunch at Rutherglen in a winery. There was a courtyard with a fountain and good food. It was also the warmest place we had visited so we relaxed with a glass of wine and tried to forget about the fact we would be home in a few hours.

Back at home we found everything in order. Bo and Josh had made sure our donga was clean and all the animals were well. The goat, Melissa had been sick and Bo had got a vet out who could not find exactly what was wrong but gave her medicine and she recovered. Bo has not dared to tell me what the bill is yet so I suspect the worse. Usually if we call a vet we get several hundreds of dollars in billing and a dead animal so I cannot really complain.

Josh back so we are off

10.6.2011

BUILDING NEWS

Geoff and Glen are back at work and have added blocks to the sidewalls. I am surprised how much this changes the look. They are starting on the chimneys next. The blocks to build these arrived on time but it was pouring with rain and by the time they were unloaded there was a quagmire of mud all over the front entrance from our shed to the new house site. This makes life hard because everyone who comes to our donga gets muddy.

OTHER NEWS

I actually think we are getting off. We picked Josh up from the airport as dawn broke yesterday and he and Bo went through the feeding regime together. At this point we discovered that the goat Erin had developed mastitis over night. This meant a trip to the vet to get antibiotic injections and teat squirters. I have given Josh a quick lesson on how to use the former. Is n’t it typical?

No sick animals for years and then the problems come just as we are about to leave!
We are still going. Next week I hope we will return from Queensland plus table and chairs. I also hope that the long drive will act as a bit of a holiday and give us a break from building woes. Part of the time it is the Queens birthday bank holiday so no one will be working anyway.

houses once had shippons

8.6.2011

BUILDING NEWS

This is an all time low. Icy winds and continuous rain, guess we can forget builders for a bit. Even so, we were run off our feet all day. The paver people came in the morning followed by Peter about glass and Al about architectural matters. (Good on them all for braving our terrible conditions.) In the middle Edd had to take his car to get some work done and we had to fit in care for the animals.

The E-mail to the stove people does not seem to get through in a readable form and the solar tube people have not rung back. Edd rang up John and is trying to organise for the scaffolding to stay and extra week. I just feel like curling up in a ball and waiting for time to pass.

OTHER NEWS

I have nothing good to say about the weather or other conditions today, but at least we got to talk to nice people. The animals are having a rough time. The goats stayed in the shed with full hayracks but poor Donna, Sharron and the sheep had to seek shelter wherever they could find it. I wish the shed had walls and stall so we could bring all the stock inside.

We used to do this where I came from in the Yorkshire dales. The houses had a shippon on the weather side, which was an extension of the house. The animals lived inside for the winter months and were thrown hay down from the loft for feed. In turn their warm bodies protected the wind side of the house. If I could get into a warm dry place with the animals now I would not mind the smells at all. As it is I am just going to write this and then get into bed with a hot water bottle.

It's hailing!

7.6.2011

BUILDING NEWS

It is hailing, and we are waiting for the Boral truck that is on its way to deliver the blocks for the chimneys. Boral have been really good about delivering our last minute orders by the next day. The builders drove in at dawn and drove out again fast before Edd got to speak to them so we do not know why.

I think the weather forecast was enough to put anyone off, though this morning apart from the cold it was not too bad. We have been sorting out all the odds and ends that meant sitting down with the computer and the phone. It is amazing how long organising materials takes. We are trying to get the solar tubes lights ordered and the inset for the fire order completed. I have paid a deposit for the fire but I just want to make sure we have it here before the builders are ready to start the internal chimney.

Edd is now putting the second coat of seeling stuff on the front windows. It is really good to have this time to seel them all over before they go out doors. The external woodwork is made of spotted gum and it comes up darker than the other doorframes. Edd went to meet a man who does steel work in Healesville. We need someone to make the roof frame for the solar buffer zone and are collecting quotes. This guy had lots of questions but our engineer has flue and our architect is busy so we have no answers for him yet!

We are worried that the ramp up to the roof will have to go before the builders get round to doing the chimneys. It is very expensive to hire so John only paid for it to be here the minimum time needed to set up, pour and then cure the roof. It will be really hard to get onto the roof once it is gone. This weather is really not helping at all.

OTHER NEWS

Bo came over today to practice the morning feeding and milking regime. I had everything in the right places and so everything could be done in an hour and a half. If you get things wrong or do not put buckets and other equipment back at the right place it can take much, much longer. Even doing the animals in the wrong order can result in chaos.

At least Bo has done it many times before. She is the only one of the family who puts her self out to make sure we sometimes get away. This time Josh will be here too, so I hope that together they can manage things smoothly. Donna is very good about the milking and so far Sharron stays at a safe distance whilst we are working. I am worried she will soon become more of a nuisance.

I am now making bread and ironing all the washing so that it will fit into our small storage places. I have even printed out Google maps for our trip and started packing my case. There’s keenness for you. Yesterday I shopped and got some nibbles for the journey plus some of Josh’s favourite foods. Three more sleeps to go!

slow progress

5.6.2011

BUILDING NEWS

Progress has slowed down again but last week the big arched windows for the front of the house were delivered and stacked in the shed until they will be needed. Edd has been treating them with special sealing stuff and I suppose we need to wrap them up as well. Sioux has been over to look at the parapet but Geoff says we need to fill it before it is rendered. Sioux brought over the latest edition of the owner builder magazine where her own house is featured so that we could see her work.

We do not want to hire the concrete pump more than once again so the bricklayers will need to complete the sidewalls and the chimneys before the filling is done. That means we need to order more blocks but we have not been told how many. I hope Geoff will be here tomorrow so we can sort all this out.

OTHER NEWS

This time next week we should be on the road to Queensland! Josh should be here helping Bo to look after the animals and I will be getting the first break for two years! I am really looking forward to that. Last week was very busy because as well as building we had 20 kids from the high school over for the day as part of their course work.

The idea was for them to see how our permaculture system works. Kids always love the animals but this group surprised me by enjoying the push mower. They quickly worked out that with two people on the handles they could get the blades really flying around and cut grass shooting out. They even kept mowing during their lunch hour!

They also like exploring the new house. It is still filled with scaffolding so in effect you get a giant climbing frame inside dark tunnels. Even I enjoy climbing around. We had to drag the kids out when it was time for them to leave on their bus! They were very well behaved for such a large group and although we felt fairly drained at the end we enjoyed their visit.

I have made the first cheddar cheese for the year from Donna’s milk. I find that cows milk behaves very differently to the goat’s milk during the cheese making stages, so I will have to learn how to cope with it. We have dried off a few more goats now and wormed all those that are not producing. I hope to worm all the small goats and the sheep before we go away.

Today Edd and I went to look over the hill to find out how much repair is needed to the fences before we can put the horses on the hill. I have started to hand feed the sheep but they need the paddock cleared of horses before they start to lamb. Donna will also need another large round hay bale in her paddock. She has nearly eaten all the last one. Her calf, Sharron, is really started to grow now but she is loosing some of the excess fat she was carrying. We take four to five litres of milk once a day from her and Sharron gets the rest.

a holiday is planned

31.5.2011

BUILDING NEWS

The week got off to a flying start with builders arriving about 6.30am on Monday. It was still dark but when I joined them at dawn they were starting to build the parapet on the roof that stops the soil falling off the front. Mid morning the sun came out and things were moving fast. Again today the sun has broken through the morning mist and work is steaming ahead.

Al came over and helped us draw out the curved line he has designed for the top of the parapet wall. Geoff and Al measured out heights on the wall at 2 metre intervals and then we held a curved pipe up to the line to draw the desired shape. We needed the architect for this step as only he could make the final call.

Edd has ordered the windows to be delivered on Thursday and we have Sue coming to see if she can do the rendering. I think we will need to order more blocks to do the chimneys and solar tubes. We seem to have gone through an awful lot of blocks.

OTHER NEWS

I am thrilled. I won the E-bay auction for the table and chairs. Bo’s kids had to stand back from the computer and they counted down the final minutes as I poised, all ready and terrified in case I did not get a bid in fast enough. This stress was not really necessary as I think I was the only person bidding, but at least I stayed focussed enough not to bid against myself!

Luckily the man selling the table and chairs is OK about waiting until we drive up there when Josh gets back from Perth. I would have set off straight away on my own but Edd is keen to come too, and if we both go we can enjoy the drive to Queensland like a mini holiday. I said I would go off once the cow had calved and was over the stage you worry about milk fever or mastitis.

Yesterday was a pottery day and Thea and I worked with Maureen in her warm shed. This week I made a lamp base to go with last weeks organic flower vase. Next week I will have to make more side plates for the dinner service I am making. Thea is proving an expert on the wheel. She has made a set of coffee mugs that all look exactly the same and are totally perfect. I get more and more worried about doing wheelwork again. I am sure I have forgotten everything!

Spinning is a different matter. I spin whenever I sit down for a cup of tea or a conversation. I will soon have enough wool to start on Sylkie’s winter clothes. The lanolin from the wool is correcting all the damage a years building and gardening have done to my hands.

On Sunday I showed Bo’s kids how to make butter. It turned very easily because Donna’s milk is so rich at the moment that I have been able to collect lots of thick cream. Donna is very pleased that Simon has sent up barley from the brewery and she is at the gate bellowing for breakfast now. We have named her calf Sharron; she is now bouncing round the paddock and has coped with the wet and cold weather.

rain stops play

26.5.2011

BUILDING NEWS

It is still raining! The land is so saturated that it is impossible to do any work out doors. The roof on our house has stayed in place and Edd is cleaning off some of the bricks inside with acid.

OTHER NEWS

It is hard to keep ones spirits up in this dreadful weather. We have had a few wins though. Donna the cow has been very reliable and has permitted us to hand milk her in a make shift bale on the drive. Yesterday Edd and I went down to Warrigal to buy new parts for the cow milking set up. Today she let us use the machine with out any resistance, which was incredible as it was hard to get it on.

The new chooks have begun serious laying, today there were five eggs from them so we are really heading back into egg production. The goats are miserable. They hate getting wet or muddy feet and shelter in the shed all day rather than risk the mud to walk out to their grazing paddock. This behaviour has reduced their milk yield yet again but we now have cows milk to compensate.

I have fallen into temptation and invested in a little retail therapy. I have brought a huge dough trough from the Lilydale antique shop, and a large round floor light from a shop in Warrigal. They were both incredibly cheap and very unique. I am worried that when we eventually get a house we will have nothing to put in it. At least, that’s my excuse.

I am also trying to buy a table and chairs through e-bay. I am not really sure how to do this and up till now have relied on Josh to sort it out for me. Unfortunately he will not be home here in time. The chairs have the same shape as the old ones I lost in the fires. I brought those chairs at an auction in Yorkshire about forty years ago. They were in need of a lot of TLC and as I did them up and painted them I imagined that I would paint them many time in different colours as our life changed. This turned out to be true and I felt so attached to them that they were the first non-living things I grieved for after the fires.

There is a slight snag even if I win the chairs. They happen to be in Queensland. I guess I could fit them on the back of the ute if I can’t find a company to transport them. I will deal with that problem if it arises!