At Our Place January 2009.

Well Christmas has come and gone and we are now into a brand New Year.  We were hoping that it would start off really well but with the temperature going into the 40's on some of these days, it hasn't augered too well for the rest of summer.

The grass has hayed off (gone brown instead of green) and when you walk over some of the shorter grass it crunches underfoot.  Fires have broken out around Sydney and there have been some in this area but none that are close enough to cause us any concern.

Because it is so hot Vic has been doing some more renovations in the house.  He has been continuing to lay the new floor in the new kitchen, but has also been doing the scullery and breakfast room.  Still hot work but with all the doors and windows open, it hasn't been too bad.  To do this reno, he has to change some of the plumbing and what we have had has been a real eye opener.  He found two leaks (no wonder we were running out of water) and there doesn't seem to be any real pattern to how the pipes run. 

The first picture is of the existing kitchen.  This will become the breakfast room.  As you can see from the sink pipe, it folded around in a "L" shape.  Where the floor is being pulled up is going to be the new kitchen.  The other shot is of what was originally we were told was the "maid's room".  She unfortunately didn't come with it, and the previous owners had made it into the laundry.  We are making it the scullery.  However, at the moment, the washing machine is still residing in it.  Vic is putting a sliding door within the wall cavity between the scullery and the new kitchen.  The heart with the ponies on was given to us by our grand daughter to "make the room pretty".

The rose I moved from around the back seems to have gone to rose heaven.  It was on its last legs when we came back from holidays in Western Australia.  We were longer than intended as I had a gall bladder attack and ended up in hospital.  Of course I then had to wait for pathology results and a check up before we could start the trip back.  Anyway, getting back to the rose bush, even though I watered it, it refused to co-operate by bursting into life.  I still continue to water it.........after all a Jacaranda tree resprouted after 4 months following an attack by a kangaroo which bit it off nearly at ground level. 

We have been agisting cattle and they all look well. We also have a new foal.  This time it is a chestnut colt (boy) and he is a bit of a sweetie. 

Bubblegum (the galah) and Tarsha (the cat) were happy to get home.  Travelling across Australia was exciting but there is no place like home.  No, they didn't have red shoes to click together to get back home, however, maybe they could contact Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman and the Cowardly Lion to find out where to get a pair?

Until next time.

Vic & Rose