Its been and gone!

Well that's Christmas over for another year. Its too hot outside to work so I am getting this blog up to date and writing some letters.
Just before Christmas, Becky had a new hot water service fitted. Trying to do the right thing they chose a solar system but unfortunately the original system started to leak so they had to survive without a hot water system for a couple of weeks. At least it meant that Alex came to see his Grands for a while, which was great but tiring. To fit this new system a section of the laundry wall had to be removed and so Mr Fixit was called in to re-panel and fit new sink and washer taps. When the sink unit and original water tank were removed it was found that the floor tiles had only been laid up to them not under so it was decided to remove the old ones and re-tile. Graham did a good job of removing them and grinding back the subsurface. He had to buy a new tool from Bunnings though, I like his style! New floor tiles were laid just before Christmas and my knees were stiff for a couple of days but it was worth the effort. All that's left now is for Graham to tidy up the ceiling and other walls so that Becky can paint them.
This can be checked out on Becky's blog page:-
http://capturedbyrebl.blogspot.com/

Christmas really started the week before the day, if you follow. Becky, Graham and Alex came over to set up and decorate the tree. This year of course Alex was more aware of what was happening and had to help decorate the tree.






Looks like he made a good job of it.

This year Becky had a great idea. All the presents were wrapped in paper made from Alex's drawings that he had done throughout the year and they each had tags on them with photos of the person they were meant for so that Alex knew who he had to hand them to.



He really enjoyed this but was too keen and quick as everyone had a pile of presents without having time to open then before the next one arrived.

After a very nice lunch, complete with the usual goodies ......




...... and a quick nap, we all went to have dinner with friends Bonnie, Jumbo and family.


A very good Christmas.

And the best present ever.



This was on Boxing Day which was warmer, Christmas Day being the coldest I can remember for many years, but still a little bit warmer than where Elin and Jim spent Christmas at -11C

The Deck.

Well I may as well keep going while on a roll.

For some time Becky has wanted a covered entertaining area at the rear of the house. Originally there was an old roof over a concrete area which was falling down. Graham and myself pulled it down with a view to my building a covered deck area. Work got a bit heavy for a while and so they decided to get a company in to replace the roof, which turned out cheaper than we could buy the timber for!

The first photos are courtesy of Becky.



This is where I begin.


Getting the floor joists down.


Starting to sort out the decking, with some help from my little mate.


Just about finished, Becky will be doing the staining.


Becky talking to Anthony from next door. He is also in the middle of renovations.
Eventually the window behind Becky will be removed and replaced with a door to give direct access to the deck from the dinning room.



Not bad if I do say so myself. Next thing to do is move a pile of soil and finish off the BBQ area.

Catch up time.

Its been a while again but no excuses this time. Well maybe one or two. We have been having some wonderful rain over the last few weeks and the garden is lush and green. Only problem is that it gets a bit tiring having to mow half acre, twice a week, and then get rid of all the clippings. There is only so much that can be used as mulch so it means trips to the tip. I have a streamline system now, I bought two used 'bulka bags' or 'big bags', which I have in the trailer and fill them as I go. At the tip I can just roll them over to empty, no heavy lifting. The reason for the problem with
grass cuttings is that we have bought a new mower. The old one, a Husqvarna, was a mulcher and this has been the reason for the spread of broad leaf weeds and bindi's. The new mover, a good old Victa has a catcher and with the rain and no cuttings thrown back on to it, the lawn is looking terrific. Alex loved the box the new mower came in. I had to cut doors and windows into it, even a letterbox so that he could post letters to himself.

Last month was 'Sculptures by the Sea' and we were more successful this year, or better organised. We left early and after battling the city commuter traffic found a nice shady parking spot at Bondi. We took Alex's stroller but he insisted in walking the whole way.



Nana and Alex starting at the Bondi end of the walk.


You can buy this one for $6000


or this one for $9900


But this one is not for sale. This is actually where someone is living on the cliff face. They must have truly million dollar views.





The prices on the items above were ridiculous.


But this one is priceless. Alex exploring while being chased by Nana.






This was my own favourite, titled, Car cutter. Very clever use of old metal items.

That's 'Sculpture by the Sea' for another year. Another nice day by the sea.

Little update.

Not much happening at the moment but though I should keep my hand in. I have also been having a few problems again with Blogger but touch wood, everything appears to be OK at the moment. This blog is more or less a test piece. Last night nothing would work and now its all go, go, go!!

We have had some good rain which has bought our usual visitors.




Lovely clean Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.



The comedians, Galahs.



Not sure if the cat is posing or hiding from the birds.



We recently had a visit from some of Alex's fellow premmie's. They might be small but its not easy to get them all still at the same time. AJ's in the yellow shirt and has since had his hair cut and looks quite grown up.

Yellow Peril

I had thought for some time that the front suspension of the 'yellow brick', (yellow because it is yellow and brick because its not very aerodynamic),
was looking a bit the worse for wear. Seven years out in the open, being sand blasted by road dust, and accruing lots of stone chips, indicated a strip down and repaint was needed.





Getting ready.



Satin black paint for the suspension arms and uprights then the edges of the disc rotor and the brake calipers were finished in heat resistant silver.




Even the underside of the front cycle guards got a new coat of black underseal and the coils saw the benefits of some left over yellow paint.





This should stir some memories!

Catchup

Where has the time gone again.
We are now into Spring and daylight saving starts today. The garden is coming into bloom everywhere but its been a bit dry. We always get worried when we walk on the grass and it crackles as though it is frosty.



Yesterday, today and tomorrow.





Some of the first roses.

In the last couple of days we have had rain and everything has picked up again. Because of the possibility of further rain I cleaned out all the roof gutters.
While we were at Beckys during the week there was a huge storm in our area. When we got home we had only limited power. All the light circuits were OK but no power outlets worked. I checked out the switch board and found that the earth protection switch could not be reset. By a long process of elimination we found that everything would work until the number two fuse went back in and then the whole lot tripped again.
Extending the elimination process, the fault was traced back to the shed where a junction box was full of water. This sounds quick and easy but the process took many hours. The reason the junction box was full of water was because when I cleaned out the gutters I had knocked a down pipe that runs from one roof to another and the rain discharged through a window crack and down the wall. The moral to this story is, dont clean out the gutters, just let them overflow as normal!!

Paulownia Trees

What, I hear you ask, is a Paulownia tree. The following is taken from an Australian web site.

Paulownia timber is light in weight and colour, yet it is strong, dries easily, has a beautiful grain, does not warp, crack or deform easily. The wood is easy to work with and suitable for the manufacture of furniture, plywood, moldings, doors and many other uses. The leaves and flowers are rich in nitrogen and therefore serve as good fertiliser and fodder. The flowers are colourful and beautiful in spring and the trees
are green and shady in summer. It is fascinating to observe a young Paulownia seedling grow into a tall 'pole' in just a few short months.

In the summer months, given good growing conditions, the plant can reach up to 6 metres or 20 feet high and sometimes higher, depending on the Paulownia Tree species used. It is a known fact, that the tree can reach its fully mature stage in just 8-10 years and can produce up to 1 cubic metre of timber in that time.

Just across the river from home there is a big plantation of these beautiful trees. They are a cash crop. At this time of year they have lovely lilac coloured blossom so we got permission to go into the plantation to take photographs.




Beautiful blossom.


Long avenues.


Alex and Nana looking for a teddy bears picnic......


.....in the woods......


......and they found one of them.






The photographer being photographed.

Sydney Shopping

Di and myself went into the city about the middle of September to catch the end of the Spring Flower displays at David Jones store. They were very impressive as usual.

Red paper Butterflies,





and red paper birds.



After a visit to the DJ's food hall to pick up some of their delicious pork sausages and a few other good food bits and pieces, we wandered across to the Queen Victoria Building for lunch. Lunch wasn't the only reason to visit the QVB. Not only is it one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, but it is also the new home of Hobbyco, the biggest model shop in Sydney!!



Stained glass windows above the entrance on George Street.


Underneath the main central dome.


I wonder where this staircase goes.
I don't often take my camera into the city when on a shopping trip as generally I have a lot to carry, but next time must make a point of doing so and get lots more photographs of this wonderful old building.