Another random update

Although it feels like not much has been happening lately, now that I trawl through our photos, I realize that we actually have been out and about quite a bit...

Ryan has had a bit of a cold (or the horrendously debilitating man-flu if you ask him...) but we were feeling the itch for another adventure (of the not too strenuous kind), so yesterday we picked a random trip out of one of our 4WD books - "Trek 13: Watagan Wanderings". The Watagans are a National Park inland of Lake Macquarie, and just over an hour's drive away. Although our book suggested that this was an easy trip, suitable for cars and AWDs, we reckon it might be a bit our of date, 'cos there were a few spots that required low-range 4WD, and one very steep, slippery ascent out of a creek that actually beat us (and claimed a mudflap). Admittedly, these were on an "alternative route" option, but who could resist taking the "more demanding" route???

Anyway, we also drove out to a couple of pretty spectacular lookouts, one of which overlooked a big swathe of coast.

We spent Christmas weekend with Ryan's parents up at Bogangar. This was my first Clement Christmas and it was nice to catch up with everyone at home. The best thing about Christmas at Bogangar (according to Ryan) is, of course, the beach. It wasn't exactly the nicest beach weather, though, and I'm convinced the ocean is trying to kill me on the best of days, so there was no way I was braving the churning white water. Even Craig and Ryan only managed to tolerate about 10min of it on the first day, before being blinded by the glare on the white water. See - if it's not out to drown you, it's trying to send you blind. I knew the ocean was evil...

I did, however, go snorkeling in Cudgen creek and had an awesome time looking at all the fish :)

Christmas also brought a few new toys. I am a big step closer in my quest to attain those ever-elusive 34 tetras (just need to actually get some fish)(and a background and probably some more plants, but you get the idea):

Ryan scored a shiny new BBQ care of his parents. We tried it out on Phil and Shannon who dropped by for dinner on New Year's Eve. As far as we know, everyone survived :)

A few weeks ago we also finally got our much-awaited new lounge. Twice. After waiting a very long 10 weeks for it to come, it was delivered at last. Ryan took the day off to be at home when it came. The delivery guys brought up one half and set it down in the loungeroom. Unfortunately it was the part with the chaise and they set it down where the other piece was meant to go which was enough to make them all very confused. Despite the three of them (Ryan + delivery guys) poring over the diagram on the order form, they decided it was wrong and sent it back to the warehouse. Turns out all they had to do was rotate the thing 90 degrees and it would have been fine. I thought it was way too amusing to be angry, even though I had to wait another 10 days before they could deliver it again...

You might notice as well that in the above photo, you can just make out one of Ryan's surround-sound speakers, which for the first time in their seven-year history, have finally been set up properly (as of today).

In other random news, I finally figured out a route to ride to work which should minimize my chances of being collected by a car. And even better, actually rode it. All I can say is that there is a reason that this is called the Hills District and that I am definitely not as fit as I used to be...

And that's about it for now. Hope you all (all three of you who actually bother reading this) have a Happy New Year :)

So many weeds, so little time...

Nothing much exciting to report (yet again), but my Dad requested some updated pictures of the yard after we spent a significant chunk of our weekend working out there again.

After a solid week of rain, which continued on Saturday, it wasn't looking like we would get anything much done. Especially after we discovered the beginnings of an indoor swimming pool in our garage. This led to some serious exploration of the cave (aka the space under the house), the discovery that the rocks under the house weep a significant amount of water when it rains, a lot of fiddling with the pump that is supposed to drain it all away, a trip to Bunnings, some new outdoor plumbing and some very muddy shoes. I have been informed that this is all part of the joy of owning a new house.

And after all that, the stupid pump still isn't working right. At least the garage is dry.

Anyway, the rain eventually stopped and we did manage to do some more cleaning up outside. Now the whole area down the side of the house is completely clear. Which amounts to approximately one sixth of the backyard. Sigh.

Under all those weeds were quite a few terraced garden beds. Although I'm sure that if we dig enough we could turn the whole thing into one giant slab of rock. Would certainly make the weeding easier...

And we found out that the wooden structure (just off the right side of the picture) is the footing for a cubby house (which now lives in the neighbour's yard).

And the rubbish pile continues to grow.

And, lastly, a tribute to Ryan. Every time we decide to do some work in the yard, he finds another "sapling" to "prune". There's a big old kookaburra that likes to perch on top of this one.

This might take a while

Mission number one for the weekend: sleep in.

Consider that mission accomplished :)

Mission number two for the weekend: test ride the bike route from home to work.

I've been thinking that I really need to get back on the bike(s) and that commuting to work would be a good way to get fit again. I finally overcame the hurdle of stressing about riding in the traffic by scoping out a route that involves mostly back-streets and bike paths. Ryan and I test-rode (some of) it today. It was hot and very hilly and we only made it halfway :(

So that would be a fail.

Mission number three for the weekend: acquire PlayTV

This was more of a Ryan mission but because I drove him to the shops, I am claiming some of the credit. Scored it for $30 thanks to a 40% off sale at Myer (and an already discounted product - normally retails for around $100).

Success.

Mission number four for the weekend: get some more work done in the yard.

Well, we definitely made a significant difference to approximately one eighth of the yard. Sigh. Ryan took care of some overgrown saplings (definitely not trees because that would be against the council rules...) and I shoveled, swept and weeded clear the rock face down the side of the house. I thought it was a series of rock terraces, but once all the crap was cleared off, it turned out to be just one BIG slab of rock. I can only imagine how much it must have sucked to build our house...

Before:

After:

More before:

And after:

I know it probably doesn't look like much, but we moved a LOT of dead leaves, dirt, grass, weeds and the occasional random dog toy. Now we just have to figure out what to do with this:

Random Things

So it's Sunday. My last official day of holidays (sigh). Here's a few random things to summarize the rest of my break:

1. I successfully dumped that load of wood. The tip was SCARY - I weighed the BT in, got vague directions from the woman at the weighbridge, dodged through dozens of trucks to find the organic section of the tip, drove in there and then was greeted by no signs, no helpful people, just huge piles of garden rubbish and lots of men driving heavy machinery. I have decided that it is worth driving 4.5hrs to dump all subsequent loads at the Gunningbland tip (where my parents live)(well - they don't live at the tip, but you know what I mean). This is simply a big hole in the ground where you drive in and dump your stuff (no gates, no people, no heavy machinery). It even looks slightly picturesque in the photo:

2. Caroline came to visit (and to stickybeak at our new house). Apart from catching up and lots of gossiping about Ryan in his absence, we also managed to spend some money. The entertainment unit we found (the original goal of our shopping trip) just happened to have a matching (heavily discounted) dining suite. I couldn't resist. Luckily Ryan approves of my choice :)

3. I went back to Parkes for a couple of days for my Nan's funeral - hence the comment about the tip. I didn't really have time (or motivation) to cart another load of wood, but I did take back a whole lotta packing boxes to throw away:

Nan was always a keen gardener and her garden in Parkes is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. We dropped in to see Pop, and found him sitting in his chair looking out over the flowers and saying that he felt like she was still there with him. I was reminded of her too by some irises in my parents garden which she had given to my Mum as bulbs. Beautiful.

In fact this really is a nice time of the year on the farm. All the wheat is just beginning to ripen, and everywhere are vistas of golden green against clear blue skies (although this photo is mostly of weeds :):

I also brought a few old friends back with me. I finished clearing the cupboards in my old bedroom at home, and a few cherished toys escaped the bin:

4. I cleaned. I never want to see another venetian blind in my life ever.

5. Ryan came home on Friday. I think the jetlag is just now starting to catch up with him. I'm glad he's back :)

6. Ryan's family came for a cousin's wedding and stayed with us for the weekend. The wedding was at the beachside in Terrigal and was beautiful (how many times can I use the word beautiful in one post?). While the boys were here, they also managed to fix our antenna (note the carefully selected safety equipment - ie. thongs). Despite the whole rest of the street relying on Foxtel, thanks to a new amplifier we now have every digital channel. Thanks guys :)

And I think that about sums it up. Wishing I had another few weeks off to get the rest of my jobs done, but although I didn't make much progress with cleaning up the backyard, I did enjoy alot of time with my friends and extended family. Oh - and I never did quite make it back onto my bike. Guess there's always next weekend.

One down, four to go

So I made it through one pile of wood. After two hours and (approximately) 127 trips up and down these:

This:

Eventually turned into this:

Which is now parked about three houses away until I can take it to the tip tomorrow so that the termites have plenty of choice should they choose to escape.

And here is proof for my husband that the BT does actually fit (just) into the tiny gap between the house and the fence. It did require two attempts and engaging 4WD to reverse it up the driveway though...

This was all preceded by laying the termite traps so that we will know if the little buggers decide to relocate now that they have been deprived of their woodpile. When Ryan left these for me, I envisioned simply laying them around the house - easy job, should take about 15min right? In reality, each one (looks a bit like a flowerpot with some tasty wood in the bottom) had to be dug 30cm into the ground. If you can't guess from the pictures, the ground around our house is just a little bit rocky. And where it wasn't rocky, there were tree roots. And where there weren't any of those, the builders must have taken advantage of whatever dirt they could find and laid the pipes. Sigh. Digging in 24 traps was almost as hard work as carting wood.

At least it's one more job to tick off my holiday list.

On a different note, my Nan died this morning. She was unwell and it was pretty much expected, but sad all the same.

I love you Nan and I hope you find peace and rest with your Father in heaven.

Time to resurrect the blog

It's definititely been a while, but I thought it might be about time to update the blog. The reason for a definite lack of adventurous weekends has been this:

After many, many Saturdays looking at many, many houses, and waiting (mostly) patiently for the vendor to come down to our price, we are finally in!

Here are a few photos (its much better in the flesh though - means you all need to come and visit :)

(ignore the washing)

The second reason for updating the blog is that I've just started two weeks of leave (yay) and suddenly find myself with a bit of spare time on my hands. One of my main goals for my break is to make significant inroads into cleaning up the backyard. It is big, steep, full of bush and neglected. The previous owners cut down some big trees about 10yrs ago and have left all the wood just lying around. After discovering termites in one of the piles, I really, really want that wood gone. The only catch is that the access around the back of the house is via a small gate, a narrow staircase and a rock scramble. Means that the wood can only really be moved by hand one piece at a time :(

Here's an idea of what I am up against:

This is one woodpile. There are five altogether.

Oh - and Ryan is away right now. Sigh.

Another goal for my break is to also get re-acquainted with my (much-neglected) bikes. This should be a bit more fun :) Except that I took my mountain bike out today to explore the bush reserve that is our new front yard and managed to have a stack (slippery rock - bike went one way and I went the other). Chickened out then and rode on the tar. So that one's off to a good start.

Anyway, tomorrow is slated for moving wood (and setting termite traps). We'll see how long my motivations lasts...