Up until now we have bought a couple of sheets of gyprock at
a time, and have paid a premium price for the privilege. We decided to bite the
bullet and order pretty much the house lot of plaster, Hebel blocks and make a
start on the steel balustrades.
This last weekend was the Canberra Day long weekend so we
thought we would make the most of it. I came up to the farm early to clean up
the house and take delivery of a bunch of building materials, while Jane, the
boys and Peter and Phyl came up after MacK finished school on Friday afternoon.
The receipt of goods went relatively smoothly, except for
Rocket getting off his run, and into the neighbour’s ducks. The resulting
consequences were that I broke a finger in my hand trying (in vain) to rescue
the duck, we have a duck in the freezer, and Rocket probably thinks he had a
grand old time. Thursday was the insulation for the house, and Friday was the
day for Hebel and plasterboard.
At least I know what I can do on spare weekends now...
The weekend itself was dedicated to Jane, and getting the
balustrades completed on the internal courtyard. It now means that we have a
safe space for Hugo to play when we are working/welding in other parts of the
house. Our decision to (eventually) move out here was rewarded on Sunday, with
MacK disappearing at about 0830 with Floyd from next door, and then only
resurfacing once before about 1830 – and that was at lunch time for a snack. It
is lovely for him to have friends on the property, and to be able to let them
go for hours at a time without worrying that they might be out on busy streets.
Jane hard at work in the hot sun (about 33 degrees Celsius), and the finished product on the deck. We don't yet have stairs, but they will come.
Jane and the rest went back home on Monday afternoon to get
MacK ready for school on Tuesday. I had to stay as we need the trailer in
Canberra, but it is full of rubbish and the local tip is closed on a Monday. We
have scored another load of pavers, on the proviso that we move them tomorrow.
I think Jane is now happy that we have our full complement of pavers for the
proposed outdoor kitchen/entertaining area. Lucky the finger I broke doesn’t
impact too severely on my ability to lift!
Hugo had a grand time, and ended up bathing in the sink twice a day - it became a bit of a running battle to keep ahead of the dirt! Just like it should be.
