Still raining.

It hasn't stopped for over two days and we have more in store.

Yesterday I noticed water on the kitchen bench. I then I realised it was coming from the window sill. There were two leaks somewhere in the frame or the ceiling or somewhere.

Then we noticed the carpet near Himself's desk was damp. Looking up we found this.

Then a puddle appeared on the wood stove.

And behind the vertical blinds on another window we discovered this.

This morning when I went down to feed the cats in the bathroom I felt another splash and found that window leaking as well! 

I have reported them to the real estate agent but I doubt there is much they can do. It is all down the high winds and heavy rain. If it was my house I'd be doing some repairs  - but then again, if it was my house it probably wouldn't have got this bad in the first place. The stains on the window sills suggest this is not the first time this has happened.

Remember the saga of the retaining wall sleepers from Tuesday?

We found out yesterday that the sleepers we chose won't be available until January. They did offer to put the plain grey ones in and paint them but that is not acceptable. It would mean ongoing maintenance we don't want and we want a textured finish. We have said there are a couple of other types we would accept and are waiting to see if they are available. If not, it could be a long wait til January with nothing happening.

The site supervisor said he will try and get engineering to see if we can somehow batter the cut so we can get the slab laid.

This sort of explains what I am talking about ...

... so where the vertical retaining wall needs to go they might be able to put some dirt back from the cut to batter until the sleepers can be installed.

In the mean time I am grateful we were able to get this rental, even if it is a tad damp.

I think I'm losing mine.

Apparently the prime minister of Greece and the prime minister of the UK are not going to meet to discuss issues of great importance affecting both countries. It seems that 200 years ago an arrogant Pom stole some Greek marbles and the Greeks want them back. 

To my eternal shame I found out today that these are said marbles ...

not these ...

In building news (trying to change the subject here!) we went up to the block as is our usual habit and found the blokes were there to install the retaining wall. (I use the term "blokes" loosely as I swear they were both 15). Just as well we did because somehow, somewhere someone had got the order mucked up and rather than delivering these ...

...they delivered these ...

Just a slight difference! If it was a small wall we would have let it go but it is costing us nearly $20,000 and we don't want a 1.6m wall of pale grey. 

And no, this wall was not our choice but to build the house we want it has to be installed so there you go. We could have gone with timber but it is a big wall and timber bows and, to be honest, the sleepers themselves aren't that much more expensive. It's the engineering and holes and steel supports that bump up the price.

The aftermath

Looks like a swimming pool but I can assure it isn't!

Hopefully it will have dried/drained before anything needs to be done,

Tonight my goal is to not frog my knitting and to get beyond where I have been before.

One ball of yarn can last me a very long time! A bit like watching a series with Himself who has no recollection of the first (second and third) time.

 

Weather

We've had a bit today.

It started off with some spectacular cloud formations 

You can see the rain in this one ...

Then it started to bucket down with thunder and lightening.

And the town and ocean disappeared.

 

Himself went up to the block and our cut was flooded which wasn't unexpected considering the volume of rain in a short period of time. At least the agi pipe we installed made a difference.

Last weekend I decided to have a go at making a cheesecake. Remember I won't use the oven in this house so I had to find a recipe that didn't need one. Something popped up on facebook (as it always does) and I gave it a go. I uses chocolate ripple biscuits

crushed with melted butter and pressed into a slice tin as a base. 

You then beat cream cheese, sugar, melted white chocolate and thickened cream before adding gelatine. Pour the whole lot onto the biscuit base and chill.

When I made it last weekend I think I burnt the chocolate in the microwave and buggered up the gelatine. I also didn't let it sit long enough in the fridge. I was going to toss it but the next evening Himself dished some up with a bit of vanilla icecream and some fresh fruit and it was lovely. We finished it off last night so I made another batch this afternoon. This time I didn't burn the chocolate and the gelatine behaved itself. It is chilling in the fridge but we shall restrain and wait until tomorrow before we try it.

Mango season was late this year but they are finally hitting the shops. My favourite is Kensington Pride which is an early fruit but doesn't last long. The later varieties are OK but none are as sweet and fragrant as a KP. I am teaching Himself that the bigger the fruit doesn't mean the tastier.

Orange roughy (fish) for dinner tonight with sauteed asparagus.

Building stuff

First up, I apologise if your comments are going to spam. It seems that the spamometer has ranked up a bit. I try to remember to check every day but comments still slip through.

A few have asked about basements and garages and the like. For some reason we don't have basements dug into the ground here. Underground garages are becoming more prevelant in areas of medium to high density housing as street parking becomes non-existant but you wouldn't put one in an average middle class home. Our garages are under our roofline.

Most houses these days are built on a concrete slab. Some people still choose stumps which used to be made of timber but are now typically concrete. Timber stumps were prone to rot and needed replacing every few decades. Of all the houses being built in our estate there is one going on stumps. In this case it has given the owners more of a view but still a single storey house. Their block slopes like most of them do and the while the house at the front is level by the time you get to the back of the house it will be 2 metres off the ground. I assume they may use the space under the house for extra storage but it is certainly not a basement.

The couple live in Melbourne so I have been sending them photos of the progress of their build. 

This first photo shows the concrete slab for their garage floor and the beginning of the stump placement.

The builders then laid specially treated timber joists over the stumps and then laid the flooring. 

From now on the build will be similar to that on a slab.

There are signs that things are being done on our block but nothing worth photographing. A whole lot of pink tape attached to nails and bits of timber have been place around the site which must indicate something to somebody but we are still in the dark.

It is now Friday evening so nothing will happen over the weekend but hopefully next week they will install the retaining wall and start to map out the plumbing etc so they can lay the framework for the slab.

We did get a big green builders rubbish bin to complement our portaloo.

I frogged the scarf I started on Wednesday. I am not too annoyed as it needed to be narrower. I must learn to physically relax when knitting and crocheting as a) I enjoy it more and b) I make fewer mistakes.

*hic*

I had planned a post about building and differences and why we don't have basements and slabs vs stumps and a lot of other stuff.

I then had a long conversation with The Mermaid that involved deep and meaningfuls and a considerable amount of wine which was then followed by a delicious meal of lamb back straps and more wine.

So I will leave you with the latest addition to the block.

A port-a-loo

 

We have water!

This is the pit they dug across the road from us. One of the pipes is broken and our water pipe leads to nowhere. We thought it was going to hold things up.

This afternoon, however, (and yes we visit the block several times a day - wouldn't you?) we found the pit filled in and a water meter connected. I will never see such a low reading again!

They also connected a tap (which is probably where the 3 came from on the meter - have to make sure water flows). 

 The fence makes me realise how big the block (and house) is. 

Coffee group this afternoon which is always lovely. 

Last night the knitting ended up in the naughty corner. I will use the yarn in some weaving or maybe another pair of socks but it wasn't doing it for me and after dropping stitches and getting pissed off I decided life is too short to not enjoy a project.

As all my yarn is boxed up in the garage I had no choice but to visit the local yarn shop and buy some more for my zick zack scarf. I think these will knit up nicely. 

The grey has a nice amount of pink in it that complements the other one well.

Chicken and salad for dinner with some leaves and radishes from the garden.

Shit - with a warning to follow

Skip to the ***** if you are eating!

Alice announced that she had done poo. Only it wasn't in the potty or the toilet. It was, however, on the mat that covers the carpet in the playroom.

Murphy was pacing and whining. He does this all the time. Jinx was hiding behind my legs in the kitchen. Himself was cleaning out the containers he puts the dogs' meat in. I thought they smelt funny. Then I realised that Murphy had been trying to tell us he wanted out.

There was shit from here to breakfast time. Murphy doesn't drop a turd. He walks around and drops bits as he goes. Imagine that with diarrhoea in the mix. Thank goodness the carpet in this place is old and awful. We cleaned everything up and hopefully there won't be any new stains too noticable!

******

Some have commented on the cut and asked if it is going to be a basement or garage. In Australia we don't tend to have basements. We will have a garage but it will be to the side of the house. The size of the cut shows the extent of the slope on the land that meant a huge cut which was then used to fill the slope so we end up with a nice flat space to lay the slab. By the end of this exercise you will all know a lot about building in Australia! And on that front, the water was connected today. Now we need the meter to be connected which should happen tomorrow.

The talk of toilet training reminded me of when Three was being toilet trained. Being the last, I wasn't in such a rush as one in nappies (diapers) was manageable.

One evening Himself took One and Two down to the shop after dinner. Three year old Three wanted to go but I told him that only big boys who don't wear nappies can walk to the shops when it's dark. He took himself off to his room and then waited outside under the street lamp for dad and his brothers to return. As they walked up the street he dropped his pants to reveal his nethers in all their glory with a "tadaaaa". Easiest toilet training ever!

Speaking of nethers. I picked up the medication for Jinx from the vet today (and paid $25 less than I did at the vet in Lakes) and was asked to make an appointment to discuss surgery whilst the infection is under control. The next 4 weeks are going to be a challenge as she is so traumatised that doing anything in that region causes her stress and pain but I have to administer this stuff twice a day. 

Off to cook some Thresher Shark for dinner.

MIA

I have been missing from blogland. I haven't even read my favourites. I think I just needed some down time. The bug is slowly getting better but I am still not 100%.

I had a go at intarsia crochet and enjoyed it so have started a bag. Like most things it's the beginning that is the most tiresome. I also started a zick zack scarf as that is easier in front of the telly in the evening. I bought some yarn for this waaaaay back when we lived in Melbourne (seems like eons ago!) and I really liked my choice until I started knitting it up. I realise I should have chosen two variegated yarns rather than a variagated and a solid but it will work up alright and someone will get it as a gift. I think I could also have made it narrower but there is no way I am frogging this as it already took me three goes to get this far!

Our cut and fill was finished last Thursday. You can see from the photos of Himself standing in it how deep it actually is.

The safety fence went up today, the port-a-loo should be in any day and the water will be connected on Wednesday so hopefully the retaining wall will be installed very soon.

The garden here is looking pretty and my veges are coming along nicely. The radishes are ready to harvest but I think I need more lettuce seedlings as the seeds didn't really come to much although the rocket is going gangbusters. My beans are thriving and the zucchini looks as if it might be getting ready to put out some buds. You only get flowers for now, though. The rose in the centre was struck from a cutting of the last rose mother ever bought. It was taken to the nursing home with her where it struggled valiantly in a pot with poor dirt and little water. When she died Dr Teacher took it and cared for it and struck me a cutting which, again, struggled in poor dirt and little water until I took pity on it and repotted it and brought it with us. it is a chameleon rose and while my preference is for scented roses it makes up for its lack of scent with its glorious changing colours.

Meanwhile, Chez Three, the potty training has commenced...

Jinx was back at the vet today to be sedated, clipped and cleaned up and so they could have a good look at her nethers. The infection is back so she is back on the specific antibiotics and some hormone treatment to rule out a hormone related incontinence. If that doesn't fix the problem she will require surgery. She was a brave girl. Murphy was not happy to be an only dog for the day.

And that, folks, is where things are at the moment. I will try to be a better blogger but I am still feeling very flat so we shall wait and see. The last thing I want is for this thing which brings me joy to become a chore. I think a lot of bloggers feel like that from time to time.

It begins

The water was connected using some amazing gadget that connected our water point with the main point across the road. They dug under the road with great accuracy and minimal mess.

Then the heavy stuff arrived and the serious stuff began. (The photos are out of order but I am sure you get the idea!)

The bucket on the digger is "live" and connected to a computer on board. Measurements have been taken using the electricity pit which ascertains a certain point above sealevel. The bucket "knows" exactly how deep to dig and at what angle. This is the batters being dug at precisely 30 degrees.

There will be at least 20 truckloads of dirt dug out. Fortunately, the excavator was given permission to dump it on the new development just around the corner. Otherwise it would have been an hour round trip to Bairnsdale to drop off each load! The brown/grey piles just above the grassy area are all ours!

We took Jinx to the new vet and I am very impressed. She has to go in on Monday to be sedated so they can clip the area, give it a good clean and have a proper look. The vet was so gentle and compassionate. 

Jinx showed her appreciation but dropping a very smelly fart in a very small consulting room.