Stuff

The weather has NOT been helpful so our driveway and fences are still not in. The landscapers haven't been idle, though.

Before ...

After ...

There will be ferns and the like in the beds and if I can find them some staghorn/elkhorn things on the fence. 

I woke up this morning in a deep funk. I felt as if I was at the bottom of a well looking up at the sky and sunshine and just had no desire to get out. I couldn't decide what to have for breakfast (crumpets or toast so I had meusli). 

The internet at the rental ended at midnight and we planned to hotspot our phones except the phone plan we are on (Vodaphone) sucks even though we have a direct line of sight to a tower. Himself had gone up to the house to water the grass seed and I thought "Fuck it. I need to be out of here".

So here were are. Here, not there!

We made sure the animals had all they need including the cushions from the couch we shared.

The dogs were fed ... including the feline dog.

It took them all a while to get settled. There was a lot of exploring and meowing and panting (from Murphy - probably not the best week to reduce his anxiety meds) but as I write all seems ok. In fact I had to stop there to give Max a stroke and a smooch which is a first!

Pizza for dinner (too much effort to cook) and then a settle in in front of the telly.

Tonight we will sleep in our new bed with new linen.

It feels like it's taken forever but here we are. 

Finally.

It already feels like home and we all seem a lot calmer.

My week in pictures (with some words)

Last weekend was glorious. We had high hopes that the landscaping and concreting and fencing would proceed with speed.

Here you can see my collection of plants awaiting planting. I am going for colour.

You can use your imagination to picture the pops of colour amidst the black mulch. I think they will look amazing.

The concreter laid the formwork for the driveway and front porch. It is a LOT of concrete!

Unfortunately the rain came and as a result we won't be having the concrete poured and the fencing dude can't deliver his cement posts as the block next door is too soggy. 

The reason we need rain free days for the concrete is that we have chosen a dark grey colour (normal light grey would be way to glarey) and if it rains during application the colour will be washed away. I could try and explain what we have chosen but you can wait until I can show you the finished product! 

I have offended the weather gods as there is no period in the foreseeable future with enough rain free days forecast so this will impact both the driveway and the fencing.

So what does one do when it rains? One knits, of course. This is a top I am knitting for The Mermaid because a) she's a lot smaller than me so takes less time and b) I don't wear knitted garments as I overheat. 

 

On Thursday I went to a weaving workshop run by a local artists' group. I wouldn't call this weaving per se but I enjoyed the process and am going back for the remaining three workshops. Hopefully I will pick up some tips for weaving with local grasses and other fibres. (This is raffia and some sort of sisal cord which was the easiest thing for the teacher to provide for so many people). 

There was a woman from my history group that I sat and chatted with. These encounters give me a sense of becoming part of the community. The next day I saw a couple in the doctor's waiting room who were also at the weaving group.

The reason I was at the doctor was to discuss the ongoing pain in my hip and seek reassurance after the issues I had with the whole wound thing. The more I spoke the more neurotic I felt but she ordered an xray. I ain't no radiologist but things seem to be in place. And I can understand why I am still a bit stiff and sore!!!

Pixie pointed out that my full name and date of birth was on the xray so I have deleted it until I can edit the original and repost. I wonder how many were as observant as she!

And here is the amended xray with personal details removed! 

The cats have a tendency to shred our furniture. Himself needed a Bunnings fix had to go into Bairnsdale and found a new scratching post that didn't cost as much as our house. Minnie loves it and since taking this Max has had a good scratch so I think we will get some more. 

It is Alice's third birthday today. I ordered her a Barbie doll set and a Barbie book from Amazon and it was delivered wrapped to their door (very promptly - I doubt Australia Post would have delivered that quickly). Three sent me videos of her opening them and this is a screen shot as she is seeing the Barbie dolls ... "OH. MY. GOG". I cracked up and that is now my favourite saying.

Not gogs but near enough, Himself took them to the beach for their walk today. 

Lakes Entrance .... bloody magic (even if it is still raining!)

Life trundles on

I recently had my hair degreyed and trimmed. I took this from my chair in the salon. It reminded me of why I love living here. Water, boats and bush - what's not to love.

Rain is forecast for this week which means the driveway is, yet again, on hold as we have opted for a dark grey concrete and it if it rains while being laid the colour will wash away. The  heavy stuff of the landscaping has been done so we are now waiting for the fencer to get back to us with a date to get that ticked off. 

Our rental is advertised and we have an open for inspection on Thursday. I will be very surprised if there is much, if any, interest as the figure they are asking is ridiculous for this town. And the type of person that could afford it wouldn't want to live in this place. The only thing going for it is the view. It has meant that we have had to have a flurry of cleaning which we hadn't expected until we vacated but the upside is that moving out will be less painful.

The hip is improving but the back is twitchy. As am I so I am looking forward to seeing a GP on Friday when I hope she will agree to an xray to put my mind at rest regarding the hip and/or work out what, if anything, can be done with the back. I think I will be biting the bullet, buying bathers (swimming costume, togs, swimsuit) and enrolling at the local gym/swim centre. They have gentle exercises for seniors (and oh my giddy aunt do I hate putting myself in that category as I have done some serious weight work in the past but time marches on and I stopped any sort of marching) and I can use the pool for water walking which is supposed to be good for back and joint issues. 

We could actually move into the new house if we wanted to. We have everything up there we need (apart from food but we do have tea, coffee, milk and english muffins). We have taken the dogs up there a couple of times to get them used to it. Himself took their beds up today so that should help as they seem to find it hard to settle and pace and pant a lot. Once they are there with the cats and have had their dinner up there I am sure they will be fine. 

On the social front I continue with my much loved U3A. On Thursday I have enrolled in a weaving class which uses plant materials run by a group of local artists. One of my history group is also going so my circle is slowly expanding. 

So that is life chez Merlot. The waiting to move is telling on us both but we are both still in agreement that this is the best decision we have made.

Life is good.

The landscaping is coming along really well. 

There will be a fence between the tree and the shed (the shed belongs to the bloke who owns the blocks behind us) but the tree will grow and you get an idea of the fencing from the second photo. The tree, by the way, is a Little Gem magnolia.

I am thrilled with the steps. There is a gentle bend that reflects the bends in the garden beds.

Again, you need to imagine the fence which will be roughly where the dirt ends and the grass begins. This is the other side of the house from the fence above. Things look a bit stark with the black mulch but once I have planted the whole area will sing with colour and texture.

I will need a bit more than these, though! We bought them at the local monthly market and I have ordered more from the chap that runs one of our mini golf venues. What ... isn't that where you get good plants? Tis here! I'm picking them up tomorrow.

Himself wanted to clean the rocks and this was him on the weekend with the garden hose but he ended up using  the power washer which did a great job. You get an idea of the difference the mulch makes.

 

We are getting so close to the end and more and more is being moved into the new house. 

On other fronts my hip has been giving me grief to the point that I have been taking heavy meds and been woken through the night. I had some brusing on my right buttock that concerned me and I rang the surgeon's rooms last week. I was told to see my GP as the procedure shouldn't be producing bruising at this stage. That evening I realised that I had been deeply massaging the area to relieve the ache so the bruising was self inflicted! I see the GP next week (country living, folks, but to be fair city living isn't much better in this regard) and will ask for an xray to set my mind at rest that I haven't damaged things. 

Yesterday I celebrated another trip around the sun. My coffee friends sang to me (and cleared the cafe), Himself and I had a fabulous dinner at the local pub and my kids and friends contacted me. 

I am so fortunate.