Swans!!

Yet another glorious day, here. We took the dogs along the waterfront again, but in the opposite direction. We saw lots of these ....

I sent Three these pictures ...

And he responded with this ...

 

... asking "are we even in the same state?!"

After our walk we stopped for coffee and a muffin each which we shared with the dogs (the muffin, not the coffee). A run for the dogs at the lookout, a trip up to the block, supermarket for dinner stuff and cheapy shops for supplies to take up to entertain the girls. Lots of craft things which I hope will keep them quiet and occupied for, oh, five minutes!

The floors have been vacuumed and washed. All I have to do is make the Mermaid's bed and pack for the trip away.

I will be scarce as she arrives tomorrow lunch time and we head off first thing on Wednesday.

Be safe.

A lovely Sunday

I didn't post yesterday because I spent most of the afternoon at a rustic rug weaving class and had nothing to talk about and my brain was full and I couldn't even think of a topic to discuss.

Also, said rug had been wet finished and was drying on the line so I couldn't even show you the results of my afternoon's work.

Here it is, in all its glory. The warp is wool and the weft is a blend of alpaca, merino and silk. I think it's called tops but I am not a spinner so I stand to be corrected. Wet finishing felts it so it holds better. It's about the size of a bath mat and I have it on the floor next to the kids' beds. The cats, however, seem to have other ideas so it might end up as a wall hanging. Regardless of its fate I will be trimming the fringe.

This gives you a closer look at the construction. Ashford use leftovers from their fibre lines and then put them all through their carding process to produce this stuff. Consequently it has many colours in it and the warp helps with the finished look, in this case making the greens pop.

Today we walked the dogs the length of the foreshore and back. It was a glorious day.

I love the reflection of the boats in the still lake water.

They are starting to realise that water can be fun.

 I started to clean the house after lunch but decided to go with Himself to the dog park. A lovely bunch of people. The house has been dusted, I will vac tomorrow and wash the floors. The Mermaid comes down on Tuesday so I want the place to look nice for her.

Himself bought some hamburger patties from the butcher. Hopefully they will be nicer than the snags. We will have them with bacon, onion, cheese and beetroot (and lettuce and tomato of course).

And that folks, was another day in my life in Lakes Entrance!

Another glorious day after a bit of a dodgy start.

We woke to rain which was a bit of a bugger as I had a line full of washing. With the sunshine and a bit of a breeze it dried in no time (except for the pieces I dropped first into the washing basket that had also been out all night and therefore was wet - duh!)

Jinx has been having some issues with her nether regions. I may have mentioned this in past posts. She has had two lots of cortisone and antibiotics. I was hoping that moving here would help things as I felt a lot of the obsessive licking might have been caused by stress. She hasn't been licking much of late. I found out why today. And boy, do I feel bad. Her vulva is so ulcerated and infected it would hurt to lick. God knows how much pain she has been in having a pee.

We got an appointment with the new vet and she was thoroughly examined. More steroids, more antibiotics and a cream. Poor Jinx actually cried when he took a swab. She never cries. She also cried when I applied the cream. Fingers well and truly crossed the drugs will ease things very soon.

After that we took them up to our local patch for a run. 

Murphy loves a run ...

The sky was, as usual, just stunning. Even with clouds ...

We then took the dogs up to the block. They haven't been and I suggested it. The universe must have been speaking to me. When we got there a site supervisor from our builder was also there and Himself had a really good chat about a few things. It made him feel that things are sort of happening. 

The dogs got their walk on the block and did sniffy hellos with the dogs behind us. I think Himself was happy ...

I was on a suggestion roll (probably exacerbated by extreme guilt over Jinx's issues and feeling I have neglected her) so we ended up at Eastern Beach.

More new smells ...

Up the track and over the dunes ...

And another glimpse of paradise.

We let the dogs off their leads and they had a ball.

Himself fancied a hamburger for lunch so I opted for fish and chips. Look at how fresh and white and yummy that gummy shark is and how light and crisp the batter is. The chips were awesome, too.

 

A quiet afternoon and I even had a bath. First time in this house and it is so much more comfortable than the one in our old place. 

Jinx is curled up at my feet. Himself is cooking dinner. I have a glass of wine and life is good.

Building stuff

I apologise to my non-Aussie readers but this is just a quick post about our builder who is in the news again.

The ABC has been broadcasting that Metricon has been reneging on contracts and asking clients to pay a lot of money to build their homes.

We have just got off the phone with our representative and it makes perfect sense.

Firstly, the ABC are not telling the whole story (no surprises there - media are renowned for that). 

Secondly, when you sign your initial contract with Metricon you are given 365 days locked in on the base price of that home. That supposedly gives the office time to do all the paperwork, planning, engineering etc. Once that stage has been handed over to the build team they don't/can't change the price.

Where problems happen is where land has been bought that hasn't been titled and the time to title has blown out. No builder will be able to honour a price set, in some cases, three years ago and make a profit and, believe it or not, that is their sole reason for being in business. There are other scenarios but that is probably one of the most common and easy to understand.

We are comfortable with our current situation. We are doing our best to get our council permits through asap, we are not dependant on finance, we are not fiddle faddling with the plans (too much) and, above all, we purchased titled land. I don't understand buying untitled land and I certainly don't understand getting into a contract to build on untitled land. Some land being sold still has cows grazing. It is highly possible that something will go pear shaped within 12 months to affect title regardless of what the developer tells you.

In other news, we had lunch at a local cafe and it was amazing.

We walked the dogs this morning and took them to doggy play this afternoon. A lovely bunch of people and dogs - except one dog has taken a distinct dislike to our two. She spent a lot of the afternoon in time out but her owner said she has to learn her manners.

Last night's snags were not the best we've ever had. We aren't really sausage people so when we have them they have to be fantastic. After lunch today, dinner will just be soup and a sanga.

I have a walk I want to do. It involves steep hills and it is my first goal.

Moving here was the best decision.

I love sky

 We have big skies here and I love them as much as the water.

I had a hair cut today. With a proper stylist at a proper salon with a hair wash and a scalp massage and everything. Bliss. I will be going back.

I had coffee with the Wednesday coffee group. I was anxious but put my big girl pants on and they were lovely and we had a lot of laughs.

I had a long conversation with One last night about family and stuff and a lot of things got resolved. His mother in law is barking mad very strange ... she suggested that they go away with One and Ebs on the romantic week end One and Ebs have booked for their 10th wedding anniversary (her parents are looking after the girls). I was hurt we weren't invited to the kids' birthday parties and the in-laws were - except they aren't, they just rock up. 

For dinner tonight we are having sausages from the local butcher. They are smelling pretty good as Himself is cooking them on the barbie.

We are settling in ...

• Vet - tick
• Doctor - tick
• Optometrist - tick
• Hairdresser - tick

The Cast

 Boud commented that she doesn't really know who's who and it made me realise it has been a while since I have explained the participants in the play that is "Life and Times of SparklingMerlot"

So here we go. Some names are noms de plume and some are those given by parents. I like to mix things up and they are not as obvious as may initially appear.

SparklingMerlot ... me, born 1956

Himself ... the husband of 46 years, born 1949 (god he's old)

Stepson ... born 1973, very close to his brothers and for that I can't be happier. He is married to a wonderful woman and they have raised two amazing kids that were sired by another but to whom he is dad. His mother and I got on well, all things considered. We referred to ourselves and wives in law. She sadly died from melanoma way too early.

One ... firstborn son (1988)

Ebs ... his wife

Lily ... their firstborn

Ivy ... their second daughter

Two ... middlest son (who was really upset when he realised that being the middlest wasn't a thing)

Mads ... his wife

Audrey ... first kid

Billie ... second daughter

Henry ... gorgeous son (and first grandson)

Three ... the kid I had just for me who is probably the closest because that is his personality

Amy ... his wife

Sally ... our first granddaughter

Alice ... their second daughter 

Here are the grandchildren in order of birth, not family ...

Sally, Lily, Audrey, Ivy, Billie, Alice, Henry.

I have two brothers ... Other Brother born 1958 and Dr Teacher born 1963

Other Brother is married to Fave sis in law (sometimes Mrs other)and Dr Teacher is married to Mrs Teacher (cos she is married to him and was a teacher. This is his second marriage and if you go back far enough in this blog his first wife might also appear and be referred to as a Mrs Teacher but she rarely appears here so wife #2 is Mrs T. Confused yet). Any reference to nephews are the offspring of Dr T and wife #1.

The Mermaid is our oldest friend. 

I could go on but I am confused so I hate to think what you are feeling! Please let me know if you need clarification. 

Still here

I have been a bit absent from blogland of late. I do read and sometimes comment but haven't had the oomph to post anything here.

The drive up to Melbourne was uneventful. I drove as much as I could there and back off the highway and it was great fun. I had to drive right under the Yallourn power station. It is a massive thing.

It was great to catch up with Fave sis in law. We went to Doncaster shopping centre, had lunch and talked a lot. On Friday I called in to the Mermaid for coffee and chat, then went to the ophthalmologist. The original issue has resolved but my intraocular pressures are up. He thinks it is a steroid reaction so I have to see an optometrist down here in about 6 weeks for another pressure check. 

I popped in to see Lily for her birthday. Her other grandmother was there. She is always there! After an hour or so I left and went to Three's place. I got a message from Ebs with a photo of Lily blowing out candles on her cake. I said I should have stayed! She asked when I was heading home and when I said first thing she said bugga. I think I might have been given an invitation to the birthday party but considering we were living in Melbourne when Ivy had her party and we weren't invited it would have been very much an afterthought. Sally was invited two days before the RSVP cut off and we think that was an afterthought as it was just after Amy wished Ebs a happy birthday. Amy said it was very awkward. Alice wasn't invited so wasn't able to play with the other kids in the party room. The invitation didn't have names on it so the assumption was both cousins were invited. All in all it has caused a lot of angst with Three and Amy and I do feel very sorry for them.

I think that is one reason why I have been so flat lately. The chance of all my boys and their families spending time together is slim to nothing.

Anyway, life goes on.

We are still waiting for site costs from the builder. We met another owner yesterday who has just had her build started (different builder) and she was giving us tips for dealing with the council permit people. We had hoped that would be a quick process but that is unlikely. We have to give them three months but then we will start nagging them!

Next week the Mermaid comes down and we head off to NSW for a few days. I will see Two et al and she will stay with her mother. Maybe once I am home from that trip I can get some routine going here.

In the meantime I have baked another batch of brownies.