Slow progress and paint stripping

On New Year’s Day we left Phee with the hungover hosts and went shopping for something for Ged and his best man, Steve, to wear on the big day.  Success!  As usual, I had a vision in mind, and we managed to find the right jackets and shirt even if the pants were all the wrong sizes, but at least that gives me an on-the-phone challenge for the New Year!
Back to Avalon and work on the farm and on the house.  We were preparing for the imminent arrival of the Grippers, so Ged replaced the platform for the Flying Fox on the house side, and also made an all new ‘basket’ lining so it was solid and safe for my beloved Gripper kids.  We ordered an ‘enviro-loo’ from Brisbane which came complete with Cane Toad (oh. my. God!) and set it up in one of the old corrugated iron ‘builders bog’ that we inherited with the property.  Ged also made a sink stand and a wooden base for an ablution block out of sleepers and piped cold water to the site.  We never quite got to the hot water, but we will one day . . . .!
I stripped and sanded a little antique table I had and spent a day stripping a window – layer upon layer upon layer of paint, dating from sometime early in the last century and STILL the window is not close to being ready for painting – ugh!  I put another coat on the ceilings and painted yet more doors.  Other than that, we read some good books, went for some nice runs and enjoyed staying on the property.  The weather was glorious, the river peacable and pristine and we spent a lot of time platypus watching which was bliss (the new Flying Fox platform is the perfect platypus viewing post!)
Slow progress is being made!

The Myrtles in full bloom over Christmas.

End of a very big year

Looks like I was premature to be signing off the year in my last missive – it still had a week to run!
I have to admit that I was FOUL in the run up to Christmas (poor Ged!), over-tired, over-stretched, and as it now transpires, suffering from severe hormonal fluctuations.  I was dreading my first Christmas with the ‘out-laws’ and as always at that time of year I was homesick for the traditional rituals, aromas and rain of England.  After all, it is the traditional time for family and I wanted mine, not his!!
We opened our ‘stockings’ at home before heading off to his parents’ place which is a beautiful 400 acre farm they raise Santa Gertrudis bulls on, about 40 minutes away.  Due to a flat tyre on the way (heaven-sent!) we missed the sit down dinner and were able to have a more relaxed afternoon with a moveable feast of family members as we munched on our vegetarian lasagne.  We were embarassed to get gifts from all Ged’s nephews and nieces (I know now for next year!) and got away at a reasonable hour so we could have our ‘first Christmas’ at home.  We opened a bottle of my favourite bubbles and traded gifts – I got my long awaited handbag and a punchbag and baseball bat which now have pride of place in the garage (he knows me well!!) and I gave Ged a big A4 filofax and new halters, lead ropes and a carrot stick for his horses so we were both very spoilt.  We only managed a glass of champagne each before we were pissed . . . and so to bed!
I had invited all his family over on Boxing Day so we had a whirlwind few hours turning the building site into something vaguely resembling a home and cooking up a storm and then had a very relaxed and easy day.  The boys BBQ’d organic beef steaks and sausages from a local farm in Comboyne, and I did potato and green salads with my special vinaigrette and homemade tomato sauce which, amazingly, all the boys hoed into and loved (just goes to show, you don’t need sugar!).
The 27th was my birthday (42!) and Ged made me Queen for a day and waited on me hand and foot so I slept on the sofa all afternoon and we both just relished the peace and quiet of a day off.  Then we had to put in a couple of days of work on the house before driving down to Ged’s best friends’ annual New Year’s Eve bash on the central coast.  I swapped places with Phee on the way down – I curled up in the back of the Pajero and slept and Phee took the passenger seat and kept Ged company in the front!  To be honest we were so tired, we weren’t great company that night, although it was good to meet a lot more of his old friends.  We were clock watching ’til midnight (‘are we there yet?’) and glad to escape to our tent once the celebrations had died down a bit.  The die-hard drinkers kept going until the wee smalls, but we were safely off with the sand man . . .

The new bathroom under the Jacaranda tree . . .