We have 'finally' put some paint on the walls! The three smaller bedrooms are now fully undercoated, and today we painted the ceilings. Darryl has finished removing the crazed paint from the from verandah.
I think we were pushing ourselves a bit too hard...and last Thursday we decided to take a break and do nothing for the day...well that was great, and we ended up sleeping most of the day. On Friday we had to go to town to get supplies, and I got a headache so slept all Friday afternoon as well.
Of course we had to take a break for Christmas day...although we walked over the back to check some GPS points, and film some trees and the red hill. The walk took 2 hours, and we were pretty hot when we returned, so had a lovely cool swim. Christmas lunch was a low key affair, and then after lunch we drove to Cordalba to visit our friends Anna and Otto (we hadn't seen their new home before, and were very impressed with what they had done). We crossed the old bridge on the Burnett River, and were amazed at how high the water is from the new weir. In the evening, Rhonda and Phil invited us to their place for dinner, and we played cards again.
I have put the farm on the net - for sale so I guess we will just have to wait and see how it goes.
Darryl and I came back to the farm last Sunday. Our tenant had already moved out, and everything was in pretty ok shape. It was pretty hot, and the pool was really murky green, so we spent quite a bit of time scooping out algae.....
The grass is lovely and green, due to the recent rain, and a couple of wood ducks have taken up residence.
We have been busy....Darryl has fixed the front gate, done some fencing, and we have both worked on the house. Even though the place was ok, we have had to scrub every square cm with sugar soap and bleach in preparation for painting. There have also been heaps of nails to remove and holes to fill. The whole front verandah had crazing so Darryl has used the heat gun to remove all that paint. I can say that we both have sore muscles and bruises.... It will be really good when we can get to actually do some painting...the preparation is very time-consuming. The worker's barracks have been badly attacked by white-ants, so Darryl thinks we will have to pull it down.
Unfortunately, our fridge/freezer gave up the ghost soon into our stay and we were lucky enough to have our good friends, Rhonda and Phil, look after us with a spare fridge.
It is really strange being here....just like 24 years ago when we first arrived (in some ways! we are minus a baby...Marc was 6 months old when we came here) - in both cases we have no furniture, and only a mattress on the floor to sleep on. I suppose, also, that the place is in a lot better condition...with polished floors and a pool. It is quite nice, but a lot noisier than it used to be...cars roar up and down the road to the sub-divisions, and there is now a workshop across the road.
We have also been using the GPS to mark the boundaries of the farm, and the location of the dams etc, and Darryl is drawing it up.
We have played a couple of nights of 500 with Phil and Rhonda, which has been really enjoyable.
Quite a busy weekend...on Saturday morning the CQ Family History Association had the launch of their new book - "Battler's Tales" by J Grant Pattison. It is a collection of local stories from early last century, which were originally published in the newspaper. Darryl went down to help put up the marquee, and I went down later for the launch (see the picture of the car which is featured on the front cover of the book). I had quite a long chat to Rusty Hall (husband of Marion, who is in the society).
I first met Rusty several years ago, when he was looking at doing accredited training. He is an ex-fireman, and now does training in fire prevention etc. He recently came along to educate the CQ Off-Road Club about correct use of extinguishers. He keeps very fit with cycling and swimming, and is preparing for Adventure Racing (he has previously competed in triathlons).
On Saturday night Darryl and I headed out to the Criterion for the Xmas Party for the Special School Staff. It was the first time that I had met these people that he has been working with all year, and they all seem really nice. The meal was very tasty, and there was a guy doing Karaoke and it was pretty amazing how quickly the time passed - we were really enjoying ourselves!
Sunday was quiet, and I caught up on some housework. In the evening we had a bbq and Marc came over. He had really enjoyed his previous weekend at the Gold Coast, where he went to see the 'Ultimate Fight'. Shane arrived home a bit later (around 8pm) from his holiday to Cairns. He seems tired (from all the driving, I guess), but enjoyed himself.
This weekend we had our work party at Fern's up at Byfield. Marc went to the Gold Coast for the 'Ultimate Fight', and on Saturday evening Shane and David drove up to Cairns for a holiday.
Darryl and I headed up to Ferns just after lunch. It was a beautiful day, the temperature just lovely. We set up the truck at the camping area and sat back to read the paper and wait for the others to arrive.
Eventually we headed over to the picnic tables and quite a few of the others were there. It was very pleasant chatting and eventually everyone had arrived. Darryl and Aurora (Simon's partner) headed over to play volleyball, and I was finally convinced to join in (but was absolutely hopeless). A few of the guys and gals got into the spa. Later, as the evening started, two teams headed off to play volleyball, so some of us sat and watched.
We headed in for our meal about 8pm. I had a steak with mushroom sauce, which was delish! Marto was great with the music and lots of us enjoyed dancing. It was well after midnight when everyone packed it in.
Darryl and I got up fairly early on Sunday, although no one else was around. (I SMS'd Shane to find out that he and Dave were about 100km south of Cairns).We went for a walk down to Cochrane's Cabin where Brian and friends were. Brian was up and about - but only just! Then we headed back up the road to the Lagoons where everyone else was staying. On the way there, Kathlene SMS'd me to say that breakfast was on. The Lagoons was a lovely house, very nicely decorated, and nestled in the middle of a lagoon with several islands. Darryl headed back to Fern's to pack up and bring up the car, and I enjoyed a fantastic breakfast prepared by the guys - bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, scrambled eggs and orange juice!
In the early afternoon we headed home. It was a really enjoyable weekend!
A very happy couple!
6 Nov 2004
As a surprise for his 21st Birthday we organised for Shane to have a tandem skydive at Emu Park. Dave, his mate, got him there without him guessing what was up until the very last minute...
13 November 2004
It is a stinking hot day in Rockhampton. The party is held at Upper Ulam Camping Reserve, so we head out with a group at about 12:15. A beautiful lunch spread is provided with cold meats and salads, and we all eat as we try to shelter from the heat. Awards are given out to some of the members, and in the afternoon a hot and sweaty Santa arrives (by 4X4 of course) to distribute pressies to the kids. As the afternoon cools slightly, various activities occur - some take off to 'play' with their cars while other play bocce, french cricket, or test out the Karaoke machine. I was happy just to chat and try to keep cool, but ended up with a migraine. Most were staying to camp, but we returned home around 9pm where I took some aspalgin, and put a cold pack on my head and a hot pack on my feet until I got some relief.
