Monday 26 February 2007

We have started to settle back in. Bernadette has started work as an Outposted Examiner for IP Australia, and I am employed as a Library Technician with Brisbane North TAFE. We are managing the garden through the climate changes, and will soon have a 5000 gal/23000 litre rainwater tank installed, hopefully before the wet season finishes. We have mulched the garden extensively and hope this mulching will improve the soil condition. There is still much to do around the house, before the windows fall out.

Bernadette has joined the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra on Contrabass, and will soon be playing softball again. We have regular visits from a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets, a Scaly Breasted Parrot, a pair of Kookaburras, and of course, Crows. There is a pretty good crop of oranges, mangoes are finished, and there a few custard apples. We also have some tropical apples, pawpaw, papaya, one feijoa, two canistens, but no partridge or pear tree. The chooks will be some way off until the terracing Russell did has proven to have consolidated and will not be washed away in the next downpour.

Monday 15 January 2007

Aaaaaaaargh! Season's greetings, Happy new year.

The Removalists from Hell. They arrived at 7.00pm in Canberra and finished loading the truck at 1.00 am. Only with Bernadette's help (you should see the bruises). Turned the air blue with their f..ing and c.ing. Didn't have a ramp to get the car box trailer on the truck. Same driver but different "assisatanists" at pick up and delivery. Similar sort of language when they arrived. One "assisatanist", a dishevelled, intoxicated, unsteady fellow, dropped several items. he was incapable of lifting anything "heavy". The other was under instruction, and only learning his trade. They Scratched the fridge sometime after taking it from Canberra, and gouged the floor getting it into The Gap house. Started at 8.00 pm after assuring me they would be there by 6.00 pm, and finished at 12.00pm (only with my help), I was due to catch a 6:30 am flight back to Canberra the next morning. Dropped the trailer from the truck, broke the flooring and smashed the tail lights. Payment was done through direct debit, so we couldn't halt it. Letter to the company has resulted in no reponse. Pirates. Caveat emptor.

Flew from Brisbane back to Canberra at 6:30 for the drive to Rutherglen for a weeks frolicking in the Victorian wine region. Aaah, happy fami lies. See photos on Flickr, if you can't email and we will send you an 'invite'.

Bernadette's AWA has not been finalised, so she has been obliged to fly back to Canberra for another week until IP's HR can tidy the contract up. Oh, they have only had 3 months notice.

Bernadette has successfully finished her Master's in Intellectual Property, I'm a bit confused as to whether to refer to her as Master, Mistress, Doctor, or just Your Highness please forgive the broken galasses I am just an humble oaf. Any way three warm cheers for her.

So we have half our belongings, the one's from the flat, here and unpacked, and now await the rest of our household goods from long term storage.