Proud of my big Sister!

Today my sister Carrie shaved her head (or HAD her head shaved ) in support of the leukaemia foundations  The Worlds Greatest Shave 2012.One of the Mums at the army camp where Carrie lives has a little girl Elizabeth who was diagnosed with leukaemia late last year. Sandra and Carrie agreed to shave their heads if they could raise $3000. Well they raised over $12,000 which is an incredible effort and today the hair came off! Here she is before and after and l think its amazing and brave and l am very proud of her and also for helping Sandra and Elizabeth and working so hard to organise all the events and fund raisers to get to where they got to today.
Before!

After!

And we lit the Wood Heater! Its a warmish night here in Tassie but it needs three small burns to cure the paint. It stinks a bit as the paint sets but a couple more little fires then we will be hanging out for a cold night!

Last Day of Fab Hols!

As Autumn arrives so do the beautiful misty mornings. Everywhere was a photographers delight this morning with the mist weaving through the trees. The Cracked Willows are turning yellow and everywhere is getting that golden glow!

Geoff spent most of the day away helping Dad and gathering supplies (gutters etc!)  l shovelled untold amount of barrow loads of sheep and cow poo and years of compressed dirt from under the Macracarpa Pines to our new flower beds. l reckon you could sweep under the trees now with a broom and not get a skerrick of dirt!

The huge flower bed is now finally full ,so we just need to let it bed down a bit over Winter then fill it with flowers and plants galore!

Our new heater!!! How gorgeous is that??

Its going to heat up the house.....a lot.....so the installer said!!!! We can't wait! We couldn't light it tonight as we had to wait for the silicone to cure. Luckily it isn't a cold one!

This was Dusty. He belonged to Paul who put the heater in. He was a lovely 7 month old Kelpie Collie cross. He spent the day outside on the lawn watching the chooks and being very well behaved!

l also spent a bit of time pruning back two huge old rambling bushes that obscure our view from the bedroom window. A little bit more of the house can now peek out! This Winter when the tree is dormant we will prune back (almost to death!!) the huge Pom Pom Tree at the front. Hopefully it will grow back and we DON'T kill it but we really do want to open up the front of the house a little bit more.

After that there was really only time for a quick wander up the back and then dinner!

Back to work tomorrow but Geoff still has three days off. Its been a great holiday albeit a very hard working one!

Still going!

Bit of a slower start this morning due to the rather late night Geoff and l had the night before!!

Up and at it though and today we separated and headed off doing different things! Geoff went up to the goat shed and extended the overhang out the back that gets all the weather and l started digging post holes!

Where we hang the washing is where the geese live. That's all well and good but geese poop......a lot......... There's no joy in going outside with an armful of washing and having to side step around duck and goose poo all the time! We decided to make a simple barrier to prevent them from getting into that area completly.

Of course, jobs always take longer then what you think so by the time l had dug the holes, Geoff had finished the overhang and we had some lunch, the day was fast disappearing! Before we knew it it was 2pm and l thought it would have been about 12.30!Finished it all by 5pm although it still needs a gate at the end. The geese and ducks were incredibly inquisitive and hung around and watched us all day. When it was finished they checked it all out and nibbled at everything! It's not the most beautiful structure but it will be much nicer to go out there in bare feet if l want to!!

l could also take off the gate that goes into the orchard which will be so much easier as we can now head out with the laundry basket without having to open a gate whilst laden down with wet washing! Woohoo! l gave the girls and boys one last chance to sneak up to the gate to have a final look before they get banished from there forever!

Geoff then shot off and did an hours brush cutting while l cleaned up, put it all away and fed the animals. We then headed off to the Hay Paddock to make a start before it gets too wet on clearing back some of the Cracked Willow that's overhanging the boundary fence.Cracked Willow is a beautiful tree but an absolute weed and very destructive. It is all leaning on the fences to point of breaking , so if we can make a start clearing the fence line it will be good thing.

It was so funny, when Geoff started the chainsaw poor little Lizzie and Tinks took off in fright like little bats out of hell and stood in the middle of the paddock wondering what on earth was going on!

Toggles however didn't bat an eye! Not even a whisker! l actually got quite concerned as she had no qualms at all about ambling over to where Geoff was cutting and l was terrified she was going to get squashed by a falling tree!!!

It was either that or she kept hopping in the Ute! Even when Geoff got in and revved the engine...nah............!!

The  Hay Paddock is the only area l get a slight twinge of concern about Lilli being prime eagle fodder! She sits right slap bang in the middle on the ever alert for a wallaby maybe popping its head out somewhere so she can chase it. l finally ended up putting her in the Ute as l got sick of having to look up in the sky every two minutes to make sure she wasn't being sized up from above for a quick snack!!

We loaded up the Ute just on dusk with all the cuttings of the limbs and took them up to the sheep and cows. What a treat! They LOVE Willow!

Got home just to see the most beautiful sunset over the house. Both weary and hungry, oh and no heater!!! Tomorrow now apparently! My last day off before l have to go back to work!! Waaaaaa!

Hobart

Today we travelled into Hobart to have Geoff's final monthly hospital check up. Which he passed with flying colours. He now only has to go in once every two months. It was a beautiful morning and as the hospital appointment was at 8am we spent a half hour or so walking around the City BEFORE the shops opened! Very nice!

We then had to go to the Crown Lands Department to pay for the Grazing Licence for the strip of Crown Land that passes through our property. All done with minimal fuss and collected Sushi on the way home for lunch! Yum!! Checked out some televisions on the way back as we thought we might get one for the long winter nights and headed home early afternoon.Didn't achieve a lot once we were back as the electrician came at 4pm. We fixed the hinges on the goat shed shutters so they swing up and down beautifully and can be lifted up during the day and closed down on the coldest nights!

Just had time for a quick wander around before it got too dark. Hey , you've heard of one man and his dog? How about one man and his goat!!!

Just checking out the car.haven't been in there for a while!!

Finished off our day with a delicious meal of home made potato and bacon soup, red wine roast pork and hot buttered bread! Hmmm not good for the waistline but excellent for the soul!!

Goat Palace Part Two!

Up early this morning to finish off the goat shed. Out came the Ute still loaded up with gear and back round the shed we went! l don't think we would have been very popular neighbours today with angle grinders cutting tin, hammers, drills and nails going all day! l went to the barn at one stage to get something and the noise echoing off the hills sounded like guns ricocheting! Oops!

Lilli unimpressed yet again and this time spent the day (on the pink blanket) snuggled up in the Ute

Roof on and now the sides to stop the wind

The tin was given to us by some friends of ours who have just re roofed their old place. Its a gorgeous very old green colour which looked rather lovely with the rust coming though

Voila! One sheltered Goat Shed! They can now go outside and not get wet, the rain will no longer blow into their beds and the wind shouldn't either! Happy cosy goats! The two panels to the left of the shed l made with hinges so in summer or at any time we want we can lift them up to let the breeze in but on a cold wintry night they are closed up to keep it really snug..(Spoilt... spoilt... spoilt!!!!!)

From the back........... looks as old as the shed its attached to... perfect!!!

Hard to get reaction from the girls!! They were very very interested though.

And checked out every nook and cranny...

The door here closes shut too. This is just for us big people to access the yard.

They all even went outside to check it out from the other way!

Mr Super Talented then grouted up the joints in the fire hearth. It goes in now on Wednesday not Thursday! Rush to get the electrician in tomorrow so he can disconnect the power point behind the fire! Its all systems go! A big day but we achieved heaps!



The Goat Palace!

Began our Sunday with the most delicious scrambled eggs. You really can't beat home grown eggs!

Today was put aside as the day we revamped the goats shed! As you probably gather by now our goats are very spoilt and very loved! One thing goats HATE is the rain! Their shed at the moment is not very wind and rain proof so today was the day the extension went on. Veranda and all!

The Ute got loaded up and off we went!

Lilli is more suited to inside life so sitting outside all day wasn't really her thing! We finally compromised by getting her blanket so she quite happily curled up on that for the afternoon! Half an eye kept on the sky as  several big Wedge Tails were circling above!!

Due to a very lovely but unexpected visit from some friends of ours, we didn't get quite as far as we hoped on the work but finished the timber frame and the tin goes on tomorrow! The goats will be very snug and cosy in readiness for the Winter ahead!

And today is one year on exactly that Geoff finished his Radiation Therapy. When he had the chemo he lost a small tuft of hair at the back of his head right down at the base of the neck.When it grew back it grew back virtually black! He never cut it and it grew and grew! It became sort of a Talisman and one year on today we thought it was fitting to chop it off!   It was still very black (compared to the rest!) A year gone by and he is hale and hearty again. Still skinnier but all good and a very different person to this time last year!!!

Hearths and The Light Horse!

Next Thursday our wood heater goes in! We can't wait!!! First things first though..... we had to put in the hearth. Actually the very first thing was to decide WHERE to put it!!! We brought it in and plonked it in the corner (it was very heavy!)

We then got a box about the same size as the heater and a piece of cardboard the same size as the hearth and moved the whole room around till we found the best place for it. It was in fact in the original spot we had decided for it but we just had to be sure! It would be an expensive mistake to have got it wrong!

 

Treeka wasn't impressed as it took up a fair bit of her bed!

 

Then of course the hearth making began in earnest. Quite simple really, a piece of cement sheet straight onto the carpet. A bed of mortar and pavers on the top. All to the regulation length and width.

Armed with all the right tools it didn't take long for Geoff to cut everything to shape (with fancy appropriate mask .......which made him look like a terrorist..........)

One hearth. All looks bland and boring there at the moment but the pavers have to be sealed and the wooden surround to go on the edges. The pavers are terracotta but are a bit browner then we thought...but we still like them!

Then we scooted down very briefly to the Focus on Franklin on the Village Oval.It's a wonderful local event held once a year and organised by a very dedicated and devoted bunch of people.(Dad included...... well l think Dad did most of it...............well done Pa!)

The oval was alive with activity, stalls, music, Punch and Judy shows. Zumba dancing, wood chopping, a quilt exhibition, an apple cake competition, an art exhibition, water events, dragon boats and the Tasmanian Light Horse who were just fantastic. We didn't stay long but long enough to appreciate the amount of work it takes to organise something like that...l wouldn't know where to begin!!! In between rain showers l think it was a very successful day........lets wait and see if Dad raises his hand to do it again NEXT year!!!

Geoff had a couple of pictures in the Art Exhibition this one being our favourite of the two..

All in all a lovely day...................