Monday...30 December 2013

Looked outside yesterday and saw a large amount of smoke that looked like it was only a couple of large paddocks away! Turned out the distance could be measured in kilometres, but the fair sized fire required 19 trucks and two water helicopters to bring it under control according to the CFA website.

In the meantime both the daughter and I instantly looked for our men and wouldn't you know it, they had all left the property and they were not answering their phones, in fact mine had left his at home. We tried the two way and you guessed it, they had that turned off too. The daughter even drove to another property looking for them. Several lectures fuelled by varying degrees of frustration and fright were delivered on their arrival back home. They only made things worse by saying they knew the fire was there before they left and that as they did not deem it to be a threat, they didn't bother to tell us! I know who I will not be relying on the next time I see smoke!

Wednesday...25 December 2013

So that was Christmas 2013. This is our table ready for lunch. Very elegant.
We got up late, shared gifts then ate until we were stuffed. The meal was wonderful and we finished with pavlova and trifle. Then we all had a nanny nap and did it again for tea only this time we finished with Christmas Pudding.  A most pleasant day and our thanks to the daughter and her family for letting us share it with them.

Sunday...22 December 2013

It's raining! A nice quiet gentle rain.
Yesterday, with help from the daughter, I finished all the shopping I needed to do.
I am not a fan of Christmas, it has just not been the same since I left home all those years ago. Through the years I tried to keep the traditions going but like all the old ways things are changing and I must change with them so this year for the first time I have not even sent out cards. That sure feels funny.
We will be having the traditional dinner but I am not required to cook it. And as the daughter has a dishwasher I will not even have to do the washing up. Wonderful!
Whilst I do enjoy eating it, one of the 'traditions' I will not miss is sweltering in a hot kitchen to cook a hot dinner in the middle of the Australian summer. There is a lot to be said for cold meat and salad........
While I have been shopping up a storm, the men have been doing all sorts of jobs. They have cleaned the header and put it away now that harvest is over. They got the down pipes onto the gutters of the new shed so this little bit of rain can begin to fill the tank beside the shed. They have pumped water out of another smaller tank that is going to be the rain water supply for relatives who have moved from a farm into town and they have realigned one of the underground water pipes to bring water to the new shed.
This new shed is beautiful and we have parked our caravan partly into it. The front end hangs out into the yard but we have shade over most of the caravan. The dogs here love the shade under the caravan and we know to look under it if we cannot see them.
As we travel to the different parts of Australia we notice the altering wildlife.
This morning I heard a Kookaburra singing his song into the rain and of course we have plenty of the ever present pink and grey Galahs and Corellas. In the tree out the front of the house is a family of owls and somewhere nearby is at least one fox. The rabbit is making a comeback right across Australia as we are seeing more and more of them. There were a couple hopping around my sisters yard in the early morning most days while we were there.

Thursday...19 December 2013

Had fun at my sister's place for the last three weeks but have now moved back to our daughters in Horsham for Christmas.
Long drive in very hot conditions today.
When we arrived the weather was 42! It is now 11.30pm and the temperature is still in the high 30's.
I have the air conditioner running flat out and will not be turning it off any time soon!!! We have parked our caravan inside the new shed which is providing a lot of shade and will be handy over the next few days until the promised rain arrives to cool things down a bit before Christmas.
Will be very busy finishing my Christmas shopping and then it will be time to sit back and relax and enjoy the time with family.

Monday...16 December 2013

I have just about given up reading RealEstateDotCom.  It appears unlikely that we will find our patch of land at give away prices any time soon. I feel that while I am personally becoming a little needy to find us a base to call home, I am reminding us to be cautious of making a hasty purchase that will turn out to be a bad decision as time passes. Some things take time and time is something we have plenty of, God willing.
The weather is improving by the day. Yesterday was a pleasant 26 and last night was cool enough to make sleeping easy. Today is going to be 31 with gradual increases for the rest of the week up to 40 by the weekend. Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Friday...13 December 2013

Guess what? Estate agents have Friday off too! Different area, different agents, same result. Four properties we would like to look at have a "contact agent for address" notation. All attempts to contact the agents met with a recorded message saying the office was unattended and please leave a message. Seriously tempted to leave a message that says, "Never mind I will take my business to another franchise" and then hang up without leaving a call back number. How do these companies do business or make money? Do they ever really sell anything?  I swing between frustration and despair as our search for a permanent base hits all sorts of roadblocks.

Wednesday...11 December 2013

Yesterday we drove up to Echuca to meet with one of my many brothers and we spent the day looking at properties all over his district. What was surprising was the lack of selling agents available to talk to about anything that we were interested in. At every office we visited we were told that the agent was not in today but would we like their card so that we could give them a call? Is Tuesday the real estate rostered day off?
So we drove all over the place and got into and out of the car several times and walked all over town to read shop windows and now my legs ache. Finding a new base is hard work!