Thursday, January 21, 2016

Garden Pond - Summer Project #2

Meanwhile while Andy was busy building wardrobe interiors, I started on my project of turning our old turquoise bath tub into a pond! After deciding on the position of the bath, it was a little hard work digging the hole. Soon enough though the bath slotted into the said spot.

Discussions took place as to how the solar pump was going to work with Andy desperately wanting to re use the bath spout and tap too! We solved this by choosing and cutting various railway sleepers utilising an existing bolt hole to attach the spout. Must say it worked beautifully! Andy then capped the drain pipe and rigged up the solar pump. I added a few river pebbles and more sleepers around the edge and then it was time to add water!






Of course the girls couldn't resist getting a little wet after all if was a bathtub!

 

We gave the pond a few days while we dreamt of water plants and fish and went back to work......

Venture into Deep Space

With the thought of missing out on building wardrobes, Grandad immediately booked tickets for himself and Nana! First to arrive was Nana on Sunday night. The girls were very excited to wake Nana up in the morning. After a quick food shop and lunch, we picked up a friends of Ella's and headed off towards Tidbinbilla to the Canberra Space Centre.

On the drive in the large antennas were very impressive as they came into view. Turns out that only 4 of these big dishes are active. Noticeably the first dish you pass is the most famous - DSS46. Originally located at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station between 1967 and 1981, this antenna received and relayed to the world the images of astronaut Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon in July 1969.

These antennas are an integral part of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and forms part of the NASA's Deep Space Network. They provide communications between deep spacecraft missions as well as radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe.

Although only small, the Canberra Space Centre provides a wealth of information on the role Australia plays in the exploration of space. We checked out various fun facts about space missions from spacecraft to food to rovers. There was a small piece of the moon which is apparently 3.8 billion years old. We also tried on an astronauts suit for size! There was a small interactive section which kept the girls entertained for a short while plus several short videos. After an hour the girls had had enough learning.



Back in the hot car, we decided to drop in at the Cotter for a quick play...or wade in the river. Thankfully no-one got too wet and it was a really nice way to finish the afternoon.

 

Walk in Wardrobe Fit Out - Summer Project #1

Work began on Andy's side of the wardrobe which took shape fairly quickly. The Ikea drawers were already assembled just waiting to placed in the correct position. Andy worked away measuring and cutting only needing the occasional hand usually to hold something in place. He encountered several problems mainly associated with the position or lack of studs required to hold the shelving to the wall. Nevertheless this was the result after s couple of days! Grandad better hurry up and get over to Canberra if he wants to help out with the other side!!

Pottering Around

The nice things about holidays is there is not needing to meet busy schedules and thus do whatever suits (well between summer projects of course!)

Ella love to venture down the road to Marcus's house where they play minecraft, various boardgames and generally entertain themselves outside. Last weekend they managed to capture two butterflies in Marcus's net and hold them very carefully before setting them free again!





Meanwhile Katy inherited Mia's old roller skates and is pretty happy with that! She and Sofia took turns practicing rollerskating around the table on the front deck. We also cooked a summertime fruit cake - delicious for afternoon tea with friends!

 

We also made (another) trip to Bunnings for supplies required for Andy's main summer project - our walk in wardrobes fit out (more to come). Luckily for the girls, there was a kids craft activity to keep them busy while we shopped!









 











Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Summer Projects

Each year we usually embark on some project or other to keep us occupied over summer and often well into autumn. Most of the time the project sees Andy testing out his wood working and construction skills. This year however our renovations to-do list has turned into our summer project list!

We crossed off another painting job - this time it was the final coat on the extension cladding and timber windows. All looking lovely!

Then the new year started with a small tidy up out the back. Removing the old gate post and the stub of another pole opened up the entrance. We fixed the paving which had been lifted for the extension involving a little angle grinding to cut the pavers to size. Next job was to redo the sleeper edging and adding new steps which will lead to a new path (another job!). These simple tasks make the area look complete as opposed to a building site.




Note the hole in the bottom photo....it is the beginnings of the bath pond!



Saturday, January 9, 2016

Mr and Mrs Hairy Legs Update

We returned home from our walking adventure to find Mr and Mrs Hairy Legs gone although the cling wrap on the top of the bowl was still there. On closer inspection we spotted this...


and a little harder to see in this photo - if you look carefully you will see the orange stripe of the second caterpillar who was also busy making a cocoon covered with a few leaves!



Now we wait, checking everyday for any signs of action which I am led to believe may take months......

Also while we were watching for the first bird to inspect Ella's bird feeder which has found a home in the snow gum, Ella spotted from inside her bedroom Mr and Mrs Hairy Legs cousin!! He was almost double their size thanks to the on tap supply of juicy leaves!

So he also made it on to our daily watch list. Numerous visitors were introduced to him too. Sadly though yesterday morning he was nowhere to be seen. We are hoping he has gone in search of a stringybark tree in which to make his home and transform into a beautiful big moth.

Progress on Mr and Mrs Hairy Legs cocoons has been interesting. I'm a little concerned about the one with the leaves covering it as it seems smaller and less healthy looking. Meanwhile the other one has puffed up quite a lot and now has many tiny brown spines protruding from the outer surface of the cocoon!




Reno - Before and Afters

Finally a few before and afters of the renos. We still haven't signed off from the builder....just several mostly minor adjustments to make or finish off before we hand over the final instalment of cash plus the festive season got in the way!

What used to be Ella's room is now our room!


The old dining room is now more like an entry way.


 

Looking down the corridor to the bedrooms except now there is no corridor just a beautiful wood fire!





Looking into the old kitchen which only had a few minor changes.





The old kitchen from another angle and now looking into the new open plan living area!





Looking out from the corner of the old kitchen into now a large open dining area!





From the front door looking down the corridor which is no longer a corridor!



From the corner of our old bedroom and the walls are no longer there!





No before photo from this angle but I would have been standing in our bedroom!




And same for this one when I would be standing in the corridor looking into a wall!

Friday, January 8, 2016

Tallaganda Trails Day 2

After a hearty breakfast of porridge, we packed up camp and attended the opening ceremony to Fern Bridge. The stronger and sturdy bridge constructed by Max, Mira and Katy ensured we didn't get our feet wet for the start of our walk out.




Then through the bush we bashed in search of the track. The second section was tough going as the track swung away from the creek. The kids were faced with several steepish climbs which they handled well.








Again there was singing and various games of I spy and At my zoo alphabet game. Everyone was in good spirits despite the depletion of lollies in their bags. We found the perfect log at the top of the biggest climb for a rest.


From here it was all downhill through some lovely areas of forest. I particularly loved the huge tree ferns in one creek forming a tunnel with its large fronds.









 

Our discoveries weren't all related to the flora around us as Max spotted a set of rusty keys which I believe were heading into his special box at home.












     

Tiredness was creeping into our troops and by the end tempers were frayed! Our final challenge was to located the finish spot - the proper campground! Luckily all being used to orienteering, a shortcut through the scrub to the fire trail was not an issue. A few hundred meters down the road was our final destination.
 As the kids played and cooled off in the creek, the dads ran back along our route to the cars, then drove around to pick us up. They were both gained a different perspective of the 6km trail when running - it was a lot rougher and steeper!  Overall the walk was a great experience and good base from us to work from.