Jemima's Next Adventure

Jemima was my DD's Favourite Companion and together they went on many Adventures.  They were Inseparable and When DD grew up, Jemima took up residence on the Laundry Shelf waiting for the day when she would once again be called to Go on an Adventure.

And Before going on an Adventure - You must of Course Look your best!

Such was the case with Jemima.

* * *

The other day I took her off the shelf and, 

after explaining to her that she did in fact NOT look her best - 

She needed a Bath!

We started with Washing her hair.

Years of Play, Dirt Dust and Memories fell out of those Golden Locks.

I was encouraged and She was slightly Impressed!

So we decided that, seeing it was a Very Hot day outside. A Girls Spa Day would be Fun.

After all - Who wants to look like a Chimney Sweep when going on an Adventure?

When seeing the "Special Spa Soak" Jemima was a little concerned that She would Vanish all away - 

But I assured her it was JUST the dirt we wanted Gone.

I left her to herself to Soak up the Pampering! 

When I returned, Oh My Goodness!

The Little Face with the Bright Eyes that I remembered was smiling up at me.

"I am ready for my Spin in the Salad Bowl now!"

And once she was fully dry - 

It was time to find her Other Companion - Ted.

And together Ted and Jemima are ready to meet a New Little Girl and Go on More Adventures!

"Holiday" Projects Pt. 2

Meanwhile....
There was another project that had been put off until "Time and Funds permit".

This one was to help DS#1 build a deck around his home.

This also took some working out to do considering it was wrapping around the building and took several days to set the foundations and bearers in place.

Once he was happy with that, it was Smooth Sailing to get all of the boards Secret nailed down. 

Even if it was just 3 runs a day!

We had 30+℃ temperatures to contend with and NO shade. 
So it also took longer than planned to complete.

Almost done! Another project off the list and before Holidays ended!

And while the Guys were working, there has been some important Grand-Daughter bonding sessions.

Little Miss A - worked on a serious Moustache and Mono-brow look with a Babyccino that was more Chocolate Powder than Milk foam.

And Miss H decided that my Patchwork Multi-board made a great Sensory toy and enjoyed running her nails down the Sandpaper page.... 

Oh well at least Mum didn't have to trim the nails that day!

 
Splitting our time between 3 other households has kept us busy.  

But there is also work to do on the Home Front and today it was an Agriculture Victoria required Mite Check on the Hive.

We have NO Varroa Mite in Australia but we are still required to check for them - and any other nasties as well.  

Happy to report - All was well.

And we even got a tiny taste of what awaits us when we can harvest some Honey!

* * * * *

Footnote: We were not the only ones helping with this project. DS#1 also had much valued help from his DFIL!

"Holiday" Projects Pt. 1

Christmas has come and gone for another year.  The Family are on Holidays and all those projects that have been postponed during various Lockdowns have now come to the "Top of the List".

First off was to source some much needed Shade for DS#2's small town house.  

Being built out of Black Bricks and facing North West makes for an uncomfortable Summer.

Fortunately, we came across a suitable (within Budget) awning at Bunnings.

Once we worked out how to work around the Air conditioner conduit that was inconveniently above the door, it only took a couple of days to install.

The next Task completed was to help DSIL install Steps to their Front door.  

A project that was 8 years in the pondering. 
This photo makes it look like an easy task but believe me it was hard work. 

The soil is Highly reactive Volcanic Mud. 

Rock hard in the Dry and Sticky Impossible the rest of the time.  

We have watched Neighbours battle to build something, only to have it subside once the ground got Wet.

Our solution was to build frames that will 'float' over the Base soil that will hold Sandstone Pavers.

Will it work? 

Only time will tell!

The Step treads are Reclaimed Railway Sleepers - Some are so old they have Hand tooling marks on them.

There is still work to be done here - Planter Boxes to lock the pavers in place and create a raised Garden for easier maintenance.

SIL is happy with the results and the project was completed within his Week off.  

DD and Little Miss A think it's pretty cool too!

Happy New Year.

 2022

Another Day Dawns

A New Year is Born

New Beginnings - New Hope for a better Tomorrow

2021 - The Year in Review

 January 

Another Year that started with a Bang!

DD fell victim to a Grumpy Bee Sting ending up in Emergency

We received our own Girls compliments of a Swarm that settled nearby.

and I started a Year Long Challenge involving Half Hexagons!

February

Involved a Lot of walking... Combining our Hour of exercise with a trip to the Cafe (for Take-away) Gave us time to see the neighbourhood around us and take the occasional Shot of the Day Photo.

One of "Our Girls" perhaps?

March

I celebrated 10 Years of Blogging by condensing the last 10 years 

into 10 (OK 11) Photos.

I must admit some months it has been hard to fit in a Post but I enjoy it.

So I will continue my Journal (God Willing) into the next 10 Years

April

Was spent mainly fighting with my Laptop, 

finding I have way too many Photos of my Cat

And working on the Focus Cutting Half Hexagon Challenge.

April was also spent anxiously watching Covid Numbers 

and Borders that opened only to slam shut again.

May

We Celebrated Our 40th Wedding Anniversary 

with an Adventure. 

Melbourne, Perth,  Rottnest Island and the Indian Pacific Train departing 16th

all the Way to Sydney!

June

Posting about Our Adventures took most of June 

by the time I sorted photos, drew maps and checked facts.

July

I finished my 2019 Temperature Quilt

and continued with The Hexagon Mystery Quilt 

while still playing with Half Hexie Challenge blocks.

August

The Mystery Hexagon Quilt was finished and on the To Be Quilted Pile

Second Vaccine Shots were received

AND

Little Miss A Celebrated her 1st Birthday

in the only way we could ... Via Zoom.

September

Had me revisiting the Past.

Making a Wall-hanging from Scraps & Fixing a problem in the Linen Closet

Some restrictions lifted and we were able to meet DD half way for her Birthday

even if it WAS only in the carpark of a Shopping Centre!

(Takeaway Coffee and a Picnic in the back of Bessie)

October

Our Bees swarmed over the back fence 

triggering some serious maintenance for DD's Hive

AND

The Vic Government announced the end to ALL Lockdowns

just in time for Omicron to  make an appearance.

Only time will tell if this Variant is Worse than the last one.

November

My only November Post was to wish 

Little Miss H a Very Happy 1st Birthday

December

Was spent mainly with the Repair/Renovation of my Mother's Laundry

and getting over Some serious damage to my knee and shoulder.

(Curtesy of falling over Her Cat!)

and of Course Christmas!

God Bless All who Come here and join me each Month.

May 2022 be a Better Year for Everyone.

Christmas Time Again

 Sending Happy Aussie Christmas Greetings to All.

Isaiah 9:6

Between November and Now

 It all started with "There is Water in the Laundry"

Yeah - So?  
But it should not be Under the floor!

Somehow, (and it remains a mystery to this day),  enough water flooded my Mothers Laundry that it seeped under the Linoleum tiles and swelled the underlay causing large ripples in the floor.

We called a Plumber, who tested the area with a meter and declared there was indeed moisture present.

He advised us to call the Insurance Company who sent another Plumber who removed some tiles and the wet underlay to find...

Another floor under this one.

(I remember these tiles - a Blast from the Past when Dad laid the new floor over the old one.)

Taking one look at the subfloor he "Made Safe" and passed the problem to "The Assessor".

Who made a lot of measurements and discussed scenarios and sent Mother into a Panic attack by suggesting she move out for 3 weeks while it was fixed.

Now the next "Professional" to be sent was the Leak Detection Specialist.

He came to a conclusion and set to prove his theory come 'Hell or High Water'- Literally!

This is HIS photograph proving that Rain Water entered the Window through a gap in the TOP right hand corner.

The Green at the top of the photograph is a Shade Pergola that stretches under the Eaves from the brick wall to the neighbours fence 1.8 meters away.

Oh and it faces EAST. Very clever rain indeed!

This was deemed to not be a "Claimable Event" and we were to fix it ourselves!

Now I will not bore you with the details of the rebuild. 

We had a few issues but NONE were caused by leaking rainwater through the window!

When we stripped out the plaster - everything was dry with only a little evidence of damage that was decades old.

Thanks to a lot of help from my Nephew, My Mother now has a new Laundry Room that is safe and suitable for her. 

And she didn't have to move out while it was done!