Day 3 - The Barossa Continues

Continuing our Day Tour of the Barossa.

Next Our Group enjoyed more Wine Tasting at the small Family owned Rusden Winery.

DH, and I wandered around the grounds admiring the many Rustic Sculptures 

and having a Long Chat with 

'The Guardian of the Gate'

We learned all about Why Roses are planted beside Grape Vines 

Originally it was to stop the Horses cutting corners. Later it was found that Roses show signs of the Phylloxera pest that devastated the Vine industry in the late 19th Century well before infestation can occur in the vines. 

So it is a 'Canary in the Mine' scenario.

We continued our Trip Via 

The Barossa Chocolate Factory

To Cheese Tasting

And a Pub Lunch in Angaston. 

Moving On - Our next stop was Chateau Dorrien. 

This time I was interested in joining some of the Group trying not their Wines but their Mead

.. and actually brought home a couple of very nice samples!

Last stop for the day was a BIG Fan (Bucket List) moment!

I don't think there would be anyone in Australia that doesn't know and adore Maggie Beer. 

And an indulgence Stop (for our driver who wanted Coffee) at her Pheasant Farm property was an unexpected extra delight.

There were Photo Ops in her Kitchen where she filmed 

"The Cook and the Chef" series

And lots of goodies to tempt us - Some even made their way home via Aust. Post!

And of course how could we not have Coffee and beautiful Passionfruit Curd Tarts at this awesome venue.

Before heading back to Adelaide via the Date Palm lined roadways out of the Barossa.

Today I learned a Lot of Things.  I learned

Why they plant Roses with Grape Vines

Why there are Date Palms planted everywhere

Why I can't drink Wine - but can drink Mead

That some Cheese is nice

and Some Desserts are not

That People are Generous and Don't Judge

And most Importantly I learned to 

Not be afraid of Going on a Tour "Just because I Don't Drink"

Day 3 - The Barossa (Part 1)

Today was a Scheduled, Part of our Holiday Package, Outing.  The Barossa Valley is said to be one of the World's Great Wine Regions, famous for it's Bold Red Wines and Rich Wine making Heritage.

First Stop was Chateau Tanunda.

  

Built in 1890, abandoned in the 1980s and beautifully restored in 1998 she stands magnificently amongst green lawns and Vines, some of which were planted, before the Chateau was built in 1850.

I was fascinated by the beauty of the Architecture and started taking Photos of anything and everything that caught my Artistic Eye.

This led to a conversation about Photography and on learning that DH and I actually don't drink and wouldn't be participating in the Wine Tasting

Our Hostess promptly gave us a short Private Tour of the Private (Locked) Wine Cellars - 

So I could get some Awesome Photos!

I was Honoured to be given such a wonderful opportunity and took full advantage of the time.

We were even allowed 

"Beyond the Velvet Rope" to enjoy 

'The Best View' of the Cellar Floor.

I have no doubt that the Wines were beautiful - Their Hospitality was certainly phenomenal and the others in the Group were adequately Impressed.

Next Stop....

Day 2 - Glenelg Beach

Today we had a Free Day and decided to do something different.  Today we 'cashed in' our Mystery Picnic Voucher that DD gave us for Christmas 2019!

A little explanation may be necessary.

You choose the Location - 

For us it was Glenelg SA

Because we could get there by Public Transport and do the Picnic on Foot.

There are more 'exotic' locations but that involves driving.

The night before we received our first clue.

A puzzle that needed solving to take us to our First stop where we picked up our first Picnic Ingredient and unlocked our next clue.

You get the Idea.

We followed clues and continued to pick up Picnic Ingredients for the next couple of hours

all the while exploring a part of Adelaide that we hadn't previously visited.

Once the final clue was solved - We wandered over to a Picnic Table and enjoyed as much of our 'loot' as possible.  

There was SO much food!

A wonderful Gift and an awesome way to fill in a Day.

Taking a Break - Day 1

Walking out on newly polished boards so that they could 'harden up' before moving furniture made sense - Just as well we had a Holiday Booked!

So we packed our bags and headed off to the Local Bus, which took us to the Local Train Station which (eventually via a Rail Removal Bus) took us to Melbourne's Southern Cross Station.

Where we boarded 'The Overland'.

  

This is a 10 ½ hour Train journey which took us from Melbourne to Adelaide, with a few stops to pick up and drop passengers along the way.

What better way to fill in a whole day?  

Watching the Australian Countryside roll by ...

with THIS much Leg Room!

The carriage was full - Not that you'd know it!

We 'splurged' on Red Premium Tickets 

which gave us slightly better seating, 

2 Hot meals, Snacks and Drinks (Alcohol not included)  for the duration of the Ride.

Arriving at Adelaide's Keswick Station (Home of the Ghan) we checked out various ways to get to the Hotel.

I was intrigued by the suggestion of taking an Electric Scooter - whilst carting 2 suitcases each - along the streets of Adelaide.

But chose the Bus instead.

We COULD have taken Taxis to and from each of the Major Train Stations - 

But where is the adventure in that?

December - Part 1

By now we have finished all the painting that we could possibly do - for the time being.  

I had got it down to a fine art with a couple of indispensable DIY ladder holsters - which meant I could multi-task!

Every stick of furniture we owned was stacked 

somewhat precariously in places

into the back of the house.

Let the Polishing begin!  

This is also not a DIY job and we were more than happy to Outsource to "Done by Dulux".  

Out goes the old now "Orange" 2 pack sealer

And in comes the Cabots Low Odour Natural Sealer in a Matt finish.

These Guys worked so efficiently we didn't know they were done until they said "We'll close the door on the way out!"

WOW - we could walk on it (in socks) in 2 hours.

And now have our beautiful Tasmanian Oak Floorboards to show off again!  

What a difference it has made!

And at this point we

Walk out on it all.....

A Little Housekeeping

 Photo Dump Part 2

Working in the Backyard with a Hive full of sometimes Cranky Bees comes with the very real probability of being stung.  And Garden maintenance in a full bee suit is not really practical. 

2nd October

So now that the Girls are off to Greener Pastures - DH decided to finish laying the path behind the Bungalow. After all - We did have a few bricks left over from the Chimney demolition.

Another "Small" job off the list!

9th November:

I was happily Painting the Kitchen when the Refrigerator started Beeping - That incessant "Someone has left the door open" sound.

It probably only needed a new door seal but NO ONE would repair it.

FOUR Days of wearing Noise Cancelling Headphones later we were able to get a new one delivered.

Which of course involved moving everything that had been stored in the back room away from the doors so they could bring the new one in.

(They don't make this style in White anymore so I had my choice between "Rubbish Bin Silver" and "Dark Stainless" - So Black it is!)

* * *

The Rest of this Post is really for MY records. But you are welcome to keep reading.

The easiest way to repaint a house is to keep the same Colour Pallet you already have - Especially IF it Works.  So with that decision made:

Ceilings were mostly painted in Taubmans Chalk Half Strength and we were literately Scraping the Bottom of the Pot to finish the job. 

The rest of the rooms were painted in Ray of Light. 

Kitchen and Passage/Office remained in Celery Bisque and the wonderful Staff from Haymes Paint Colour matched the Accent for the Cornice as well as the Green from BR#3

The Sewing Room also kept its Mountain Stream Colour - A Taubmans colour but we used Haymes Expressions Paint this time.

That left the Front room, wanting a colour change in here I still had no idea what colour to choose. So - Why not? "Use the next one on the Paint Card" And that is how it ended up the colour it is!

And woodwork got repainted in Dulux Aqua Enamel Semi-Gloss.

That just leaves a little housekeeping in the Garage. 

Taking any old, unusable, unwanted paint around to the Resource Centre and leaving it for Paint Back. 

(Recycling program for paint products.)

We also had a Detox your Home Day at the local Resource Centre and made good use of that!

Properly/Legally disposing of everything from Cosmetics to a Brown Bottle with POISON written on it.

November ...

 I fear that this will have to be a bit of a "Photo Dump"!

It hasn't all been Baby snuggles and quality time with the 3 Grand-daughters.  

Although we did manage a day for GD#2's 2nd Birthday when all 3 were together.

Most of the month has seen me:-

Patching...

a LOT of Patching

Painting

a LOT of Painting

Clambering around the ceilings using my Awesome 'worth every cent' adjustable trestles,

Finding better ways to do things

Watching our "Perfectly OK" playground ripped out and replaced with an almost identical one..

Keeping an eye on the ever rising Water Levels of Creeks (& Rivers) near and far.

(This one is opposite DS#1's home!)

We had an early morning trip to Town.

While we were there we saw the Myer Christmas Windows (without the crowds of Children).

In the middle of all of this - The 'Fridge packed up. It has an alarm when the temperature rises (door left ajar) It beeped for FOUR days - non stop until we could replace it.

Today we moved all the furniture out of our Bedroom and, well, It was not a pretty sight.  

We found where all the 'Dust Bunnies' have been hiding.  The thing is - Dust happens, it is just more noticeable on polished boards than Carpet.

Time to invest in a Robo Vacuum!  (In my defence - this was all under the furniture.)

DH has been helping too.  He is a Wiz with moving ladders and washing down walls!

We are almost done - just one more room and then we have to put it all back again!