Thursday, February 27, 2020

Hello Yoe!

A few weeks of disruption after losing our car La La Loopsy we were very happy to pick up our new one Yoe (number plate YOE 83E)! Lots of similar features to our last Mazda but a few new ones to get use to particularly with the entertainment system. Lots of beeping with blind spot, and reversing precautions! The roof racks have yet to be fitted so no bike carrying capacity at the moment. Otherwise, we are pleased to have our own set of wheels again!



Saturday, February 22, 2020

Lounge room makeover

While the cat is away the mice will play or perhaps reorganise the lounge room!! Andy chuffed off for a week to the US and us girls got a little bored. We took the plunge and ventured off to Ikea to purchase a new shelving system that we'd been eying off since late last year for the lounge room makeover. I'd already disposed of the unused huge desk along with the filing cabinet so the lounge room was already in a state of transition. Next to go was our 22 yr old Ikea shelving unit we bought in Perth!!



An evening spent assembling the three bookcases followed by organising things. We are happy with the outcome and so was Andy when he returned.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Occasional Orienteers

The orienteering summer series is held in Canberra on a Wednesday arvo which is tricky for us all to get to. Andy normally works from home on Wednesdays and would go given half the chance. Katy is keen as long as her friends go. Ella is not so keen on running so she mostly tries to avoid the events.  I ride to work on Wednesdays, so unless it's close to work or home then I can't make it. Saying that, we have managed to make a few more than most years.



Monday, February 10, 2020

Bigger and Better

Back in 2007, when we first moved into 5 Aston Cres, our fridge was a few cm's too big for the fridge space! It lived in the dining area for a few weeks until we bought a specific LG fridge - the only one that would fit into that fridge space.

 

And so in the next chapter of our life, in 2015, we did major renos on our house with minimal interference with the kitchen with the main exception being the fridge space. We opened up the kitchen by moving the fridge to the other wall which also allowed us to create a bigger space. Researching into fridges, we eyed a side by side fridge / freezer combination. Thus we created a fridge space with ample room for when were ready to upgrade (ie have the money!)

Now it's obvious that we don't really do things in a hurry cause finally we took the plunge to purchase the new fridge heading out on Boxing Day to secure a bargain. We were surprised though to discover that fridges had changed heaps during the 5 years!! On trend now are the French double doors fridges with pull out freezer drawer and they are all massive!! So much for our forward planning!

It all wasn't lost though as we found a couple of side by side ones finally settling on a Samsung. Delivery was slightly worrying when they couldn't fit the fridge through the back sliding door. Thankfully it easily fitted through the front sliding door and then with mm's to spare squeezed through interior door! I held my breath as it was eased into the fridge space fitting snugly! We were all very excited! I was happy to have a much bigger freezer as well as an increase in the fridge size. The rest of the family was hanging out to use the water and ice dispenser in the door!



During our shopping we also ended up buying a new induction cooktop, a new pyrolytic oven and new rangehood to replace our 20+yr old stuff that is just hanging on. These though require a little more expertise to install and are thus still in their boxes in the loungeroom waiting for that special someone....


Saturday, February 8, 2020

Ocean Creations and more

Ella is very impulsive when creations spring to mind. This week we've had the hot glue gun and sewing machine out for separate projects of course!

First up was the new jewellery stand....

 

Next, design your own halter top...

 




Tuesday, February 4, 2020

First Day of Year 5

Katy was excited to have her first day of Year 5! She returned home just as happy after being introduced to her teacher Jessie Wilson and her classmates that included good friends Mira and Alia!

 

Everyone left at the same time on bikes all heading in different directions. Ella in her shape (PE) top was still avoiding the camera.

 



Monday, February 3, 2020

Bye Bye La La Loopsy

Our car was booked in for it's hail assessment today. Andy was pretty sure it was going to get written off and replaced by a new one (we'd ticked the box new for old) had been doing lots of research into a replacement car including test driving a Rav4 hybrid this morning! I thought he was getting a little too excited and ahead of himself.

We drove into the warehouse in Fyshwick where the Wizard Hail Reapir Network has set up. Seated on the plastic chairs in the corner, we watched as La La Loopsy was assessed by a team of people. Within 10 minutes, an assessor approached to inform us that our car had been written off.

We'd purchased La La Loopsy, a Mazda CX5, hastily in 2013,  6 weeks before going on sabbatical to Oxford (full story here). La La Loopsy was insured for $18,000 however the assessors go by market value which was $12,000. Turns out La La Loopsy had 7 panels that needed replacing plus the drivers mirror and tail light.

Again we were instantly without a car!! I must admit I was a little stunned. In the few minutes that it took for Suncorp to organise an uber La La Loopsy was already on her way to who knows where....



High School!

Ella's education journey continued with her first day of high school! As tradition has it, all Year 7's and Kindy students start a day early to get accustomed to their new environment without the distraction of all of the other students. Andy and I rode with her to school to attend the first assembly. Ella seemed unfazed by this new transition and happily ventured off to find her friends! Unfortunately she wasn't at all keen to have this milestone documented and so these were the best photos I could get!!



Later in the day we received this photo...






Sunday, February 2, 2020

Welcome to Monty

Recovered from the trauma of losing Skittles and with the help of photo sent from Mia displaying a new stock of baby budgies at the local pet shop, Ella was keen to get a new bird. Barely unpacked from our beach holiday, Ella and Andy headed down to the pet shop to check out the situation.

Fortunately, this little guy caught Ella's eye. Monty is a slender, shy little guy who is settling into his new home nicely.







Sombre times

Time to return home! With the Namadgi blaze still vey active, we were concerned about the real potential that the Monaro highway would be closed due to fire / smoke risks. We could think of nothing worse than driving for 1.5 hours to get to a road closure with the only option to return the way we came. Hence we played it safe and headed north along the Princess Highway towards Batemans Bay adding an hour on to our trip home.

The drive was a fairly sombre affair as we drove through the destruction and devastation of the New Years fires. The little town of Mogo was hit hard. As was the section south of Batemans Bay where the fire took everything in its path. Kilometre after kilometre, the roadside trees were blackened, leafless with bare earth underneath. Interestingly interspersed between the blackened eucalypt trunks were the cream, pink and orange tones of the spotted gums. Curious as to why these trees looked mostly unaffected from the fires, I did a bit of research. Turns out that the white bark of the Spotted gum is smoother and thicker providing better protection. Also the bark peels off in patches rather than ribbons and the lower branches die off leaving a clean base. These features combined together make it hard for a fire to climb up the trunk.

 




Weaving up the Clyde, the lush undergrowth and tree ferns were long gone. Panoramic views across the valleys, that were normally obscured by thick vegetation, were enjoyed. Despite all this destruction, the bush was already beginning to heal and rejuvenate with bright green leaves from cycads and tree ferns dotted within the landscape and tuffs of leaves sprouting from some eucalypts. Sadly though it will take a long time to fully recover.




Saturday, February 1, 2020

Hot, hot, hot

Today was not a very nice day - the smoke was still hanging around, the temp rose to mid 30's and the Namadgi fire was growing. We did the usual bike ride and coffee before going to the beach. It was  still churning around like a washing machine so we didn't last long before retreating to the pool.

After lunch, Katy, Andy and I rode down to the Bega river. We wandered along the edge of the river discovering all types of birds and sea life including a dead octopus. We were also surprised to find the mouth of the river cut off from the ocean.