Carport extension and visits

The carport's extension has been finished a couple of weeks ago.

It looks very good and is very efficient as it shades the side of the house which gets very hot summer time.

Strong enough? Yes!

Building the extension

 But even a professional makes the occasional mistake , especially when you're looking for tricks to build something by yourself when it usually takes two men  to do the job…

I've heard once that humour is a sign of intelligence. At the time I asked myself;  is it really? I don't doubt it anymore. The ability to make people laugh, not at you, but with you, using your natural wit to turn an awkward situation into a comic situation can't be done by someone who is not intelligent.

We couldn't stop laughing when Sven realised what had happened.

Check  the next picture and laugh with us...

Can you spot the mistake??

Next project is the platform Sven will build on top of the extended carport.

All finished! The stairs to the platform will be where the ladder is

  The next two pictures are a quick collage to show you the view we will get when this project will be complete. Well worth it!

From the left corner

From the right corner

 

Another improvement for inside: the fans have been installed in prevision of summer, (which will be hot, no doubt). But the carport has already made a big difference, keeping the house much cooler..

Simone came to visit for three weeks and she loved it. Especially the cows next door as it reminded her of her childhood;  and the fresh vegetables , from the garden, we eat every night.

Simone enjoying the cows

And more cows!

And the vegetables

 

Phil also stayed with us for a few days and got to know Freja.

Her favourite pastime!

 Marika and Byron came up for the weekend and we celebrated Marika's 32nd birthday. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit . Freja did too, playing with Byron and licking Marika to death!

Country lunch

Happy Birthday Marika!

Birthday greetings from Freja

  Sven took them for a tour around Atherton, Tolga and Peeramon, which are not very far from Yungaburra.

Peeramon Hotel

Original pump still standing

Obsesion with phones?

 Every year a pig hunt is organized at the Peeramon Hotel (competing for the biggest feral boar).

We'll definitely check the venue and meet the locals next year, as we're told it's a very interesting weekend!

The arrival of Freja!

Well it's been a while since our last post.

The reason is the new arrival of our 12 weeks old puppy… An English brindle staffy. We named  her Freja (pronounced Freya) after a Viking goddess.

She's beautiful and full of life, as babies are…

She adapted very quickly to her new home and Sven had to build a temporary fence around the patio to keep her safe and out of mischief in the big garden. So much to explore!

Where can I go now?

She keeps us on our toes all the time. But when she sleeps (like a baby) she is so very cute!

Sleeping like a baby!

We had to make this area as puppy-proof as possible, of course, meaning shoes , newspapers, hand towel, hats, cushions, etc... out of reach. But there is always something that falls in her paws or jaws, which are already very powerful! So we bought her a big bone...

I'll get that bone...

She is fascinated with the cows but doesn't bark, just looks….

Watching... Watching...

My mum, Simone, was there when we picked her up and she loves her.

Simone and Freja

She is a very cheeky little puppy, up and about all the time…

Her favourite place!

Second favourite!

Then suddenly falls asleep!

Wherever she's comfortable...

She knows how to get to our hearts whenever we tell her off. She cocks her head on the side and stares at us, with her lovely puppy eyes, as to say "What's wrong with you now?"

What did I do ???

We have lots of fun with her and we love her.

I'm home now!!!

Welcome to your new home Freja!

Birthday, carport, firewood shed...

My 60th birthday was last Friday. It was a good day. My mum has been here for two weeks now and our mate Phil came from Cairns to help mark the occasion, with new crocs (shoes) and a birthday cake.

He also brought fresh prawns (lucky as the red claws have been scarce).

Mum and a red claw

We started celebrating at lunch time with seafood and a couple of beers, then 3..4…10…? We then had bloody-maries before dinner which was an easy BBQ cooked by the men. Then of course champagne with the cake!

Just before mum retired about 1.00am

A little later Phil and myself

Much later as you can see!

We ended up in bed at around 4am, after a visit from Kermit and his mate, which probably liked the swedish and french music.

Let's party!

Where did you go party-pooper?

I can tell you I really felt like 60 the next day! But we had a ball.

Nevertheless, beware of what you're wishing on you 60th birthday!

 I wished for rain as everything was so dried. The grass was down to nothing and brown. No matter how much water I was putting on the vegetables every night, the next morning the soil was dry again. Don't get me wrong they still flourished and I had to harvest the snow peas and tomatoes every second day!

On the Sunday we had a huge storm that came from nowhere, all of a sudden we had like a mini cyclone that lasted about 45 minutes. Branches from the tree in the farmer's paddock landed in our garden  with its fruits plump and ripe scattering our lawn like Easter eggs! (Pity we don't know if they're edible and are not game to try). The veggie patch took a beating as well, snow peas and tomatoes got pushed to the ground, as  the dill and coriander (goodbye seeds…?). But with a bit of TLC they might still be ok.

Poor veggies after the storm

 Dill looking very sad

Do they look edible to you?

We even had hail for 5 minutes. (Never witnessed hail in the tropics before!). That's when the rain started and hasn't stopped since. But I'm not complaining… yet!

Weatherzone reports: **Cairns has seen one of its heaviest one day rain totals with more than 224mm of rain falling steadily. The city rarely sees this much rain, except during cyclone season, and the last time it exceeded 200mm in a one day was with Cyclone Yasi!

Many parts of the Northern Tropical Coast and Tableland district or from the Daintree Village to Cardwell and just inland have seen rainfall totals of 100-200mm over the past 24 hours, with Goldsborough Alert topped the gauges at 317mm.These downpours look to be kicking off an early start to the wet season!**

We're very lucky that Sven has finished building the carport next to the house, the cars are now parked safe and dry and will be cool (when the sun comes out again).

Ian had to help with his tractor to dig the holes for the posts, as the ground was as hard as concrete!

Ian's tractor at work

Fine machine!

Even Penny agrees

Then Sven  concreted the posts in, and the rest quickly went up, as usual. The longest part was waiting for the materials to be delivered, which was frustrating. If they could have fitted on top of his van he would have picked them up. But too long and too heavy.

Posts up

Posts concreted

Purlins up

However, it was all finished last Thursday, just before the storm!

Job done

Mind you, while waiting for the materials to be delivered,Sven also built a firewood shed, made out of recycled timber.

We used to have all the timber for "Old Benny" stacked under a tarp, but noticed that rats were nesting under, stealing  the macadamia nuts  left  to dry in a basket on the patio table. (They are now inside… No more free feed for vermin… ) We have to use a vice to crack the nuts open, they only use their teeth to make a neat hole. Wish I had their teeth! Oops... careful, no... I'm safe (I hope) it's not my birthday anymore!

The firewood shed is much more practical and cleaner too. 

Nice and tidy firewood shed

Guess what? Sven is now extending the carport, that is in between rain showers… 

Can't keep  still for a minute!

 

The best improvement

The best improvement since we moved in, is no doubt, the ensuite.

Very roomy with lots of cupboard for storage, which was lacking in the house.

Sven started mid May with connecting the plumbing.

Sewer line

Plumbing

Then came the form setting for the slab, which was poured ten days later.

Concreting the slab

Slab almost completed

A week after, the framing for the walls started going up complete with cyclone rods . 

Then the water pipes connected,  the shower sill, the inside walls. 

The roof and ceiling came up next, the electricity connected.

Framing the walls

Roof is on

Water connected

It was time to cut the wall from the bedroom. Cutting is not really the word, maybe smashing the besser blocks? (which is not for the faint hearted)! 

He carefully removed the window and re-installed it on the outside wall of the ensuite, put a gutter up and the fascia board.

Wall cut, window re-fitted

 

Then the vanity was installed, the toilet was connected, the shower and the floor tiled… 

We then had a functional ensuite only a month after he started and working on it all by himself!

All the "little" finishing touches came later, grouting ,window framing,  plastering, sanding, painting and I probably miss a lot of things. But we both agree it was all worth it.

Tiling

Grouting

The washing machine was moved from the patio to the ensuite where it now lives. I always feared that a green frog would enter it and get washed out...

At last an ensuite!

All finished

Very practical

I have to add that at the same time he started on the ensuite, he also worked  with erecting another shed, next to the existing one.  

Spot prepared for shed

Shed erected

Concreting the shed floor

For those of you who know how much bits and pieces he collected over the years, this shed came very handy, it is now full!

But a lot of these "bits and pieces" came very handy and were recycled in the building of the ensuite.

Shed completed

The original shed now has a twin brother...

You might wonder where was I while all this was going on? 

Well, I was nursing a nasty skin cancer surgery (which is still in the healing process). So apart from helping him every now and again when he needed an extra hand to hold things, (which wasn't very often), I was snapping pictures… But don't worry, I won't upset you with pictures of my wound...

I was also sewing curtains, emptying boxes after boxes, moving furniture from one place to the other, cooking, cleaning... oh well, doing things that a woman should do after all!

I think I've found another name for Sven... 

Instead of Viking I'll call him "Hercules". Very befitting don't you think?

Viking / Hercules