2008 Winter, -keeping busy

[keith]

well, we woke up in the second week of July and looked out the bedroom window..


It was still snowing after 9am in the morning. Multi-layers were the order of the day-


It was strange to see parrots in the snow!


I should have got the washing in the night before!


The front garden was magical-

[keith]

Maybe the mailbox needs central heating!


This is straight out my window at the computer


and with it cold outside the kitties were keen to stay in.


Asti is the one who always gets up on the bench & drinks from the sink. The others understand 'NO'. With three weeks school holidays Ashara & I are doing Maths revision and driving lessons...

[keith]

I'd been looking for a KE70 Corolla for Ashara to learn to drive in, and after a month or two when Dijo was in Sydney for work, she took a look at a couple. She reckoned the wagon looked OK, so paid for it & I went to Sydney to drive it back.


I wanted something nice that Ashara could run for 5years, until she was working and got some money together. A KE70 from the 1980s, so it was rearwheel drive and easy to fix. It was a heap of rubbish actually, owned by a wannbe boyracer, so the decision was to sell it as quick as possible. I spent a couple of weeks sorting out odd problems, put a sign in the back window and a guy turned up who said it suited him perectly.

He paid what we paid for it, and the next morning Ashara & I were on the 5.30am bus to Sydney. This time we bought the one at the dealer, $1800 instead of $1100, immaculate but an auto instead of the manual gearbox I wanted.


Ashara started her driving career driving it back from Sydney! Then she had to chammy it down to get the frost melt off the next morning. Merlot walked passed at the wrong moment!


So we've been doing 2hours of maths and an hour of driving every day for the holidays...

The girls heading out...

[keith]

Now we're getting to the end of July, Ashara is back at school and Dijo away for a week at a mine.

A strange box arrived yesterday..


and inside was a small forest!


Guava, lime and lemon trees.

Next was a parcel at the Post Office, but not my missing Datsun doors seals..
Diggers Club spuds, half a dozen different types.


My random ones in the garden are suffering some frost damage under their bubble-wrap, but they might be OK. We have one more cold spell to get through I think, next month. The cabbages/caulis are loving having ice crytals on them every morning!

[keith]

There were two rust holes in the corolla, in the boot seal area where two panels meet, so they needed welding and a respray. I figured I would strip the two doors that had tiny rust spiderwebs under the paint just showing as well, and re-spray the roof as the front & rear edges are stripped from using a car wash for twenty years.... then I included the front mudguard which had been panelbeaten and the paint was bubbling off... and I might as well fix up the ratshit paint respray someone did on the bonnet valence..

Now it looks like this!!


Today I figured I'd get a surprise organised for Dijo, for when she gets back on Sunday night-


Off to the saddler (and he's a barber.. true story! ) and the ponytail is gone! Back to ducksbum's curls & a stiff beard! I put a Tshirt on after a shower just now and automatically felt behind my head to flick the ponytail out of the shirt!!

Now to surprise Ashara when she gets out of the play they've gone to see tonight!