Tag Archives: weather

Not DIY

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Although we successfully do many jobs around the house ourselves, there are some things are definitely best left to the tradesmen.

Just over a week ago we had heavy rain overnight which resulted in us receiving 80mm in about 12 hours. The next day we noticed a small puddle of water on the hearth around the heater in the lounge. A few days ago we contacted a local plumber who came the next day, checked the roof and found that the problem was a couple of splits in the rubber seal on the roof. He fixed this in next to no time and was on his way. GMan does not have a long enough ladder nor is he keen on climbing on the roof so this was definitely money well spent.

The water entered between the flue and the cowling on the ceiling. Thankfully, there is no long-term damage as we noticed it quickly.

This photo shows the front of the house originally. By the time we bought it the double garage had been converted to a lounge room but there was no additional landscaping outside.

After quite a bit of discussion we decided to extend the small terrace at the front of the house to include the area in front of the lounge. We contacted a concreter a couple of weeks ago and after finalising the details of what we wanted everything fell into place quite quickly.

The slab was laid today and once it is properly cured we will arrange for it to be polished and it will closely match the finish on the existing area.

Here are a couple of views of the freshly laid concrete.

Now that this is done, we are looking forward to further developing walkways and plantings in the front garden. Since the front of the house faces north we will certainly be making the most of the sunny aspect during the winter months.

A Hot Day

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We have had a remarkably mild summer so far but yesterday it really kicked into gear. The outdoor temperature at our place peaked at 40.5C. This is not remarkable compared to other parts of the country but it was certainly enough to make us choose to stay indoors. With the blinds drawn and a couple of ceiling fans we were quite comfortable for most of the day before turning the airconditioning on in the family room for 2 hours in the late afternoon from about 5.30pm. The temperature was set on 24C and this soon made the room pleasantly comfortable.

I spent most of the day sewing and made two bags for a friend from fabric she had given me. They were mostly relatively small pieces of linen and cotton which had been carry bags from bed linen she had purchased at various times. I am really pleased with the results and looking forward to giving them to her.

Meanwhile, GMan was hardly being lazy either. He had picked 45 Nashi pears from one of our trees the previous day. This was after the birds had helped themselves. If we get organised and net the trees next year our harvest should be about doubled. Neither of us were smitten with eating the fruit raw so he decided to try stewing them. This was a raging success as they taste just like the tinned pears we both remember eating when we were growing up. It was a huge job to peel, core and slice them all but we now have one container in the refrigerator and several others in the freezer.

Today is a day of extreme to catastrophic fire danger across most of the state so we will be indoors, staying cool and most importantly, following any emergency reports and advice.

A Summer Garden

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The past 10 days have been an alternating mix of warm, sunny days and some significant rainfall so the young seedlings are enjoying the conditions. The zucchini plants which I planted at the beginning of December are literally doubling in size overnight. You can see what they looked like in this post.

This is today. The eggplant in the adjacent bed are doing well, too.

The cucumbers and new lettuce are also getting established.

Then there is the basil. Some in pots.

And more in the garden bed.

The basil is going to be trimmed this afternoon. I am planning to make a pesto/green sauce to serve with grilled eggplant, capsicum and pasta for dinner. As usual, this a creation I have have dreamed up. If the reality is as good as the idea I will hopefully have a recipe to share in a future post.

On The Road

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Well, I have finally made it back and such a lot has changed since my last post 9 days ago.

We said our goodbyes to family and friends and on the morning of Anzac Day (25th April) we left Brisbane with 2 fully laden vehicles and our small dog.

Since we are both driving a vehicle and we have no relief driver we planned the trip so that we are only driving about 350km each day. Goondiwindi was our first overnight stop. After four days of travel and overnight stops, we have made it to Jerilderie in southern New South Wales were we are staying for 2 nights. I finally have time and internet access to write this update.

The travel has been relatively easy and pleasant as the weather has been a comfortable 23 – 28C during the day. This is in stark contrast to the last 2 times we have driven this route. In December 2022 much of the area was reeling from the worst flooding in history with roads that were more potholes than road. There is still evidence of road damage in places but credit must go to the authorities for the monumental repair tasks that have been undertaken. Conversely, in December 2019 we drove this way in the grip of drought with not a drop of water seen in any of the smaller creeks and paddocks everywhere were completely destocked. The worst bushfires ever were about to destroy much of south-eastern Australia. Climate change?

It is a perfect time to catch some of the autumn foliage along the way. This was at Coonabarabran.

Tomorrow we will continue southwards and cross the mighty Murray River which is the border between New South Wales and our new home state of Victoria. It will be another 10 days before the settlement of our new home so we will be staying in an Air BnB accommodation in the meantime.

We will not be idle during that time as we have several appointments and activities planned but more about that in coming days.

Emergency Preparation

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In the wake of the unprecedented bushfires which ravaged most states of Australia last summer and the forecast of La Nina this summer, it would be very foolish to ignore the risks of natural disasters.

Last night GMan and I attended a Disaster Preparedness Seminar in our local town. It was presented by our regional Council and included some excellent information regarding the local resources that are available.

We regard ourselves as relatively well-prepared but there was plenty of new and enhanced information that has encouraged us to fine-tune our arrangements.

Here are a few points to remember:

Very few of us can think logically and quickly in an emergency situation. Therefore, It is important to have considered and planned your response to various scenarios.

A couple of resources to assist in planning.

You need to have both an evacuation kit (if you need to leave in a hurry) and an emergency kit (to be self-reliant for at least 3-7 days in your home) as emergency services and other resources may not be immediately available in the case of a major disaster.

Some useful items. Waterproof, hi-vis raincoat, a waterproof document pouch, USB drive for copies of documents, resources and information.

Services will be co-ordinated by local councils as well as possibly involving state and federal governments.

Your family, neighbours and local community will be integral to supporting each other in the first instance. Make sure your cultivate these networks.

Know your risks. Our local council has identified (in no particular order) the top 4 risks for our region as:

Bush/grass fires
Flooding
Heatwaves
Storms/cyclones

Yours may be different but the principle is the same – be prepared.

Close to Home

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All things are relative.  Today we went to Brisbane which is about 80km from where we live but compared to London, New York or even Melbourne, it is close to home.

We had a business appointment to attend this morning and decided that we would make a day of it and go out to lunch for a slightly delayed birthday celebration for GMan.

Although we both worked in the city for quite a number of years, we were not terribly familiar with restaurant options.  We had mostly packed our lunches and when we did eat out it was usually with work colleagues in a noisy pub environment or fast and furious cafe.  Neither of these were the setting we were looking for.

I turned to the ever-helpful Google and found Greenglass, a French bistro and wine bar.  One review I found described it as “a cross between elegant wine bars of old and a spacious NYC loft apartment”.  The simple black door at street-level belied the airy, minimalist decor and quality food which we encountered after ascending the narrow staircase.  We enjoyed our meal and the outlook of trees despite being in the centre of the CBD.  If I had any criticism, it would be the level of noise due to the polished timber floors and lack of any soft furnishings.

There is a reason I mentioned London, New York and Melbourne in the opening paragraph.  We have visited all of these cities and the weather we encountered as we departed from Greenglass was far more reminiscent of one of them than sub-tropical Brisbane and its usual ‘perfect’ winter weather.  The predicted rain had arrived during our lunch and this was the dismal scene that greeted us despite it only being 2pm.

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Since I have barely been to any shops in the past 5 months (apart from groceries and home renovations) I took the opportunity to pick up a couple of things that I needed.

With about 30 minutes to spare before the next train was due, we headed to Sugar’n’Spice Cafe which is quite close to Central Station.  This is the view that greeted us as we entered the small, old-world premises.

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Coffee and gluten -free carrot cake consumed while perched snugly at the high counter overlooking an increasingly wet afternoon.

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Today was a complete departure from our home renovation activities of yesterday and we both enjoyed the opportunity to be out and about while still managing to maintain effective social distancing.

 

Road Trip

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For 2 months we have mostly stayed at home apart from a weekly trip to buy fresh produce and dairy and a couple of forays to Bunnings for necessities for the renovation projects.  Over the last week or two we have also made a couple of visits to family.

COVID19 restrictions have been eased slightly but I have no real desire to go browsing in shops or mix with people whom I do not know.

However, we needed to get out and a road trip seemed like the perfect answer.  

Packed up and ready to go.

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We set out with a vague idea of going to Toowoomba. That did indeed become our destination, albeit via a rather circuitous route. Our first stop was for petrol so we then took the back road via the Glasshouse Mountains lookout to Woodford.  From there, we headed through Kilcoy, Yarraman and Oakey before arriving in Toowoomba.  It was definitely the road less travelled.

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It was time for a late lunch by the time we reached Toowoomba and we found a Turkish restaurant that were also offering takeaway meals.

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Despite the cold weather (apparent temperature about 2C) we headed for Queens Park to find a picnic table where we could eat. 

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We were rugged up with jackets and I had my knitted cap which kept my ear and head warm.  There were other people in the park but social distancing was certainly not an issue.

A couple of views of Queens Park and some of the autumn foliage.

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Our return route was via the highway to Brisbane where we made a brief stop to visit my mother and then back onto the highway for home.

In no time we had a fire going to warm the room.

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Our day out was an adventure which broke the monotony of the days at home.

A Weekend in the Garden

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For the first time in what seems like months, we actually had a weekend where the weather was conducive to being outdoors.  Lately it has either been 35C or raining or both so gardening has not really been on the agenda.  We were delighted to see a forecast of mostly sunny days with a maximum temperature of 27C.

Yesterday, we decided to firm up our vague plans for a freestanding walkway/pergola to define the entrance to our garden.  The idea is to have it covered with a flowering creeper.  We have had a general idea of what we wanted but now have calculated the materials and so then it was off to Bunnings to buy the 6 large posts for the uprights.  These are now positioned on sawhorses under the house where GMan has begun painting them.

We have marked out the exact location of the posts as you can see in the photo below.

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We are hoping to get the construction started over the Easter break when we have a couple of extra days off.

There will be more updates once there is more progress.

The perfect weather deserted us overnight and we awoke this morning to drizzling rain and cloud drifting past the windows.  However, we did not let that stop us and we braved the overgrown and out-of-control vegetable gardens.  Everything was covered with the wild cherry tomatoes.  I had resolved to pick all the fruit which was ripe and not damaged before removing the plants.  It was a massive job but we successfully cleared the garden beds and planted a variety of seeds.  There are now beans, radishes, spinach, beetroot, lettuce, kale and cucumbers planted.

Hopefully, these freshly dug and planted beds will soon yield a range of produce.

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I don’t have a before photo but suffice to say that this is a vast improvement on how it looked this morning.

It may be a little difficult to see but there is an addition to the area.  We constructed a new compost area in front of the hen house using some panels of pool fencing and some star pickets.  This allowed us to put all of the cherry tomato plants in a single heap.  I also cut the asparagus back and added that to the pile.

The forecast warm weather with showers every day fort he next week should give the newly sown seeds the best possible start so I am feeling quite optimistic.

 

Completed Quilt

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A month ago I wrote a post about making another quilt.  You can read about it here.  Once again, I had a deadline because it needed to be completed by early this week as it was a retirement gift for a work colleague.

I met the deadline and here is the finished quilt.

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This one included some new fabric bought specifically for the project as I simply did not have enough of the chosen colour palette.

I have been busy for the past week or so with finishing the quilt as well as working and being away from home for a couple of nights.  However, it is now the end of the working week and no specific engagements for the weekend.  The weather forecast does not include rain nor super-hot weather so GMan and I are looking forward to spending some time outdoors, particularly getting vegetable gardens back in order and prepared for planting now that the extreme heat is behind us.

I hope to bring you some updates from the home front before too long.

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned.

Future-Proofing

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Well, it is 3 days since my last post in which I shared our concern for the residents of north Queensland who were in the path of Cyclone Debbie.  What a 3 days it has been!

In 72 hours Cyclone Debbie has flattened the island resorts of the Whitsunday Islands and the adjacent mainland towns of Airlie Beach and Prosperine as a Category 4 cyclone before being downgraded as it moved inland.  Most of these areas are still without power or water and this situation is likely to continue for several more days, at least.

As predicted, the system then turned south east and headed towards the densely populated south-east corner of Queensland, including Brisbane.  For almost 24 hours we experienced substantial rainfall and some high winds – but of course, nothing like the conditions endured by those who were in the direct path of the cyclone.

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This is a view of part of our backyard this morning during a break in the rain.  The water in the background is not normally part of the landscape.  The ‘lake’ develops as the run-off from the mountain behind us pools in the low-lying part of our property.  It is not as extensive as some other occasions and will drain over the next few days.

The area where we live lost power about 2pm today and do not expect it to be restored until at least midday tomorrow.  There are currently thousands of consumers in Brisbane and the surrounding areas without power.  We are fortunate to be reaping the benefit of our decision to install a grid-connected battery system almost 18 months ago.  You can read about it here.

While it is great to be able to use our stored power each evening, the real benefit of the system is that it provides us with a power source in the event of a power failure from the grid.  Whether it is extreme weather or any other reason it is reassuring to know that we are not reliant on the grid for power.  This experience has confirmed the importance of a degree of self-reliance and we are extremely glad to be in this position.