Another quick visit Wed 22- Thur 23 Nov 2023

 Another flying visit to check out the mural and kitchen, and to also try and organise the kitchen /clear out the downstairs green room, so that it will be usable as a bedroom again soon.

Actually, easier said than done...

Left Melbourne around 10am - and once in Inglewood had a quick tour of the garden as per usual

The first kiwi fruit which had been wilted and thirsty last time, is now looking quite good, while the other three are very dry and have lost leaves - didn't bother taking a photo this time 

The first one was ok because the tap leaks a bit when the watering system is on, and I'm assuming that the other 3 are poorly because the system must have been damaged....I called Shane to ask him to come and fix it - but in the mean time, I watered them copiously

The rest of the garden looks ok, however those baby grapes have dried off, and not formed into proper fruit

The cherries are looking lovely - so I picked some today and the rest on Thursday

Wednesday pickings 

Thursday pickings

Much better than last year - when I only got one cherry - the birds/ants got the rest.  That said a lot of cherries had bird strike, so chucked them on the ground - I should have netted them earlier - I didn't expect them to be ripe already....Oh well, next year then  

Inside to see the mural - and yes it looks fab

and I found all of the Easter eggs  - yay

And then onto the kitchen - saw that the plastering has been done - but not quite finished - a little more needs to be done around the hearth, and the cast iron hearth surround re-attached 

Then onto emptying out the green room, dusty /dirty work - had to wash/wipe everything

Rachel and her friend Tim dropped in, (in preparation for the Messiah production on Sunday) and Rachel gave me a beautiful marble statue for my birthday

Cam did a good job with replacing the window frame in the Kitchen (because it had been butchered years ago when they put in the crappy old kitchen sink)

But I had found a couple of little problems 

With the stone now put in - some of the cupboards/drawers don't open/close properly

 And also because some of the new boards weren't put in flush - they are now splitting where they are too high - ie from being stepped on

They also forgot to put in a switch for the back door light, and to install the kitchen dimmers

And more damage to the top of our ensuite vanity....

I also asked about caulking around the ensuite window - but Cam said it should be painted first

There were also heaps on boxes out the front that I had to dispose of - completely filled the recycle bin

Thursday, and made breakfast in the kitchen - woo hoo, toast and coffee.  Didn't sit in there though as the island bench is covered with protective blankets, and so is the Aga. (our kitchen stools are still all wrapped in our bedroom)  

Alex called, and once I told him I was in Inglewood he asked if I could go across to the Town Hall and take some photos of the kitchen etc - in preparation for the big party in December

 Also took some photos of the super room

 And found crockery/glassware/cutlery supplies

The Town Hall bar are is also well equipped with big fridges 

And there were lots more tables and chairs in the town Hall also

Then back to the house for more clearing/tidying....

One of the rugs in the green room was infested with moths - was pretty disgusting.  They don't seem to have attacked anything else luckily, and I sprayed the room well afterwards, Its a pity because I think it was the first Turkish rug that Justin and I had bought back in our Tooronga Road days.  Had to roll it up and chuck it out (in Gordon's trailer) 

The dishwasher and washing machine are back to being operational - so I put on a big load of dishes

Anyway, this is how it all looked by 1pm on Thursday

Green room - so there should be space for a bed....

Kitchen

Still a lot to go.....but I had to leave this afternoon as I was seeing Moulin Rouge at the Regent Theatre with Madeleine, Karen and Zoe this evening

On the way back around Gisborne - 2 young deer skipped gaily across the road in front of the car in front of me - they were fawny coloured with light spots - doing some internet research I think they were fallow deer 

 

More kitchen and bathroom progress Saturday 4th November 2023

 Well, things are happening, Alex and I were up last week , and saw the kitchen in, and Cam and the guys came back earlier this week to get the stone in - for the benchtops around the side

Only thing was - some sort of mistake was made....- so the stone workers, and Cam had to go back to Melbourne - Cam was not impressed...

Anyway, they were back by mid week, and the aga was delivered also

Cam took a number of photos to show me

Aga about to come inside

Stone tops on - aga near the hearth 

Lights hooked up to electricity

Lights in the powder room

Powder room plastered in

 Draining grooves on the benchtop into the sink

Nice shot of the marble surface

Panel heater in ensuite

Extraction fan - looks like a plate on the ceiling

Side lights put in

So, things were really happening 

Helen and I went up for a lightening visit on Saturday - as on the Friday I had gone on many errands - ie finials for the picture rails from Early Settler.  They are exactly the same as the original pair that we still had at Inglewood.  The sales guy said that they are made by a company in South Australia which has been going since the gold rush

Next stop was South Dandenong to buy some kitchen stools. I was in the ute, so planned to pick them up then and there.  The ute was also rather low on petrol, and there were no service stations on the way.  Google maps took me on some bypass roads - which were good, but no service stations

Bought 4 x stools - though black ones with a rattan seat would look smart

I asked the sales guy if he could help me strap them in - but he said they weren't allowed to do so...I wasn't happy about that.  And as it was, the ute storage cupboard was locked, so I couldn't get the straps out anyway ( I was a bit annoyed with Fraser, because he had used the ute last, and had the proper keys, i was just using the spare).  

Anyway, made it to the service station 650m away, filled up, and bought a strap to tied down the boxes

Then onto errand #3 - to get brass tubing for the picture rails

Went to George White & Co in Clayton - worked out how many metres I needed (about 26m) and got them to cut it down to the tray size of the ute

By the way, George White is a 6th generation family business - so they may well have supplied our original tubing also

Anyway, this all took many hours on to accomplish and was back home late afternoon

Saturday, and Helen got here just before 9, and we strapped in the boxes, and wrapped the tubes in old sheets, and off we went to Inglewood

Helen kept an eye on the left side of the car - when I was changing lanes, as my vision was obcured by the boxes, bascially couldnt see out of the rear mirror - just the side ones  

Was a beautiful day - I wasn't sure if we would stay the night or not, as it was Justin's birthday on Sunday

Arrived in inglewood and had to unload

Saw the Aga in situ

and the accompanying cook book

took better notice of the kitchen tap

Took a better photo of the powder room vanity - and I notice that the pipework still needs to be chnaged ie chrome not plastic

Admired Shawn's progress on the mural - its really getting there.  And re-met Sara

Unloaded the ute, and put the stools in our bed room 

Also ripped up the many cardboard boxes and put in the recycle bin

Helen did some trimming, as the vines at the entrance way, and other plants along the pathways  werre getting a bit out of control

Bird of paradise was in flower

Some of the kiwi fruit, and the loquat were looking droopy, so i watered them

 This one looks fine - but I watered it anyway

Cam and the boys had also done some further work 

ie attached the towel rail and shower shelf in the en suite

Straightened the bowl - and moved the pipes further back

Better shot of the light

Better shot of the new heater

They'd also filled in the plumbing trneches

Lengthened the light fitting in the bee room

And put the fan in the upstairs bathroom - its wired to the light, so when the light goes on, so does the extractor fan.  There is also a remote control for it 

Helen and I walked up the bakery for some pies - and we all had lunch in rotunda

Afterwards, I though it might be nice to relax in ther hammock and read.  It was such a ncie day

By this stage I'd decided that we would go home in the afternoon, it didn't feel rushed, and I could make Justin and lovely breakfast for his birthday tomorrow

I thought we'd leave around 4-5pm, but then Sara suggested aperol spritzes on the veranda - so we thought we should hang around for those - and they were indeed delcious - and didn't get back to Melbourne til about 7.50 (so my google map time line tells me)