Kitty doors and the blue smoke

The kitties have their double door to wider world thanks to Peter and his Jigsaw. So far Robin has rewarded me by digging up my new-planted plants and using my veg garden as public convenience. Or at least a kitty convenience. Yes, that's cat-gratitude for you.

The strawberry plants have developed a terrible infestation of metallic-looking beetles. I sometimes feel gardening is an uphill battle... on the good days. We had a torrential downpour this morning which had me out rescuing gutters (they get full of leaves, and overfill and peel off the house) and realizing part of the yard may be rather swampy in winter, when most of the rain falls. Ah well, so long as the house is dry.

It's been a day of glueing and screwing and clamping and fiddling and muttering and cursing - mostly by me looking for various things I know I have but can't find. Anyway, there is a handle on the dog-and-Dave closet door, and we got a long way with turning my moneterry cedar rough planks into planks proper and usable... only the magic blue smoke escaped from Peter's thicknesser, (fortunately while he was driving the beast) and left me just short of the final step. Anyway, the manky ones will do for a temporary bookcase, and the final stage to bee-boxes will just have to wait some more (I wanted to do them all so I could use them as temp shelves, to allow me to clear another area. It's move one to access the next.)

And on... tomorrow we go across to the other house to finish up with the cleanup there and hopefully that will be that. There is still a lot do here, but one house not two will make us less stretched. I HAVE to get some writing done.

Prices Slashed...

Mr Prices (well, actually not, but it sounds good) came and slashed with the trctor today. So now I have about half an acre of new-mown hay, instead of 3 foot high grass. This is a good thing but may take a powerful amount of raking. The slashing was... interesting. The garden is powerful full of anti tank traps, old septic tanks , strange concrete things, rocks, pipes (unburied) and taps with steel star poles and occasional holes for burying errant VW Beetles in (well, big). Still, our friend did a very patient and good job of not hitting things. It took him about two and half hours, and the time slash that sort of area would be about 10 minutes if it were straightforward.

I have the electric fence for keeping in dogs working (this is vital. We cannot have them getting out and possibly worrying sheep. They'd be shot) - testing at about 7 kilovolts. Neither of the dogs are showing any sign of going near it, not even when the sheepdogs were just outside it. It's a major job, and done now.

The boxes continue their unending open and unpack and the where the hell will we put this and why have we kept it so long process. Work has been in abeyance, and this cannot continue much longer :-(

Onwards.

Still, slowly, step by step, some sideways and some back things are getting done.

The shuffle, the polka, the mazurka... and their moving dances

Today was a good one for the famous shuffle-the-washing dance. Clothes out on the Hills Hoist (that's a windi-dry South Africans)... rain. Clothes in. Repeat as often as you have patience or sets of clothes you're prepared to get soaked while running around rescuing wet washing from another rain rinse.

I've finished another section of the electric fence. I truly hate wire work - your hands always end up sore. Unpacked some boxes. Carried stuff from A so I could get stuff out of B and then taken stuff from B to C and emptied stuff from C into A and put B stuff in C, and then repeat...

Mind you it was nothing to the shoe-horn and grease wiggle I had to do to get the thicknesser out of Peter's container. I thought I might be like Pooh-bear, stuck until I lost weight or the fireys came with the Jaws of Life. Never had to pack myself to get something out before.

I noticed something rather nice last night. We can't see a solitary light from here. :-).

Steam and the woop woop

The proofs for DOG AND DRAGON are in, we've steam cleaned two sets of carpets in two houses (and these ones were infinitely worse) and almost everything is here now. Well barring my half-watertanks full of horse manure. It's absolute hell trying to work and move house and fix things and deal with the livestock and plants (none of which will wait). Anyway... slowly forwards.

We have the local woop woop critters to deal with too - a possum was in the carport -and left evidence of his passing on the car and a blue-tongue (skink - big lizard) ate two tomatoes (yes lizards that eat red fruit). There was a wallaby on the driveway (30 yards from the door) and the wombat has been digging up bulbs. And there is the dratted Joe Witty bird that is danger of becoming barbecue.

But things are getting there. Really they are. And we have a stud detector -which for a suitable fee I am sure my friend Bill will hire out to anyone looking for a stud. For a much larger fee I will teach the machine to lie and say you are one. (it's for detecting wood or metal behind drywalling -so we can put in picture hooks without them ripping and without electrocuting ourselves. And Peter has lent me a thicknesser - which means I can tell how thick the stud is for those who like their studs stupid (or not). Otherwise I believe I can use it for prepping some planks for a book-case.

We move on... out in the woop woop :-)

Two forward, one back, half sideways...

Well, of the old house 5 rooms are done, and 3 still have varying level of boxes of smaller items - but we're definitely getting close now. The problems with being a book lover are illustrated by my sore back.

I cleaned my chip's vanes of dust and cobwebs and it's a much happier machine. Peter also showed up with a fan that woul probably be good enough for a labrador-size microlite - which I will keep quiet about as puggles met the electric fence with his puggly nose this afternoon. Flying over it would be very inconvenient for sheep, wallaby and other passing sheepdogs.

With ominous creaking sounds and a face turning puce and nearly giving myself various multiple hernias the Olive trees are moved. The bigger one took quite some wind-battering (although I crept back at 50km/h) and its branch-tip leaves are not looking good.

We have a phone - thanks to my wife having far more patience than me... and my office has A LOT more boxes of books than I have book cases (the old house had some built in and came with one, we left 4 behind in SA).

I've lost the key to the sideboard (a lot of plates need to go there.

On the other hand I have the piezo working on my stove, and did a delicious supper of scorzonera, patty pans and flathead.

Heat

Well my poor computer had an overheating shutdown today, and while it is worrying, I am not surprised. It was one of the hottest days we've had and I was close to heat fatigue myself, carrying stuff. The Chookabago - I will post a picture - but I got the entire thing on the back of the ute myself. It is... not light. I quietly did a dehydration faceplant a little later so have been drinking vile rehydrating gunk. I am needing to re-assemble the wheels so the chooks are still in durance vile ie the chook-yard. I'm going to try and buy a fan to blow on the computer as I have to have it working. The proofs for DOG AND DRAGON are due on the 9th, and I have another deadline looming.

On other news CUTTLEFISH is up on Amazon - Do tell me what you think of Paul Young's illustration.


and I had some lovely reviews on DOG AND DRAGON ARC http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2011/12/31/fantasy-author-dave-freer-emerges-as-major-talent/

and http://www.otherwheregazette.com/2011/12/30/dog-and-dragon-not-your-usual-big-fat-fantasy/

Back on line and the move of the fowls.

Well, the mystery of the non-working internet is solved. Loose connection in the cable-jack I think, because it worked fine with an alternative cable (which was at the other house).

The chooks have moved to temp'ry quarters - the chook house here, while the chookabago suffers disassembly and transportation for its crimes. Serve it right for being so big and heavy. It was suggested that the 'bago - and residents, toured the distance along the long paddock (the road margin), but at 5 yards a day, it was going to take more than ten years, and I reckon for our chookies that would be a whole new meaning on 'transportation for life'. I had considered harnessing the entire thing to a truck, but the chickens can't walk that fast (they line up at the front edge of the Chookabago, and walk as I pull it). And they're not great fliers... I thought they might arrive pre-plucked.

The house is starting to resemble a home. There is still a slew more work, and of course writing to do, but we have the basic items of survival:books on the shelf, and a kettle:-)