The vision unfolds!

We're into week seven of the BBY Beautification and it's all starting to feel very real now. Not that what's happened to date hasn't been amazing - it's just that when the work actually starts to take place within four walls and you have to pack things up and everything gets covered in dust...that's when you know you truly are renovating!

But I'm getting ahead of myself....plenty of changes took place outside during week five AND we were delighted to be able to share these in person with our wonderful friends, Greg, Cathy and Harry Kerr (yes, can you believe it, they came to visit us during the renovations AND they put in a hard day's work getting the retaining wall up and on it's way). We hope you enjoy these pics taken over that time.....more to come soon!

Love Megs, Rosi, Sidd, Viny and Adi


That's Aaron up there showing off his muscles and then we have Aaron and Vern proving they are in no way scared of heights....you wouldn't find me up there for quids! And here's a pic of how it looks from the driveway now the deck has a roof over it.


The great wall of West Bulga begins! Rosi tracked down a (relatively) local supplier and 55 sleepers were soon delivered. Rosi and Greg had a preliminery meeting (with beer in hand) to come up with a cunning plan. Vern threw in a few useful tips and set up the string line (now that's a handy piece of equipment!) and we were ready to get started.


Getting the foundations right. Greg, Cathy and Rosi get the posts in place and line up the bottom sleepers all the way round.


Megs and Harry mix up some more cement for the posts.


You start to get the idea.


Rosi and Megs go it alone after the Kerr's left for Newcastle and then home to Sydney. We've pretty much finished it now - though wet weather over the last week has prevented us from putting the steps in leading up to the back door. Fingers crossed we'll be able to get into it again soon.

More photos from the first month

PHOTOS FROM WEEK THREE

The beginnings of the new bedroom & ensuite and laundry (hooray, a laundry.....what a treat!)

This part of the extension is on the south side of the house.

And next come the walls.

The view of the house from up on West Bulga Road.

The walls are up and the deck is down...just the way it's meant to be!

And to prove there's more going up here than just renovations, here's a photo of the vegie patch and also the stone fruit. Spring has definitely sprung up here and everythings growing like crazy.

PHOTOS FROM WEEK FOUR

The guys have moved around to the north side of the house and the extension of the kitchen and dining room and the new deck are underway.

Goodbye old deck - we'll use the old wood to build a gardening table and shelves for Megs and for firewood next winter.

The extension for the kitchen and dining room takes shape and we are now reassured that the space will be big enough...well, actually Megs is reassured....Rosi always knew it would be fine.


The boys turned up at 6.45am on Wednesday 1st Oct with the aim of getting the deck done - and they did....by 3pm! What champions...and thanks for working so hard on your birthday Aaron!

Megs starts oiling the new deck.....now, with over 70 square metres of deck to oil, this job seems thankless at the time, but when it's all done, it really does looks amazing!

One month into it!

Hello again!

Today marked the end of the fourth week of renovations (the guys are heading off for an extra long long weekend....they definitely deserve it!) and the place looks amazing. The frame and floors are down for the new bedroom and ensuite and laundry and same goes for the extension of the kitchen and dining room. And the new deck is simply stunning....perfect for summer time parties...actually, perfect for parties anytime!

We hope you enjoy the photos....it's even better in person so drop by soon!

xox Megs and Rosi and Sidd, Viny & Adi

PHOTOS FROM WEEK TWO

The new driveway.....now getting in and out of the place is a breeze!


The boys sometimes let us play with their toys....the bobcat is a hoot!





Al makes light work of moving the cement pad for the small water tank.



Vern finishes what Al began....all goes according to plan!

Oh, forgot to mention that the guys decided that it would be easier to gravel our driveway if we used gravel off our own place rather than the quarry at the end of the road (which is about 3 kms away and while not actually available for public use, we still live by the inner-city motto that if it's not on private property, it's fair game....just ask anyone who's lived on the lane of giving!). So, the following photos are of the actualisation of our new dam....called Dam Al in honour of Al Graham, our friendly excavator and all-round nice guy.


Al starts the ball rolling.....


Vern makes his mark by removing the Sally Wattle that just had to go.....

As always, the cows wanted to check out what was going on...



Rosi standing on the great wall of Al....



And to prove that it's a job well done, here's Rosi driving across Dam Al on the Tangerine Dream (her tractor).

More photos in the next posting.....

BBY Beautification Begins!

Well, it's been a while between blogs! 2007 finished with a flourish and 2008 began in much the same way. Even though Rosi and I have had a fair bit of time off this year (Rosi more than I but who's counting!?!), there's always so much to do....does that cut it as an excuse??

Anyway, we're back online now and that's all that matters. And we wanted to get back online so we could share the beautification of the BBY with you. Now, we think the BBY is already pretty darn beautiful and we love love LOVE our little home. However, we decided we really did need to get a laundry (yes, we've been taking our washing to my mum's at Old Bar or to my sister's at Camperdown for nearly 18 months!) and another bedroom and bathroom wouldn't go astray (hint, hint...plenty of room for visitors now!) and hey, while we're at it, why not put in a big new kitchen and dining room leading out on to a you-beaut bigger than Don-Laing Deck (for those that know Don, you'll understand the joke!).

After a slight delay of about 6 months, this big back yard make over began today and here are some photos of the day's efforts. Our talented and wonderful builders and excavators are Vern, Aaron and Al....here's to them and what they can do with their tools!

The BBY - as it stood on the 9th September 2008 - view from the top

The BBY - as it stood on the 9th September 2008 - view looking back from the north

It's September 10th and the boys have began! The new driveway takes shape.

Ironing out the bumps - preparing the driveway at the front....gravel to arrive tomorrow.

Leveling out the back - it will now be smooth sailing all the way into the shed!

That was close - Aaron doing his thang in the bobcat...bet he's glad we got this on camera!

This is Al in his big toy - he's poetry in motion!

This black snake decided to slither across our back yard while we were on smoko. Bad move. Given this was going to be a work site for the next 6 weeks, the guys decided it had to go....so off with it's head. This is the first snake we've killed at the farm (well, Al did it actually)...sad but a necessary move given current circumstances.

And every good blog post has to end with some cute animal pictures (particular given the proceeding image!) and so here they are, the two newest additions to the Lembke-Lewis household....Viny and Adi. They are as different as chalk and cheese but both delightful in their own way. Sidd's getting used to having them round and treats them with the mix of disdain (when he's not in the mood for infantile behaviour) and amusement (when he wants to demonstrate that yes, he is the fastest ball chaser on the West Bulga thank you very much!)

Hi All

Its been a while I note. Much has happened, been to Sydney, surprised I am sure, moved Mum into her new abode and we are now thankful that 3 years of hard work has finally paid off. Had dinner at Billy Kwongs (birthday) and just have been generally getting into farm life.

Yes of course I worked one day whilst in Sydney, so thats the upper limit these days. Have been on the tractor a little bit, but ran out of diesel, and am not going to town now until Wednesday to pick up Megs. Buy more diesel I hear you say. Thanks for the tip.

Have had the contractor in to start fencing off the front creek, so that is exciting, I've been helping as much as I can but given only one person can drive a tractor at a time, and given he has the big toys to help, I'm good at digging dirt and pulling down fences. But I do enjoy.

Today was my Sunday and forecast was for high wind, thunderstorms, rain and hail. Of course got a little rain, heard and saw the thunderstorm but really apart from dark clouds its been quite an okay day, so I could have been outside working. Instead I did my trust accounting for the 10th time, but the lady on the phone was very helpful and my trial balance balanced. So hopefully I'll finally get marked 'competent' and get my Real Estate Licence. Hoorah.

For those thinking of visiting over Xmas we are not here from around 8th December and then we have visitors from 28th December, which is when we will likely be back at the farm from our trips around the state (thats how it will feel by the time we finish driving, but all for good reasons). So any time after 5th January is good, but be prepared for some work....... very fun, you might get to touch my tractor and have a photo, bring something orange to wear to match.

Megsie planted some seeds in a tray which I have been looking after whilst she has been gone and I am pleased to say that some of the seedlings are coming through, now that is pretty good for me, so fingers crossed when we get them into the ground we will start having fresh vegies out of the ground. And for those who heard of our potato experiment, you will be pleased to know that more are coming up in the garden. That's the Irish coming out.

Sidd as usual has been sleeping lots but did come out the other day and helped with the fencing. The only problem with Sidd is that he doesn't make tea in the morning. In fact when both he and Billie were together they were demanding tea from us. Of course in the end you just get up and do it yourself, otherwise you'd never get one.

So tomorrow, weather permitting I'm going to be out and about fixing more fences. All fun I love my tools. Will need to start spraying those pesky blackberries which are thriving on the sun and rain. A lot more managable now thank goodness, but still pesky. Thanks for listening and would love to hear from you.

Rosi

PS caption from Harry Kerr, he felt that it was fitting....

Rosi's Blog Birthday

I hope you all enjoyed Billie's view of life at the farm. I have to say its pretty much the same for us, except we don't roll in poo or jump all over the furniture chasing flies.

Megsie does love poo, but for gardening reasons, list girl has become poo girl.

Anyway today is my birthday and I had a lovely morning with pressies opened in bed. The full box set of the West Wing (yes, yes and more yes) Shrek 1 and 2 and Kill bill 1 and 2. Love a little bit of girl action, Uma Thurman and Karie Moss both look good in spandex. And for the girl that needs to continue to remain wrinkle (ha) free some lovely aesop facial cleansers and creams. Of course let's not forget the tractor, a minor but important present.

I have to say 41 means I have 9 years till I am 50, a very interesting thought, one which I will surely ponder for sometime. Not much else to report on the big day. Dinner tonight here with Don and Louise coming over, just lovely.

Born Free - author Billie Girl

Hi to all, Billie Girl here. Well it all started a week or so ago. The girls and Sidd came to Sydney to visit and of course stayed at our palace. Sidd and I got re aquainted with sniffs and the like and the humans just sat around, talked, gossiped, laughed, ate and drank wine. Nothing unusual there.

Sidd and I got to woofing on, Sidd telling me delightful tales of the farm, how easy life was (except bath time) and how many fantastic native animals live around the place. This got me thinking, why can't I go, without Sam and Rhys. So I put the pressure on, sad forlorn face, howling inappropriately (did not go so far as to be off my food) and just generally being annoying.

Suffice to say it worked and I'm here. Nothing too worrying about the trip, except Sidd liked to spread out, and sleep with his head on my arse, me I like to look out the front window when I drive, so I pretty much sat up the whole time. Arrived at Dorothy's for the night. Had a great time lording it over Rusty, he really is a funny young thing, so I let him think he was way to clever for me. Boys, they never learn.

So far at the farm, I've met the cows, rolled in cow poo (my favourite), had a bath, ate bones (only those provided by the girls), slept and of course chased the wobblies. My gammy leg is playing up, so resting is a good option.

Last night we watched the lunar eclipse, made for great wobbly chasing, you can get away with totally mad behaviour with a full moon, especially one which is pink (loved the colour). Oh by the way I do like trying to catch flies, I get to jump all over the furniture.

So with Sidd by my side, the farm holiday is proving just as I thought, wide open spaces, plenty of cow poo and food. For a girl of my age this suits me fine. I would send a postcard to Sam and Rhys, its just the post office is too far away and really I can't write that small.