Tales From the Box

Just a quick one to show you the bamboo we have growing down the side of the house. Yes, bamboo. And no, it’s not THAT type of bamboo. It won’t spread like wildfire. There’s this new-fangled clumping bamboo that stays where you plant it.

We planted ours some time in May 2009, and it was about 2 feet tall then (or about 50-60cm). It’s now 8-9 metres tall. Very fast growing. Our plan is to grow it up and then trim and shape it like giant bonsai so that it becomes a screen from the neighbours to give us a bit more privacy (we can see right onto their deck, and they onto ours) and to soften the summer sun. Oh, and for reference, the Box is the building on the right.

Last Christmas we decorated the Box with multi-coloured paper lanterns hung from the deck. I had bought the lanterns throughout the year from various places and just collected them as I found them.

Well, this photo was taken last week. Yep. They’re still up. They’re a bit rain soaked, the colour is running and fading, and they’ve become home to various spiders and bugs. But I haven’t had the time or the inclination to take them down yet. They still look kind of cool at night with the fairy lights on. And the Widg loves to stare at the giant “balls” blowing in the breeze.

Well, the weather has been getting cooler, I’ve even worn a cardi on more than one occasion in the last week or so. And it’s April. I guess that means that summer is over.

While we are sure to still have a few more warm days ahead before the cold sets in, there will be fewer opportunities for leisurely outdoor time. Like this:

(from Lonny Mag)

I know, our garden doesn’t actually look anything like this. But, well, pretty!

(from Lonny Mag)

Doesn’t this just make you want to make a cup of tea in a pretty cup and take it outside?

(from Apartment Therapy)

It at least makes me want to throw a table cloth on the outdoor table and hang some lanterns or streamers from the deck roof. Maybe put some flowers in a vase. Perhaps we should make an effort to have one more outdoor meal while the weather’s still warm.

But don’t be dismayed. Winter brings it’s own joys. Cosy blankets, scarves, socks, flannelette pyjamas. Yummy soup and crusty bread. Open fires. And I can start wearing my boots again. There’s always a silver lining.

The box in 70′s goodness

There were three reasons I wanted a house as opposed to an apartment.

to mow the lawn

to make a garden

to have a dog

So when we bought our abode in Warrimoo there was some lawn to be mowed, a garden to be tended, and definitely the yard for a dog to run wild and free. However the house on stilts didn’t offer us much protection in keeping said dog inside purchased land.

So we reveled in other people’s dogs – namely our parents. In January my parents bought this gorgeous little puppy Shaogo – who ran amock on our deck and generally caused a bucket full of mischief. The little slideshow is some pics of her looking sickeningly cute. (By the way if you hadn’t noticed – I have fallen in love with this google slideshow – damn you google and your irresistible goodies)

While we were gone some things have happened around here.

The reasons for our lengthy absence are numerous and complicated. In part they can be blamed upon our somewhat incompetent hosting company(mt), and our somewhat incompetent author (me).

The good news is that due to our thoroughly caffeinated but brilliant sysadmin (myles) we are back resuming usual transmission.

We have had rain. Lots of rain. During May and June we had a series of east coast low pressure systems that dumped nigh on 250mms of rain. That rain filled our tanks good. SO much so that one Saturday morning in June, I awoke to what sounded like a bursting pipe. It was our tank overflowing for the first time (filled from nearly empty to full in a few days). The front lawn (i.e. patch) was flooded too.

We have in the interim done lots. Dodging the rain, I have oiled our new deck about 4 times. Though it has been a thankless job, my piece of advise has been to NOT oil your deck imediately. I started and and oil just sat on top. Going contrary to the directions, the best thing was to let the decking board (our choice was merbau) weather for a few weeks then oil away. The oil then is sucked right up and gives the wood a lovely red colour.

Care of my wonderful mother and brother we completed the downstairs painting. After the primer and then three coats of paint, we were over painting white surfaces, ceiling and all. Now we have our directions pointed to the outside of the house. For the record, we have painted Dulux Whisper White on the interior (low sheen for walls and enamel for skirting/door).