We have been living in the country on 19 acres for about 5 weeks. The first week I found it very hard to sleep as I tried to get used to the "night noises". How come there are so many different noises that you hear at night?
There were lots of bumps, thuds and bangs going on.
One night I went out onto the deck and got the fright of my life as a HUGE possum stared at me. He was so big, he looks like he is on steroids. I went straight back inside. I knew that I needed to become friends with the possum so we could live together happily. The possum needed a name. DAVE. He looks like a Dave. By naming the possum, I seemed to be less afraid and the night noises no longer kept me awake. Dave has a routine and normally comes out to party at around 11.00pm.
Dave wanted to let us know that he was boss, so he proudly peed on every single one of our outdoor cushions. NOT HAPPY :(
In our previous house I grew lots of herbs, as I love to use them in my cooking. It is going to be a while before we get a proper veggie patch going so I decided to plant some herbs into pots. The herb I use almost every night is parsley, so I planted a big pot of parsley.
Much to my horror the next morning, there was NO parsley in sight and a huge pile of possum poop right next to the pot. Dave and I are definitely getting off on the wrong foot.
We have recently rebuilt the deck, which includes freshly white painted Cyprus posts. This is what Dave did to them overnight.
Christian has misplaced his brand new iPOD and we now have a running joke that Dave the possum took it. We then found a leak under the house in the brand new plumbing pipes, so I joke that our spanner went missing, so it must be Dave needing to have a wash.
The other day I was looking for my bathers as the weather has warmed up here and yes you guessed it - they have gone missing. We now have a possum who is on steroids walking around in a bikini with his ipod blasting out gangham style.
Dave got relocated to the back of our property up a nice big gum tree. We were told that he will probably come back.
And yes they were right. The other morning I awoke to find 3 huge piles of possum poop on the deck.
We have now altered the deck so the dogs can sleep there at night time which so far has kept Dave away. Oh and when he came back he brought the missing ipod with him - which has made Christian very happy.
I wish Dave and I could live in harmony together.....I am happy to let him have the shed to keep sleeping in during the day.
Sorry about no pictures, I am having trouble uploading them.
Tuesday 18 December 2012
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Our new paradise
Well it FINALLY happened......
After years and years of dreaming of living in the country and spending endless weekends of looking for acreage, we decided to put in an offer subject to the sale of our house. And as you can see from the above photo.......Our house sold!
We had to sell a lot cheaper than what we wanted, but we now have a piece of paradise....Infact 19 acres of paradise.
The house we bought needs a lot of work, but the views definately make up for it.
I feel like a different person since moving. Everymorning I wake to the sound of the most beautiful birds singing. Just the other morning there were 6 kangaroos hopping past in my front yard.
Eventually I want to grow my own fruit and veg and also have chickens. I am also desperate to get a horse. Unfortuantely all of the just mentioned are on hold until after we have fixed up the house.
The weekend we moved in, we realised that the septic was full, so I had to call the "Turd Burglar".
Sofar we have painted the bedrooms and living area and have beautiful new carpet in the bedrooms. We have rebuilt the deck outside which is HUGE. And we still need to put in one bathroom, lights, aircon and re vamp the kitchen. It will be a while until it is finished, but sofar I am LOVING country living.
After years and years of dreaming of living in the country and spending endless weekends of looking for acreage, we decided to put in an offer subject to the sale of our house. And as you can see from the above photo.......Our house sold!
We had to sell a lot cheaper than what we wanted, but we now have a piece of paradise....Infact 19 acres of paradise.
The house we bought needs a lot of work, but the views definately make up for it.
I feel like a different person since moving. Everymorning I wake to the sound of the most beautiful birds singing. Just the other morning there were 6 kangaroos hopping past in my front yard.
Eventually I want to grow my own fruit and veg and also have chickens. I am also desperate to get a horse. Unfortuantely all of the just mentioned are on hold until after we have fixed up the house.
The weekend we moved in, we realised that the septic was full, so I had to call the "Turd Burglar".
Sofar we have painted the bedrooms and living area and have beautiful new carpet in the bedrooms. We have rebuilt the deck outside which is HUGE. And we still need to put in one bathroom, lights, aircon and re vamp the kitchen. It will be a while until it is finished, but sofar I am LOVING country living.
PRINCE
On May 14 I was lucky enough to go and see Prince in his Welcome to Australia Tour. Thank you very much to my ex brother in law who invited me to go along as he had a spare ticket.
All day at work I was so excited that I was going to see PRINCE. I saw him about 20 years ago and he was amazing, sadly I missed out on his last tour as I was heavily pregnant with Christian. I listened to his CD's all day at work. The doors opened at 6.30 for an 8.00pm start. I arrived at about 4pm to ensure that I got a good car park as there was also an AFL game being played the same night at the MCG. I sat in my car for about an hour listening to PRINCE as I waited for Peter to arrive. I started my car a few times to heat the inside of the car as it was only 12 degrees outside and falling. When Pete arrived he jumped into my car as we passed the time waiting for the doors to open. Pete said to me oh my butt is nice and warm, are your seats heated? The next thing you know the music stops. CRAP I had given myself a flat battery. It was about 5pm and peak hour traffic was beginning. We waited for about 15 mins to see if the battery would recover. I turned the key and NOTHING! I called the RACV and they said they would be there within 20 mins (thank goodness (they can take up to 2 hours)- I couldn't miss PRINCE). We caused peak hour chaos as my car was parked on a busy 1 lane road, so the RACV van double parked next to me blocking the one lane of traffic. I explained what had happened, and he said I can jump start your car now, however when you come out at midnight you will need to call us again........or you can replace the battery. I decided with winter coming it was going to be safer to replace the battery. He then said to me that the battery van would be over an hour......I started panicking that I was going to miss Prince. After ordering the battery van he said they will be here in 10 minutes. PHEW!!!! We again caused peak hour chaos, but I didn't care... $173.00 later we could now head over to the concert.
There were people everywhere dressed up in Purple and looking funky. The excitement continued to build. We cued up to get in. Finally they opened the doors. Peter and I headed straight to the hot food as we were both hungry and cold. We then went in to check out our seats and they were pretty awesome. We were 16 rows from the front.
The concert was absolutely amazing and I am so grateful that I got to see such a talented, awesome and funky performer.
All day at work I was so excited that I was going to see PRINCE. I saw him about 20 years ago and he was amazing, sadly I missed out on his last tour as I was heavily pregnant with Christian. I listened to his CD's all day at work. The doors opened at 6.30 for an 8.00pm start. I arrived at about 4pm to ensure that I got a good car park as there was also an AFL game being played the same night at the MCG. I sat in my car for about an hour listening to PRINCE as I waited for Peter to arrive. I started my car a few times to heat the inside of the car as it was only 12 degrees outside and falling. When Pete arrived he jumped into my car as we passed the time waiting for the doors to open. Pete said to me oh my butt is nice and warm, are your seats heated? The next thing you know the music stops. CRAP I had given myself a flat battery. It was about 5pm and peak hour traffic was beginning. We waited for about 15 mins to see if the battery would recover. I turned the key and NOTHING! I called the RACV and they said they would be there within 20 mins (thank goodness (they can take up to 2 hours)- I couldn't miss PRINCE). We caused peak hour chaos as my car was parked on a busy 1 lane road, so the RACV van double parked next to me blocking the one lane of traffic. I explained what had happened, and he said I can jump start your car now, however when you come out at midnight you will need to call us again........or you can replace the battery. I decided with winter coming it was going to be safer to replace the battery. He then said to me that the battery van would be over an hour......I started panicking that I was going to miss Prince. After ordering the battery van he said they will be here in 10 minutes. PHEW!!!! We again caused peak hour chaos, but I didn't care... $173.00 later we could now head over to the concert.
There were people everywhere dressed up in Purple and looking funky. The excitement continued to build. We cued up to get in. Finally they opened the doors. Peter and I headed straight to the hot food as we were both hungry and cold. We then went in to check out our seats and they were pretty awesome. We were 16 rows from the front.
The concert was absolutely amazing and I am so grateful that I got to see such a talented, awesome and funky performer.
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Easter Saturday
Easter Saturday we awoke to a cold and rainy day. I had to go to the supermarket to stock up as there was not much food at the cabin. Hovsep and Buster decided to come along for the trip. On the way we passed the surf shop which was having 40% off everything sale so we decided to pop in and have a look. We left with a pair of Roxy tracksuit pants for myself ( I needed something to keep me warm), Hovsep with a nice Rip Curl cardigan and Christian scored some metallic blue Globe basketball boots. After the supermarket we went for a drive to Point Lonsdale Surf Beach. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore was beautiful. It is a sound I have not heard for over 10 years.... because of Christian we tend not to go to Surf beaches. Christian wants to do little nippers next summer which is at Point Lonsdale Surf Beach, so I thought it was a good idea to go and have a look. It was a pretty big walk up a pretty big hill to get there, but was well worth it.
From the beach we then walked up to the look out.
Whilst we were at the lookout the clouds and sun were putting on a show. I tried to capture it the best I could.
After the beach it was off to Queenscliff for some gellati and then back to the cabin for a game of Yahtzee and to watch the Tiger get beaten by the worst AFL team.
From the beach we then walked up to the look out.
Hovsep and Christian (Buster) at the lookout.
Whilst we were at the lookout the clouds and sun were putting on a show. I tried to capture it the best I could.
After the beach it was off to Queenscliff for some gellati and then back to the cabin for a game of Yahtzee and to watch the Tiger get beaten by the worst AFL team.
Strange Weather
The weather in Victoria has been very strange lately, with the typical pattern of lovely weather during the week and then cold and rainy on the weekends. I was hoping for a few nice days over the Easter long weekend, as we were going to Swan Bay. The lead up to Easter was magnificent.....around 27 degrees everyday. Good Friday was a glorious 30 degrees, so off we headed bright and early in the morning. We arrived around 11.00 and just lazed about and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. We decided we would go to the Queenscliff marina for fish and chips for dinner. On the way we stopped off at Point Lonsdale beach as it was such a lovely afternoon / early evening.
It was 29 degrees when we were driving to the Marina. We sat outside and ate beautiful fresh Calamari and fish and chips whilst taking in the views of the beautiful boats. It was very busy with people everywhere enjoying the great weather. A cool change had been forecast for the evening. The wind picked up and I looked behind me and saw BIG grey clouds heading our way. I had never seen clouds move so fast. We decided to leave the rest of our dinner and run to the car. We only just made it back to the car before the heavens opened.
The temperature dropped from 29 degrees to 17 degrees in a matter of minutes. Very typical for Melbourne. So back to the cabin it was, crank up the heater and snuggle up to watch a DVD.
It was 29 degrees when we were driving to the Marina. We sat outside and ate beautiful fresh Calamari and fish and chips whilst taking in the views of the beautiful boats. It was very busy with people everywhere enjoying the great weather. A cool change had been forecast for the evening. The wind picked up and I looked behind me and saw BIG grey clouds heading our way. I had never seen clouds move so fast. We decided to leave the rest of our dinner and run to the car. We only just made it back to the car before the heavens opened.
The temperature dropped from 29 degrees to 17 degrees in a matter of minutes. Very typical for Melbourne. So back to the cabin it was, crank up the heater and snuggle up to watch a DVD.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Dry Fun at Adventure Park
The last time we went down to our cabin at Swanbay the weather was not great. As our Summer Fun passes expire in April, we thuoght we would go to Adventure Park and utilise the dry activities. Firstly we palyed mini golf, then Hovsep and Christian had numerous go's at Archery.
From mini golf it was off to the Archery.
When we went back to the cabin, it was time to take Charleigh for a walk, as she was finally allowed to go for a small walk after being desexed. It is such a beautiful walking track at the Holiday Park. There are always swans and pelcans for you to look at in the dam.
Please excuse where my cheeky Buster has his hand!!!
Below are photo's of us playing mini golf, and I am proud to say that I was the winner today.
From mini golf it was off to the Archery.
Father and Son shooting arrows together.
When we went back to the cabin, it was time to take Charleigh for a walk, as she was finally allowed to go for a small walk after being desexed. It is such a beautiful walking track at the Holiday Park. There are always swans and pelcans for you to look at in the dam.
This is not a great shot, but these are balck swans.
This is the view as you walk around the track. Just beautiful...
Swans flying overhead.
Cha Cha enjoying her walk and watching the cows.
Buster riding around the track.
Buying the cabin is the best thing we have done and we just love going there... It truely is Paradise.
Monday 5 March 2012
Cha Cha's Operation
My beautiful puppy, (well she is not really a puppy anymore) was speyed on Thursday last week. Hovsep, Christian and I always wanted Charleigh to have one litter of puppies, because we think she is very pretty and our other dog Rio is very old, so we thought we would keep one of her pups. In recent times I have started studying as well as working full time and now helping run Hovsep's new company, I find I don't have much free time and I would definitely not have time to look after a litter of puppies. After a bitch has had 4 season's their risk of uterine and breast cancer increase 10% with each season. Charleigh has been on heat 4 times, so it was time to get her done.
This is Charleigh the day we bought her home. Very cute don't you think?
Christian and I dropped her off at the vet at 8.30 in the morning and picked her back up at 5.00pm. She was very dizzy and kept falling over. She has a bucket on her head which is causing all sorts of dramas. She keeps walking into walls and doors and mostly us, which hurts. My lower legs are covered in bruises. The bucket needs to stay on for 10-14 days and she needs to be kept inside and quiet for that period. She thinks all her Christmas' have come at once, as she is normally an outdoor dog. Every time she has a drink of water she knocks the bowl over because of the bucket. I really look forward to the 14 days being up, and she won't know what has hit her when she has to go back outside. Rio is really missing her and feeling very left out. We can't let Rio inside because he keeps sniffing at her stitches, and knowing him he will think he is doing her a favour and will lick them and try to chew them out.
Charleigh and her destructive bucket.
Weekend Fun at Advernture Park
Adventure Park is Victoria's largest water fun park, and lucky for us is situated a 5 minute drive from our cabin. We purchased season's passes for the summer so we can go when ever we want to. There are 21 rides, including giant water slides, tubes rides, go karts, mini golf, canoes and heaps more.
Christian just loves it there as you can see from these photos.
This is one of the kids play area's which is so much fun and there are as many adults on it as kids.
Christian just loves it there as you can see from these photos.
If the weather is not hot enough for the water rides we just go to play mini golf, go go- karting and practice archery.
I know the warmer weather is few and far between now, so I don't think there will be many more trips to Adventure Park for the water rides. Fingers crossed for a warm Easter.
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Our piece of paradise
Hovsep and I have wanted to move closer to Christian's school and buy a property with a few acres. We missed out on our dream house and then another about 6 months later. The rural real estate people seem to do it differently than in the city. Anyway, we really wanted a little piece of paradise to balance the work and fmaily life out. Normally over summer we rent a house for 10 days at Portarlington (a cute sleepy beach town just 1 hour from where we live). In August 2011 we decided we would look at purchasing a cabin in a caravan park, so we could go away whenever we felt like it. We looked at the caravan park in portarlington, but it was old, run down and the cramped. The cabins were very close together. I then started to search on the internet for cabins for sale near portarlington. I found a gorgeous waterfront cabin for sale. It was a little more than what we wanted to pay, but it looked beautiful. I rang and enquired only to be disappointed as it had been sold 3 years ago and the add had not been removed. I told Hovsep about it and we decided to drive down and check out the park anyway. Well as soon as we drove in we knew we would buy a cabin from Swanbay.
Swan Bay is situated on the Bellarine Penisula and is between Queenscliff and St Leonards, right on the water.
Swan Bay is situated on the Bellarine Penisula and is between Queenscliff and St Leonards, right on the water.
This is the view from our cabin
The Holiday Park is fantastic and extreamly relaxing. It has 2 swimming pools, a tennis court, basket ball court, pool table, table tennis, ball and play room and a beautiful walking track over 10 acres when you can soak up the beautiful views and watch the amazing bird life of hundreds of pelicans and black swans just to name a few.
Our cabin is one of the smaller ones, but is bigger enough for us.
The park is also animal friendly which is a bonus as we can take Rio and Charleigh down if we want to.
We love our piece of paradise!!!
Thursday 16 February 2012
Level 9
Christian started swimming lessons later than most kids as he suffers from recurring ear infections and has had 2 sets of grommets. At Paul Sadler swimland, when children pass level 8, which includes swimming 50 meters of freestyle, 75 meters of backstroke, treading water for 5 minutes and completing a dive, they get awarded their green certificate along with a special T Shirt and they ring a huge fireman's bell, so the whole of the swimming centre stop their lessons and watch the presentation and give a big clap. They really make a big deal of it and the kids love it. Christian has been in level 8 for about 6 months and he was getting disgruntled that he would never get his green certificate. He suffers from Asthma and really struggles with his breathing and normally can only swim 25 metres of the pool (which includes having a few breathing breaks along the way).
Last night his teacher said to him "I want you to swim 3 laps of freestyle with no stopping". I was sitting next to a girl friend and I was explaining to her, that he wouldn't be able to do 3 laps because of his breathing. He finished 1 lap without stopping, so I gave him the thumbs up and I thought to myself I will give him $5 for making the 1 lap and this will give him incentive to complete 2 laps next week. Well I could not believe my eyes, Christian continued on to swim his 2nd lap without stopping. I was so excited for him that I punched Leanne on the leg and said "he has done 2 laps without stopping". Then my clever boy completed his 3rd lap without stopping.
His teacher then asked Christian to swim 4 laps of backstroke. Christian doesn't have the breathing problems with backstroke, however I thought after completing 3 laps of freestyle that he may struggle. But he proceeded to swim the 4 laps. When he got out of the pool to go and practise diving I gave him a big high 5.
I wasn't expecting him to get his certificate, I thought his teacher was getting him ready and that he would probably get it in the coming weeks. But when I saw the smile on his face (It was literally ear to ear) I knew that he had passed level 8. He rushed over to me and said "Mum, mum, I got my certificate." "I have to get changed quickly so they can ring the bell for me".
Last night his teacher said to him "I want you to swim 3 laps of freestyle with no stopping". I was sitting next to a girl friend and I was explaining to her, that he wouldn't be able to do 3 laps because of his breathing. He finished 1 lap without stopping, so I gave him the thumbs up and I thought to myself I will give him $5 for making the 1 lap and this will give him incentive to complete 2 laps next week. Well I could not believe my eyes, Christian continued on to swim his 2nd lap without stopping. I was so excited for him that I punched Leanne on the leg and said "he has done 2 laps without stopping". Then my clever boy completed his 3rd lap without stopping.
His teacher then asked Christian to swim 4 laps of backstroke. Christian doesn't have the breathing problems with backstroke, however I thought after completing 3 laps of freestyle that he may struggle. But he proceeded to swim the 4 laps. When he got out of the pool to go and practise diving I gave him a big high 5.
I wasn't expecting him to get his certificate, I thought his teacher was getting him ready and that he would probably get it in the coming weeks. But when I saw the smile on his face (It was literally ear to ear) I knew that he had passed level 8. He rushed over to me and said "Mum, mum, I got my certificate." "I have to get changed quickly so they can ring the bell for me".
I am so proud of him and I also had a smile from ear to ear. Well done Buster.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
New to Blogging
I am new to blogging, so I apologise in advance if this is either boring or a complete failure..
A beautiful friend of mine Lisa King, is an avid blogger and her world has recently been shattered with tragedy. She started blogging to keep a record and memories of the time spent with her disabled son, Noah. Noah passed away in October 2011 at the age of 10, and tragically and suddenly her beautiful husband Aaron, of 16 years joined Noah in heaven on Australia Day 2012. Lisa is left to raise 3 boys on her own. Luckily Lisa has captured so many memories of their family life through her blog that Lisa & the boys can always reflect on these and remember the good times spent with their Dad and Noah. If you are interested in reading Lisa's Blog, this is her blogspot http://lisajking.blogspot.com.au/. Lisa has inspired me to keep a record my own family memories.
A beautiful friend of mine Lisa King, is an avid blogger and her world has recently been shattered with tragedy. She started blogging to keep a record and memories of the time spent with her disabled son, Noah. Noah passed away in October 2011 at the age of 10, and tragically and suddenly her beautiful husband Aaron, of 16 years joined Noah in heaven on Australia Day 2012. Lisa is left to raise 3 boys on her own. Luckily Lisa has captured so many memories of their family life through her blog that Lisa & the boys can always reflect on these and remember the good times spent with their Dad and Noah. If you are interested in reading Lisa's Blog, this is her blogspot http://lisajking.blogspot.com.au/. Lisa has inspired me to keep a record my own family memories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)