Pioneer Mad Woman

Here's hoping I look suitably refreshed after traveling for 24hrs to Sydney and then driving north to North Curl Curl. Its a beautiful spot, transport connections are great; if we dont want to use the car we can walk or hop on the bus to Manly and get the ferry . Or we can just stare at the view, remind ourselves there was a frost last night back home and crack open another bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

The flights were actually a breeze, we flew non stop with a break for an hour in Hong Kong (Been there done that and yes Mickey is smaller). Seriously though' I dreaded the whole length of time on a plane issue, but I think the fact your always leaving in the evening and your always heading East combine to make it a non event. We didn't even leave the barn till after 3.00pm following a great lunch so we had had a great sleep the night before. Compare that to the usual restless sleep whilst you worry if your going to get up in time for the flight and the idiotic early check in to Orlando and this was actually less stress.

Quick summary of the first day.. Arrived; picked up car; cursed that it was too hot, drove to North Curl Curl; dumped cases at the cottage, showered. Drove to Woolworths in Dee Why and did a bit of shopping ; cursed some more at how much food costs here; found a nice bakery and bought a sausage roll .. Sat on a golden beach cursing at how hot it is (whilst eating a hot sausage roll) and why I hadn't changed to less clothes. Back to cottage , cooked fresh Bream fillets from the fish market in Dee Why (fish luckily is cheap and plentiful)..  Early night but its going dark, just hoping my body has sleep on the agenda.

Finally found a use for those excess courgettes in the front garden.. Its the barns first chutney, should be ready to eat by Christmas.

We have  been slowly moving things in over  the last couple of weeks room by room. No delivery men in a van for us (it wont fit down the track). It's just a case of pile it onto the back of a trailer on the back of a 4x4 and pray it doesn't rain.

Bedroom two is also finished and is the only room to actually have a wall that has been papered.  All the other  Bedrooms now have carpets and are just waiting for those final bits and pieces. The big  projects we need to get on with next are a new staircase to replace the temp one.

Time to start moving in, week by week, plate by plate.And most importantly for Dan; horrible electronic equipment (though it does make the most beautiful noises). Have to dash I can smell new carpet arriving!

Remember I said we would fit the kitchen unpainted as a temporary measure so we would could focus on other issues. Turns out when you have a freezer full of meat and are cooking quite regularly at the barn its not a good idea. As chief builder Neil pointed out if the wood was left untreated any fat or grease that got on the wood is hard to deal with at a later stage.


So out with the paint rollers and brushes and on with the painting - and on and on and on. Its an endless procedure of paint, sand, and repeat to get the required finish but in the end its been worth it. A few things are still left to do to complete the kitchen; architraves around the pantry door, skirting boards and the walls behind the units themselves are yet to be papered but the room is almost finished and ready to furnish.


Michael at Village Pine has done a great job creating them to my own drawings. They are exactly what we wanted - though I think if we had to do it again we would send them off to be painted. And don't lets get started on the choosing the colour. Its a creamy lemon .


Theres also a touch of magic watching over events (thank you  Susan :) can you see him? I.m now busy sketching out the dimensions and size for the dining table for Neil to start creating. Dans working out how his beloved hi fi equipment can be squeezed into oak!

To finish a before and after set from the same spot in March 2011.

 March 2011

Jan 2012

Aug 2013

Alan (Emmas husband who farms the sheep) appeared this week with half a lamb for us to stock the freezer with. Whilst I have to admit my first thought looking at the collection of various cuts  is "Is it anyone I know" or "I'm sure this piece was in Hannibal last week";   its also reassuring to know exactly where this lamb has come from, what its eaten and that it had a great life running around the fields.

Cant wait to get Dan cooking (I think the chops done quickly and served with a sauce of pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon and herbs) and give it the full respect it deserves.

Meet Jim, possibly the most nonchalant couldn't give a rat's ass cat known to man. Its too hot for him today so he's popped in to try the flag flooring for coolness and seems suitably impressed. Its just a pity looking at the state of him he seems to have spent the rest of the day visiting the pigs at the other end of the farm and rolling in the mud with them!

Yes the floors finished and the kitchens been delivered. It still needs painting and handles etc but that's not priority at the moment. Its still scattered all over the kitchen area other than one base unit which we have slipped into position and it weighs an absolute ton. Work tops are extra wide staves of solid oak ( a theme's developing here - I expect a visit any day now from the "save the oak tree" foundation.) - I swear its all humanely farmed.


All in all it consists of the base unit above which has a couple of wall units and shelving to go above it, a Belfast sink unit and a plate rack with side cupboards wall unit. The wall units will have to wait until the walls are papered before installing but I suspect they too will be unpainted initially  and finished at a later date as time wise the pressures starting to mount.


The aim if you remember was to recreate the look and feel of the original flag floor and we are both very happy with the result.

Popped down to Emma (the shepherdess from the video) and Alans last night to try the new beer one of the local micro brewerys ( Pictish ) has produced. To quote the website it's "a crisp, straw coloured ale, brewed to celebrate the birth of Joan, the world’s largest lamb. Weighing in at a hefty 24lbs. Just like Joan this beer is no lightweight, with a big hop aroma and hints of grass and blackcurrant, gamboling to a robust bitter finish". 
They had sent a full keg to the house but the only person who seems to drink beer is Danny. The keg holds 40 pints and has to be consumed in a week...