Another bright and sunny day after a night of quite deep frost.
I have taken some pictures of the house which are in this gallery. They don't show all the features but they will give you some idea of what we have bought and what we mean to do with it.
There is a most beautiful sunset view from Currawinya when the day has been clear. Up to now I have not thought to photograph it. I selected the best viewpoint, set the camera up on the tripod, and took a series of shots as the sunset developed. This shot includes the Moon and Venus!
After doing the daily chores, I set about building the retaining wall for the tank stand. I didn't get far but I did develop the techniques needed so the rest should be fairly plain sailing.
I decided to empty the tank we are not using for drinking water so that I can get at the gravel in the supporting tank
Quite unexpectedly, Keith Simpson, the man with the heavy machinery, turned up un-announced to find out if I needed his services. I explained that I had done a bit of redesign and that I needed the empty tank moved so that I could get at the gravel in the supporting tank.
I had to move the clothes line so that he could get access to the tank so he promised to come back with the front-end loader in an hour. Jean helped me move the top of the hills hoist and I cleared the hose and the power lead out of the way of the machine.
He came back, manoeuvered the machine into position and very deftly removed the tank, which weighed lots as it had been lined with cement, as though it was a toy and put it down the back. He promised to take it and the other tank and the remains of both tank stands to the tip when I have the new tank installed.
We went to Tamworth to buy more stuff. We didn't solve the problem, of the shower but all the other stuff for the bathroom and the laundry will be delivered next week.
I think we will have to solve the shower problem ( getting the new shower drain to line up with the old bath drain) by tiling the floor and putting a shower screen straight on the tiles.
I also bought an angle grinder so that I can open the old tank with the gravel in it and an electric plane so that I can fit the new doors when they come.
I also called in to the Telstra shop to enquire about a Minimax USB modem which I had read about in Macworld. Strangely there are two plans for this device, $500 for the modem and $30/month with 10 hours/month connect time or $0 for the modem and $50/month for 20hours/month connect time, both with a minimum of 24 months. The second choice saves $20 on the cost of the modem and spreads the cost over 2 years but gives you twice as much connect time. How's that for rational pricing. I guess Telstra is in the hands of 23 year old marketing graduates.
I got through some more of inspector tests and sent a number back to Head Office.
I also managed to get quite a bit of the retaining wall for the tank stand built. I expect to be in good shape to have the guy some time next week to shift the gravel.
I recently found a cute wine bottle label tucked away in an old file which I thought might entertain you so I have reproduced it here.
inI finished preparing the timber for the tank stand retaining walls. I need to dig trenches, treat the ground for termites, treat the timber for rot, and erect the walls. Then I'll be ready to move the gravel from the old tank to the new stand which should be easy if the guy finds time to come.
We attended a small celebration of the 60th Anniversary of VP Day put on by the local branch of the RSL. We learned that, of the 2500 residents of Barraba and district, 500 served in the forces during WW2 and 32 of these lost their lives during the war (more died after returning home as a result of the war). We also learned that there is a photograph of the Barraba War Memorial in a French village, presumably because they were touched by Australian soldiers from here.
In the afternoon I did more work on the tank stand. I had some difficulty getting the levels so I spent some time putting together a laser level using the little picture aligning laser level, the photographic tripod, and a carpenter's spirit level. I seems to work pretty well so I guess the rest will be a bit easier.