098. Sunday 23rd August 2009.

Having a property with lots of trees around us is nice. The trees filter the air, provide shade, especially in the summer, give privacy and attract birds.

They have some drawbacks too. Especially the gum trees. When we get strong winds smaller branches break off and clunk and clatter and thump on the roof. The trees also drop flowers, seed pods, twigs and leaves which fill up the gutters. As well, the gum trees exude eucalyptus oil which turns black and sticky on the roof. When we get heavy tropical rain the gutters and downpipes fill up and overflow instead of being able to drain the water away. The overflow blows back under the eaves. Our under eaves, in fact all our outdoor verandahs are sealed and lined. The ceilngs and under eaves are painted with ceiling paint. The water stains them. Sooo… It is painting time. Not only the under eaves and ceilings but all the external walls and timber trim.

 This week Donnis has been washing down all external surfaces with sugar soap. The surfaces are being prepared for painting. Today I was on the roof cleaning the gutters. The damp leaves are now a mess on the paths below and I will have to clean up the leaves when they dry. If you ever saw leaves in a gutter and the amount of moisture they hide below the surface you will understand the benefits of mulching.

Summer is here! About three months early but no rain which normally comes with summer. After the painting is completed…sigh… will the painting ever be done?… I will turn my attention to the gardens once more. They had gone berserk with the rain earlier this year but so have the weeds and unwanted grasses. We also have so much aloe vera we could start our own plantation. The co-pilot will not let me cull them. He He He, one day when she least expects it the aloe will be gone, vera.

In fact the plants have done so well this year, the gravel paths I laboured over 2 years ago are either overgrown with the plants or the grass has reclaimed territory. Lots of fun coming up trimming the native plants, digging out a hibiscus and poisoning and cutting back the repossesive grass. If I can get all this done before the real summer gets here and the grass grows in centimetres daily we will still be able to walk around the yard.

After all that I will tackle getting rid of accumulated stuff under the house. You know the sort of stuff. Things that might come in handy one day and never do.

Anybody need a collection of about 100 used plant pots?

All those left over pieces of offcut steel from the garage.

Yeah! Off to the garbage tip with them.

I am not sure if I should share this on the net. It is kinda embarrassing and if you cannot laugh at yourself sometimes… well lifes too short to be serious all the time.

Here’s what happened.

I received a registration label for the Virago motorbike from the Transport Dept. It came with the usual dire warning about penalties for not attaching it to the bike immediately. The rego was not due for a couple of weeks so I put it aside.

A couple of weeks later I received another to say remove the first label and replace it with the new one as it contains a bit more info and was more legally correct. It also carried the usual dire warnings. I also put that label aside.

Then a label arrived for the Subaru with the usual warnings etc. I put it aside.

A certificate arrived for the motorhome but no label so I put it aside.

Nice collection I had.

Then I realised I better put the label on the Subaru as I was driving to work in the morning and did not want to get pulled up by the Gendarmes. So, by torchlight in the garage I removed the old label and put the new label on.

A few days later Donnis asks when I am going to put the labels on. Of course I said “I already did the Subaru and will do the bike tonight” Oh here’s another label for the Subaru. Why did they send me two for the bike and two for the Subaru?

By torchlight I went to the garage and looked at the label on the Subaru!

Duhh!

I had put the first bike label on the Subaru. Geez good thing I was not pulled up or in an accident or stopped for a breathaliser. How would I explain to the Police why I had a bike label on the car?

So… by torchlight I removed the bike label from the car, made sure it was the original and replaced it with the correct car label. Then removed the old bike label from the bike and put the new one in its place. I then put the certificate for WHEREWILLWEGO on the WHEREWILLWEGO  dining table.

Oh so, zurück zur Malerei.