Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - The Big Rain

For the last week we've been receiving warnings about this big rain event. It started raining Friday  night and is supposed to continue through to Monday middayish. So far it's  been steady, and of moderate intensity. We've had heavier rainfall in Kaiwaka but in shorter durations... not over 3 days.

I haven't been too concerned as we have built 950mm above ground level and the requirement was to build 400mm above ground level to ensure we are safe from a 1 in 200 year rainfall event.

Well we are half way through the 1 in 100 year rainfall event and we are watching the creek closely. At a guess the water can still rise 2 more feet before we experience any issues.

I'm not worried about the house but just the sheep. Our land is flat, but we have built up a couple dirt mounds... our "sheep hills" to move the sheep onto in case of widespread flooding.

So fingers crossed the creeks stay within the creek.

Before...

During...

 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - The Sanding Man

Sorry  for my absence, for the last 2 weeks I've been a little busy working on my benchtops.  

When we started this project I had foolishly allowed just $1000 for our benchtops. I thought this was plenty as we had only spent about $800 on our macrocarpa benchtop in our last house. This time around I was getting quotes for around $2000. As we are at the pointy end of the project and budget we don't have any spare funds.

So I  had to get my thinking cap on. 

I went down to a local building demolition/recycling company to see what they had on hand. Amongst their treasures of yesteryear I came across some recycled rimu tongue and groove flooring. The normal tongue and groove is quiet thin, too thin for benchtops, but they did have 80 x 40 mm tongue and groove which would suit my needs. I think this thicker timber might have been used for walls or perhaps a 2 storey building where the floor is also the ceiling. Either way it was about to be a benchtop.

Benchtop Receipe:

> Strip off the old varnish.

> Sand back to wood.

> Glue & fasten togther.

> Cut benchtop to size.

> More sanding.

> More sanding with fine sandpaper.

> Stain with Danish oil & reapplying upto 5 coats. 

> Fit benchtop to cabinets.

I'm not finished but the island is finished.

All up, Ive spent under $800, but there has been many hours scraping off the varnish and sanding. So much sanding. 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Flushing

Small, satisfying wins....  we have water to the house, hot water too.

Laundry, toilet, bathtub are connected but the kitchen and shower are still a little way off.

Down Wattle Lane v2 - We Have The Power!

Finally we can see the light....

We have power connected to the house!

Things are now progressing, we will be in soon... so soon!

Who would have thought how exciting it is to flick a switch and it actually works!! YAY 😊

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - The Creek

We have a creek that crosses through the property and my plan for the creek is to clear out the over growth then plant natives and fence it off.

Well the previous owners of the property are subdividing their land next door and have some big diggers onsite. They have very kindly scraped back the creek banks pulling  out the gorse and weeds.

Now we have a bid mess to clean up.

So this winter, we will be ready to plant... given back to mother nature.

I found this little eel, I relocated the little fella tò some deeper water, the creek is very low at the moment.

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - PD Deflated

Today I sent off an application to try to access Kiwisaver early, a few forms rather straightforward and all looks good, so fingers crossed. 

I've resigned  to the fact that I'm unemployable now. I've been applying for basic jobs, cleaning or gardening or stocking shelves, simple stuff, all I'm capable of and I can't even get an interview. I disclose that I have Early Onset Parkinson's as I can't hide my shakes. If I didn't disclose my condition then I'd be lieing and would make for an awkward interview.

So fingers crossed I can get hold of my Kiwisaver funds, albeit I'm feeling some regret now. After my cancer and other health issues, I decided in my great wisdom to stop contributing, as I was never going to reach 65 anyways... I still feel that, but kinda wishing now that I should have put more away when I could have. Silly Boy!

Part of the application was getting some notes from the Dr and on the latest report she advised "Ricky suffers early onset Parkinson's disease and has demonstrated rapid deterioration in symptoms that have been resistant to treatments" I have had the feeling that I'm seeing a quick progression with the disease but I wasn't sure until now.

Now I can't get those words out of my head "rapid deterioration".

So this is my dilemma, should I continue with Life Down Wattle Lane v2 and living the lifestyle dream which I love or sell up, again and downsize freeing up cash by purchasing a little unit or flat or apartment to see out the end of my days, I've been thinking about this a bit.  

Do what I love, or do the sensible financial option and downsize.

I'm not eligible for winz and have no income, relying totally on Gary's generosity.

If I get my Kiwisaver I have some more time before I need to make a decision.

I think that is where I am at, just one step at a time, one decision at a time.

 

Life Down Wattle Lane v2 - Progress Report

I thought I would share a video to show you the progess, there is still a lot to do. A lot of the time we seem to be waiting for others to do their thing.

Plumber

1st plumber approached was interested but then stopped returning my calls. 2nd plumber visited site and said would get back to me in a couple days... 3 weeks later stiĺl no reply. 3rd plumber was expensive, Gary said the cost was for doing a new house and half our job is done. 4th plumber approached is looking promising...  fingers crossed.

Electrician 

We're using the same guy who helped us with the barn. Friendly and fair pricing... but he is busy. The power/phone cable from the barn to house has been laid, but we haven't seen him for 2 weeks now.

Carpet Layer

He quoted the laying, we purchased the carpet, had it cut to his requests, and then I left a message to say we are ready to install... but he has gone cold too... no contact for 2 weeks.

This is a similar trend with contractors, I'm not sure if it is a sign of the times, but a little communication goes a long way. I'm really not a difficult customer... I just want out of the caravan and to get into the house.

So what's next... I need to build a cradle for the bath.