I know this post really doesn't have anything to do with the renovation, but if you keep your eyes peeled you'll see bits of the shed, house and front fence.

At our previous address, the people on our street used to decorate their houses and hold a street party in December. We never bought into the whole 'christmas lights' thing. Instead, over our fifteen years stay on that street, we devised nearly fifteen different displays for our front yard. From a simple paper mache snowman (eminently ironic in our blisteringly hot Aussie christmas season), to the complexity of Rachael's Tears (strong political comment), each and every one of these displays had a message. Some were obvious, others subtle; all of them pushed people to re-evaluate, re-asses, re-think. Maybe change.

This year, we might be in a completely different location and season, but we (that is to say, Slick) decided to take advantage of our street exposure and carry on our tradition. We believe that absolute Truth exists and is so important that it should not be concealed, but revealed for all - whether comfortable for people or not.

It was Thursday the fifth of April. The next day would be so-called 'Good' Friday, the day on which Christians officially remember Christ's death. Inspired by God and orchestrated by Slick, we set out to portray two scenes: Christ's dead body in the tomb and, three days later, the lack of Christ's body in the tomb.

 

First we wrapped Slick snugly in chicken wire. Recycled, of course. (Did you doubt it?)

By the way, notice the stack of recycled palings leaning against the shed? They have been taken off the hands of a local fencer (still in panels), disassembled, de-nailed and stacked, and are currently waiting to be turned into new fence panels.

Looks a bit weird, hey? A friend arrived at a slightly later stage (when he had his hands crossed over his chest), walked down the drive from an angle behind Dad's head and just about freaked out. She saw us all standing and kneeling around a body on the ground and thought he'd had a collapse or something. It was kind of funny because it was an unexpected reaction and yet a close interpretation of the scene we were creating. At least, it was amusing to us because we have a warped sense of humour.

Looks kind of freaky, even though you can tell it's just a wire frame.

Slick and the younger three did the angel wings, which involved a take on an old Slick-developed artistic technique. Rather than creating wire frames, as we have in the past, and semi-melting plastic for the outer covering, Dad used branch off-cuts and the same plastic wrap he used on the stone pillars. (We had used our only chicken wire on the body, you see, and didn't have much plastic hanging round, either.) Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, and it has certainly proved so to us many a time.

Notice that there are new windows installed in two of the laundry walls and that most of the nearest wall has been clad?

On to the next stage: The Wrapping of the Body (with strips of a not-too-stained drop-sheet). Each strip was glued down, but not with a strong glue. This body was to become a life-size representation of Christ's dead body in the tomb.

Slick positioning the first angel's head. This head is plaster, hand carved by Dad for one of our past Christmas displays. Most things from past displays haven't ever lasted more than two years, but this head and another are truly works of art that can and will be preserved. This head was put on the pole for this specific purpose.

You can see, by the way, that some progress has been made on the fence. The front gate used to swing to the left of these panels.

Part Two of the Easter installments coming soon.

Remember how we had a long, boring, dirty white picket fence along the front of the property? As you know, we decided to pull it out and replace it with our zigzag recycled paling fence. We at first considered selling the pickets as they were largely in good solid condition, due to being treated pine. But then we began to consider what we were going to do up the back of our property in the interests of security, property definition and privacy. Those scorned pickets, far from being sold, ended up individually de-nailed, scrubbed, painted, trimmed and turned into our fresh, cottage-y back fence. Even the long horizontal (hardwood) rails from the original front fence were recycled. Only the posts had to be bought, and they are treated pine as well. They will last a long time.

As usual, we had a goal - we wanted merely to build three fence panels and two gates, and hang those same gates in one afternoon. Well, we wanted to go away the next day, yet were loath to leave the property unsecured at the back. Remember what I said about our goal setting habit in 'Snapshot: The List'?

The original fence.

The first panel of pickets is installed and Slick is glad-wrapping the freshly mortared top section of the pillar so it holds firmly together as it dries. I don't know where he got the industry strength plastic wrap; I think either he salvaged it or someone gave it to him. It has come in very handy for various things. Note the new garden, which is basically cow manure from the saleyards and kitchen compost rotting down together. The old drive was so packed and gravelly beneath that we gave up on the idea of trying to dig into it.

The Klick, Alick and Glick Painting Squad. As you can see, the pickets have been cut and nailed to the rails, already. As you can't see, the pickets actually all have an initial coat of white paint, so this is just touch-up time. The day was beautifully warm and as soon as the panels were dry we were able to lug them across to the posts they belonged to, chock them up and screw them on.

Slick outlining the process necessary to install the fence panels.

This photo was taken approximately from our back door. By the end of the day almost the entire fence was up ...

... except for a few last pieces. However, by nightfall all was finished, including a clever bolt to secure the big gates. We could go away the next day in peace and satisfaction.

A few images of things from February, 2007.

 

Llick, working in the garden down in the front yard. Notice the new crushed granite path? Oh, and do you see the lamp-post down at the gate? There is another behind Mum, too, just across and up the path a bit. Slick took advantage of the trench that the plumber dug to run the electricity.

 

Picturing the back of the house, from the upper corner of that side of the property. The clothesline has been moved - did you notice?

 

And again, from slightly further up the hill, on the drive. The hedge is growing healthily, despite being young and coping with the full heat of summer. The thick bank of mulch around the roots made a huge difference.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so they say.

We have not had to suffer that cruel fate.

It's the other end of January (the 31st) and we are digging another ditch. This ditch became necessary because the plumber put his shovel through the mains pipe while trying to find it and discovered that it was so corroded that a replacement would have to be laid. This was a good thing to discover, by the way, as it explained black flakes in our water and all sorts of other undesirable characteristics.

Thank heaven for that machine!

This plumbing was a major part of the preparations we had to make before any further progress could be made on the renovation. Before we could move our bathroom and kitchen, the plumbing had to be done; before we could install a new ensuite, the plumbing had to be done; before we could move our taps and drains around in the laundry, the plumbing had to be done; before we could set up our solar water heater, the plumber had to come. I'm sure you get the picture.

Plumbing is one of those aspects of a house that is not generally thought about until it stops working properly. The electric network is another hidden convenience that makes our easy lifestyle what it is, yet isn't generally thought of till it is gone. In a sense, one could justifiably argue that this is as it should be, as it would seem to indicate a lack of aesthetics for the existence of the plumbing to be constantly intruding on one's thoughts; however, it is good to be reminded of blessings of all those hidden pipes and wires.

Between the laundry and the house, a trench had to be dug - without the help of that wonderful machine to be seen in the above photo - for both the plumbing pipe and the electric cable, as usual six hundred millimetres deep and a spade-width wide. Guess who got her afternoon exercise on that job.

Unfortunately, I haven't any more photos. I especially would have liked to show you pictures of several of us digging trenches under our house, where the pipes came under the foundations and branched off in different directions. Considering we were bent nearly double, this was probably the most awkward form of ditch-digging that I have yet experienced - and let me tell you, I have experienced the digging of many ditches!

Thank you, Phil the plumber, our house would not be the same without the help of your services!

Here are some photos of our local wildlife that were taken during January 2007.

Kookaburra sits in the old [willow] tree.

Frog on the edge of our sink inside our bathroom.

It was a rather active frog.

Cockatoos.

Glick and a friendly dragonfly.

No, not native - an escapee Peacock from an aviary down the road.

Either a Wolf spider (more ugly than dangerous) or a Funnel web (at least as dangerous as ugly); we didn't bother trying to confirm either way.

And you thought human kids nag. Trust me, living next to a Galah nest is a test of your strength of mind.

At the end of January, 2007, we officially put up the name of our property. It all started when we were given two sandstone pavers recycled from a neighbour's garden. Alone, they were useless - big and heavy, but not interesting or large enough to be much use in the general way. Slick's natural creative innovation got to work, and soon he had transformed them into pleasing objects that were of practical use, added romance, interest and value to the front presentation of the property, and which could only improve with time.

 

Clever, ain't he?

Our front fence as it was when we bought the property:

Dirty, boring and wobbly. Ridiculous from all angles - this was our fence. It had to change. Our resident designer (Mum) cleared the drawing board (found a space on the handiest scrap of paper), the resident carpenter ordered the materials and generally figured out how to translate the drawing into reality - while the remaining innocent residents waited to be transformed into resident laborers.

Voila! The laborers appear and the picket fence begins to disappear.

 

It was a jolly hot day.

Visitors. What a shame.

 

The First Panel.

The boards (old recycled fence palings) were cut square, lined up along the centre diagonal board, nailed on and then trimmed with a circular saw.

 

Notice the washing line in the distance? It was not going to stay there much longer.

Standing at the top of the kitchen stairs, in the doorway. The panel is three quarters done.

Success. The first panel is installed and the highland mist is rolling in.

Note the long, narrow trench: our plumbing according to laundry, kitchen and bathroom plans...

Slick strips the bark off our eucalypt sapling handrail. It is January 3rd, 2007 and hot.

It is quite an eye-opener to the lay person, how many uses skillful hands can put a shovel to (though it is sometimes necessary to sharpen it first).

Remember, back in April, when I posted Front Steps Pt 1? Approximately six months later and I have progressed all of about four months in the history I am trying to document! Yes, the photos below were taken between Christmas and New Year, 2006. (27-30th)

So far, Dad has dug out the old sandstone steps and replaced them (with recycled concrete slab sections). Now he has dismantled the old sandstone dry wall and is moving it in, so the edges of the steps are concealed and locked in.

Notice the steel bars? It's amazing what you can do with a trampoline.

Can you see the reason for the steel?

Da daa! The handrail. Yes, it is a eucalypt sapling - specially chosen and chopped, out on a friend's block.

No laughing, you have no idea how many comments and complements we've received in regards to this handrail!

The only object that has been more commented on, amongst our friends and within our community, is our new front fence - but you'll just have to wait a little longer to see that structure for yourselves! Watch out picket fence: you won't be standing there much longer.