Windows installed

Another two week stint between updates, and this time we have a fantastic excuse. Normally we would have tried to update this page Sunday a week ago, but the weather was absolutely fantastic - 34 degrees, nice sunshine - and the water in the sea must have had well over 20 degrees. As such, after a very nice breakfast with friends here in Cremorne, we had a good swim, then went home to do some house work (including finally getting the bikes out of the container !) and later in the afternoon we went for a nice swim again. Alas, no updates, but at least we had a very nice day.

The weather has actually been really nice lately and we also had a swim this afternoon after working most of the day. They say February is the most stable month in Tasmania, with temperatures usually between 20-30 degrees most of the time. And when the water is around 20 too, we really cannot complain. So, for those of you who like to plan your holidays early, you might want to start looking at flight prices for this time around next year!!!

Anyway, we have also done some building since the last update, mostly in respect of windows. We now have installed all the windows we brought with us from Norway in the container (again, thanks a lot to all you guys who helped us pack them all), either in their original frames, or just using the glass. We probably have mentioned before that these windows were all double glazed, something which has saved us a huge amount of money.

The one disadvantage with the windows is that the bottom part - that could be opened - was hinged in the middle. This might work well in many places, but it makes it impossible to put a screen on the window to allow it to be open an at the same time keep flies and mosquitoes outside. As such, we decided to make some alterations to 4 of them, but taking out the top window and replacing it with a window that could be opened. In order to make this right, we got a local joinery to do this job for us, rather than trying ourselves.

Window in its original shape and form, now installed in the eastern wall of the main bedroom.

Window where the top part has been changed - installed in the southern wall of the office.

Other changes we made, as we probably have mentioned before, was for the windows in the dining room and the living room. As we were having 3 windows side by side, it would have resulted in a wide piece of wood between the different window panes, and as such we decided to build a new frame for these windows and just reuse the actually glass. The frame was built using tas oak and the glass has been installed in a cavity and then held in with wood around the edges - all sealed with silicone.

Dining room wall, now with the glass installed. The frame will eventually be painted white.

Living room windows - same as with the dining room.

For the two bedrooms, we are using two windows in each, and we have changed to top window pane in one of these to allow for fresh air at night time. As such, they do look a bit "different" from each other, but this will fit in with the windows that will be installed in the clerestory section of the roof, as both the side windows there will be the same.

The two bedrooms on the right and middle, and the bathroom on the left. For the bathroom, we only used the bottom part of the window, and this is also the case for the wide hallway on the south, and for the kitchen.

The top sections of the windows from the bathroom, hallway and the kitchen, are then being used in the bathroom, the entryway, and in the en-suite toilet. Here is the example for the eastern wall of the bathroom.

The final window picture is from the office. This unit we actually had to buy new as we had run out of the glass we brought with us from Norway.

During the last week we have also tried to clean up a bit around the place. We have now sorted out the remaining strawbales we had stored under tarps. Unfortunately we have had quite a bit of water damage as the tarps have not been good enough. This has resulted in us having a lot of good straw for mulching the garden, but also to the fact that we have to buy another 100 bales to finish off the baling work around the little cabin we are living in at the moment. This worried us a bit as many farmers did not have any straw due to the drought, but luckily we did find a farmer that can supply us with the 100 bales we need. They should be arriving next week, and now that the roof is up, we can store them inside the house, away from the weather.

But the damaged bales are not going to waste and as can be seen from the picture below they are being used at the edges of the mounds we have made around what will become our orchard.

The rain we have had lately - though not good for our stored straw bales - is very good for our trees, and the blue gums we planted in November 14 months ago are doing really well. Here are a few of the really nice ones:

And finally, we are now also getting magpies visiting us on a regular basis. For the Europeans reading this, please note that the magpie here in Australia is also black and white, but is actually not related to the European magpie. One of the good things about this is that the sound they make is so much nicer than the European one.

Here is a little link to a ABC web page where you can find the Australian magpie under the letter M and have a listen to what it sounds like (you need Real Player to listen to it - see top of the ABC page if you need to download it).

http://www.abc.net.au/archives/av/birds.htm#m

OK, that is it for today. Will try to make another update next weekend !!

Any problems, please email webmaster. This page was last updated 24/07/2008