The Rocking Chair, by committee

Rock it, baby!

Rocking chair: from Mom
Assembled by: David
Fabric for Cushions: from Helen, who taught next door to me
Foam for cushions: from Evelyn, David's mum
Ribbons for cushions: from assorted gifts and projects over the years
Cushions: made by me

I never realized how hard it is to find a traditional rocking chair! We went to most of the chain furniture stores and a few of the smaller ones and couldn't find any- the shopkeepers told us that they just weren't that popular anymore. This one was from a big furniture/electronics chain store- it is considered outdoor furniture- but is wider and deeper and sturdier than all the secondhand ones we were considering. And, it came in a box (much better for transport it to Exmouth).

I hope to pick up some ribbon soon so I can make all the ribbons on the cushions match.

Unexpected...

Recently we've been planting seeds and seedlings around the house to see what happens. Only natives so far- hardy local species that can grow in these tough conditions. We've also continued to water the plants that popped up after the last rain.

We reuse as much water as we can- all of our washing machine water goes out in the garden, as well as our dish water.

We noticed this little plant that had popped up just past the carport. Dave said, "It looks like a tomato plant" and we laughed about the idea of a tomato plant surving in the pindan, without water, without being eaten by kangaroos, emus, rabbits and everything else.

Guess what we saw this morning? A tomato. It is a tomato plant. It must have sprung up from a seed in the dishwashing water!

The House

So, family and friends, here are some house photos. Explanations follow each photo.


This is looking from the living room through the kitchen, with our bedroom at the far end. We chose a flooring that was a reddish wood colour, to match the red dirt around the house! The orange thingy in the top left is a patchwork doo-dad hanging on the back of the front door. The ceiling is slanted, and for some reason that makes the hall look weird, though it isn't!


This is from the hallway looking into the living room. The kitchenette (china cabinet) is one of my favourite things in the house! Each set of windows has a higher smaller window above it- lots of light to make the small house seem airy.



Guest room/second bedroom, aka where I keep my teaching stuff. On an unrelated note, we are not on mains water, so we are economical with our rainwater (considering we live in desert, the rainwater is scarce!)

Bathroom/laundry/fish rug. Gigantic sink. We use our grey water from the washing machine to water the trees and grass out the back, so we use low-sodium environmentally friendly detergent. For more information on making your laundry more environmentally responsible, look here: http://www.washwise.org.au/

Bedroom. Dave assembled the ikea bed. There is a large dresser and built in robe you can't see in this photo.

Visiting the farm

This creature was hiding under the work desk when I was using the phone. I called David to come and fetch it and put it outside! The scorpion was a bit grumpy- probably because I came close to kicking it!



One of the dangers of leaving the work fence open is that anything (and anyone!) can wander right on in. These two emus visited yesterday. Dave had to shoo them away- a daunting task as both emus were taller than Dave!

You can see our house in the back of the second photo.

House

A flower from a bouquet my sweet hubby got me as a housewarming present.


The view from our kitchen window.



We do not have an outdoor clothesline yet, so we are making use of any space we can. Luckily, things dry quickly here!

Last night we had a BBQ at our place for the 17-30's Bible Study. The outside of the house isn't finished yet (still no carport or 'landscaping').

But it was a great night!

(P.s. see the water tank past the far end of the verandah? David and Lachlan, the minister at our church, built it. Yes, really.)

Cupcakes & Muffins

Violet Crumble and Ginger mini- Cupcake



Orange and Cranberry mini-Muffins

I am definitely enjoying my new oven!

Heather Hiding

Abundant blessings!

I started teaching pre-primary full-time three weeks ago. I have a class of 19 children from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 years old, about twice as many boys as girls. The days are flying by, and the weeks are so quick- each day finishes before I am ready! Of course they have their 'off' days- they are only little and are worn out by Friday. But they are a lovely bunch, and the parents are great, too. I meant to take pictures of the classroom but I haven't been coordinated enough yet.

At the same time, our house arrived and we started moving in two weeks ago. So we've been moving house, unpacking things that have been in boxes since our engagement. It feels like Christmas! Pictures will be posted soon.

Also, my Mom will be coming to Australia for six weeks, from the end of March to the first week of May. I'm looking forward to my time with her!

I haven't worked full time since before I was married, 3 1/2 years ago. So this is the first time in our married life both Dave and I have worked full-time. However, his days are still long (being the manager) and mine are long (being a teacher) so it works out well. Dave's a sweetie and cooks three days a week, and I cook three, and we go out on Thursdays.

He also washed the dishes in floor cleaner, but in his defense, it did resemble the dish detergent bottle.

The House That Came on a Truck

After a year of waiting and living in a caravan on the fish farm... our house has arrived!



The truck arrived Wednesday morning. The truck backed into place, and jacked up the house, pulled the truck out, and lowered the house on its concrete footings. The house is prefabricated on a concrete pad. It is cyclone proof, and it has a 9-star energy rating, which is very good (but I don't know how the rating system works).


I think it looked like it was floating while it was on stilts. Four little stilts. Magic house.

The rainwater tank (55,000L) will be on the left, the carport on the right, and the verandah will run the length of the front of the house. The verandah and carport will be concreted after the verandah is assembled.

We had to choose all the colours- inside and out, tiles, flooring, cabinets, everything online- so we weren't sure what it would look like in the end! Neither of us remember choosing the white facade... but then, we didn't think we had a facade (what a fancy name for the front bits of the house) so I am not sure we chose anything! The white will turn a lovely orange colour (the colour of the dirt around it).

Here's what the house is like (the Acacia II).

http://www.fleetwood.com.au/manufacturing/manufacturingtest/acacia.html

It is small, but considering we've been living in a caravan, and there is only two of us, and we don't have much stuff- it will be perfect. Besides, with untouched Australian bush for our backyard, and the ocean for our pool, a BBQ and outdoor tables... we probably won't be inside much!