Come & Visit Our Home!

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Come and Visit, I Have a House!

It is no longer a cold winter here. Spring is in full swing. Bathurst's spring days are equal to the very nicest Alaskan summer days. The sun is so intense (I’m told the hole in the ozone is directly over Australia) that sunscreen is a must whenever you go outside. Apparently Glenn’s cousin’s American husband, Doug, got heat stroke his first time outside. Doug insisted that being from Arizona he was used to the sun, but low and behold not so. Safe to say, I’m growing nervous about the dramatic increase in temperatures that’s just around the corner. I really hope Alaskans don’t melt in extreme heat—that would be a bummer.

Glenn and I went on a short road trip to his hometown of Burraga for its annual County Sheep Fair. I had so much fun! While Glenn walked around and chatted with a few old neighbors, I eagerly watched all of the country showcases. There were sheep dog trials (dogs competing for the title of best sheep herder), timed sheep shearing (quite brutal to the sheep actually), wool spinning, baking contest, a blacksmith demonstration and a four person parade down the town’s street. I loved it!

Now if you have found your drinking boots, you’re ready to come and visit. I have two guestrooms ready for you! And, they’ll be around for awhile. The house was for sale due to Glenn’s partial ownership of the property—shared with his ex. The good news is that she has agreed to sell Glenn her half of the property. We found out on Friday that we’re here for good!!

Now we begin the process of cleaning up the house. We have a lot of work ahead of us. For example, Glenn hasn’t cleaned his work shed in two years, so the dust and cobwebs have added a new dimension to the space. Many parts of the house were never completed before the house went for sale. We get to pave the driveway, put in an automatic gate, remove some doors and fill the hole with plaster, and finish the wiring in some rooms. It seems that in addition to traveling I’ve also caught the remodel bug from my parents. And, I get to buy new furniture. We have four completely empty rooms that need to be filled. A couple weeks ago I invited Glenn’s dad over for dinner only to realize that we had no place to eat. For the last four months I have not had a dining table or more than two bar stools. Glenn is planning on making our dining room table out of local red wood--it should be beautiful.

Filling the house also includes new animals. I worry that we’re turning into Dolittles. In August, while I was back in the States, Glenn made a surprise for me. He built an aviary with metal scraps he had around the house. The 6 ft3 birdhouse now houses 4 budgies, 2 bourke parrots, 2 peach face parrots and two cockatiels…ten birds in total. I should mention that I don’t like birds. In my reluctance to go anywhere near the birds (even with a cage separating us) I failed to shut the door fast enough behind Glenn and one whizzed by me. Oops. And now that Glenn has three acres of grass to mow, we’re talking about getting a horse to put in the back paddock. Makena and I are quite excited about the idea. However, I’m still a little concerned about the manure. Glenn promises me that horse manure smells much better than cow dung, but that doesn’t mean it smells like roses.

I’ll have some nice post fix-up photos of the house before Christmas (Glenn’s deadline for the changes).

School starts in February. After Christmas Glenn and I are planning on staying in Bathurst until July. You will have six months to come and visit : )

Much love to everyone!

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Photos

Burraga War Memorial
Every town in Australia is required to have a WWII memorial.

View From Your Room
View of the grazing cattle on hills behind the house.

Peach Face
One of our ten birds in the aviary.

First Step
Our first step to making the house seem more like our home: we put up 47 pictures in the billiards room of our recent travels across Europe and the US.