You'll be pleased to know Sooj is recovering well but he still has a nasty shiner! I on the other hand have had to take the past two days off work as I'm sick again with a nasty cold.
We have bought a caravan (complete with toilet, shower, oven/stove, microwave, fridge and freezer!) which we'll be living in on-site once we move out of our home at Berkeley Vale (by the 28th August...not long to go). This is going to be interesting but we can just pretend we are camping and I think we'll be fine.
The plasterers are doing their bit this week; they started last Friday and should be finished by Thursday. Then we can start the fit-out (or Bernie the builder can) and think about starting some painting...yes we have decided to do it ourselves, since I'm working part-time and we have the time to do it as the main constraint on moving in to the house is the power, which will take a while to complete. I've been looking into some paint options, including the various biopaints (non-toxic plant-based paints). I think we will probably end up using the new semi-enviro-friendly (ie, compared to regular paints that are available) Dulux paints (EnvirO2 and Aquanamel) rather than biopaints due to the big difference in price-tag. The new Dulux paints are low-VOC (volatile organic compounds that will contribute to air-pollution in the home), have reduced solvent emissions and are 100% greenhouse gas abated through the AGO greenhouse friendly programme. The Aquanamel is more enviro-friendly than regular enamel paint as it is water-based rather than oil(petrochemical)-based. Anyway, I'm still looking into paint options so might even change my mind on this one.
We are looking at about 8-9weeks before our remote-area solar power system will be ready. The panels (I think around 60 or so) will be placed on the roof or our carport (which is yet to be built) and the plan is to put the large battery system on a mezzanine in the carport (so will be well above the required flood zone level). The other essential which seems to be taking forever to sort-out, is the waste water treatment system (Biolytix) which hopefully will be in before the power. We just need to prepare the treated water dispersal area by clearing some scrub and levelling it with good quality soil (this is an area of 690m2 by the way, which is quite massive). Anyway, the dispersal area is going to be the site for many fruit trees (which should thrive with the high nutrient water) so at least the site will be semi-prepared for planting.
We have hired a 20ft shipping container to store everything from our house, on-site, until our new home is ready. I'm not looking forward to the whole moving process but it will be nice to be able to say goodbye to our old house and not have to worry about looking after it anymore.
Until next time,
Nettie
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2 comments:
Wow, you're a very brave and handy woman!! Are multi-grafted fruit trees considered to be "green"? I saw a website about a citrus tree that can grow oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, etc all on one tree! I think they were called fruit salad trees or something like that. I wanted one, but Ir thought it was too freaky. What's happening to your cats, dogs, fish etc while you're camping? Mary
Hi Mary,
I think the multi-grafted fruit trees are a great idea, and are still considered 'green', especially as they can provide many varieties on the one tree, eliminating the need for several trees, which means people with limited space can still grow their own fruit. Most (perhaps all?) citrus trees are grafted onto a rootstock so this is really no different; it just has multiple species on the one rootstock. I think you can also get similar trees from other fruit families, such as stone fruits.
Re. the pets - turtle is being minded by friends at present (he will go into a pond when built!); the fish have a lovely new tank (on display) at the aquarium shop, the dogs will stay with us and the cats will also stay with us but we have to build an enclosure (and will possibly also put them in the new house before we move in). There is so much organising and coordinating involved in this whole project...much more than organising our wedding!:)
Annette
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