Westserve

Your know you're home when...

You know the feeling: You’ve been away on holiday or a another trip, you head home, the car (or for us, car and trailer) is loaded up, you reach your driveway, pull in, open up the house and start unloading.
But you know you’re really home when … what is it for you?

For me it’s when the espresso machine (all 35Kg of it) is back in place in the kitchen (yes, it goes away with us), the water supply hooked up, the Mazzer grinder is in place, and the whole kit is warming up, ready for the first ‘spresso back home.

That was today for me. Returning ‘home’ after eight weeks leave. I say ‘home’ because the eight weeks was spent at our real home at Blackheath.
Now I know that most people use their long service leave for an overseas trip or something equally glamorous. What did we do?

• Paint the outside of the house and (double) garage – 22 litres of Dulux ‘China White’, 3 litres of Dulux ‘Benang’
• Knock two big holes in two walls. ¹
• Install two sets of French doors in said holes – one external, one set internal. ¹
• Make good surrounds of said holes.
• Lacquer two sets of French doors – the external doors with 5 coats.
• Finish details of paved area at back of house.
• Plant out 16 metres of new garden bed created by new paved area.
• Mulch same garden bed.
• Re-clad half of the double garage with Hardi-plank matching the house. ¹
• Take second big load to the tip (530kg)
• Re-roof double garage, removing 42 Sq metres of asbestos roofing, and installing Colourbond steel roof and guttering in it’s place. ¹
• Trim 14 Japanese maples to keep them to a reasonable height.
• Take third load to the tip.
• Paint laundry.
• General gardening.
• Painted my Mum and Dad’s lounge room, when Dad was too crook to do it.

We also got through watching the first two series of West Wing (five to go), the first two series of ‘Wire in the blood’, most of series three of ‘Seachange’.
We spent some good time with family, caught up with some friends, read quite a bit, and I spent a fair amount of time on the laptop doing web server stuff. Oh, and drank our way through 5+ Kgs of fine coffee. :)

Now, I know that for many people, a lot of that sounds mundane, boring and a waste of good lsl. But with the limitations that health places on us (no travel more than an hour or so, limits placed by specialised medical equipment, medication, etc), this was good, relaxing, honest time out… and we have a much improved house to show for it.
Good stuff.

¹ Professional building assistance courtesy of Rob of Glenjay Constructions.