On the morning of our last trip up the Calder for a week long stay at the Charlton House, Shirleen’s Facebook feed popped up a memory from 12 months ago, showing us driving up the Calder in the hissing rain. Who said history doesn’t repeat itself?

Unfortunately one of the tasks I had set for our week at the house was to complete the stormwater and repair a couple of minor leaks in it… the constant rain meant I was doing it in sticky Mallee mud, dredging up memories of putting in the stumps for the deck back in September 2016 when heavy rain in and around Charlton and the Avoca River catchment caused major flooding in the township. Not quite as much rain this time but enough to make it uncomfortable.

After 3 days all “water related” tasks had been completed – the stormwater drains fixed and properly feeding the new tank we installed last visit, the small old tank relocated to the garage, and the pump for the new tank plumbed and installed.

Next task on the list was to fashion up some edging for around the fruit trees so that the pea straw we had delivered would stay around the fruit trees. Wind and rain delayed the spreading of the pea straw somewhat but Shirleen soldiered on between the showers to prepare the beds. It was during this that we discovered vast colonies of earwigs residing in and around not only the garden beds but also in the clothes that had been hung to dry on the clothes horse on the back deck. From the clothes they made their way into the house, bed, car… you name it!

Whilst Shirleen was busy weeding, feeding and mulching, my job was to complete the removal of the plaster and dado from the kitchen walls, install a new kitchen window (including replacing weatherboards where the old window was removed), complete the lining of the kitchen with cement sheet and install the new cornice in the kitchen. As the end of the week drew near, we had successfully completed all we set out to do and the new kitchen is another a step closer to becoming reality.

Next trip will be filling nail holes and plaster stopping the joins in the walls followed by paint. Feeling excited!

New Cornice

New Kitchen Window