Wednesday, January 20, 2010

It'll All Come out in the Wash ..........

This one is entered for Lorelle - I think she has forgotten how to create new postings on the blog.

Adrian & Chrissy have moved recently, so they had a bit of a clean out. We copped a bit of stuff (which now has to be factored into our own 'reduction' scheme) and Lorelle took their front-end loading washing machine. We borrowed a trolley and when Aido was last down, proceeded to replace her old machine with this new one. Set it up nicely in the laundry (where else, I hear you ask?) and gave it a test run. Everything hunky-dory.

Well she has been using it for a week or so, then, yesterday heard this almighty shriek from Ben, who was in the kitchen, adjacent to the laundry. Well, the bloody machine had spun itself off its stand and ended up, almost splattered, on the floor.

Fortunately, she had not disposed of the old machine (which still worked - but not as efficiently as a 'good' front loader) so we got another trolley and took the now badly broken front loader out and brought the oldie (no, not Robbie) back in.

Luckily no-one was in the laundry at the time, so no real harm was done. So, the quo has been statused as at before installation of the new machine and she is still able to do the laundry.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Something to Celebrate the Move with ........

As exposed in our previous post - we are moving.  A lifestyle change.  In another change, I have entered the amazing world of home-brew beer.  Not only will this save money in the future - but it will provide a very adequate supply of something to celebrate our shift with.


Robbie gave me the home-brew kit for Christmas, and to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about how it would go - especially given all the warnings in the instructions about temperature control.  All sounded a bit 'disciplined' for my usual method of doing things.  However, we set up the "keg" with a pair of electric slippers and this seemed to do the job.

A week or so later, and what they call the "wort" seemed about right, so it was bottling time.  You are meant to get 30 bottles (740ml each) from the brew, and bugger me dead, that's exactly what I got.  So far, so good.

Then the really difficult bit - leaving the bottles to store and complete fermenting, etc. for two weeks - two bloody weeks to get into it to check the result.  Robbie, in one of her unkinder moments, said it wouldn't matter to me anyway.  Hopefully they would contain at least some alcohol, so the taste probably wouldn't matter to me.

Well, I gave it 18 days before chilling a couple of test bottles.  Then, on that momentous day, Sunday 17 January, the big taste test occurred.  Bouquet excellent - for Adrian's edification, no 'nuts on the nose'; colour okay - very much like beer (a good indicator); nice and clear - no noticable sediment; and finally, the taste.  More like a bitter than a lager, but absolutely NO complaints with the quality of taste.

It's now Tuesday and a testament to the brew's quality can be seen in the two photos - the glass of the liquid amber looks good enough to put on E-Bay and as you will see, only 24 bottles left.  No I haven't drunk the other six yet - there's a couple chilling in the fridge.

Look out Fosters & Tooheys - there's a new kid on the block.

The times they are a changing ..........

Yes, the times certainly are a-changing - and the Marr's are a-moving.  A big life style change in about July - August this year. We will be moving from a three bedroom house with a reasonably large yard area - to - a three bedroom brand new house on a block of land JUST a bit bigger than the house itself.

So, no more lawn mowing for me, and lovely, new fittings, carpets, etc. for Robbie.  AND, we'll be living in a housing estate within a caravan park. Location is a little bit closer to Warrnambool than where we are now - still in Allansford.  Within a one minute walk to the Hopkins River (great fishing). The place is called Jubilee Park. Quiet most of the year and hectic during the holiday periods.  It has keyed entry, a general store, swimming pool, spa, tennis court, mini-golf (badly run-down, though), playground (for Rob and the Grandees), BBQ's - the usual types of things you find in such a park.  Just need to confirm the details for getting Broadband and everything will be sweet.

We have purchased a 250 year lease (should see us out) on the land [coloured yellow on map] and have contracted Rod Stephens - a local builder - to build the house (which must "technically" be a removable house).  You can see his work here. We are building the "Samuel" model - with a few changes; such as a patio at the back, double glazed windows and modifications to the dining/kitchen areas.

We will be in 'reduction' mode for the next few months as we try to whittle down all the "stuff" accumulated over the last twenty odd years.  E-Bay and garage sales will get a hammering, no doubt.

So, we have something to REALLY look forward to over the ensuing months.  BRING IT ON, I say!