Well, I took the cowards route and left a letter in the fuse box, along with a cheque in intimation of intention to pay and fled the scene to quilting. Lingered around after the girls had cleared out and ended up being invited to dinner (which is why I am so late posting tonight). He does at least seem to have finished up the switch board so hopefully I will have a legal power supply in the not too distant future.

I baked my first ever cake in the oven which was an interesting experience. A combination of SRF in lieu of plain flour and baking powder, soda bicarb and a too small cake tin have left me with the discovery that the bottom of the oven has a bake-clean function. The remains of the cake just lifted off - what a nice discovery. The cake that remained in the tin was very tasty, but sadly the remains of my tooth became embedded in it, and so I have yet another emergency appointment with the dentist to look forward to - and possibly an unexpectedly large bill as there is not really enough tooth left to do owt but get one of those screw-in teeth I suspect.

And so to bed in the not too distant future - too much excitement today for me.

I despair. Either my electrician is terminally stupid, or he is deliberately stuffing me around. I was finally presented with his idea of an itemised account. Basically it is set out on paper that provides for the relevant information to be supplied (i.e a column for the item, a column for the subtotal, etc, but the actual information is not there. Only one item is specified as being supplied (i.e. the phone cable) and the rest of that section is an incomplete list of the tasks carried out. The hours are inaccurate, and the total is $500 over the top end of his estimate (and a conveniently round figure with no cents).

He turned up today at 11 and left at 2 with the job incomplete. His tasks for today were to check out the three things that were not working (done), install the oven (done, but despite knowing he would be doing it, he failed to bring a 15 amp powerpoint so it has had to be hardwired into the wall), install the smoke detector (done), re-affix the bathroom power point (not done), finish off the work needed to get Aurora to connect me legally (not done), install the downlights with cages (not done as he brought the wrong size cages - again - despite having had that conversation over several times in his more recent visits). So he plans to turn up some time tomorrow afternoon if he can find the time off his other job and may or may not finish the job then. My opinion? He will not be leaving till he finishes the job, and if he does leave, then he won't be coming back.

In regards to the 'invoice' I have drafted a letter expressing my general unhappiness and will give it to him, in an envelope with a cheque for half of what he is claiming. The letter will specify that this is paid as evidence of my intention to pay. It will also indicate that the (agreed) balance will be paid on completion of the job (the term completion being defined), provision of a properly itemised account (example given of the level of information required, e.g. his hourly rate would be handy) and a period of not more than seven days after those conditions have been met (to give me time to go over it with a fine-tooth comb). I am still trying to work out how to specify the time frame within which I expect him to supply the invoice following completion of the job.

Very unhappy with this person ...

While he was here I mowed a bit more grass, drove in a few stakes for the new chook run and generally pottered around by the house so I could keep an eye on him. At least I now have hot water, and (presumably) a functioning oven.

Spent a nice relaxing morning sitting in the sun out the back for about half an hour. Dashed into town for some walnuts, craisins and dried apricots for culinary adventures, pending the arrival of the electrician tomorow to install the stove, and did a mad-dash tidy up before my friends arrived at 11:30 bearing lunch. The pie went in the woodstove to heat while we did a grand tour of the grounds, picking veges for them to take home (along with 3 dozen eggs to sell for me) and admire the geese, despair over the state of the shed and play with the dog, then lunch.

I have been asking every visitor to look at the two (very similar) laminex options i am contemplating. One is Formica in a colour called Pomegranate, the other is Wilsonart in a colour called Port. The wilsonart is a hands down winner so far with unanimous votes from all who have given an opinion. I suspect it is a little cheaper than laminex also, so that will be a good thing. They are both a fairly deep red, but the formica has a slightly pinkier tone to it, which is a bit of a turn-off for me, now I see it in the natural light of the location it will occupy.

So my friends headed off at 3 and I ran around finding the various things the electrician will need tomorrow, and I have also posted a question about his choice of one 10amp fuse for all of the powerpoints in the kitchen on a renovators forum (personally I suspect that was a really bad choice) so I can be armed with information when he comes to sort out why they are fusing at present. Have also proposed a solution that I am asking the renovation guys to comment on (ease of delivery, type of thing).

And I have moved the bench top out of the way so the stove can be fitted, and moved the stove into the kitchen. Will try to work out how the legs go on tonight if I feel so inclined - the instruction manual just says 'attach legs' with no indication as to which end is up, or how you attach them ...
Someone had a stroke of genius and suggested that if I put a kickplate across the front of the legs, then I won't have the problem of being able to see under the stove, which seemed a lot easier solution than the plinth on wheels I was trying to design in my head.

A lovely sunny still day today - phew. Was beginning to feel ratty with all that wind we have been having of late. Lots of fiddly things done today.

There was one section of the fence in the chook run I had jerried together for want of a post, and now i have those posts I bought yesterday, I was finally able to sort it out. So there is now a formal fence between the fence and the back of the woodshed that should discourage any attempts at escape. Since the soil was all scratched about when I removed some grass tussocks, I have plonked several lumps of concrete along the base of the fence in case anyone thinks it is a good idea to dig their way out. Also moved the old timber bench against the base of the joint fence in the spot where the hens have been dustbathing.

Having got into the swing of things, I decided to extend the existing chicken run up to the intended finish point, which is in line with the front of the shed, closest to the house. That gives about an extra 3x3 metres of lush grass for them to keep themselves happy with until I can spare the time to build their second run.

I also started to dismantle part of the strange constructions that Desi had left against the back wall of the same shed, which provide a perching spot that is causing Rita to become convinced they are plotting to fly into her yard from there. But was part way through when I realised it was probably also protecting the wall of the shed from the effects of the wind, and that until I stabilise the shed, it is probably better to leave it there.

Mowed some of the grass that is shooting up like mad at present, with the warmer weather and rain, and set out the Gooseberry cuttings into their temporary home in the heap of fat sand. The spare chards (different colours to the ones i have at present) were plonked into a garden bed and also planted some rosemary cuttings into a bucket of sand.

I have dug out the wet-dry vacuum cleaner and will go over the concrete tonight, preparatory of putting on a coat of sealant = at least in those places where i plan to install the dishwasher and oven. That can then dry overnight and get another coat tomorrow evening when kitty cats and puppies are less likely to be tromping in the wet paint. I have visitors arriving tomorrow and a cake to bake, so will need to work out which recipe I have that I also have ingredients for ...

Another lovely sunny day, marred only by the galeforce southerly that has been rattling the roof for some time now. I discovered that despite this, the rear of the house was lovely and cosy. The house blocks the wind so the area that will eventually be a patio was soaked in lovely sunshine and would have been very pleasant to sit out on and enjoy the light breeze that was all you could feel.

This morning I scrubbed the rest of the concrete, preparatory to painting sealant on the floor, and did a bit more housework generally. Once the kitchen is done i will try to get back into a routine of cleaning, so I can enjoy the new spaces properly. It occurred to me that I should see what is required to obtain my certificate of occupancy also. I think it will only mean the doors going on between the bathroom, laundry and kitchen, and getting the smoke detector hard-wired in the hall. Hopefully they don't need achitraves and skirting boards - that would be really annoying.

I picked large quantities of spinach, chard and turnips to take into town with me and give to the person who has supplied me with gooseberries. Her own crop has been badly blighted by frost as her yard does not have as favourable an aspect as mine. Then off to Roberts's for a rain gauge (which will probably doom me to no more rain) and to Elders for some star pickets to make the second half of the chook run (so that the geese have rotational grazing over the other half of the orchard). Then home via a friends place where I dropped off the microwave, hair drier and sewing machine cord to have them 'naturalised' to Australian plugs. I have no doubt I will find other appliances etc that require similar treatment as I begin to unpack (in fact just remembered that the problem arises with my jig-saw also), so will progressively drop them off as I find them.

Snow heavy on the highlands - Interlaken Road is closed as a result - but no sign of it here, not even in the temperature of the wind...

Not too sure what happened to the snow, because it failed to eventuate. As did the showers they promised as a substitute. The morning was, however very foggy for some time, so I guess that means it is still winter.

The kitchen cabinets are now all connected by proper cabinet connectors, rather than the screws i had used in the interim. It is getting easier to see what sort of work area I can look forward to having and it is looking rather promising I have to say.

I also intended to scrub the concrete and prep it to seal it tomorrow, but somehow that didn't get done. Tomorrow, I guess. In between a run up to Mt Seymour to drop off some English appliances for new plugs, and a run into Oatlands to collect some star pickets to make a fence for the other side of the orchard, and to call in a cut some gooseberry cuttings to pop into fat sand in the hope they take root. And a run to the tip to dispose of yet more rubbish.

The forecast for tomorrow is snow showers, so I guess I won't be doing the fencing I was planning to do. Still, there's always the following day which will probably be very warm. It is getting quite confusing, weatherwise at present.

At least the dog will be pleased to have me at home and fairly sedentary, he misses me when I go out two days in a row.

Still messing around making additional blocks for this quilt business. I have made an extra 12 blocks, which was a number dictated by the quantity of remaining cream fabric. If that doesn't work I guess i will need to have several borders to make up the size I require. Between the offcut diagonal squares I have from the snowballs and the remains of the jelly roll I can get around it once, if not twice in 2 inch strips, so will see how it works out.

I gather the bantam is settling into her new home, if a little flighty. I explained that it has lived a fairly feral existence being chased by anyone who saw it for several years, so my friend is planning to keep her in a small pen till she realises she is no longer on the 'most wanted' list, and her chicks have grown up a little and can survive outdoors.

There is a distinct chill in the air tonight, so perhaps snow is not such a ridiculous concept as today's lovely sunshine would make it seem at present.

today has been astonishingly exhausting. Clearly I am out of practice being around people.

There are two or three members in the quilting group who, thankfully, rarely turn up. Today all three were there. They communicate by shouting. To reduce the volume, they were seated alongside each other, but they still shouted so loudly I had a headache and had to leave early. This, combined with the third person deciding she would usurp my usual back-to-the-wall position, then participate in the shouting match going on on the table behind me meant I was surrounded by people carrying on conversations so loudly I could barely think about what I was doing. It was horrible...

At least the bantam is on her way to a new home as we speak so that is good news. She will not be missed. Meanwhile I got home with no wood left and raced down to collect some and cut and get it indoors before the deluge hit. It was an impressive deluge. The geese found it quite thrilling.

The dog decided to rampage through the rubbish bins and to get at the 750g tub of margerine I had left on the table. Half of that is now gone and the remainder is down in the chook run for them to help themselves to the remains. After his initial excitement at my return, he decided to punish me by vomitting the margerine all over the hall floor. Fortunately he missed the runner so it is a straight-forward cleanup job...

The various seedlings in the laundry are all over the shop and have to be repotted and moved to a safter spot. Fortunately dinner is simply a matter of reheating last nights pasta sauce and cooking some pasta to go with it. It will be nice to have a proper kitchen where stuff can be stored safely and doors between the various interior spaces to avoid today's rampage.

And it's all to do over tomorrow I fear as we meet once again. Though fortunately only one of the shouters will be present so her tone will hopefully be moderated by the presence of others and I can actually have a conversation with someone ...

The wind was back today. Not exactly gale-force, but a seriously lazy wind of the variety that really discourages outdoor activity. My problem at the moment is that my hair is just at that awkward length were it blows in your face, but is not long enough to tie back, and a woolley cap would be overkill. So a difficult phase.

So I took to the housework with a certain gusto this morning but rapidly ran out of steam, remembering I have visitors due on Sunday and it would all be to do over again on Saturday. Nothing like making excuses, but i hate housework and at present it is particularly tedious due to not actually having a place for everything.

I plan to have a go at sharpening the chainsaw chain today. I gave it a bit of a go yesterday but it did not make much impression on general performance, so a more serious go is obviously required.

Took my books back to the library and picked up more of the same. I still have one on the go from the last batch but can take that back on Wednesday when they are next open. Then picked a few veges for dinner (spaghetti bolognaise with parsley and spinach, and am about to contemplate doing something about preparing said dish, with a view to it being able to develop a little flavour before teatime. It will be better tomorrow, which is fine by me.

The big achievement for today was mending fences (so to speak) with the neighbour and while it is clear there will be a very long row to hoe before we have an easy relationship, at least we are speaking again and exchanging ideas and plants and other such neighbourly tokens. I took advantage of her presence in the back yard (having read from her body language that she was less het up than she has been) and spoke to her.

The bantam remains on my property so tomorrow will call the person who agreed to take her one once before, and see if she is willing now there are six chickens thrown into the bargain.

The geese have a pond. One of the quilting ladies gave me an old plastic clam pool which is now embedded in the run with water in it. The chooks are enthralled, but the geese have yet to recognise it as a body of water. There were actually two clams but one has holes in it where the slasher bashed into it. That one I will fill with fat sand which I have discovered is a useful medium for striking cuttings. Will need to find it a permanent home before filling it though.

The mulch is back on the hedge and the fruit trees, with additional rocks on the cardboard to help it withstand the winds, and there is now a weeper hose running down the hedgeline. I have yet to test if it works as the ground is quite sodden from the rain last night, but it is at least in position. There are a few additional metres of hose left. At present they are strewn across the part of the yard that will become the potato patch, but i seem to recall that the bulk of the water is lost from weeper hoses at the tap end, so I may haul it down so that it runs along the back fence and any residual water can then irrigate the plants I have stuck in down there. Will just have to suck it and see what works.

All the raspberry canes seem to be settling in happily and those that are actually just cuttings stuck in the ground seem to be sending out shoots - so hopefully there is some root activity going on underground. Some I will sell at the markets if they strike. The rest are in the garden for my own use.

Well, I remembered to vote. Actually I didn't, though I did wonder why so many cars were hanging u-turns in the drive. It was only when I popped into town and saw they were all stopping at the community hall that it sunk in (and then only by the time I was half-way into Oatlands)...

On the way back from Oatlands I did spot someone I needed to discuss some work with, and managed to have a chat with him, but otherwise stuck indoors doing next to nothing - apart from a load of washing) and reading a book.

The bantam remains in residence. I will give someone a call later and see if she remains willing to accept the damn bird even if it now comes complete with chickens.

The hen and her chickens are snugly tucked into the rabbit hutch awaiting some evidence that her owners have provided her with suitable accommodation. Apparently out of sight is out of mind for them though as they have not been over to claim her.

Catching her was a bit of a trial in the dark. She shot off the nest and bolted. Fortunately she was inside a smaller run within the larger one, so was cornered (had it been daylight she would have escaped). So hen down, the chickens also scattered and I was busily recovering them from various parts of the yard when I was joined by Rita who got stuck into me about chickens entering her yard. I firmly pointed out that they and their mother would be returned to their owner as soon as they had satisfied me that they had provided adequate housing, but no apology was forthcoming and I am sure she will find something else to whinge about soon.

Today, being a particularly rotten day and the firewood not looking as if it would last the distance, I decided to go to Hobart and pick up a few things so I tossed the dog into the car and we headed south. Managed to get some cabinet connectors for the kitchen, and some plugs to adapt my various bits of English electrical goods. While down there I phoned the electrician who will be up on Monday week to sort out the hot water and wire in the oven and present his invoice (if he remembers). Doubtless he will ask for immediate payment. He will be disappointed.

Home to find a couple from up the road enquiring about the caravan and its price. They went off to think about it.

So, tucked up snugly to ride out the weather and see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully progress on the kitchen and a chance to recover the mulch situation. And install the new weeper hose I have bought to irrigate the hedge.

Today has been a strange combination of fog, ice, wind, sunshine and heavy rain. Tomorrow, I gather, will be worse with galeforce winds, so I have spent a little time battening down the hatches to minimise potential damage arising from said wind.

The bantam has returned to the fold, complete with about a dozen chickens. Day old by the looks. Presumably where-ever she hatched them was too unpleasant, as she has set up house in the little aframe shed in the chicken run. Her presence (and that of the chickens) was drawn to my attention by the children next door. We have agreed that I will try to catch her tonight and transfer her, and the chickens, into the rabbit hutch where she will live until they can guarantee they have provided appropriate housing from which she can not escape. Hopefully that will at least reduce the tension with Rita and will also allow her to see that neither I nor the owners of the bird agree with her interpretation regarding responsibility.

So I have found a level patch of ground, placed the rabbit hutch on chicken wire to reduce the risk of escape by scratching around in the earth, placed logs and rocks on all three exposed sides of the hutch, and will go down tonight to see if I can catch the dratted bird and move her and her latest batch of mongrel offspring (sired by Rastus) into secure quarters.

Apart from that I have done absolutely diddly-squat today apart from reading a book, putting a soot-removal agent up the chimney and cutting sufficient firewood to hopefully tide me over tomorrow's horrid weather.

Having struggled and wrestled with the quilt i am working on for several weeks I finally had all the pieces completed and grouped together in blocks of four. Then I laid them out on a table and discovered I had only enough for a single-bed topper... Fortunately I have left-over fabrics so can probably gain enough additional blocks to make it up to a queen bed topper then add various borders to bring it out to the desired size. It is annoying to say the least. At least when I made the snowball blocks I had the forethought to sew a double seam on the corners so that cutting them off gave me a spare 2.5 inch square with a diagonal colour change. That will allow me to piece at least one border with those (I hope), perhaps with some rectangular strips of a plain colour to link them together. But it will take some thought and some careful construction.

At least I managed to pull together my appliqued teatowel for the stall we will have at the Spring Markets.

Apart from that, not much to report, so will bid you adieu for the rest of the evening.

Despite all the fuss, this was all that was left of the snow at nine this morning. The bed to the left of the picture is the one with the lettuce and raspberries newly planted. The lettuce survived happily under the straw, so that is good - I may get to pick a few leaves for dinner once they get going. The bed on the right is the brassicas which, as you can see are going well. The various broccoli are cropping well, so I will be having some for dinner tomorrow as I will be in town and will pick up some chops to go with it. The hedge planting is visible in this shot, but as is so often the case with early morning (low sun) shots, it is not standing out clearly. There is some mulch left, but I will need to spend Thursday sorting it back into its intended positions once more.

Today was rather lovely weather, sunny and calm, but I spent it quilting. Today I made a block for a group quilt we are doing to raise funds for the Dogs Home. Each block is a sausage dog. Mine was a brownish floral, with a blue heart on his rump, black nose and pupil (using a black fabric loosely sprinkled with flowers so he has a gleam in his eye and on his nose) and a quilted ear. It was my first attempt at applique, and my first attempt at machine blanket stitch, so it does not bear close examination on those parts where detailed corners were required, but hey, I take the 'water colour' approach to quilting - stand back and view from no less than two metres, lol.

I also cut out some flowers, stems and earth for the teatowel for the October Spring Festival. I will attach those tomorrow, once I find some more gelati type colours in my stash (could take some effort as they are not my usual colours).

Chooks excelled and produced 6 eggs today, so I guess I will have to assume they were feeling a little put out by yesterday's weather. And who can blame them.

Herby, the ladies tell me there remains a chance of more snow this month, so do make sure you bring a scarf and cap with you.

Last night was blessedly peaceful with no more squabbling geese. They were fairly vocal today, but the frequent visits by the local wedgetailed eagle probably account for that.

Howling gales whistling around the place today with occasional scuds of rain. A little more bemusing was the very fine snow that appeared out of a warm, windy sky. Only very tiny flakes, but having checked weatherzone, apparently there is a chance of more tonight. So not terribly encouraging weather for outdoor pursuits, but i nevertheless managed to complete filling the last wicking bed and plant out the raspberry canes that have been patiently waiting a permanent home in the sand-pit. Also pruned three canes that had popped up from under the shed last year and cut them into lengths that have also been popped into the bed in the hope they will shoot. And all watered in with seasol for a bit of encouragement. Behind them, I have planted a selection of lettuce that had been sitting in a punnet for a bit too long. Not sure if they will survive the present wild weather and the projected snow, but they are under a layer of hay (assuming it has not blown off, like everything else around here) and that will hopefully protect them from the worst.

Bits of cardboard and hay blowing everywhere as the mulch along the hedge disintegrates, but not much I can do about that apart from waiting till the wind drops. So the dog, the cats and I are having an early finish and will ride out the storm.

It was fun and games on the farm this afternoon. I decided it would be a good idea to try to catch the goose an hour ahead of my scheduled departure time and it's a good thing i gave myself that extra leeway. I have, however, satisfactorily demonstrated to myself at least, that even under extreme provocation, the geese will contemplate flight, but not initiate it.

First I walked them to one end of the run and tried to corner them, but they made a break for it and scuttled to the other end. Then they hid behind the shed. Then they made a break for the other end. I did one several occasions, manage to split my target bird from the pair, but she managed to scrabble back to their safety once more. Then I finally did corner them, and was approaching one step - long period of stillness - one step - long period of stillness etc when Shadow and Smidgen thought it would be a good idea to come down the other side of the fence and so startled them into flight once more. Then Smidgen decided that running around 'helping' me was a good idea meaning there was a danger of treading on him as I made my 'turn on a sixpence' revolutions after them. And Shadow got so excited he nosed his way through the gate, leaving it open so the gander escaped and had to be herded back into the run...

Eventually I placed a 44 beside the back of the shed and draped some bird-netting over the gap on the other side. On the first lap the geese scrambled up onto the 44 and were away before I made it round the corner. The second lap, the pair ran into the 44 and my target headed down the other end of the run. The final lap, the pair dodged the barrel and the target goose went headfirst into it. Finally, having trapped her, and pinioned her, and avoided having my face bitten off, discouraged the dog and the cat, and returned to base, I managed to stuff her into a feedbag, find her head and pull it through the hole I had made, tied up the other end and put her in the car. There she remained for the few minutes it took me to get out of my goose-poo stained clothes, into something vaguely suitable for the MacDonalds car park in Launceston, shut the remaining animals indoors so the cats were in before dusk as always (though I will pay for their early confinement tomorrow morning when they decide they need to go to the toilet NOW!) and drove up to Launceston, arriving in time to be able to pick up a bag of chips, go to the loo and return to the car to discover that the new owner had texted with details of her car. Located her, passed over the goose (who set up an appalling honking that will have the MacDonalds staff and clients talking for weeks) and drove home once more.

Hopefully by now she is stretching her wings in 21 acres of rural bliss somewhere near Sheffield, and making friends with the flock of spinster geese she will be joining.

I think I will be glad to see my bed tonight ...

It is amazing how little noise is emanating from the goose run tonight - no more squabbles one hopes ...

Grey overcast, windy and chilly. So I sat inside and read a book. And messed around on the computer. I did spread some blood and bone on the newly planted hedge (apparently it deters hares and rabbits as well as possums ...) and that is about the sum total of today's activities.

The goose is still here as the intended recipient's husband has had his flight from NG delayed by weather. She will hopefully be heading off tomorrow and some peace and harmony can return to the chook run. I am expecting a call to let me know what time suits their plans.

A glorious sunny day today an quite warm to boot. I spread mulch along the newly planted hedge - wet cardboard topped with hay on the northern side, just hay on the southern side as I ran out of cardboard. Also around the newly planted prune plum and the last of the ridges of soil that had previously been planted. Re-arranged the mulch that had been blown off during the last strong winds and generally had a bit of a tidy-up of the lower portion of the back garden.

After lunch I got stuck into transferring soil into the last of the raised beds that are in position, and now have it within a foot of the top. Another effort like that and it will be ready to be planted. Thinned the turnips and generally had a bit of a go at the vege patch.

I will be glad to take the spare goose away tomorrow. She was in a fight with the other female today and it was quite violent (and noisy) so it will be good to move her on and let the other two settle down to being a bonded pair. And it will be good for her as she would come to a sticky end if this keeps up for much longer.

So, I knocked off early (what with all that shovelling) and had a hot shower and got into something comfortable and am having a lazy evening, despite the increased daylight that we are now enjoying as we move into Spring.

Wahay - I now have a hedge. Admittedly it is about the same height as a box hedge in a tiny knot garden at present, but at least it has gone in the ground at a time when all the conditions are about as right as they can be. I will water it in tomorrow, along with the prune that I planted also today. I have also staked all the fruit trees now so it should all be fine when the galeforce winds they are forecasting for tonight arrive and try to blow everything away.

The saga with Rita continues, sadly. She has called council and made a formal complaint that my poultry are entering her yard. This strikes me as fairly obsessive behaviour since they have not been there since March, but hey, who knows what is going through her head? The guy who came out listened to my side of things and offered to talk to her and hopefully she will listen to him when he tells her the bantam is not mine. And that logic suggests it is not my geese that are in her back garden. It is very disappointing that she has decided to embark on this strange campaign given the effort i have put into developing a good relationship with her, and frankly, she will be the loser as a result. No access to the dog (who she adores), no eggs, no tools on loan ... can't understand it myself. But each to their own.

What else? Oh, the tank is more than 3/4 full. We had a total of 2 inches of rain and I am collecting from only 2/3 of the roof, so presumably this means with a full roof drainage I will get a full tank out of that, plus some. Which is great. Now all we have to do is organise to get a regular inch of rain once a month, lol.

Weirdly enough, I have just been approached to become a moderator on a forum of which I have been a member for several years now. It was the first forum I joined and is dedicated to cat rescue in the UK (basically I joined in the hope of getting a cat when I arrived over there, and have been a member ever since). So after sleeping on it, and approaching another moderator to see how she found it, and reading the operating instructions for moderators, I have agreed to a six month trial. Obviously if it takes up too much of my time I will withdraw, but is seems a more useful thing to do than many, so I am prepared to give it a go. Will be an interesting test of my expectations about how moderators should work, lol

Rain, glorious rain!! We have had a whole inch of rain in the last 24 hours. Not sure how well that is showing up in the tank as it is a bit damp out there so I have not bothered to check. Inside there is a row of pots in the loungeroom capturing the water falling from the internal gutter of the old roof - something that will hopefully not happen after it is replaced. In the mean time is has just required a few items to be relocated to avoid electrical problems, a sheet of plastic over the filing cabinet, and every basin, bowl, container I own placed in a long row to catch the drips.

The rain seems to be soaking well into the ground which is a good thing - it is a nice steady fall, not torrents, just a good slow fall. The new drain has not had to do any work to deal with it yet, but it will be interesting to see how it copes if the rain keeps up for much longer.

Lots of smiling faces at quilting today - not only because of the rain in our tanks, but because we had the perfect excuse to be sitting at our machines and sewing instead of all the other things we might otherwise have been expected to be doing.

My hotmail account has finally come back into action - hopefully disease-free. So I have been able to catch up with what is going on in the UK.

And apart from that, nowt else to report today!

I had an amazingly long sleep-in this morning and was barely out of the shower and dressed when someone knocked on the back door. It was the strange little man who called around several months ago and promised me a prune tree. He delivered it and it is a lovely looking tree - probably rather more advanced than the ones I have in the ground at present. I will need to get it in the ground sharpish so gardening will be on the agenda on Thursday. In the mean time it is propped on the shady side of the caravan where it should be fine (its roots are bagged up).

Then off to quilting where I made rapid progress on piecing the remaining blocks for that dratty quilt. They are not exactly perfection by a long shot, but seem to be coming together fairly well with a bit more attention to seam width, pressing and trimming.

On my arrival home someone had sent me a PM and so the goose is heading north for summer where she will be joining a flock that includes unmatched ganders and several 'single' women to keep her company. That is a huge relief as she is deeply unhappy playing gooseberry in my yard and they are still beating her up. I will drive up to Lonnie with her on Saturday and her new owner will take her home to Sheffield.

So a much better day than those that have recently passed. I am off to quilting tomorrow also just to celebrate!

A few more cabinets constructed today - these are the upper level ones. Of course, installing them will have to wait for a bit until there is a counter-top for me to use to build up a base to rest them on while I am fixing them to the walls - and also a new supply of connector thingies as I was only able to get enough for part of the job when I was in Hobart last. At least one of my measurements seems to work - there should be just exactly the right amount of space to mount a 900mm and a 450mm cabinet on the wall to the right of the exhaust fan above the stove before i run into problems with ceiling height. Have also made up the two 450mm cabinets for above the cabinet in the alcove. So will be ready to rock and roll when the time is right.

I think now I should concentrate on sealing the floor at that end of the kitchen which will involve keeping the animals out of play in that area for a few hours. And shifting one or two items out of the way. And it gives me another reason to avoid dealing with building the plinth for the bottom of the stove, lol.

Since the plumber plans to provide a length of flexible hose to attach the gas to the stove (and also allow it to be moved out from the wall for cleaning purposes), I have decided I also need to fit wheels to the plinth so it can all come out as a unit. So that will require some thought, consideration of available wheel options, and so forth.

The goose remains a problem. There was a chap on BYP who indicated interest and, since he was not too far away, I offered to deliver as he was too busy to come collect her. Sent him my phone number on Saturday - still waiting. I have stressed that she is under stress from her flock-mates, but apparently whatever has him so busy (like lack of time management skills or whatever) he has not called. Since the goose's destination is the Bridgewater Farm School, I would not have thought it too difficult to delegate a phone call to the school admin team even if he is legitimately 'too busy'. (bad mood - can you tell?)

Meanwhile it is quilting tomorrow and I am hoping that things get along better there than they have in the last few weeks or I will definitely need a day at the beach or similar to get out of the grumps.

Last night was quite a bit milder than the previous one - but today was overcast and grey to pay for it. So as you can see I got stuck into the kitchen once more and have now got all the cabinets in place apart from the one closest to the camera. It is about 500mm to the right of its final position, but since positioning it will involve cutting holes for three water outlets and one water disposal pipe I think I will leave that to the plumber when he is next down. There is one final cabinet - a 150mm filler that i thought I needed in the run leading up to the space where the dishwasher is to go, but which is not required. So I will pop it on the door side of that big cabinet once it is in its intended position. That will provide me with a recess for hanging the teatowel when it is not in use. I kind of hate a kitchen that has no designated spot for the teatowel as it ends up cluttering up the benchtops or catching fire when you forget it is on the oven door. At the end of the run of cabinets it will be handy for drying dishes as that is what that cabinet is for - the sink.

Smidgen has been convinced for some time that there is a mouse behind the panelling beside the fireplace. So far he has had the sense to realise it is not a good idea to get down there and have a closer look. But today he decided to be adventurous and the first I knew of it was when his racoon tail emerged from the top of the panelling. I tried to get the camera out to take the pic, but by the time I had done that, he had worked the problem out and reversed his position. It was very funny watching the tail, then the rump appearing, then disappearing once more as he dropped back down and tried a front-on approach. Here he is hauling his butt out from the narrow gap, having finally escaped.

Four eggs today - yesterday I received five. One was a rather elaborately sculpted offering that looked like a baroque pearl. Its shell was so thin that it cracked on the way out, and obviously caught the little lady by surprise as it was just sitting on the straw of their bedding rather than being in the nest along with more formal and normal offerings.

The minus five start to the day put things back a little as it was some time before i had running water. More subzero tonight, but at least the days are lovely and sunny. Had to crack the ice when I went to water the garden and the chooks at mid-morning, but it was not too thick.

I have installed all the cupboards properly now - with screws back into the walls for stability. I also cleared all the clutter that was inhibiting movement in the kitchen - moving some of it into the front room, and other bits into the container. Tomorrow I hope to recover the counter tops from the bottom of the pile of remaining flatpacks to pop temporarily on top of the cupboards while i cut timber to make the base plinth for the stove to sit on. And will also consider cutting a lump of the spare MDF to make a top for the bench that is in the alcove. That way I can install the overhead cabinets in this space also, and have somewhere to stow the foodstuffs currently cluttering up my life here in the loungeroom. That will be temporary housing as this will ultimately be a space for storing preserved foods, but will be handy for use in the interim.

Then if there is time and energy to spare, I will hang the doors on the cabinets for which I have doors, and work out how to cut holes for the hinges on the pantry cabinet (as removing it from its location, moving the legs to the other end and putting it back seems like a 'last resort' sort of solution to me).

Am quite chuffed with the way things are going at present, so wish me luck for tomorrow when adjusting door hinges to get them to hang straight will doubtless drive me to distraction.

On the animal front, I have decided to give the spare female goose away as it is very clear that the other two are an exclusive bond (though whether straight or gay remains to be seen), and I have not got the time, energy or space to deal with the spare girl in any other way. She is definitely not happy with the present arrangements so it will be a good thing if she can move into a space where she can either get herself a mate, or at least escape when they decide to hunt her down. Geese can be fairly malevolent when they put their minds to it. So I have advertised her on Backyard Poultry if anyone is interested in her.

Today, as you can see, I came pretty close to finishing installing the ground-level cabinets in the kitchen. The one closest to the camera has yet to be adjusted to height, and I have then to check that the levels are what I assume them to be (having checked them 300 times per cabinet during this process). Once i am sure of that I can screw them back to the wall and start installing doors and handles - woopee! Though the door on the pantry cupboard will be a pain to deal with.

Once that is done, I will simply loosely place the benchtops supplied so that there is a benchtop of sorts in position and that will have to suffice until my finances work themselves out (waiting for funds to be released at present).

I will also have to construct a plinth for the stove to sit on which will be a bit fiddly I suspect since it needs to be higher than the 100mm width of my widest available timber. Will have to check the specifications to see how to get it up to benchtop level once it is in place.

That should keep me fairly occupied this weekend so no culinary delights to pursue - I think egg-based meals will be the go as they are quick and easy.

In case you are wondering what that quiche looked like, I did take its photo when I made it, so here it is in all its over-sweetened glory ...

Surprise! I actually have two - no, three, cabinets installed in the kitchen. There is a lot to remember when you are doing this sort of thing and the last cabinet was lovely and level, back against the wall and all of that, plumb down the front and everything. But ... It was 5mm below the two cabinets it was adacent to. Fortunately, it being a set of drawers, the stray holes from the attachment points to its neighbouring cabinet will not be visible, so I am planning to pretend they are not there, lol.

I also have to find the stud behind this cabinet so I can attach it to the wall as well as its neighbour, but that will have to wait till morning as it is probably too late to be playing with power tools.

We had some lovely rain today, albeit not for long, but it was a good drenching rain while it lasted. Hopefully it will be sufficient to give a bit of a flush of growth to the grass and keep feeding the geese for me. They are looking lovely and plump at present, but the odd one out does not seem to be getting on too well with the bonded pair.

Tomorrow I will hopefully be able to make more progress on the kitchen, and also sort out the problem of door hanging. You will remember I got 'smart' in my attempt to get the doors of the pantry opening into the centre? Well, turning the cabinet upside down, which was my solution has set the hinges out of alignment and the door would now be 1cm below the base of the cabinet if I were to hang it where the hinge settings are. So I will need to drill more holes to place the screws where they belong. That will be a fiddly job, so I will leave it till the other corner and associated cabinets are fixed into position and i have a little elbow room within which to operate.

Dinner tonight is a home-made bacon and barley broth. Sadly the bacon situation will need to wait for a couple more months as the chap at the Triabunna Butchery, who does these things, is off on sick leave with a seriously injured tendon. So I guess that means even when the plaster comes off he will not be up to doing any smoking for a bit as I have to assume that would involve heavy lifting, or at least bending and so forth. So I will keep the meat in the freezer and give them another call in October, when he should be back on deck and fighting fit!

I think I am a bit of a failure at this quilting business - spent today trimming off the squares to the 3.5 inch size that is required and sewing them to the other 3.5 inch four-patches into groups of nine, and the best size I can get out of this combination, despite being extremely careful about 1/4 inch seams is 9.25 inches instead of the 9.5 inch blocks i am supposed to have.

Have concluded the only sensible thing to do is go with the flow and simply trim all finished blocks to 9 inches and have a slightly smaller quilt top. And the colour combinations are not working all that well either. Oh well. I tried. This was supposed to be the 'quickie' quilt to make up for the laborious process of the handstitched one. I think that is not going to be the case.

Chooks and geese are all thriving and all on my side of the fence still despite my neighbour's increasing paranoia and she seems to have gone to ground also. She had a visit yesterday from a friend of hers who knows about geese, so hopefully said friend has pointed out to her all the reasons why her fears are groundless.

The dog has had a pretty boring day with me at quilting so he and I had a bit of a romp when I got home. The cats have had a rather more interesting day as Smidgen seems to have caught his first ever baby rabbit - if the remains on the floor in the bathroom are anything to go by ...

Last night's quiche would probably have been a bit more successful had it not been for the sweet pastry flan base I accidentally acquired to put it in. Herby did ask for the recipe for this and since i have now rediscovered my recipe books in the container I am giving it here. It comes from one of those pretty picture books that you get in remaindered stores that is called '50 Ways with Vegetables' by Rosemary Wadey. I have a few books like this as I never learned to do more than boil or bake veges when I was a kid and I find it increasingly important to be able to provide a full meal of vegetarian-friendly food to visitors on occasions. Or discover some new vegetable that i have no clue how to deal with but which looks promising. Anyway, here is the recipe:

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Quiche
175g malted wheat flour
pinch of salt
40g butter
40 g white fat or lard
cold water to mix

350 g broccoli florettes
S&P
1 level tbsp chopped chives
175 g crumbly blue cheese (I usually use stilton)
3 eggs
175ml Milk
125ml natural yoghurt
175g carrot sticks for garnish

Put the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter and lard until it goes crumbly. Then add sufficient water to mix into a pliable dough. Roll out into a disc and line an 8 inch flan or tart pan, crimping the edges. Chill.

Blanch and drain the broccoli (I go for al dente, but you can cook it a bit more if you prefer). Distribute it across the flan case and sprinkle the chives over the top. Crumble the cheese and spread this over the vege layer. Beat eggs, milk and yoghurt together and season, then pour over the top of the mixture.

Cook in a fairly hot oven (200 celsius or 400 fahrenheit, gas mark 6) for 40-45 minutes until well risen golden brown, and firm to the touch.

The carrots should be julienned and either blanched or served raw (personally I can never be bothered with that part, but it is part of the recipe as printed).

Serves 4-6 (allegedly).

I tend to just take this recipe as a base and free-hand from there, using a pre-packaged flan base (though next time I will check if it has sugar in it - blergh), and substitute cream for yoghurt depending on what is in the fridge at the time.

I set off for the dentist in deepest frost this morning, having spent 20 minutes getting the car to the point where I could see out the front and back. Since I was using the back road I didn't bother to wait to clear the side window, and since it was not really all that cold (only minus 1), it cleared itself as I drove. The dentist mentioned diamonds and rings, but the diamonds were part of a saw and file, and the ring was a nasty metal thing that went around my tooth and which gleams fetchingly when I smile. Fortunately it is a temporary arrangement, but will remain 'temporary' until 9 September when I am actually scheduled to see him.

En route home I picked up a few bits of hardware, some cat food, some onion seeds and seedlings. The seedlings will go onto the ridges where the fruit trees have been planted. Another ridge will be adorned with nasturtiums.

I was just settling down for a nice cuppa, having finally got home, when a knock at the door heralded the arrival of yet another tank for me to get cut down and installed somewhere to grow stuff in. This was from the old railway station and is quite huge. Cut in half it will make two huge raised beds, and I have no idea how I could possibly fill them. I think these will have to be reserve beds and simply receive whatever garden waste, soil and potential compost that comes my way for the next few years. And the will require steps so that you can get onto the surface once they are filled to walk around and access the veges. At present it is up on the high side of the existing raised beds until I work out where it might fit and do something useful in life.

Pies for dinner tonight. I have discovered that this stupid metal ring on my tooth precludes any reasonable effort at chewing (it will be interesting to see how I get on at night) and so anything too challenging to eat (like biscuits, real meat etc) will need to be off the menu for a bit or I will cause damage to other teeth while trying to chew.

Finally finished filling the raised bed - only one more to go. I have worked out that it will be easier to put several shovelfulls into a bucket and tip it into the bed rather than fill the barrow then shovel it out once more so dealing with the second bed, which is more distant from the heap, should be easier.

I moved the rhubarb into its new spot, watered it in and mulched it with a little hay, then filled the half hot-water-cylinder with soil and popped in some of the strawberries. The remaining plants have been distributed between three polystyrene boxes. The amazing thing is that they are already producing buds!! It has been really screwy weather so I guess I should not be too surprised, but I hope they don't wear themselves out before summer.

I decided that since I had left over cream from the scones, I should whip up my favourite broccoli and blue cheese quiche, which is on the menu for tonight. Unfortunately the girls let me down in the egg-laying department so I will have to add one shop-bought egg from the carton still lingering in the fridge. But it will be two-thirds home-made at least.

So I popped into town to get some stilton, came home with a packet of 'sort of' blue cheese due to the limited resources of the local shops, and a pair of new jeans since Mancey's was having a sale and I really do need at least one pair of pants that are not hanging off my hips in danger of falling off.

Went down to feed the poultry and was once again assailed by Rita's claims the geese are somehow getting over a four foot chickenwire-reinforced fence into her garden, pooing and the coming back to my place without anyone noticing. I suggested she consider other possibilities and explained why I felt her assumptions were erroneous. Then she started into me about clipping my hens wings. I asked why and was informed that one of the hens has been sighted on top of my poultry shed. So I said that since it as within my boundary I did not see her problem and walked off leaving her open-mouthed and indignant.

She is really starting to push the boundaries of good neighbourly relations and I just can not understand why since, for the last 12 months we have gotten along just fine. Doubtless I will get to the bottom of it eventually, but it is rather annoying that she would choose to behave in this manner. There is no gain to her at all that I can see, since she relies on me to supply her with tools and materials for her projects and for eggs - no sense in it at all.

well the pork belly arrived today and i have to assume that Sweetie was a very large pig as it is very generous chunk of meat. Will track down the man who does smoking locally tomorrow and deliver it for processing. I am very excited at the prospect of having my very own bacon, even if someone else is doing the work this time. I will presumably have a chance to check out his set-up as well so I can work out what I need when I am ready to move onto doing this sort of thing myself.

Rastus was the proud father of six chickens last time Kim set some of his eggs, two male and four girls. Apparently they are nice looking chicks - I am hoping one day I will be able to get some for myself, but the girl who looked broody is now off the brood once more and anxious to rejoin the rest of them. I will move the rabbit hutch into the chicken run tomorrow so she can be reintroduced slowly. Her injuries appear clean and healing, so she should be fine. I suspect a goose took a chunk out of her (the australorps being slow-moving placid creatures, she probably failed to get out of their way when they were on a rampage).

The geese had a stroll around the garden for a bit of a feed in the hope the excitement will calm them down a bit - they have been very noisy at night of late, and never seem to sleep.

In between visitors (Kim was not the only one, but one of several - it is sometimes like Pitt Street in the rush hour around here), I managed to heave a few more shovel-fulls into the raised bed. Only another 10,000 to go and I will be ready to plant the rhubarb.