Another day of volunteer disaster. Turned up to the History Room this morning to find a note saying someone would be working Tuesday afternoon. Actually I already knew she was coming in to do some work on her family tree so thought no more about it. But it turns out that the anonymous note-writer has in fact reassigned my afternoons to this person, something that only became clear when she told me herself.

I have emailed my main contact in the society and suggested it might be best if we had one go-to person to manage the roster (volunteering to do it myself if no-one else was willing) and pointing out that this was a serious impact on my obligations as a jobseeker.

As is always the case when I am upset, I locked myself out of the house when I took Seb out for a walk, and had to climb in a window, using the sawhorse as a ladder. Fortunately Seb stayed attached to the clothesline while i did this and was glad to come in.

My thoughts on building a fence have hit an obstacle as the cast iron wood heater that is to go into the shed is on the wrong side of the planned fence location. And the small concrete slab it is sitting on is on the wrong side for the tap to be accessible from the front yard if I built the fence elsewhere. Sigh.

Tomorrow, with any luck, I will be digging holes for a new sheoak, and the pittosporums that have been patiently awaiting attention for rather too long.

 These two photos are interesting. I found them at the History Room today. The first shows the Butcher's Shop alongside the house and the presence of a front fence (no trace there at present). It also explains the appalling condition of the wall on that side - I am surprised the house is still standing given the amount of water that must have poured through the walls as a result of that roof junction! Unfortunately the photo is undated, so not terribly much help in determining when the structure was still there.

This one is dated 2004, and shows the rear wall (remnants of which were still present on arrival here) still clinging to some semblance of life and serving as a side fence. The photo threw me off initially as there are two trees planted in the front yard, so I assumed it was taken after I had arrived and planted the crab apples. But I was puzzled my some of the other details, and the apparent location of the trees (rather further forward than my own planting).