Forever House (#44)

Monday 8th May 2017

9.17pm I should clean my teeth. Just left Ronnie down there by the fire. He had salmon, sweet potato and asparagus, I had chicken and veg. Both frozen meals from home, heated up on Dad's gas camping stove and eaten by the fire with head torches on.

Ronnie and I met at Metroll in Lismore at 7.30am. We ordered the metal that will bring the Forever House to lock-up; to be collected on our way through next Monday morning..

I had little sleep last night - went to see Jeff Lange at a house concert in Lennox Head and got to bed after midnight up at 5.20am. Packed the esky and clothes and off to week 2 of this awesome push. After ordering and paying for the metal, Ronnie headed to Currawinya while I went to Bunnings for a few items, then to Lismore Transit Centre to collect a fellow Currawinyan Pete off the bus and give him a lift out to the property. He has returned from extended travelling. 

We had a lovely catch-up as we drove the two hour trip in Ronnie's wake. Came across Jason, a man I had been intending to call, parked beside the road where he has Telstra mobile range, making business calls. Being with Optus I don't get range anywhere much past Casino. And I have learned to turn my phone onto airplane mode at that point so that my phone stays charged for the three days I am there. I organised for Jason to come and slash my block, Pete organised to join his team of avocado pickers mid to late June. The dirt road out to Currawinya was being graded which was not the best timing but the trip back should be very smooth.

I dropped Pete at his driveway as I headed down the hill into my place. Ronnie was there already, getting stuck into work and after I'd unpacked my car I followed suit. I made three batches of mud and laid them just before Bob's arrival. He has been a Currawinyan since 2000 I believe, initially with his wife Edna who died about ten years ago now. Bob turned 80 in January. He looked very lean and shiny on this his 5th day of no food - a self imposed fast. Poor thing sat and drink water while Ronnie and I stopped for a coffee, tea and crackers with vegemite and cheese.

The scaffolding Ronnie set up after I left last week is awesome. He has completed battening the ceiling outside on the verandah and eaves ready for sheeting. He was struggling most of this arv with the sheet lifter and how to make it work with the new scaffolding. In the end we lifted the lifter up on to the scaffolding and to my horror, after my shower I found Ronnie with his head torch on, putting up a ceiling sheet in the dark. He wanted to see some progress for the day! I asked him not to do that again. He said that's what I get for giving him a head torch...
Sleep time.

Tuesday 9th May 2017

Much earlier to bed tonight - just before 8. Another huge day - the progress is palpable.
The caravan bed is not the best in the world - especially for a weary body already aching from a hard days work. But it's better than no bed and I've got my firm timber based bed at home to crawl into tomorrow eve. 

Ronnie was up enjoying the quiet of the morning and his coffee and fag when I arrived. We're into a familiar rhythm by now - he's got an easy temperament (as do I, I think) so we're cruising. He set his sights on sheeting the outside ceiling up to a certain point today and he was one sheet short of achieving that. I helped move the sheet lifter along the scaffold as each sheet went up. And I help position each sheet, slotting the edge into the joiner strip until he has placed two or three screws to secure it. He hopes to have all the ceiling sheets up by the end of this week.

I mudded and dug dirt, tidied up a bit more around the joint. I collected burnable timber which meant scrounging up all the redundant white-anted pallets which have served as scaffolding until now.  The stock of ceiling sheets is leaning up against two of the mud walls which means I can't mud above the sheets because they would get totally filthy. So there is only one wall I can work on at the mo. It is between the two bedrooms and has a circular bottle design in it.



I'm enjoying the mudding so much. I will take that wall right up to the ceiling. But have decided to stop the mud on the final two walls at lintel height. I've asked Ronnie to build a frame between the top of those mud walls and the ceiling. I'll insert fixed panes of whatever glass I can scrounge into those frames. This means less mudding (my right arm has an injury and I need to go easy on it). These high windows will look great and allow more light throughout the house.




No visitors today. Just us working methodically on an overcast and sometimes drizzly day. Tomorrow we do it all again and then I'm off home to my day job while Ronnie keeps going till Fri arv. He's a Godsend. I've left him down by the fire having a Wild Turkey and he'll have a shower. I had mine earlier and have taken a panadol to ensure a sound and replenishing sleep.

Wednesday 10th May 2017 - Sunday 14th May 2017
After another full day working two up at the house, I left Ronnie to it and headed home. I took some windows with me to work on at home. I've chiselled out all the glass panels and their old brittle putty. The frames need sanding and painting and I'll cut some clear panes to replace some of the opaque ones. I also have windows that will go about the sliding glass doors on the verandah. Ronnie measured them for the openings he will make. I am taking them home again to complete stained glass and paint the frames.

windows removed to take home and work on

I pulled the generator starter rope this morning and broke it.
Ronnie managed to make a temporary pully
untill I bring this one back fixed

looking back towards Currawinya
from the top of the Hogarth Range on my way home

After some procrastination on the stained glass window front, I got into the shed at home today - Mother's Day - and made a great start on the windows that will go above the sliding doors. This five-panelled window is one of two which will be complete next weekend ready for Ronnie to install above the sliding door as part of this push to bring the house to lock up. I hope to have the bedroom windows re-glazed and painted too, ready for installation before Ronnie finishes up in about three weeks time.