Re-generator

14 November 2012

We’re still waiting for parts for the big generator, and struggling along with little electricity and no hot water, but brother Pete turned up with this generator off his new boat that he doesn’t need, and offered it to us for a reasonable sum.  We snapped it up – it will do for the building site, easier to start and quieter to run than our big one.  Not quite big enough to run the electric option on the solar water heater, unfortunately.

Here it is under foam noise-reducer, rain-cover and olive-wood corners to weight it down.  It still looks perky for all that!

 

Terrace Garden ready to go

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Having put a wiggle on, the terraced wall to the west is finally finished, creating a plantable space.  I want to put local and drought-tolerant plants in here.  Coincidentally, Alison from the Winnebago was clearing her garden, as they have decided to move into an apartment.  It must be very difficult to have three small kids in a camper van in the winter.  So she sent over some of these sculptural fleshy plants – similar to aloe vera, I don’t know their name.  I put two at the top of the highest part of the next section of wall, as a natural banister, and two in the terrace, as well as the geranium and yukka from pots and some of the rosemary for the bees.

Sanitary Arrangements

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Our compost toilet has started playing up again.  It worked a treat through the summer, but as soon as our electricity production falls, the loo gets smelly.  Around about teatime, on a fine sunny day, just as the temperature starts to fall, so does a miasmic stink from the loo flue.  It rather spoils the moment.  So we have decided.  The loo would be great if we were on grid; off grid, we have to revert to the old Greek method of the soakaway.   Dave says we can rig it up to use rainwater from the mega-butt behind the shed, and it will leach into the ground under the big olive tree, with the addition of a few nutrients supplied by us, so everything wins.  We thought about putting a new flush toilet in the shed, but that’s a lot of work for a hopefully temporary solution.  Why not have the old-fashioned system of a loo at the bottom of the garden, and put it in the house frame – in position in the potential bathroom.  As long as we get a roof covering, we can make temporary walls and put the flush loo in situ.

The first step was to get the soakaway structure installed.  We have had a large hole dug since the first excavation.  Apparently it wasn’t quite big enough, so a digger had to be arranged to enlarge the hole and install two perforated concrete rings with a slab top.  Unfortunately, having set all this in motion, we went off in the boat as the weather was gorgeous, just before I got a call to say they were coming tomorrow.   Too late to change our plans, we just had to let them get on with it, so no photos, unfortunately. 

I’d also asked for two scrubby trees to be dug up, as they were too close to the house and would be a problem when the foundations for the trombe wall were put in.  I suggested that the last mound of earth was spread into the root hole, to level the ground in front of the house.

This didn’t happen.  For some reason the last mound of earth was spread the other way, making a bigger gash than I’d hoped.  It will have to be moved about by shovel and wheelbarrow now. 

The trees were just by the big blue bag

 

 The infilled poo-pit, with stones covering the pipe input hole

Devastation all around.  We should’ve been here.

At least Dave caught a tuna on the way back, lovely.  Tried making fish stock with the head and bones for the first time, and had a great fish soup next day.

Driven to Dirt-busting

Sunday 11 November 2012

One of those jobs you put off as long as you can eventually caught up with us on Sunday, as we stripped out the camper van, cleaned everything and put some of it back.  Feels lighter, brighter and fresher without all that dust!

Dave taking a break

Somewhere in the middle, when we were stopped with a cuppa on the decking, we were amazed to see this visitor really close up.  Dave was pleased, he said he’s always wanted to see one.  It ‘s a Firecrest, Europe’s smallest bird, apparently.  By the time I’d got the camera, it had skipped into the zone, and didn’t stay still long enough for a decent photo, before slipping out and disappearing.   A nice way for the universe to applaud our cleaning frenzy.

A curious interlude

Saturday 10 November

Mad Robbie is shooting a promotional video for George’s Ola Kala  restaurant – and invited us along (he said he couldn’t find anyone else) as he needed a German soldier and Eva Braun.  No-one knows what goes on in Robbie’s brain, except that he is fixated on the second world war – and has a lot of German uniform fancy dress outfits.   Dave had to be an oberfuhrerleutnant-person, and I was supposed to be Eva.  Although Robbie had no costume for her.  Luckily I had been given a tea-dress which only just fitted, so I squashed into it, put some tights on with a line drawn down the back, and found the closest thing to shoes with a heel that I owned.  Robbie turned up with a blonde wig for me.  I looked a serious mess.  Dave and I had to sit at a table with Vinnie, and argue, then I had to throw a punch at him.  All good fun, but probably in the worst possible taste.  I did my best to hide behind the wig as much as I could.  Mad Robbie was dressed as Elvis.