Tuesday; Cory and I against the world! Rowan is at Herbert. I start painting a few hours before Cory gets there. First on the agenda is clean up, the house is extremely messy and even more so from the sparkys. I clean up enough so I can carry on with my day. I plug everything I can back in and get some towels on to wash. Cory arrives and I get him up on the high stuff. Rowan said I am not allowed to get up on the big ladder on my own. Cory and I paint for 5 hours, it is looking better and better! I am hoping to be completed by the end of the week. We shall see.

A bit of a funny. Cory asked if I came in the truck on my learners haha. I said no, I have my full license just my learners motorbike. 😂

Wednesday; Yay a day off, a much needed day off. Rain and snow is coming. Definitely not worth trying to paint. Rowan and I have a fairly relaxing morning reading our books. Into town to go empty Camele and get a spade. We have four shovels but some how no spades haha. After a look around second hand places we end up with a new one from Mitre10. We get some lunch and visit the new antique store. The English man there is selling off his collection of over 50 years. There is a lot in there and I say to Rowan this is what we should be doing haha. After we sort Camele out we drop in to Gerry and Margaret. I sure hope they are home, we haven’t had a chance to see them in such a long time. We have a lovely catch up and the weather turns from warm to this horrid windy, wet and cold storm. It was quite a scene to watch. We say our goodbyes and brave the weather. A few stops before heading back to Herbert to stay warm for the evening. It felt good to have a day off with no real pressure to get anything in particular done.

Thursday; A cold, cold morning. Once the ice was off the ute I headed for Till. The sun will hopefully help dry my paint. I dubiously start on the south side and to my surprise it starts to dry. I am on my second coat on the lighter green colour, determined to get it done. I finish about 11.30am. Phew, now white and darker green to go! I get back to Herbert where the boys have been working. I take care of the bbq, I really need to open up the container and get organising but my motivation is low. It is not a quick job and I would rather do it properly than rush it. Cory has been making a soak. My tomato plants are now dying off with the frosts. I will need to plant something else.

Friday; We are all at Till St today. The weather is too cold and spots of rain, no painting! However we get the place a lot more cleaner and organised. There is so much chaos. Cory loads up the trailer with iron to take back to Herbert. We take out the crappy shelving in the back of the garage and put the rear back door on. I tidy the dining room, it is such a mess stuff everywhere. Rowan and I take a load of stuff to the dump. After we finish it looks and feels much better. I am going to make sure I do a good tidy each day I am here so we stay under control.

Saturday; prepare for photo bomb!

Rowan and I were wide awake, he had to pee. “Kate get your ass out here quick!” I got out and could clearly see the red wall of light. I tell him let’s get in the car and go! Annoying I was about to have my first coffee of the day, but auroras are allusive, they come and go quickly. At the top of Herbert Hill we see a wall of red, orange and a tiny of green. I can’t believe what I can see with my eyes. The camera makes it much brighter but I am amazed by how much is perceived in person. We watch it in awe. Turns out this is what we should expect all weekend! Natures light show. Absolutely incredible we are both buzzing. The sun comes up and ruins everything. Also signalling I need to get some paint on the house. I take noodles in to work, but first I stop at the warehouse. Rowan needs a water bottle and I am thinking some cheap slippers he can wear outside. It is our anniversary on Tuesday and I want to spend the day doing fun stuff. Life has all been a bit much lately. It will feel great when I have finished painting the trim. I won’t bore you with the rest of the day, I will bomb you with photos instead! We came out to bridge point to see the show and was not disappointed. There were quite a few people coming and going, some had good etiquette some had bad. But by 10pm everyone was gone. So let’s start with more morning Aurora Australis.

Dusk Aurora

Brighter as it gets darker

Mellows off from 9pm till Midnight

At midnight, we get a spectacular light show, a little bit of colour but most importantly this incredible pulsating vibing show. It is like going through foggy clouds, with an electrical pulse running through them. We are truly in awe. Most of these photos are taken directly above us. Rowan and I stayed outside and slept under it. I didn’t last all night but Rowan did.

Sunday; Cory, Presley and I are out to get this paint done. I don’t think I will be done today but I will be a step closer. I have done two coats of the lighter green and today I want to get two coats of the white done. I get there by the end of the day, wahoo! Cory completes the dark green of the awnings. Yay we are looking good! Not far off taking the glue stuff off the windows. I came in on my motorbike today and I ride back to Bridge Point. Rowan left to do some work at Herbert and came back. It was a much warmer ride back than on the way in. I definitely haven’t quite got it yet. I just need more time on the bike. We have a stripe club. Now to get Noodly some stripes.

Monday; I came in on my bike early, just in case the sparky turned up. I started with the front door. It has these added on panels and I thought I would see what is under them. Rowan told me not to, but curiosity killed the cat. I started gently and it all looked well. I knew they couldn’t be fully stuffed as it is bare wood on the other side and there are no holes! I take off the middle panel and discover at the bottom the veneer has lifted, bugger. I pull out all the old nails and stick it back on. Looks like we are keeping the panels haha. I remove the paint from the glass and sand the door down before putting on an undercoat of paint. I work of the two other external doors. I get Cory up on the ladder putting a second coat of paint on the barge boards. Then I head out to the tip shop and mitre10 with Rowan. Cory waterblasts the gutters and has another go over the studio. I try cutting out the seal and peel and it works magically. I am never using anything else to mask up glass when spraying or painting. I got Cory to do the dishes since we have no hot water at the moment. I stayed around until after 4pm with the sparkys. I was happy to leave by the end of the day.