Pot Plant Holder Completed

We have finally completed the pot stand at the front that forms the historic link with the original Kervin house at Leitchville.

 The verandah posts we had kept for 40 years since the old house was demolished are now the supports for the pot stand at our front door.

 The task now is to set up an appropriate rotation of pots for this location.

James - the Working Man

James has now been at work for a few weeks and is into the routine.  Because he is working in an essential industry, he was able to obtain his license during the lockdown period (April 17) so he is now able to drive himself to work and between job locations.

Garden Growth

We have had a significantly higher than usual rainfall over the past few months but there have been few complaints from the gardeners.  It has been particularly useful for us as it has allowed us to work up the soil and break up some of the consolidated clay layers.

Movement in Moorabbin

Mark has taken on the task of re purposing Adam's Moorabbin factory.  Cooper and Jack have done some work as builders labourers  and today it was Adam, James and Pat that were on the job.  From the photos there appears to be plenty to do.

The New Normal

Things are a little different in our new socially distanced world.  Terry R had his birthday yesterday and Rhondda I had her birthday today so we had birthday drinks over Zoom.  Not as good as an actual meetup but we enjoyed the chat for a couple of hours.

School At Home - Benefits

Part of Sophie's school work yesterday was to make Rice Paper Rolls for her Food Tech class.  They look fantastic and had the great benefit of providing an immediate and delicious lunch.

Anzac Day

In the new Covid 19 dominated reality of our lives, everything is a little different.  There are no dawn ceremonies for Anzac Day so people were asked to stand at their driveways at dawn.  A few in the area took part and a bugle could be heard in the distance.  At least we were able to get home quickly for breakfast.

We Could't Help It.

At one of our last family dinners before lockdown a bottle of Steels Gate Pinot Noir was left with us.  As the prospect of being able to share it seems remote at present, we were forced to open it to try it out with a prawn and garlic linguine.  It was magnificent.  Quite a surprise as I had not been particularly fond of Pinot in the past.

Cellar Accelerates

As Adam has been held at home he has taken the opportunity to complete the walls of his Wine Cellar.  It is nearly ready for the roof to go on.

Building Apprentices

Mark has started on developing Adam's office setup in his Moorabbin Factory.  Jack and Cooper have been working as apprentice chippies as the walls go in.

New Reality

Who would have thought that the new weekend family activity across the country would be card games.  Brett, Cathy and family are no exception.

Working From Home

With Easter over and the school term starting, the new reality requires that as many people as possible work from home.  Everyone is finding out how this works out in practice.  The Garnett household workday looks like this.  The boys are taking it in their stride.

Historic Links

The original Kervin farm at Leitchville was purchased in 1920.  It included the original house shown here shortly before it was demolished some years ago.

 We held onto two of the old verandah posts since that time. Although they were weathered they were in reasonable condition and one even had remnants of the (more than 100 year old) paint on one side.

 We are in the process of bringing them back to life around the house.  We intend to paint them in colours as close to the original as possible and it turns out these are the colours we have used for our house!

Surviving Lockdown

Our tenants in Unit 2 have an only son Jiwan.  He has been bored solid during the lockdown and asked if I could help him with a support for his scooter slide.  He had been trying to do it with bricks but with little success.  With a bit of spare wood we came up with a result that seemed to work well.

Basketball In Lockdown

Isolation has shut down all sport so the new reality is that the competition has to be conducted in the back yard. Current tally of around the world comp:
Sophie 4 wins
Adam 2
James 2
Pat 1
Kate...getting close!

Realities of Isolation

Life is a little different during these days of isolation.  The usual visit to Bunnings to pick up a few batteries required standing in a distanced queue for 10 minutes before being admitted to the store.

 On a Sunday morning there are no cars to be seen on Whitehorse Road or Springfield Roads.

 The cars have been garaged for so long and only done short runs that the batteries need to be charged!

Streets in Lockdown

As families are confined to home during the lockdown, the streets are becoming more colourful as a consequence of having so many "Artists in Residence".

 I also had the opportunity to (distantly) meet one of the local street artists while she worked.

Lachlan's Birthday Dinner

The family gathered for a Lockdown Virtual Dinner to celebrate Lachlan turning 10.  It continues to be a strange experience.

Meeting up through a screen is a very poor substitute for the real thing, however it is way better than not meeting up.

The photos of the birthday cake lack a little in quality -

as does the birthday portrait.  Despite all that it was a fun meetup and we were able to wish Lachlan a Happy Birthday.

Lachlan Reaches Double Figures

It is Lachlan's birthday today and with the Coronovirus lockdown in place there will be no party with friends for a while yet.  However he did have waffles for breakfast and has planned the menu for the day culminating with Chinese tonight at a Zoom dinner with the family.

James On the Job

James has started his work as an apprentice electrician.  He is being worked hard but is enjoying the job.  The only downside is that the lock down has prevented him getting his license.  There does seem to be some hope on that horizon with a special exemption.

Nineteenth Anniversary

Adam and Kate celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary in splendid isolation last night. To mark the occasion, Patrick and Sophie cooked dinner and dessert and James operated the back room cleanup after a full day of work.  Patrick prepared a prawn and chorizo paella which was delicious. Sophie chose to cook a passion fruit baked custard. It was also delicious!