Roof Restoration!

So in the vein of Reno madness I decided to replace the concrete tile roof.  There was nothing wrong with it, it covered perfectly well, didn't leak and performed all the functions a tile roof should.....but it was that ordinary glazed brown colour and .... well I just didn't like it.  It was perfectly sound, but ... well I guess bland is the best description.  On the jobs list is to repaint the house and I just couldn't find a colour that went with the tiles.   

I decided that  a colorbond iron roof was a better bet.  Or so I thought until I got a quote to replace the tiles. There was no way I could justify removing a perfectly functional roof and replace with colorond for what seemed a stupid amount, $35,000.  The quote did include removal of the tiles from the site and eco friendly disposal, but it was still a lot of cash to splash.   Yes, it IS a big roof, but I couldn't justify that outlay.  I expect to be under this roof for another 25 years or so and the tile will go the distance.  The most viable and "bang for your buck" solution was to have it painted.  When I say painted I mean scrubbed, sealed AND painted.

So the research began on all things painted.  Colorbond also do a line of paint colours and from that I chose the deepest grey.  A colour called monument. Research began,  shoutout to a restorer and the work commenced.   Like any painting job the hard work is the preparation.  Two days of scrubbing and repointing was swiftly followed with a day of sealing.  In the process it was found that there were 6 cracked tiles on the roof.   They were replaced and a further 10 were painted to match the new colour in case there needs to be a repair further down the line.  

The actual colour spray only took about 2 hours per coat and she took 3 coats to look smick.

Not content to stop there the wonderful spray people also hand painted the gutters!! The many miles of gutters! And the fascia on the garage AND the carport!  

The work was done by UPCOLOURS Roof Restoration.  Awesome folk, highly recommended. So if you are in the Hunter region of NSW then give them a call.  Next job.... pick a paint colour to go with Monument!  Any ideas???

Look who's doing a podcast!

Way back before COVID really kicked in my mate Moo, aka Miss Krissi Marie,  and I thought we might like to create a podcast.  Yeah, like why the hell not!   We crack ourselves up everytime we get together... so why not share that joy with all and sundry??!!?

The research began ..... exactly how one does create a podcast?   That, in itself, was an interesting learning curve.  We needed equipment, a space in which to record, software to record and edit on, web hosting, intro music, artwork and a list of subject to discuss.  Surely that wasn't too hard to sort!   A good friend Nate gifted us some equipment and basic info on how to use it,  I had a library that, with little alteration, became a suitable space in which to record, Moo researched and sourced appropriate software and taught herself to edit.  She also researched web hosting.  Nate, being an amazing musician accepted a commission from us for intro music and together we brainstormed a huge list of potential subjects.

So what was so hard???  Well two things really caught us offguard with their degree of difficulty!  A name for our chatfest and some sound editing issues that truely were beyond us, grew into major issues!

After a few days of back and forthing we created a short list of podcast names.  Much discussion followed and one name fitted our criteria, thus "Delusions of Grandeur Podcast" was born!  And so it began... we recorded our first podcast and thought we were awesome.... only to find sound production was ... lacklustre at best!  Dreadful would be a more apt description!!    Moo, known for her researching and problem solving skills tried EVERYTHING to get us sounding good.... all to no avail.   Fortunately thru my photography practice I had met and photographed a sound engineer known as "Mr Meat".  A gentle giant of a man with tremendous skill in his chosen field.   I organised a meet with Moo and Mr Meat and within a relatively short time frame he diagnosed our production issues and pointed Moo in the right direction.  Two pieces of equipment were purchased and suddenly we sounded great!!

With all the production issues under control Delusions of Grandeur has become a part of our weekly lives.  We record one night a week, Moo edits and we go live on all the regular places each Wednesday morning. 

So if you have about 30 minutes free each week and want to listen to us search on all the regular sites for the Delusion of Grandeur podcast or look us up on Insta or Facebook.  

Hopefully I'll put the right link here and not the one to our only fans site!!!   (joking, apparently we aren't on only fans... dunno why!!!).

Delusions of Grandeur

Covid Craziness V1.0

Fair to say all of us endured many days and weeks in lockdown, myself included.  To say we all handled it differently would be the understatement of the year!  For me.... I'm classed as an essential worker, so I still headed to the office 9 days a fortnight. I live alone, so work provides me with social interaction that would be sadly lacking if I was working from home, or worse still, out of work.  So not a lot changed for me, other than work is busier than normal, and the cessation of social interaction outside of work.  From time to time I endured weekend lockdowns and it was the housebound part that has created some covid craziness!!  So many projects previous just passing thoughts were enacted, created and now, blogged about!

One such project was to create a terrarium!  I follow a gardener on Instagram and he makes some amazing terrariums, so I dug out some glassware and acquired some plants and.... well....  well I made 9, none of which I am perfectly happy with at this stage.  

Terrariums can be open or closed.  The glasswear I had was all lidded so closed terrariums it would be.

The concept is an old one.  In fact the oldest known surviving closed terrarium was created by a pommie called David Latimer.  He created one with a single cutting in 1960.  It remained sealed for 12 years  when, in 1972, it was opened and water was added.  It's still going now in 2022.  That is one old terrarium!!! I don't know if it has outlived David Latimer!

So my process was thus.... Into the washed bowl of the terrarium I layered black pebbles, horticultural charcoal, sphagnum moss, soaked and dripping and a final layer of succulent potting mix.  My plants were removed from their pots and popped into the succulent layer of medium.   By varying the depth of the medium hills and dales were easy to create so plants of similar height would appear different in the finished product.  

Wide mouth jars and bowls were the easiest to fill and plant out.  The hardest was a 5 litre old glass drink bottle. It was easy to funnel the growing medium in. Harder to create different levels and nearly impossible to get the plants well bedded into the succulent mix!  I used long handled tools and a couple of thin bamboo stakes, but it was not my best work.  I pulled 3 or 4 apart and remade them.  Too much succulent mix was a problem in the early attempts.  It is a case where less gives a better look. There is still plenty of room for root growth thru the layers.

Still unfilled are two 50 litre carboys.  Huge glass jars with very narrow necks.  Unfilled as I am not sure how to effectively create the hills and dales that make a good terrarium.  I will work it out and I will create the last two terrariums, but that, I feel, are enough.   Its not like outdoor gardening because if they are done correctly then need no future care....... well not for the first 12 years anyway!!!