Winter Returns

There was no thought of walking to church this morning as we woke to yet more rainfall and dropping temperatures.  The house refused to warm up during the first hour we were awake, causing us to wonder if the wind had shifted, and indeed, when we ventured outside later it felt as if it were blowing straight from Antarctica.  The music leader joked about replacing the first hymn with "On a Bleak Midwinter's Morning," and as I looked around I realized that many in the congregation were wrapped in heavy winter coats.

Winter coats we did not bring, but we managed with jackets, and even walked down by the Yarra River close to Ross's office after lunch during a brief period of sunshine.  We were thankful to head home, however, and remain indoors for the rest of the day playing games and trying to deal with the masses of cardboard boxes we have accumulated from this move.  At one point we looked out the window and noticed a brief hail shower in between heavy gusts of wind.

This week we have made some progress in the big empty room in the middle of our house.  We found a half-price sofa at IKEA and also a reasonably priced dining room table and chairs.  If we had known it would take us over three hours to buy the stuff (an hour alone just to pay for it and arrange delivery) we probably wouldn't have bothered, but I am glad now that it is over and done and put together.  I'll let the pictures tell the story.

 

 
Pride in a job well done:

 

Lunch Break:  lamb soup with Moroccan spices, avocado and grilled cheese sandwiches.  The lamb soup was a surprising hit with Sophie, our picky eater.  Avocados are plentiful and seem to be served in nearly every sandwich here
 

A reward for the kids for all of their help---their new favorite treat:
 

  

Halfway done with all the boxes----enough for one day.

Fast forward to today:

According to Yahoo weather, we can expect the rain showers to continue for the next twenty-four hours.  Hopefully the water reservoirs will continue to fill and cause a further easing in the restrictions.  Ross's most recent water bill indicated that he was consuming enough water for a household of nine.  Since he spent much of that three month period out of town, we have concluded that there is either a leak or someone has been helping himself to our water tank.

Comments

[Shanda]

The sofa is beautiful...good job!
The cookies look so good.
I hope you are having a good day, friend~

[Kent Keller]

I would comment on the water...Must be a leak or like you said someone taking from an outside tap...Our household of 7 consumes the water for a household of 3-4 according to the bill. Have you found the cause yet?

[Christie]

No cause found yet. The plumber was here, and he couldn't find anything wrong. I'm not sure what to do next.