BASKETTCASE

I can't believe it's a month since I up dated my blog! We have been so busy.

Our church cell group hosted a walkabout meal on July 11th. The puddings and coffee happened here, and also Dave contributed a curry and a veg crumble to the main course which was in someone else's house. The evening finished here at about twenty to eleven, with people drinking coffee on the patio and playing table-tennis in the near-dark at the bottom of the garden.

On the 18th we celebrated Dave and Joe's big birthdays (65 and 40) with a final BBQ. We had about eight tents on the orchard as well as people sleeping on the floor in the mobile home, which is now empty. Mary-Ann and Dom and the boys stayed on for a week, during which we celebrated the real birthday on the 22nd, and visited various places of play value. The newly-finished patio was in use every day for coffee and playing; the sandpit was a huge success even if it did have to be emptied towards the end of the week to deal with the ants. Little James took his first consecutive steps in our front room, which was very exciting, and managed to fall through the side of the bridge into the flower garden.

Since they went home we have missed them, and have slept a lot. We had re-plastering done in the 'blue room' today in preparation for turning it into a boys room by the next time they come. Their little rooms are very thinly separated from the one Mary-Ann and Dom sleep in, and we think they hear every snore and turning over. The idea is to put them out of ear-shot of M & D, who are hoping that if they wake in the night we will hear them!

The demolition of the mobile home should have happened today, but it was raining at 7.0 am and the man rang to say they couldn't do it in the rain that was forecast. He should come back on Thursday. I'll be glad to get it over so we can start planning what we are going to do to sc reen us from the road. We are so pleased with the patio, and use it a lot, so we are not keen to be in full view of Orchid Avenue. There has never been a space there, because we moved the Whitman playhouse to provide a site for the mobile 27 years ago.

We have talked about a p layhouse for the boys, a rose arbour, a screened utility area, a hot tub and even a swimming pool. I suspect the dustbins will win.

Finally a picture of the boys making use of all Dave's hard work. The old tin box had fittings in it, which Dave emptied out so Joe could cook his cakes in his 'oven'.