My patio and the water feature that doesn’t work.

Phoarrr, I was tired today. I thought I’d do a storage unit run, but at 32C I couldn’t face it. This heat is getting to me. There’s worse on the way this week, I think. I decided to stay in the air conditioning. Luvverly.

I had a midday nap on the new bed. It’s OK, but I realise now I was too hasty in my decision, and too cheapskate. The bed is flimsy. The base is thin wall square steel tubing and depends on three short leg supports along the centre rib. It’s made in Malaysia and the wooden slats are some very light-weight tropical wood.

The mattress is made in China, I realised when it arrived. It’s OK, but a bit soft for me.

I should have spent more time evaluating. But for the price, $338 for a King Single bed and mattress, it’s quite inexpensive – effectively $170 each. For a bed that’s only going to be used occasionally, that’s OK. If it’ll take my weight, then any slimmer guest will be fine.

I’ve also realised that buying a King Single was a waste. It was a funny sequence – I wanted a single bed fitted sheet of as good a quality as I could find. (I want sheets to feel thick, to crackle.). But all I could find was a King Single sheet in 400 thread count. So the sheet came first. That set me on the road to buying a King Single mattress and bed. In hindsight, I don’t need it. Yes, it’s wider, but I don’t need the width, despite my ample girth. I hope a guest will appreciate it though. It does look impressive.

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Tomorrow I have to be at Osborne Park between 7am and 8am to meet the truck. I bet I know when they’ll arrive. I intend to say, “Here it is, boys, go to it. Bring everything except the rat baits. See you at Butler asap”, and vamoose.

I intend to buy a new fridge, and I’ve got a new microwave oven due to be delivered tomorrow, so I’ll say, “Leave the fridge and m/w in the garage.” My 20 year old washing machine can carry on for now, but it’ll be time to replace that soon. Just not now.

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I tried the water feature today. Hah! Barry and I both saw it working last Tuesday, but it sure doesn’t work now*. The pool part was empty when I arrived on Friday and we wondered why. Well, it’s pretty clear it leaks worse than the Pentagon. I filled it today (with the hose) and it took about an hour. But as of 5.30pm, it’s nearly dry again. I turned the pump on when it was full, but nothing happened. Yet I saw it  working last Tuesday.

[*Ooops! I take it back. The leak is still there, but I’ve found the right switch for the pump, and I can hear it working now. Unfortunately, there’s not enough water left to pump, but that’s fixable.]

The main bedroom shower recess also needs the grout around the bottom fixing, so I hope I can get a guy in who will fix both leak problems.

At the moment, I’m using bathroom two, and it looks as clean as if it were new. With just a small baby, the previous owners probably didn’t use it much, so it’s almost unused . That’s good.

Dumb design, though. The towel rails are at the opposite end of the room from the shower cubicle. I have to remember to put a towel on the bath rim so I can get it when I step out of the shower. And in the en-suite bathroom (bed 1), the towel rails are about 2 ft long silly chrome fashion statements. Modification required.

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I explored the outside a bit today. Every square inch of outside soil is covered in either quartz chips or gravel, apart from the 5x5m square of fairly poor lawn. This is ridiculous. It has a harsh feel – there’s no way you’d venture out there in bare feet.

I think I’m going to remove all this sharp stuff and put in soft lawn. I want to walk on my outdoor area. The new grasses are much better and easier to maintain than the old couch and such like.

I’m also noticing the heat from the easterly morning sun. Minnie is moving to avoid it. I think I need a pergola over this patio area, and grape vines over a trellis. Perhaps some shade cloth in the interim until the vines grow.

Besides, there’s the most elaborate reticulation system I’ve ever seen. I think this is a legacy of its display house status. It’s a Rainbird system, and the controller is beautifully easy to use, and it works a treat. I put it into Test Cycle today, and the pressure is terrific. I put it into Auto and I can see it’s programmed to run on Wednesday and Saturday (coincidentally, the same days I had at Trigg). So I left it in Auto.

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Minnie has settled in. As long as she’s with me, she’s happy. Me too. Love that dog.

I was worried about her negotiating the quartz chips, but she walks on them rather than the rubber pads I put down. Huh. She’s certainly leaving her deposits to show where she’s been.

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In the “Media Room”, there’s an F type antenna connector on the wall labelled Foxtel. Does that mean there’s a satellite dish on the roof? Waiting for me to start paying for a service? I don’t think I want it, but it’s a bit tempting.

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I’m afraid my expensive CPAP blower is still faulty, despite a day in the sun to dry out any moisture. I have a bad feeling about this. Obviously, I’ll tackle it myself if I can get past the security screws, but if it;s corrosion on the electronics, it may be impossible to fix without special soldering gear.

That’ll mean either an expensive repair (“Sorry Mr Croft, we had to replace the entire circuit board.”) at $500+, or a new unit entirely at $1,500. Damn.

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My rubbish bins (two, one for recycling and one for general waste) are already full from the previous owners, so I’m accumulating rubbish at a great rate. I don’t know when the collection day is, so I’m looking at the other houses – no bins out so far. Maybe Tuesday?

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I may need to buy a shorter car. Mine only just fits the garage. Twice the roller door has hit the bumpers. I had a funny thing today as well. I was pocketing my keys in the bedroom and heard a rumbling sound. When I came out, the daylight was streaming in through the back door. I must have accidentally hit the open button on the garage door remote. Oops.