Drafts

As I mentioned before, we bought a fridge. It is a very nice fridge. It is a very expensive fridge. It is a very deep fridge. This is good because it means it can hold a lot of food. This is good because it can hold a lot of big things like salad bowls. This is bad because our cupboards aren't very deep. This is bad because it sticks out 35cm.

I've had this draft waiting to be published for over a month. I wanted Felicity to write it, but we went and got busy. Er, we've had a really busy month. Fringe, Festival, Election, Work, Work, Driving, House,... you get the picture.

This Picture, in fact.

The house is steaming along. We've paid our third progress payment, which is needed after the bricks and roof reach substantial completion. Which means it just has to be mostly done. Which means it isn't. The roof is done, and has been since the bricks were delayed for two weeks. The bricks are mostly done. So we have to pay. Well, we have to get the bank to pay and then pay the bank interest. So, as the house progresses, you get to ease into the feeling of immense debt. The only bit left of the bricks is the difficult to get to gable of the garage, the front nib walls either side of the garage door, the bit above the kitchen window and all of the window sills.
During our incredibly hectic last week, the insulation was put in. (Well... yeah, I'll leave that for later) The plumbing for the fridge was put in. (Also... this one later too) and the gyprock went in for the ceiling. And then all the walls.
Makes a big difference, does walls.
So, it is good.

This good.

Final note:When we described the fridge size problem to Megan at Harvey Norman Renovations, she sorted it out that day. I think we're going to have to pay for her brownie points in actual brownies. If we can't catch any, maybe I'll just have to cook Hugh's recipe.

The Garden on Unearthly Delights

Tonight we went into town to get the car serviced. You see, our radio played up a while ago and Holden offered to replace it. (the radio, not the car) I started university for the year today (Cognitive Science: Minds, Brains and Computers - interesting subject) so we arranged for Felicity to finish a bit early and meet me in town.
Of course, she didn't get to leave early but that doesn't matter to the story. The car was left in the shop and they replaced the stereo only to find that the new one didn't work at all. Oh well, no matter. The timing of this all enabled the following events to occur;
We went down to the Garden of Unearthly delights, a sectioned off piece of parkland regaled with a trapese, a ferris wheel, food stalls, clowns and a number of stages set up in fantastically original and atmospheric circus tents. One of them, the Bosco theatre, is nearly 100 years old, made of wood in Holland and toured Europe before the first world war.
Well, we walked a circuit of the Garden and picked up a guide to see if there was anything we had to watch. As it was, there were a number of options but we were not fully prepared for going out for a show. Then we were visited by the front door's woman of the Bosco theatre.
She asked if we were seeing a show tonight, we replied that we were not sure.
She asked if we had heard of 'Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen', we begged ignorance and requested a description.
She told us of an unusual and original act, brought to the Festival at great difficulty and employing a strange array of comedy and music. She told us of the instruments they played.
Guitar, Clarinet, Violin, Piano Accordian, Double Bass...
Felicity's ears perked up. A sly grin appeared on her face. I imagine mine mirrored hers as the top hatted woman asked, 'Would you like some free tickets?'
Sweet.
Which leads us to this;
A review of Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen
Mikelanglo accepts the stage with a more than passable Hungarian accent, a passable Dominik-like face and an amazingly deep voice reminiscent of Topol. Each member of the troop takes on the persona of a strange, turn of the century European musician traveling with a circus and performing in the dark, forgotten places. Their music was thrilling, eerie and sublime (I admit to not really knowing what that word means, but I know it's appropriate to use it there) As Felicity has commented several times while listening to the CDs we bought after the show, their music is entirely unlike modern, mainstream music. It is rich, soulful and skillful. The lyrics contain real meaning and feeling and each piece is a dynamic story, usually disturbing and emotional with no room for simple choruses and riffs.
Awesome stuff.
Here's some really tiny pictures of the event. (tiny because they're blurry)

House update and poor excuses

The brick work is almost finished and we are very happy with how it is looking so far. This week the walls inside the house should be started and the doors will be put on the outside - then we won't be able to go inside the house when it is all locked up. It will be very strange and I expect annoying too that we will not be able to see how it is going inside. We are so used to be able to walk all through the house (and through the walls before the bricks went up).
Well, it has been too long since I have written on here and I must apologise sincerely to everyone who has been checking for updates over the last couple of weeks only to be disapopinted - in fact, I would understand totally if no-one reads this until an email is sent to announce its publication on the site. Things have been even busier than usual over the last few weeks. We are trying to get some jobs done around the house that need doing before we move in - this mostly involves a lot of digging and moving of dirt. On top of this there are two major festivals in Adelaide at the moment so there is a lot to see and do. If you are not familiar with the Adelaide festivals please visit www.adelaidefringe.com.au to get an idea of the events that are happening. Check out the "Garden of Unearthly Delight" - it is such a fun place to spend time at night. There will be more posts about our festival experiences in the coming days (weeks or months should probably be inserted as the time counter here). They announced that the Fringe festival will become an annual event (before it was every two years) so anyone thinking of visiting us (this is particularly addressed to our friends in Japan) -late February / early March should be a really good time to experience Adelaide - and the weather is perfect at this time of year too.
Don't forget there is plenty of room for people to stay at our home - it has been designed with 4 bedrooms so that our out-of-town friends can visit in comfort ............hint, hint, hint : )