(2005) Good times

May 2005

Dear Aunt Agatha,

Watch out! I think we are starting to embrace the Canadian lifestyle!

Ali went out and bought a monster barbecue. Propane powered and big enough to cater for half the neighbourhood.

Great idea! Only problem was getting the darned thing up onto the deck. Between the two of us we struggled to lift it just a couple of inches to free it from its packaging. How the heck were we going to get it up those stairs?

After a lot of head-scratching, and stripping off any removable weight, we unearthed a flat wooden door from the heap of junk in the carport and laid it on the stairs to make a ramp. With a lot of puffing and swearing we managed to roll it up the first flight to the front door, then a pause for breath before tackling the second flight inside up to the living room. From there, getting it onto the deck was easy, but I don't relish the thought of ever having to take it out again.

Since then we have been avidly barbecuing at every opportunity.


And we are now the proud owners of a coffee percolator. We've never had a problem with instant, but folks over here take their coffee very seriously.

And we have got the hot tub into commission. A lot of work clearing the surrounding jungle, laying a gravel surround with some beautiful stones inset, repairing even more rot in the decking, and painting the timber. This isn't an item that we'd ever have gone out of our way to acquire, but I guess we'll make use of it. The kids are enjoying it at least.

Hmm. How long before we start watching hockey, I wonder?