Winter has definitely arrived.  We've had a number of quite severe frosts and the fire has been kept going most nights.

This was one of the birches just a few weeks ago when it was truly splendid.  The leaves have now all disappeared but it shows a different beauty with the marvellous textured bark and silhouetted branches.
One of the things we love about Tassie, and one of the main reasons for moving here when we returned to Oz, is having four seasons again instead of the hot-and-wet or hot-and-dry which is typical of so much of the North Island (mainland.)





The building continues.  Downstairs now has the first coat of render completed inside and the second coat started.
We have also started the lining with the ceiling complete in the alcove and partly done in the dining area and bathroom.









Upstairs a stud wall has gone in on the southern side of the guest bedroom/study.  Yes, I know that it looks as though the wall is short, but it is firmly fixed to the rafters behind the main beam.

The wall will have a sliding door running behind to provide storage space and the bedhead will go against it.  On the Northern side of the room, my study area in the dormer is beginning to take shape. It will have a fitted desk and bookshelves.

We are still trying to get the money together for the plumbing and electrics.  Once they are done, everything else is quite straightforward.

So proud of this lady.   Sue is scared of power tools, and terrified of the drop-saw but has learned to use it anyway and has saved me numerous journeys on the stairs as a result.  She has also become comfortable with the tacking gun, but wants nothing to do with the big nail gun which is too heavy for her to handle comfortably. 

We're still managing to lay up hooch.  This lot is more cider, and there is a batch (8 litres) of white peach wine brewing by the fire as well as 23 litres of stout.

Vinnie now has his own hoonchie in Rachel's back paddock so he can overnight there.  At our place, we still have a chronic lack of feed because of the wallabies eating all the grass that comes up so he has to make regular visits to R's place to get a good bellyful. 

Covid 19 restrictions have had little effect on us, other than putting church meeting on hold.  Otherwise, you don't get much more isolated that we are.