Oxfordshire Oct 2008

Photos from a few days with Mark and Lisa. One day they took us on a tour of Oxfordshire (and probably into other counties) - more of the inside of restaurants and great English pubs than anything else, but there is some evidence to show we did see some of the countryside.

Door to a lonely house on the Oxford Canal.

Taken on a nice, but very cold, walk along the Oxford Canal near Claydon.

English countryside - somewhere in Oxfordshire on the way to Lower Slaughter.

The river flowing through Lower Slaughter.

The colours on the vines on the old school, now hotel, were fantastic.

Close the gate!

Kelly and Lisa in deep conversation.

Mark and Lisa during the dinner on our last night there.

Wisley Gardens October 2008

On Wednesday 1 October Nicky and Freya took Kelly and I out for a day to RHS's Wisely Gardens in Woking. The weather was kind, with only a light shower of rain just before we had some lunch in the cafeteria.
We wandered around the gardens. The best time for flowers had passed, but it was nice all the same. The cafeteria looked brand new, with a very open atmosphere. Can't remember the meal, except that the cutlery was made from wood - a contribution to recycling I think.
Next to the cafeteria is a very large glasshouse with lots of tropical and desert plants. - it's very impressive. On the way out we were tempted to spend some time in the bookshop.

Nicky and Kelly in conversation; Freya is just behind the pram.

Beautifully manicured lawns and gardens.

Under the mushroom - Freya has her eyes closed.

A lovely path.

The colours were wonderful.

Green Lawn!

At the pond.
Orchid in the glasshouse.
More orchids,

More of the gardens.

Moved in

We moved in at the start of February - sorry it took so long to get some more pics here.

View of the library/office. That Kelly's computer, stuck in the corner next to a heap of books in the book cases. There are more books in books cases where the pictures was taken from, and in the passage to the bedroom (see below). There is still some sorting out to do there.

Book cases in the passage leading to the main bedroom. Almost all of these are books Kelly took back from Germany.

Three views of the kitchen, lounge and dining areas. The desk is an antique we got from the Griffioens. The clock sitting on it is from Kelly's Dad, but it has no pendulum or key - and the glass is cracked. We'll have something better in that nook in future - the desk sticks out too much from the wall. The clock on the wall -about the only thing we've put up to date- is a wedding gift from Kelly's Auntie Biddy.

The floors are still bare concrete (with a Boncrete seal on it). Eventually we plan to have a Tasmanian Oak floor. Architraves still have to go around the doors, and we'll also have skirtings and picture rails.

The coffee table is a wedding gift from the family.

View from the 'Entry' out through the closed bi-fold doors that lead to the alfesco area. The plants (frangapani and more) come from Kelly's dad. The outdoor setting is a wedding gift from Jack and Teresa and family.

Outside

We have been given a cow (a Jersey bull, about 9 months old) from Brian B; he had little fed left. It disappeared on the wedding day, and Janet found it up the road chatting with the neighbours cattle. They took him back, and he now appears quite happy. Just before Christmas we made a shelter (approx 5.5 x 2.5 m) for it from H4 pine logs and second hand jarrah. We ran out of time, and so the blue trap was used until the weather is kinder to put galvanised sheets on the roof and walls.

More of the outside has been painted. We decided to paint the area above and below the windows the same colour as the roof, gutters and downpipes - minimalist. The gable still has to be completed - it's rather high!

Kitchen cupboards and painting

Kitchen cupboards (made by Character Cabinets, Armadale) were installed just before Christmas (thanks Squeak). Space is left for a floor standing 900mm cooktop/oven and rangehood, as well as dishwasher and fridge Note the blue protective covering on the bench tops still has to come off.

Laundry, with space for washer to the left. The sink still has to be installed.

Walls were painted in the last few days; Copra from Solver Paints. The ceilings are a not completely white.

Painted wall and wall paneling (Tasmanian Oak) in Bedroom 3.

Tiling in bathrooms

Above and below: tiling in bathroom 2. There is a low shower hob; we'll decide on the type of screen and mirror later. The taps will be put on this week, hopefully. The second loo and laundry have the same tiles.

Above and below: Bathroom 1. These tiles and the grout are slightly darker than that in the other bathroom. The toilet has the same tiles. Once again, the type of screen and mirror will be decided later. We plan to have a free standing towel rail.