Christmas back in Australia

I wasn't going to post another blog until we were back on board Serafina but I couldn't help myself. I have a few weeks break giving me a bit of time to sit and relax and knock out a few words.

The summer in Australia has been reasonably mild with just the odd scorcher. There have been a couple of nights where the temperature has been at or above 25 degrees! It's still hot enough to dry out the grass and provide plenty of fuel for bushfires and sadly there have been quite a few. Not close to Melbourne where we are, but a large fire in the west of Victoria which has burnt an extensive area and is now out. Western Australia (WA) also has a large bushfire burning which had taken thirty homes at last count. (For non-aussie readers) WA is a long way from us, around four hours flying time.

Broccoli fresh from the vege garden.

Being off the boat and home for the summer has given me an opportunity to plant a few vegetables in the garden for the first time. I planted them more as a teaching tool rather than providing an abundance of fresh veges for the table. Our granddaughter is now four and she has been helping me initially plant out the beds, maintain the watering and recently reap what we have sown. It has turned out just as I had hoped, She no longer thinks we have to go to the supermarket to get the tomatoes, broccoli, onions etc.

I have also enjoyed taking time to watch some test cricket, much to Rachael's dismay! Rachael is not a cricket fan by any means so it is a delicate operation to ensure that I turn my hand to other things while keeping up with what was going on. This year I didn't get to a day of the Boxing Day Test although I did think about it! The MCG is only half an hour from home. That period was one of our hot spells so it wasn't terribly comfortable on or off the ground for a few days. I look forward to the Ashes series this English summer.

There are quite a few summer jobs to do and staining the rear deck is just one of them. The stern deck of the house is a little larger than Serafina's, this one is around fifty square meters, so it was a days work to scrub it down and put two coats of stain on it. I look forward to getting back to Serafina's traditional stern, less than four months to go now!

Scrubbing the deck.

Rachael has floated the idea of a white Christmas in the UK at some stage. I'm still enjoying working over the UK winter and missing winter completely. We haven't seen a winter for two years now. If and when we decide to spend a full year in the UK we may first have to ease into the cold in Australia first before taking on an English winter on board Serafina. I enjoy reading lots of blogs but Tom and Jan's Blog 'NB Waiouru' (http://www.narrowboat-waiouru.co.uk/) has made interesting reading as they continuous cruise throughout the winter. Negotiating freezing water, ice, snow, stoppages etc adds an extra dimension to boating that we have not yet experienced.